A Note from Nelson

Welcome to the second edition of the Rose & Waratah e-newsletter for 2020.  I hope this note finds you and your family healthy and well.

I recently wrote to our community about the support Friends’ is providing to those families facing challenges times as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  I’d like to personally thank those who have reached out and provided various social support to our community members.  Our staff, parents, students, alumni and friends have shown exceptional care and concern for one another, both for those close to us and for people who we may have never personally met.

The past five months or so here in Hobart and The Friends' School have been remarkable - uncertain at times, stressful at times, but also very affirming. The pandemic continues throughout the world, growing worse in some regions, as Tasmania and Australia come to understand what the new 'normal' means for all of us. Can we ever really return to the sorts of personal interactions and the way we lived our lives prior to March 2020? Right now, that is the big unknown.

We can, however, do what we are able to do within the scope of public health guidance provided at School and within Hobart. We can also continue to look after each other. Soon we hope the public health restrictions will be eased further so that students can partake in the full range of the co-curricular program. Additionally, having mainland relatives visit or us travelling to the mainland to visit family and friends would be nice too! Restrictions on how we can live will be in place until a vaccine is discovered and widely administered. The timing or even discovery of an effective preventative procedure is still unknown, although I have read some recent promising reports.

In addition to the complexities of the pandemic, the United States and subsequently many parts of the world have been forced into confronting long-standing inequalities that are in most instances based upon the colour of one's skin or background. As unsettling as it is to see them unfold through various media, the protests have prompted many of us to question and reflect upon what we do that perpetuates these injustices? As a school community established upon the foundation of Quaker testimonies and values, The Friends’ School has always believed that all people are equal and that all voices deserve to be heard and valued.  

Recently I provided the annual Principal’s Address to the School’s Association, which was provided remotely during our Distance Learning program. The purpose of this report each year is to provide an update and insight into the operations, achievements and vision for The Friends’ School. For those of you who might not know who the Association is; the Association consists of current and former Board members who are also Quakers. Their membership in the Association is for life or until they otherwise indicate that they no longer wish to be a member of the Association. I am pleased to provide a link to this address on the School’s website.

In the words of our school motto, Nemo Sibi Nascitur: ‘No-one if born for self alone’.  We are here to help and support each other. Thank you for your continued support of The Friends' School.

Warm regards,

Nelson File

Principal - The Friends' School