A debate entirely in Hebrew? Really? That was surely an invitation that I couldn’t resist! I have worked in many excellent schools and enjoyed many, varied activities outside the classroom, but I have never heard students debate in a language other than English. Listening to Thursday night’s Hebrew debating brought home the great strides our students make in learning the language of their homeland. All the research about language learning reinforces what we already know – that it is a fabulous brain exercise and that regular, frequent practice is vital to maintain progress. Those of our students who put this into practice and persevere with the challenge of learning a language other than English reach an impressive level of fluency.

Learning another language is challenging and difficult and it does require practice, but the evening was a great reflection of the results of our young people’s determination. I grew up in Wales at a time when the Welsh language was in danger of dying. It took concerted efforts from government in terms of making road signs bilingual, mandating that every government document be translated into both Welsh and English and teaching compulsory language in schools to turn the situation around. Thirty years later, the language is thriving, there is a television channel which transmits entirely in Welsh and numbers of bilingual people in the population are increasing. Sadly, I don’t think we have a sufficiently large enough Jewish population in Perth to justify a Hebrew TV channel or to merit a request that all government forms and documentation are made available in Hebrew, but it’s a nice thought.

The revival of the Hebrew language happened in Europe and Palestine towards the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century driven by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and the once only sacred language became a modern, national language with the First and Second Aliyot to Israel.

My Hebrew reading is allegedly approaching the level of an average Year 1 student. My excuse is that learning at an advanced age is even more challenging; I shall persevere. I remind myself that there is no rush. At the debating, I was lucky enough to sit next to a rather wonderful and generous parent who carried out simultaneous translation for me, which made the experience even better. I hope this didn’t spoil her enjoyment of the evening and I thank her for her generosity.

The cold, wet, windy, almost Welsh weather this week didn’t seem to make people as miserable as I would have thought. I have started interviewing Year 12 students, to make sure that their voices are heard and that we learn from their Carmel experience. I have already been impressed with their thoughtfulness and ability to reflect maturely on their Carmel experience – describing what they have enjoyed, what they will remember and what we could do better. ‘Student voice’ is at the forefront of education at the moment; I know that Carmel students have numerous opportunities to share their opinions with us and I am enjoying their confidence in doing so. Young people’s plans for the future always provide me with great vicarious pleasure as I remember my own hopes and dreams at that age.

The Carmel Leadership Team also didn’t let the storms detract from their strategic planning day on Wednesday. We locked ourselves away for a whole day and held deep discussions on our beloved school’s strengths as well as thrashing out areas in which we can improve. Feedback from last year’s survey has played a significant part in our planning processes and we look forward to sharing our plans for the future with the community.

Term 3 continues apace as I cough my way through the days (don’t you love it, when you’re told that ‘it’s a post-viral cough’ when what you actually wanted was an instant, pleasant-tasting cure?!). My daughter also left home this week, with 13kg of luggage and a one-way ticket to England. And although her recent plans have changed on a weekly basis, the current plan involves travelling, visiting relatives and family friends, working for a while, saving money and embarking on a university degree in Japanese and French. I love the hope and excitement of youth. It’s what keeps us teachers going.

I hope that your week wasn’t spoilt by the awful weather and that if your children are also overseas, you have been able to let go somewhat and be pleased that you have brought them up to be sufficiently confident, resilient and independent to travel without you.