This weekend many people have been celebrating Mother's Day. In our Trust family of schools this is an opportunity to celebrate and thank all of the amazing women who work in our schools, and the brilliant women in our local community.

Our role as educators both in school and at home, is to empower our young people to be confident, resilient, self-assured; and to have courage, empathy, kindness and high aspirations for their futures. Today and everyday we thank the women who help them to do this - the mothers, aunties, grandmothers, nanas, sisters, nieces and cousins. The teachers, associate staff and everyone who makes a positive difference to the lives of all our young people. We also give a shout out to the wonderful men who work in our schools, or who support our young people in the community. As the African proverb states "it takes a village to raise a child."

Mother's Day can be a difficult day for those who have lost their own mothers, those who would love to be a mother, or for those mothers who have lost their children. It is a day not to feel sad, but to recall happy memories if you can, and to always remember the positive difference these brilliant women make to the lives of the young people in our family of schools each and every day.

So, to all the strong women out there - may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.