Hello everyone, have you noticed that as the autumnal colours brighten our days are getting nippier! We are about to welcome in winter, and as we do, our school will come together to deepen our ongoing growth and understanding of our First Nations people. Reconciliation week will culminate with our Reconciliation Assembly on June 3rd. In music sessions, the students are learning that through protest songs people can have a powerful voice to inspire change and be heard. Through songs, we can keep the light of hopes and dreams burning. Felix Riebl’s arrangement of ‘Dream Baby, Dream’ demands that we hear the voices of our First Nation’s People, the truth of their stories, and their right to be heard and represented in our Constitution. We at PHPS will keep on singing ‘come on, dream on, dream baby dream’ as the days get shorter and colder. So students, please ’rug up’ and dress warmly as we will continue our COVID safe out door singing to inspire, warm and open ears and hearts.

Two weeks ago our community came together to celebrate and thank our mothers and carers. It was a special assembly which felt like ’old times’ as we gathered in the gym for the first time since early last year. Many of the students commented that they felt nostalgic about assemblies in the gym, and added how easy it was to sing inside again as they could hear their voices; warm and hearty in the gym’s acoustic. Thank you to every one for your beautiful and happy singing, for all the lovely tributes from Neighbourhoods, and to Richard, Robert and the set-up crew for all the tech support, and, to our families for attending our assembly. Thank you and Bravo to our 3/4 Ukulele Club, to Ziyu for his violin solo, and to Nick who played the double bass.

It has been delightful to see and hear the interest students are showing in the new steel tongue drums in the Discovery Centre, and I have been enjoying sowing uke seeds in the Yr 2 Ngh with introductory uke lessons during Music time. Also, across the neighbourhoods, we have been stepping and balancing our way through traditional folk dances. On the surface, these dances are simple, but there are numerous individual and group challenges. I’m very impressed with how the students share their observations about what makes the dance successful, or why the dance falls apart! The new dance we are learning with the Yr 3/4s is Fjaskern, the ’Hurry-Scurry’ dance from Sweden, in-which the steps get gradually faster each time it repeats. The Yr1s have tried out a simplified version of Fjaskern and just when we thought we were dancing at top speed there was yet another round! Their singing that followed was fabulous!

Thank you everyone for another couple of great weeks. Dress warmly, stay well, and all the best as we move into winter. Cheerio, Deb.