As we start each year, I always feel a great sense of excitement. As each year brings something new it is natural to feel eager to what lies ahead.

I also feel energised by the start to a new year because I love the refreshing feeling of renewal. We are presented with an opportunity to conclude the year past, and perhaps leave some things behind that were less than pleasant, but importantly can hold on to others that left us fulfilled, maintaining and indeed strengthening all that was good. I love that each year I am presented with new faces, new ideas, new opportunities.

The break just now concluded was a time to reset, refresh, reenergise and prepare to reengage. The break allowed us to clear our minds, let us step back away from some of the past challenges and give an opportunity to view things with a fresh perspective.

So, when we look at the school year ahead of us – from January to December, I can see an alignment to the seasons, more specifically a correlation between the seasons and the school terms of our year - conveniently each numbering four.

Term 1 - Summer

Summer is well associated with warmth and light; two noteworthy features of Term 1. I see warm-heartedness in the relationships formed and reformed as we return from weeks apart. Sometimes that warmth is between those of us who have not seen each other for some time, other times I see warmth with new connections being made and the generosity of spirit that flourishes under summer warmth.

The bright sunshine, and the light it provides allows illumination as we start something new. Students graduate to a new year level, and will perhaps undertake new subjects, new programs, or enjoy new school buildings. Put simply the brightness and radiance of summer, in Term 1 ‘illuminates’ the path ahead.

Term 2 - Autumn

Autumn is considered a bridge between the two seasonal extremes, Summer and Winter. So as we move away from the warmth and light of summer, we enter Term 2 which is a time to consolidate and confirm all that has been discovered in the first months of the year. Students are growing in confidence through increasing involvement and engagement and confident to put experience gained so far now into action.

Farmers harvest their crops and in the colder climates, many animals collect and store food to sustain them through oncoming winter. So Autumn is often considered to be a time when energy reserves are stored, and preparations are being made to enter the second half of the year.

Term 3 - Winter

We have passed the mid-point of the school year and are calling upon reserves of energy. The shorter days, colder weather, chilling winds and overcast skies can sometimes be considered gloomy and bring about the ‘winter blues’. But this can also be embracing and invigorating.

There are some who love the colder months more than others, one such group are known as the Iceberg Swimmers. This group of enthusiasts swim each morning in Port Philip Bay, usually before sunrise at the coldest time when the water temperature is often just above freezing. I think their refection of why they love winter are interesting. One ‘iceberger' describes the plunge into cold waters “as exhilarating, a mental challenge, that gets your blood pumping and your brain working, and as a secret tonic.”

So too do we find invigoration, stimulation and draw upon our inner strength in Term 3.

Term 4 – Spring

The final term is often described as the business end of the school year and when all the work of the past months comes together. Spring is associated with growth and birth and as we enter the last term of the school year, so too does all those things learnt give rise to a more comprehensive understanding and greater self-realisation.

"Springtime" refers to the season, and also to the ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, and regrowth. We associate Springtime with blossoming and blooming of flowers. Farmers plant or sow their crops. So too do students in Term 4 sow their ideas from all that has been learnt throughout the year. To sow something means to generate, evoke or bring about. Whilst learning is far from over in Term 4, students are now better prepared, confident in their skills and knowledge, and already starting to think about the next year.

Where again the seasons and the school terms will repeat the cycle

As we embark upon the 2022 school year, I wish all good fortune. Like the seasons of the year, each term or time will be guaranteed to provide something that Hume Anglican Grammar is well renown - that being opportunity. By seizing every opportunity, along with effort and dedication I know we will have a joyful and successful year.

Bill Sweeney - Principal