The last week of term is often a challenging one. The children are tired, the staff are tired and everybody is looking forward to a break, but educators are still determined to make the most of the teaching time available. Teachers have spent significant time putting together summative reports to inform parents about the progress that the students have made during the first semester of 2025. The break from school will be a good time for parents to celebrate achievements and talk about next steps and goals for the second half of the year. All questions and queries regarding reports can be sorted out next term, when teachers will be happy to discuss how they are working to support learning. I respectfully ask that parents do not send their queries in until after the break, so that dedicated staff can take the opportunity for a genuine rest, rather than worrying about emails in their inbox that are important but not urgent.

After finishing off some schoolwork, I am going to spend a week of the break living in Singapore, as my son and his wife will have gone away on holiday, leaving their tiny apartment temptingly empty. The opportunity to lay by a pool in the warmth and read books which are not about schools or education was too good to resist.

I hope that whether you stay in Perth and take advantage of the great outdoors here or travel somewhere exotic, you enjoy a relaxing time with your family. Our thoughts will be with friends, relatives and colleagues in Israel who are affected by the challenges of the unfolding political situation. If only it were as simple as urging politicians and global leaders to 鈥渂e kind鈥�, as we expect our Carmel students to be.

Take care, travel safely and enjoy a restful time away from school.

Shabbat shalom.

Dr Julie Harris

Principal