This year, for the first time since the College opened, we are staging a full musical performance.

For the first time our orchestra, choir, bands, actors, dancers, and all those who participate behind the scenes have come together to work on a project which has required them to exercise both individual and collaborative skills.

There is a level of self-discipline and effort required in an enterprise like this which we believe is an important life lesson for all of our students. Throughout the rehearsal and performance process our students learn the need to be dependable, hard-working and creative. They have the opportunity to take the initiative and to learn valuable leadership skills over a period lasting not mere days or weeks but months. They are presented with problems to solve and must work together to produce results; they must cope with the demands of a live performance where things can go wrong and solutions must be improvised quickly; they will feel the sense of achievement and immediacy which can only come from performing in front of a real audience.

At a time when technology is repeatedly individualizing our experience of the real world; when our lives have become systemized and predictable; when we usually experience entertainment at a level of remove, through a screen or monitor, we hope that the experience our students will gain from participating in 'Grease' will enthuse and inspire them and will invest them with the self-confidence that they will need in their future lives.

We would like to thank you, the audience, for joining us today and we hope that you enjoy the performance.

Head of Fine Arts Department
Richard Kallagher