Mr Kyle Thompson | Principal

Throughout the COVID lockdown, and enforced stays at home, at a time over the last few weeks, I found myself in front of the television watching a music documentary. Not by choice. I’m not sure how it happened. One moment I was watching some archived cricket footage from the mid-late 80s and repeats of some surfing contests and the next thing I knew my wife had commandeered the remote. Now there I was, staring at a larger than life Adele on my TV screen. I was suddenly listening to her talk about her music and where she drew inspiration from in her songwriting. She also sang the odd tune. Like her or not, she can sing.

Anyway, I digress. What struck me from my afternoon on the couch was her referencing driving through the neighbourhood where she grew up. She spoke about gaining inspiration for her songwriting from the many and varied memories she had made growing up in her town. The drive through her town had triggered her to remember.

This too made me reflect. On the memories of growing up in the ‘playground’ that was the golf course backing onto my grandparents’ house. I remember searching for genie bottles with my grandfather when I was very young, all the time listening to him talk about the wildlife we stumbled upon in the long reeds. From snakes and lizards to all kinds of beetles and bugs. Alas, every genie bottle we ever found already had the lid removed – and my grandfather would reference how we were getting close to finding one with the genie still inside.

As I got older I traded hunting genies for hunting lost (and not so lost) golf balls. Sometimes with him. Sometimes not. Sometimes with friends. We also made forts in the sand dunes and spent time dodging the Ranger and his two German Shepherds.

One of my last memories of that place was introducing my girlfriend (now my wife) to my grandparents and showing her where I grew up playing on that golf course. She pointed out the spectacular view of the city that was evident from on that hill. Something that we were able to share at that time.

So why do I tell this story? From a SCOTS PGC perspective, our boys and girls spend what appears to be a lot of time in one place, especially in regards to their school. How they interact with that place changes over time. How they interact with their parents, teachers and friends also change. What they see through the same eyes appears different each year without them necessarily noticing. What doesn’t change is that every day they make memories. Sometimes though, we (parents, staff and our boys and girls) forget to take the time to remember the large and indeed the small things that we may well look back on in the future and wish for again. We need to enjoy our memories as they happen, not just as we reflect years later. Although this is special too.

So, the trips to school with our kids in the car (whether that be 5 minutes or 9 hours!) and the conversations that may or may not happen there, the first time a junior school student carries their own (too big) bag, friends new and old (for parents and students), learning new things, hearing the excitement over something small in our child’s voice, the first and last time a boy or girl wears our blazer, a Panama, an Akubra or a kilt, the starting of prep, finishing junior school, middle school, the festival of leaving for the final year and every big and small thing in between should be celebrated and remembered.

So much happens here every day that at times it’s hard to remember it all. Today I want to take note of something small that a student or students do that makes me smile. Something to remember, not because it is revolutionary, just because it is good. I especially want our Year 12s to think of this and to enjoy their last full term at their school. Recognise the memories they have and are making and take the time to reflect. Who knows, perhaps one of our boys or girls will have memories that inspire them to write a song.