Welcome back to school for 2022, Prescott Primary Northern family! I hope and pray you have had a safe and relaxing break. I know for some of our families it has not been that way as they have battled family losses, travel stress and isolation stints. Please know you have been in my thoughts and prayers. We still have a number of students and families who are away and yet to return, and others who are, even now as I write this, in isolation. I would like to say thank you to you all for ensuring you follow, and continue to follow the instructions from SA Health as we do our best to protect ourselves and others at this time.

I would like to welcome our new Foundations students who are starting school for the very first time. What a year to start! We are working hard to make your introduction to school one of the best experiences of your life so far. I would also like to welcome students and families who are new to Prescott Primary Northern. We are really looking forward to having you as part of our school family. We have some new staff members as well and I would like to say how glad we are that God has brought you to us.

Once again, we have something different coming our way as we step into the 2022 school year. We haven’t ever started school this way, and there are new challenges popping up by the day, but I know our staff and students will take it in their strides. As I have been thinking about our start to the year, it reminded me of some of the times I have travelled some great tracks in outback Australia.

As you start out on a track you haven’t been on before, there is this mix of excitement as well as nervousness. You're leaving the familiar and secure, and heading into something unknown. There are many things that can help in these situations.

One is being prepared and having the resources. Our staff have been working very hard over the last few weeks to get things ready to go, not just for the first couple of weeks of learning, but for the whole year. Another thing that I have found really helps when beginning a journey into the unfamiliar, is sharing the trip with other people and tackling the joys and challenges together. Having people around to help, support, guide and encourage, not only brings a sense of security, it also provides us with opportunities for shared joy, and the sense of togetherness and solidarity that comes we tackle hard stuff together. I sense those things - security, shared joy and solidarity - here at Prescott Primary Northern as we begin our steps into the 2022 school year. Thank you for helping to make it that way.

I honestly do not know what the next few months will throw at us schoolwise, but I do know I am so grateful to be starting into that unknown with our Prescott Primary Northern staff, students, and families. So whether you have a little one starting school for the first time, have students in Year 1 at school, have kids learning from home, or being supervised at school, I thank you for joining us on the journey this year.

Have a great week with your kids.

Mark B