Principal Report

Message from the Principal Term 1 Week 3

It has been a wonderful start to the new school year and everyone has settled back into familiar routines. Our first week was dedicated to developing relationships and building a strong sense of connectedness to peers and school. As the year progresses there will be many opportunities, as well as challenges for our children. Being able to navigate these moments and to be able to take them in their stride, will provide valuable life lessons for them, and in the long term, will be instrumental in building their social and emotional capital.

This week as a staff, we watched a wonderful presentation which was recorded at the 2020 IB Global Conference in December, Is our world really changing: Diversity and Inclusion in 2021? The presenter Roy Gluckman, qualified attorney of the High Court of South Africa and founder of the Cohesion Collective, used very powerful metaphors to describe and unpack for us Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

One part of the presentation that really resonated with me was when Roy spoke about inclusion. He asked us to firstly personify our school and then to see it as a house and a home. And then to see the personification of our school as the owner of the home. Why is this powerful? Because he reminds us that inclusion = comfort. When we are comfortable in our surroundings, when we know the rules, when we know the expectations then we begin to feel at ease and at home. It means we feel comfortable and we know how things work and how we fit into the bigger picture. At the beginning of the school year, this is so important and it is why we place such an emphasis on relationships and connection to school and peers.  We want everyone in our community, our staff, our children and our families to feel at home.

It has always been clear to me that our school is unique.  Our size gives us an advantage, we know everyone and everyone knows each other. We have always held wellbeing at the centre of all that we do. As a school, we see and believe this as fundamental to enabling our learners at St Columba’s to step boldly into the future and it is our aim to equip them with the skills they need to participate with confidence in a world that is rapidly changing and evolving. 

For those in our community who are celebrating the Lunar New Year this weekend.

Xīnnián kuàilè” (新年快乐)