As we are getting through our first full week of the school year hopefully you are still feeling the energy and freshness of the new year. The students have been settling into the rhythm of the school year and getting to know new classmates and learning new things. There is so much that goes into getting school started that it feels good to be back doing normal things in a regular routine, especially with a reduced level of Covid restrictions. The students even looked super sharp for their school photos this week – the Mueller uniform has never looked so good!
The appeal of a new year for many students is the opportunity for a ‘fresh start’ and a new beginning. We have been working with groups of students this week on their goals for the year and it is exciting to see their potential and to hear their dreams. The desire to make some changes, work a bit harder or engage a bit differently is something we want to foster and support in our students, and to empower and skill them to succeed at school and beyond.
Fresh starts at school are good but inevitably the energy of the new school year will wane. It is such a blessing and comfort to us that even when we fade and lose our momentum that God accepts and loves us. He is all about the fresh start, the new day and forgiveness of sins. We were recently discussing in the office how little rain it takes for the grass to become green again. How great it is to have a God that loves us and provides abundantly for us like rain for the dry ground. He reminds us that he is the God of ‘fresh starts’ in Isaiah 43:18-19:
18“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
May your 2021 will be full of blessing and growth. All the best for Term One!
