The importance of traditions

Schools that are many years old have often developed a number of traditions - things they do every year; at certain times of the year. These traditions are important to a school community as they foster stability, create a sense of belonging, and allow a school to move forward by creating memories to look back on.

Two of our Student Leaders at the Dawn Service

Our school is just four years old (actually, not even four yet!) and we have begun to create our own traditions. Some of these are Meet your Teacher Afternoon (just before school starts for a new year); weekly Assemblies with class performances; the Run Walk Challenge; our ANZAC Pre-service (including wreath making in the classroom) and attendance at the Dawn Service at the Coolum-Peregian RSL in April; the Mother's Day Stall; the Year 7 Theatre Excursion; the Talent Show; Under 8's Morning; the Book Week Assembly; the Book Fair; Year 7 Graduation, and even some of our camps and excursions.

These events are reminders that everything is 'as it should be'. Regardless of staff turn over and how big we grow, there is a sense of the familiar. There are things that stay the same.

Our developing traditions create a sense of belonging and connectedness within and to the group. New staff and students take on these traditions as their own and then look forward to them each year.

Traditions also mark the passing of time and become milestones, especially when the tradition belongs to a particular year level group - for example, the first camp in Year 4, and the Year 7 excursion to Brisbane to the theatre. These milestones give something to staff and students to look forward to and create feelings of continuity and stability.

Traditions are memory makers - already I hear staff say things like 'Remember our first Dawn Service in 2010 - what a small group we were'.

Traditions can have long lasting effects and survive all kinds of changes. We will continue to develop them for our school and add to them over the years as it is traditions that keep our school community strong.