This Moment In Time

An Evening of Words and Music

Association of Independent Schools National Conference
Conrad Jupiter’s, Gold Coast, Australia - May 21st, 2004

You fleet tonight in this foundry of fantasy and fun,
Where the world brokered bold, and just went for gold, ‘neath a warm sub-tropic sun,
In the realms of the real high rollers, and of the grand standing ovation,
To direct your theming, of “Learning and Leading… In A Culture of Innovation”.

You hail from cities by the sea… and from sections further out,
Where character and charisma, are shaped by flooding drought,
You’re mainstream educators… entrusted with the tools
That function at the forefront, of our Independent Schools.

“You’re sometimes dismasted, exhausted… remastered... your ranks are the naked spine,
For your role’s to keep resources, to the front of the firing line,
As education has become more complex… confidence is in remission,
And throbbing the line of constancies rides reappraisal, reassessment, and revision”.

For learning’s cross linked to leading… and leading’s a science and an art,
That the troops will trample, if it’s not by example… and closely aligned to the heart,
Your gift’s to educate and rate… to launch… to lift… to nurture,
For inside the heads of our precious kids… lies the office of the future.

You’re pathfinders siting signposts, that circumvent life’s starch,
You’re searchlights in the maze that threads… through mankind’s onward march,
You all share pole position… to instil and innovate,
For that young mind’s rhyme, might grow in time, to take pure good to great.

Let the power of association, permeate this celebration,
As you navigate a new frontier… in a culture of innovation,
For you must never fail to astonish… and to pioneer the schemes,
That can set an idea soaring… in a virgin field of dreams.

Be mindful ‘mongst the myriad minds… ‘midst the gains and the misgotten,
That Education Is What Survives… When What Has Been Learned…is forgotten.
In the main, the crop you manage… matures a little later,
And rarely is a role more noble… than that of… Educator.

There’s power at play in this special occasion… the power that pumps in association,
It comes together… on common ground… if you’re unconvinced… just look around,
Your gift’s to light the path of a nation, by Learning and Leading A Culture Of Innovation,
Harvest its heat, and record its rhyme… the prodigious power, of This Moment In Time.
 
Robert Raftery©