Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan

Since we have returned to face-to-face learning, I have had the pleasure of being on duty for the morning car lines. It is one of the best duties to be on across  the school day and I feel blessed each day as I welcome the children into their school.

It always amazes me how you, as parents, get your children ready for school each morning, into the car with bags strategically placed (and many 4 legged family members there as well) for a quick exit from the vehicle, a ‘goodbye’ wave and an ‘I love you!’ as the children come into school. I did it, too, many years ago and wonder how I managed it but we do because as parents we build a strong culture of routine within our  homes, almost unknowingly, that impacts upon the learning of our children.

From here I watch siblings say ‘see you later’ and even ‘I love you!’  to each other as well. Friends meet each other with a smile, sometimes a hug and the older girls check each other’s pony tails as they head off to play together.  When we talk about schools, we often  talk about the community that is built and how the community supports the learning. All of these interactions are community building,  creating a positive atmosphere for learning.

As I greet the children I am so pleased that they often want to engage in conversation with me or return the smile, the greeting and let me know how their morning has been. This is so important as together we work to instil in the children the importance of developing relationships that are positive and life giving.

St Benedict wrote about the deep value of hospitality in building community. His work spoke about hospitality as literally meaning to receive all as Christ. Our simple morning gestures and routines deepens our own expression of hospitality in community (in communion) with each other, and the world.

Recently, our School Captain, Matisse, welcomed our 2022 Kindergarten parents by describing what she has learnt as a Good Samaritan girl. I share this with you here as no one could say what it means to be a part of Good Samaritan better than our own students.