Principal's message

School Life in Term 2 – A Reflection

Dear Parents, Carers and Students

I couldn’t be more impressed by the work ethic of all of our Teachers and Education Support (ES) staff over this past term whilst we have transitioned to Remote & Flexible Learning. They have been responsive, adaptable, contentious, collaborative, collegiate, adventurous, professional and compassionate risk takers over this period where they, along with the world, were adjusting to living through the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. With only one day's notice we said farewell to our students and met briefly with our staff to begin the collaborative work of preparing for online delivery of classes. Our ES staff were also reimagining how they could continue to undertake their work of supporting teachers and/or ensuring that the important technical, financial, administrative, library and facilities work continued to take place either onsite or remotely. 

Our staff have been working long hours to adapt their existing curriculum to meet the online environment. They skilled up in programs they had never used and supported their colleagues by celebrating their wins and sharing any pitfalls. The students in turn were supportive that this was new territory their teachers were in and they were gracious about things that didn’t always go to plan in their classes. They say that sometimes we learn more from failing than our successes. To be a risk taker and sometimes fail is character building but it is also a basic human trait. Perfection is an ideal but the reality is that the quirks and the idiosyncrasies of people are what make us who we are. I expect that this applies to students as well as to their teachers. 

So, I give my thanks to the teachers for being risk takers and for sharing that experience with their students and their colleagues. There has never been a more fitting time to remind ourselves of our school motto “courage and work”. It takes courage to be a risk taker and the hours of work that the teachers invested in re-sculpting their courses to deliver online can only be likened to the work of an artist. Please excuse my exuberance in expressing my thanks – it is the art teacher in me coming to the fore!

My thanks to each and every teacher that invested long hours after the school day had finished, on weekends and on their holidays and in between classes to continue to collaborate within their various teams to create, document and prepare for each lesson.  It wasn’t just the content of what they taught that was important to them. It was the engagement and the social interactions and continuation of the building of their relationships with their students that was always at the forefront of their thoughts.

When our students return to MGSC many parts of our school will have been transformed in many ways. In their absence we have fast tracked the maintenance, painting, recarpeting and minor works. We have replaced the carpet and the kitchenette in the JLC and there is also new furniture, we have upgraded the first aid office, painted the VCE corridor and the VCE Centre and have had two site meetings with the STEAM Centre Contractors and the Architect. We expect to break ground in the next week and it will be finished by the end of the year.

As you can see this has been quite a journey and one that can only be described as an adventure. It is a reaffirmation of why teachers teach and why schools exist.  Schools are the sum of many parts that come together to form a learning community. I thank the students and the parents for being equal partners with us on this journey. We are ready for the next adventure to begin as we welcome our VCE students (and the Year 10 students who are taking a VCE subject) back to the College on Tuesday the 26th of May for their first on-site lessons for quite some time. For now the Year 7 to 10 students will continue to learn remotely for another two weeks but we look forward to seeing you on the 10th of June as well when we will finally be united as one.

Keep well

Linda Brown

Principal