Principal's Report
Junior final assembly speech, 2020
I’d like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet and celebrate today, the Peek Wurrong people of the Eastern Maar nation. I also pay my respects to the elders, past, present and emerging.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that life is pretty messy. Some messes can be cleaned up quickly and with little fuss. But some messes cannot be cleaned up straight away, requiring us to walk over them, or around them while we impatiently stare at the inconvenience of it all. At various points this year, that’s what life has felt like to me. A pandemic mess that I’ve had to strategically manage and work around, but not something that I could actually clean up. Sometimes I’ve been able to pivot easily around the mess and even appreciate that, while it’s annoying, it’s actually allowing me to learn to be more flexible. But at other times I’ve just stared at the ugliness of it, there right in front of me, destroying the view of 2020 and upending my life in ways that are frustrating and seemingly without end.
The trouble with messes that you can’t clean up, or pandemics that you can’t fix, is that they’re completely out of your control. And that becomes pretty terrifying for those of us who like to be able to predict what’s next and be free to choose how to live in the confines of the rules and laws of society. Indeed, there were various moments at the end of March this year when I looked into my personal crystal ball and saw little more than chaos, grief and loss. I wondered how we would emerge on the other side, as a family, as a community, as a school. Things that were normally in my control were slipping further and further out of reach. Events of celebration and joy were cancelled left, right and centre. For a week or so it seemed like they should be changing my title from Principal to ‘Fun Police’. But people with a lot more wisdom than me helped me to change my perspective as we entered into the first lockdown of 2020. I felt like we were entering into a parallel universe of the extreme unknown. Like Luke Skywalker I exclaimed “This is totally different!”. And in that moment I heard Yoda’s response “No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.” And unlearn we have, all throughout this year.
Yoda is right of course – for Australians, for us extremely lucky ones living in and around Warrnambool, the difference of 2020 is actually mainly how we perceive the world around us. For the most part we’ve remained healthy, we’ve had access to food and pretty much all the resources that modern life can provide. And despite periods of extended times at home, we’ve still been able to get out and about and enjoy the lands we live on. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been challenging for all of us. For some of us, the challenges have seemed insurmountable. Because despite it being largely just different in our minds, it’s still new and unfamiliar and unpredictable and often just out of our sense of control. And whether we like it or not, this is our new reality of the 21st century world we live in. So, adapting to 2020 has, I hope, enabled us to unlearn what we have learned in a way that will set us up for great successes in a post-COVID world. Certainly, the flexibility, the adaptability and the willingness to look at challenges as opportunities has enabled our incredible students of Warrnambool College to thrive and succeed in the decade to come. I want to sincerely congratulate you all for this. Because when the chips were down this year, there wasn’t a wallowing in self-pity but a willingness to demonstrate genuine resilience. And when the drudgery of another week of being stuck at home was presented as the second lockdown went on and on, you collectively showed the persistence to keep on showing up and putting your best efforts in. And significantly when there were no COVID-cases in Warrnambool for months, you continued to show mutual respect to one another and the wider community by consistently wearing face masks and doing your bit to support the collective. This is massive. We have lived out our school values in ways that dwarf any previous attempts this year and I couldn’t be prouder of you all.
As we look forward to next year, the crystal ball of 2021 is still a swirling mess of the unknown. Yoda would reflect by saying “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” We have left the days of accurate predictions behind us. A widely available vaccine will provide some clarity as will continuing to practice good hygiene habits at home and at school. Thanks to science, medical advances and our community’s willingness to accept and work within restrictions, we go into 2021 in relative safety, for now. Some of us can’t wait for 2020 to be over and so the promise of 2021 is like a cool balm that will surely sooth away the lumps and bumps of this year. But, before we get to next year, I want you to consider what you have learned and unlearned in 2020. When Luke Skywalker enters into the cave of an unknown future, he asks Yoda “What’s in there?”, to which Yoda responds “Only what you take with you.” So, what will you take with you into 2021? Frustration, grief at dreams lost from this year, gripes at situations beyond your control, a pessimistic approach to the learning that you missed out on? Or instead, will be take with you flexibility, appreciation of the smaller joys in life, a willingness to be a problem solver and optimism that knows every future challenge is an opportunity to grow and learn? Think about this carefully, for next year has no guarantees as to what is or isn’t coming our way. We know we can’t control the forces of nature or the infectiousness of a novel coronavirus. But we can control our response to this, and it needs to be one of optimism and one of continued care for one another.
As we enter into the most well-deserved summer break that I can remember, stay safe, stay curious, stay joyful and keep your mind on the learning that life brings every day.
Kind Regards,
Dave Clift - Principal