Message from

the Deputy Principal 

Start of Term

In assembly last week, I emphasised the importance of looking forward, not back, as we start a new academic year. I thought it would be helpful to use some examples from History to show how society has overcome challenges and moved forward from these experiences.

The situation I presented was that we were all born in 1900:

When we were 14, World War I began and ended when we were 18 years old. Approximately 22 million people died during this conflict. 

Shortly after World War I, a global pandemic erupted called, 'Spanish Flu', this left approximately 50 million people dead. We were the lucky ones who came out alive and free. We were now 20 years old.

Nine years later in 1929, we endured the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment, hunger, and a global depression.

As we turned 33, we witnessed the Nazis coming to power in Germany and this changed the political landscape of Europe.

At the age of 39, we saw the start of World War II and this ended when we were 45 – during this period we also heard about the Holocaust where, approximately 6 million Jewish people died. Over the course of the war, there were over 60 million deaths in total and atomic bombs were used to destroy cities.

The Korean War commenced as we turned 50 and an estimated 5 million die during this conflict. Five years later at the age of 55, the Vietnam War began and this ended when we reach 75 with some 3.4 million losing their lives.

Of course, there are many other examples we can provide, however, the point of this message is to show how we as humans and societies have overcome challenges and survived disastrous circumstances and, as was pointed out to me recently, ‘we never lost the joy of living’. It is important that we do not lose the joy of living – we should be grateful for what we have, take each day as it comes, work hard to build a strong community and make others feel valued. I hope our assemblies this term will encourage us all to reflect: by listening to others, by hearing their story, by seeing things from their point of view, we will celebrate diversity and we will continue to build an inclusive community. We have many reasons to be optimistic. A positive outlook fuels motivation and creativity and we have 365 opportunities each year to make a difference.

Online Webinar

Many thanks to all the new families who joined us online on Monday evening. I am sorry that we were unable to meet in person, however, we hope that this went some way to answering your questions. Further on in this week’s bulletin, there will be a summary of the Q&A for those who were not able to attend. If anybody has any further questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us – please reach out to my PA, Hayley Newport, hosspa@kws.nsw.edu.au who will direct your question to the appropriate member of staff to assist.

As was mentioned, the situation is not ideal, and we do not enjoy keeping our families at arm’s length. However, we are hoping that the situation will continue to improve for us in Australia and lead to a lifting of the restrictions that are currently in place by NSW Health.

Thank you in advance for your supporting and understanding as we manage the current situation.