School Council

As I sit down to pen this article, I can see my daughter working on a VCE CAT, am trying to keep my cat from seeking warmth from my keyboard, am thinking about what sweet treat to bake today, waiting for another home delivery (a new puzzle) and am burrowing my feet under my chocolate lab to maximize the warmth she provides. Welcome to my iso world.

I thought about what to write about and two things sprang to mind; I will not use the word unprecedented as I am so over this word that I will scream if I hear it again whilst on a positive note I want to write about adaptability and thankfulness. 

Adaptability is a trait that has really come to the forefront in recent months. We have seen it in spades at home in our personal lives, professional lives and in our school community. What Linda Brown and the whole MGSC team managed to pull off in those last few days of Term 1 and subsequently deliver to date has been incredible. What our school community, students and parents have likewise done is astounding. In a time of enormous change, upheaval, uncertainty and even fear our adaptability helped us all unite, work and learn together, smooth over the rough edges, fill in gaps, and ensure that our daughters’ educations not only continued but flourished in a very different environment.  Most of us like things to follow a pattern or routine but we all know that our world does not always work that way and the last few months are a point in case. This experience in our safe MGSC environment will make our girls stronger and more resilient and add to their personal growth arsenal.

Our school motto of courage and work also stands out in these times. Adaptability and success come at a cost. Adaptability cannot exist without courage or work – hard work. Once again Linda and her team took the bull by the horns and challenged themselves to modify, source and develop virtual and online options that not only delivered the academic content necessary but also to ensure maximum student engagement, inclusiveness and wellbeing. To take a face to face school environment and adapt it to online and virtual required untold hours of work, testing, failing, learning, and redoing. Even in the most agile of project environments this usually takes months whilst the team at MGSC had weeks. This too, is another real-world experience that strengthens our girls’ education and really highlights what can be achieved through courage and hard work.

Lastly, as we move carefully towards a new normal, I think we should all stop for a moment and celebrate what we have all been able to achieve. Let us congratulate ourselves for making it to this point. Let us celebrate all the courage, effort, lateral thinking, adaptability and good will exercised over these last few months. Let us allow ourselves a little cheer as we think about the girls going back to class shortly richer experientially and continue to look out for each other as we enter this next phase of normal.

PS. Our cat and dog will miss their sax and guitar classes. 

Rosa Ferrari

School Council member