From the Principal

Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Staff and Friends of St Norbert College,

I commenced this year by addressing students at our first College assembly and included the following words and challenge for the students gathered;

“This year 2020, is the start of a new decade and I’d like to pose a question for you to consider during my address this morning – we know that a decade is 10 years, so I ask you to ponder what you would like to be doing in 10 years’ time? It’s a long time, but the planning and foundations need to begin now”.

Little did we know that within a few weeks, a couple of months, the world and our lives as we had come to expect, had changed dramatically. It seems that, in this period of the COVID-19 virus, we move from day to day, hour to hour and minute to minute. Our current experience prevents us looking any further ahead than this.

It would be an interesting test though, that if we could turn back the clock to mid-2019 and ask this question, to see how people would answer;

“What would we like to see as essential characteristics of our world in 2020?''

I wonder if we’d say characteristics such as:

People looking out for others more than themselves
Caring for the elderly and most vulnerable
To have more time and opportunities to focus on the important aspects in life like family
People making small sacrifices for the greater, common good

I’m sure the list could go on, but little did we know that these characteristics have been manifest through an unprecedented, uncertain and unsettling time for our global world.

From an educational perspective, our College has embarked on our Remote Learning Plan and we have received feedback from staff, students and families about how effective this has been. We will continue to review this for the start of Term 2 and in light of the growing possibility of remote learning extending beyond this as required. Please see on our College website for the recent update sent to all parents and carers this week regarding the Term 2 arrangements. https://www.norbert.wa.edu.au/about-snc/covid-19-updates/ As we have regularly done, we will continue to communicate with parents and families on the impact of state and nationwide decisions on our own College context. The College Leadership Team will share an extensive list of curriculum changes and updates once directions from the authorities are clarified.

In the interim, we again thank our students, parents and families for your messages of encouragement, patience and unwavering support for our staff as we navigate through this ever-changing situation.

Fear not though, Easter is upon us and as Father Peter often espouses, “Jesus is the reason for the season!”

As we come towards the end of the Lenten period and into the Easter Triduum, it is a perfect time to revitalise our relationship with God and to continue to model His kingdom on earth. God’s kingdom is one filled with peace, love and harmony and we all know that we need it now, as much as at any other time in recent history. We need to live God’s message from Easter, every day.

“Our God is a God of the future. The God of the future comes to meet us where we least expect: in disruption, dislocation…in unexpected places”. (Dr Chris Cotter – Three Reflections in a Time of Coronavirus, CEWA: 31 March 2020).

I hope and pray for all in our St Norbert College community, for a joyful, loving and holy Easter and that we use these opportunities to share in the love of God with our families and to bring peace to those we hold most dear.

God’s blessings to you all.

Mr S Harvey (Principal)