One of the great joys of being part of a school community is that we don’t need to go too far to find inspiration from young (and older!) people exploring and excelling in their areas of passion. There have been a number of examples over the past week of this that have made me pause and reflect on how diverse and talented our community is. I had the pleasure of listening to the local FM radio before school on Friday and hearing Caitlyn in grade 7 playing and singing live on air with the freedom and maturity of someone well beyond her years.  Over the weekend, local mum Kirby, featured on Ninja Warrior with the support from her family alongside her. Kirby touched on the commitments that she had made in continuing to explore her passion in life and it was no surprise that we had a whole group of students playing ‘Ninja Warrior’ on the playground equipment during the week!  This week our Launching into Learning (LiL) teacher and senior staff member, Jessie Eberhardt, was featured on a podcast with the head of the Department of Education discussing what drives her as an early years educator and the passion for our community was clear in her interview.

For all three of these people, the time and commitments that you have made to do what you love was so very clear but the one value that stuck with me was the courage that you have shown to share what you are passionate about. Whilst Caitlyn, Kirby and Jessie’s examples were all shared through the media, give some thought to the opportunities that we take to step out of our comfort zone to show some courage in trying something new, having a difficult conversation, or sharing something that you are passionate about that others may find as a surprise.

https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/6850078/oldina-ninja-ready-for-tv-trial/

https://devonport.seafmtas.com.au/podcast-player/show/7645146-friday-live-caitlyn-vernon/lee-jess-for-breakfast
https://www.education.tas.gov.au/about-us/teach-tasmania/teach-learn-live-podcast/teach-learn-live-podcast-jessie-eberhardt/