After months of hoping that the situation in Israel would return to ‘normal’, we realized that this was not to be and we had to cancel our Grade 10 Student Israel Trip. There was no alternative as the site of our sister school, Har Vagai, was closed as the majority of its students had been evacuated from their homes as Hezbollah rockets forced them further south to be safe. After more months of texting with our friends at Har Vagai, especially their Principal, Ravit Rosenthal, we knew we had to go visit. It was a long way to go to share a hug and some tears, but we could tell they needed it, and it felt the least we could do to honour 16 years of close friendship - to be there for them in their time of need.