From the Principal
The changing landscape of education
‘Don’t worry we will make it work!’
Over the school holidays the College received lots of messages of support from our community and beyond. One of our teachers placed me at ease with the simple message above. There have been similar sentiments from our senior students. They have adapted to difficult situations with maturity and compassion.
School teachers, and other staff, have had outstanding professional learning over the past few months. Necessity has meant attaining new technological skills and then applying them in learning the following day. Using new technology can be daunting and having to immediately extend that learning to groups of students in their home environments can be massively challenging.
Even the most experienced and competent teacher can feel like a novice when attempting to juggle Teams, SEQTA, video calls, online assessment and new absentee procedures. Our teachers have responded brilliantly.
One of our tasks going forward will be to ensure that the skill acquisition that has occurred for both students and staff is not lost. The Ignatian Examen calls us to reflect on our day and to examine its blessings and its challenges. It is particularly poignant at the current time.
I mentioned to staff earlier this week that Perth is as well placed as any city to manage the pandemic. Within our beautiful city, John XXIII College is certainly well-equipped amongst schools to learn and evolve as a Catholic community at this time.
Robert Henderson
Principal