Last week was a special week on the annual school calendar: Public Education Week.

I'm sure you've all heard by now about the Bobs Farm Heartbeat Skipping Squad! 

OH MY GOODNESS! 

Getting a standing ovation just about tells you all you need to know if you weren't there, but even then, I wish I could've captured the energy, happiness, excitement and pride in a bottle, because everyone deserves a little bit of that, every single day! What an elixir that would be. 

As I said in my speech on the night, this was the first time Bobs Farm PS has performed a stand-alone item at the combined ceremony (at least in our collective memories), and it consequently resulted in what we believe to be the first-ever standing ovation for a performance. 

As I also said in my speech, it was the direct result of teamwork: having a teacher (Mrs Parker) who was so dedicated and passionate about it, families who were prepared to support their children by bringing them early or picking them up late for practice, staff who were prepared to jump in and do extra playground duties or take groups of students while the skipping squad trained, and of course, the fabulous students themselves who largely went from children who could barely spin a rope without getting tangled, to athletes who performed those mind-blowing skills on the stage on Tuesday night. 

Then there were the AUSLAN performers. To have two Bobs Farm students performing amongst the combined choir last year, to the swathe of children standing up there on stage on Tuesday night, was so uplifting.  To see young Mac and Oliver up there with their primary counterparts, who were equally as proud of them as we were, was just such a heartwarming moment for us all. It was even super special to have past Bobs Farm student, Marcel, as our Tomaree High group leader for the performance. 

To top all of that off, we had several of our Bobs Farm school community members receive special recognition awards on the night. Please make sure you scroll through this newsletter for details and for highlights from the evening. (We're yet to receive the official photos from the evening, but we will share them when they arrive.) 

Sitting here typing this on the weekend after, I am still drawn to tears thinking back, remembering these special events and superb humans. It's made me realise that my complete lack of control in crying at such moments isn't because of any kind of weakness; it's simply because my heart is bursting at the seams with pride, and if I don't release that pressure through my eyes in the form of tears, my chest will simply burst open! 

You only need to step inside the gates of Bobs Farm school to realise just how important public education is for so many reasons, but Tuesday night was certainly a perfect example of just what can be achieved by the teams within our school.  This year's theme of Inspiring Excellence is on display every day in our school, through the people in it and the way they work together to ensure every child succeeds. 

We will be extending our Bobs Farm Education Week celebrations by combining with our Book Week activities later in the term. Stay tuned for details.

Enjoy this edition of the newsletter. It's been a pleasure to pull it together for you.

Mrs Baxter (aka The Crier 😭)