Welcome to our first InFocus for 2025. It’s certainly been an eventful high-energy start to the school year as you’ll see in the diverse stories that follow.
Our whole school goal for 2025 is to Build Good Work and Good Character Every Day. It’s been wonderful to see this goal embraced so creatively and whole-heartedly by our students and staff. The idea is that the goal will unite, challenge, guide and inspire our school community throughout the year as we work together to support our students to be the best versions of themselves that they can be.
At our recent staff conference, we gathered to reflect, learn and set the stage for the year ahead. I encouraged staff to embrace the challenge of building both good work and good character, recognising our responsibility to nurture these qualities in our students. Discussions explored how student diversity and an inclusive school culture enhance academic achievement and wellbeing. We also looked at the growing impact on education and the lives of our students of artificial intelligence. As educators, we critically engage with technology, ensuring adaptability and new knowledge in how we and our students consume, create and integrate information communication technologies into teaching and learning.
Language educational academics Dr Robyn Moloney and Dr Lesley Harbon delivered a keynote address focusing on their research into the profound impact of linguistic diversity in Australian schools. They shared innovative teaching ideas from educators across Australia, highlighting ways to integrate students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds into every day school practices. Staff designed classroom and school-wide initiatives for implementation this year that promote curiosity, inclusion and deeper learning in the classroom, the playground and the staffroom.
We reviewed the 2024 HSC results, celebrating our students’ personal achievement, analysing data and refining strategies for future success. Workshops also explored operational excellence and deeper learning in preparation for the successful implementation of the new timetable.
And then our students returned and we marked the beginning of the new school year with a smoking ceremony led by IGS dad Tim Bishop, a proud Aboriginal man with bloodlines from the Murrawarri Nation in Northern New South Wales. The smoking ceremony at the school entrance unites our community in a spirit of reflection and respect, fostering a sense of connection and purpose for the year ahead. We are grateful for Tim’s generosity and enduring commitment to sharing his knowledge and inspiring our students, enriching our community with wisdom and cultural leadership.
On 3 February we celebrated Foundation Day, marking the founding of IGS in 1984 and promoting a sense of excitement that we are now moving into our 5th decade as a school. Our student leaders handed out apples at the front gate. Apple-giving is a celebration of our commitment to kindness, wellbeing and connection within the School. I am grateful to all the students and staff who helped make this day memorable as we stopped to reflect and give thanks for the remarkable history and progress of our school.
Finally, a vote of thanks to President Hayley Dean and the IGS Parents & Carers Association (P&C) for hosting last weekend’s picnic to welcome families to the IGS community and to the new school year.
I look forward to a wonderful year ahead and I hope that your children have had a happy and productive start to the new school year.
Warm regards,
Shauna Colnan
Principal
