For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9: 6 (NIV)
I confidently began last week’s Bytes with the comment ‘I am amazed that this is, in fact, the final edition of NCS Bytes for the 2017 school year.’ Well, as you can see, I shouldn’t have been so ‘confident’ as we actually have the opportunity for one more Bytes article for the year. In reality, I am very pleased that this is the case as so many wonderful events have occurred at NCS during this last week that I wish to share with all members of our school community!
However, the first of these events actually occurred on Saturday evening of last week and this was our Worrigee Community Christmas Carols. This special occasion was jointly organised by NCS and the Nowra Baptist Church. Even though the weather was somewhat inclement, resulting in the actual carols program moving indoors, it did not dampen the spirits of the large crowd in attendance. It was a heart-warming sight to view the many families who were able to enjoy the festive atmosphere as together they visited food stalls, participated in craft activities and lined up for face painting. At 7.30pm everyone moved into the church hall where we sang carols with great enthusiasm and heard the Christmas story presented to us in a most creative manner. And, of course, there were many candles being waved by enthusiastic children and quite a few adults as well.
On Monday, our Christmas carols theme continued as I had the pleasure of accompanying our Year 6 students as we walked across the road to Chesalon Nursing Home to entertain the residents with a rousing rendition of many of their favourite carols. It was most encouraging to see many of the residents singing along to well-known tunes with big smiles on their faces!
Our Year 6 students were kept very busy on Monday as the afternoon saw them being honoured at their Graduation Ceremony. This was a very special event that commemorated the highlights of their time spent during 7 years of Primary school. The program also looked ahead to the transition that is about to occur which will see them returning after the holidays as our Year 7 class of 2018. It was most encouraging for our students that a large number of family members and friends were also able to join our appreciative audience. A delightful afternoon tea was provided at the conclusion of our assembly for our parents, carers and friends which added to the celebratory atmosphere.