From the Principal

Presentation night

As a Deputy Principal at a previous school, I recall taking a ‘relief class’ for a Humanities subject. I was somewhat bemused that the class was using a worksheet that I had created some 15 years earlier during a previous stint at the college. It must have been a good worksheet but the fact that it had not been altered and still included my handwriting was a little disconcerting. In education, we sometimes ask do you have 15 years’ experience, or have you had the same experience 15 times? 

Last week, we had beautiful celebrations to acknowledge our Year 12 students and wish them well for the future. We were a little more anxious than usual given COVID restrictions necessitated changes to events to ensure that appropriate social distancing was maintained. The main change was to move our usual formal dinner to an outside cocktail style function. Our students seemed to enjoy the new format and we will engage with our community to ascertain whether the new format will be maintained once restrictions are eased. It does appear that a forced change may have been a change for the better. We were certainly very appreciative of the understanding and adaptability of all involved. 

Sometimes change is a good thing.

Our Presentation Night next month will also be altered to reflect the restrictions in place. It will not be possible to have our usual crowd in attendance so there will be a combination of a live audience and online streaming. Discussions will take place in the coming weeks and further communication will be forwarded in due course. Please also note that our Presentation Night is now scheduled for Friday 27 November as we had to make a slight calendar adjustment. 2020 has been a year of great flexibility.

It was fascinating talking to parents prior to our Year 7 Orientation Day this week. Several of our families have just farewelled their Year 12 children and now are restarting the journey with new Year 7 students. Hopefully, there will be lots of good features of our College maintained for the new Year 7s and also a capacity to adapt as required.

Robert Henderson

Principal