FROM THE HEADMASTER

Mr Adam Heath

The man had fished the river for many, many years, since his early adulthood, and he was much older now. Unlike others, he retained his old wooden clinker fishing boat, too heavy to push off the sandbar and reliant on the tide to float it. He needed a couple more inches of water but could wait patiently. The boat had its season’s new paint and, after a few days in the water, the old planks had expanded to seal any remaining cracks. Instead of a motor, he carried two oars and rollocks, a woven cane fishing creel and a much more modern fishing rod.

Looking back towards the house he noticed that, unlike his fishing methodology, much had changed. So many of the houses were new, and a bit too flashy in the opinion of this humble sheep and cropping famer. It seemed to him that the nature of the inhabitants of the small seaside village was changing in accord with the housing.

He noticed that the boat was now afloat and he boarded, gently rowing the fifty or so metres to the sandy bank, which seemed to serve almost as a handrail for the whiting and salmon that he was hunting. Anchor down, hooks baited, he fished quietly and contentedly in the autumn sun, knowing that the Easter king tide would likely serve his fishing well.

At the beginning of the year, I spoke to colleagues about the need for our School to become a ‘Light on the Hill’ as we move from focusing on the challenges of the recent past to once again seizing the opportunities that the future holds. Indeed, we are finding already that Ballarat Grammar’s humble style of innovation, combined with an unrelenting focus on holistic education, is being watched closely by others.

In the face of so many forms of uncertainty, be they climate change, economic instability or global conflict, there is an even greater need for our School to become a source of light and hope in our lives and, particularly, the lives of our young people. Our School has long determined that our values will be lived through our every action. This is most obviously manifested in our students’ commitment to service activities. But it should also be shown through our every encounter. Someone said to me recently that it isn’t necessary to see a uniform to know a Ballarat Grammar student and that is just as it should be.

Throughout the last three years we have also seen how our School can be innovative. The youngest students in our care, at 6 months old, will likely face a somewhat different future when they graduate in 2040. For now, it is our responsibility to look over the fiveyear horizon to what young people will need in their future. What is the best possible preparation that we can provide for them?

An inquiring mind and good character, of course, are both essential, developed through the myriad of opportunities taken up by our students. But what must we do to retain our outstanding teachers and attract the best and brightest in the face of a looming teacher shortage? How can we best prepare students to adapt to emerging transformative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, with products such as ChatGPT signalling the beginning of the next digital generation? What can we do to nurture ethical leadership in every one of our students so that we are offering to society the values-driven leaders that our modern world needs?

These are the types of questions that we are working hard to answer as we move through the fourth year of the School’s Strategic Plan, to make our School an educational beacon on the hill. By looking bravely and optimistically to the challenges and unexpected opportunities this postpandemic era holds, we will nurture our School and our rich history and culture, whilst fearlessly exploring the very best educational possibilities that will prepare our students for their exciting future.