Principal's Report

Taking a healthy interest in Curiosity 

“Curiosity often leads to Trouble”—Alice in Wonderland

We have four core values—Excellence, Integrity, Community and Curiosity—that underpin our approach to education at Coburg High School. In a range of ways, the start of 2020 has been a time of disruption and confusion so, in this edition of the newsletter, let us focus on the value of Curiosity.

The basis of our sense of curiosity is an urge to make sense of the world. When we encounter something new it can be interesting, confusing, surprising or horrifying depending on what we encounter and how it impacts our lives. It can also be motivating. Confusion can propel our minds to make sense of what is happening around us. The emergence of Covid-19 has caused a lot of head scratching, even for experts in viruses and epidemics and for the politicians and policymakers who are trying to steer a way through the pandemic. There has been a lot of information, including differences of opinion in the news, to be disentangled.

Speaking with students, it’s clear that Covid-19 has raised serious questions for them. Some questions relate to the virus itself: How could this happen? How did it switch from another animal species to us? How dangerous is the virus? Why are so many people getting infected in some cities?  Is it mostly through contact with contaminated surfaces?  Is it spread by droplets in the air? How do we avoid getting the virus? Should we wear face masks out in public? Why on Earth did Boris Johnson shake hands with coronavirus patients? The last question is one of life's great mysteries. 

During this pandemic, we have learned a lot about ‘flattening the curve’ and attempts to reduce the rate of infection by stopping international travel, postponing public gatherings, and requiring people to stay at home. We have been quite successful here in Australia with flattening the curve. Across the world, there has been a lot of trial-and-error with different governments trying different policies and measures. A range of treatments have been trialled to help patients recover from the disease. Some have worked better than others. Scientists continue to research the main factors involved in the spread of the virus, including how close people live to each other in urban areas, whether the weather or seasons play some part, the average age of populations, and other factors that might make certain groups more susceptible.  Some scientists are also tracking whether different strains or mutations of the virus are emerging as the pandemic spreads.

It’s said that unanswered questions provoke more thought than unquestioned answers. There are many things we just don’t yet know about the virus. For some students, the ‘iso’ experience has raised curious questions, such as: ‘Now that the government has ordered everyone to stay at home several weeks and we have stayed away from each other, won’t most contagious germs die out?’ The suggestion is that we might be able to not only suppress the spread of this new virus but also eliminate other bugs like the common cold or influenza, once and for all. And the question is fair enough. Unfortunately, it seems that eradicating viruses is not quite that simple; however, solutions need to be explored. 

Aside from the virus itself, most questions from students have focused on what the pandemic will mean to our lives in the future. Namely: How much longer before our lives gets back to normal? When might there be a vaccine? How might a sudden surge in cases affect our hospitals? When will sporting events resume? Music concerts? What will this pandemic mean for jobs in the future? When can I see all my friends again? Just when can I get that haircut? Fortunately, restrictions are gradually being eased and there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel for us now. 

For our senior students, there has been a lot of uncertainty about the timelines for final VCE exams and graduation from high school. In the face of that uncertainty our seniors have shown remarkable patience, persistence and creative adjustment. They’ve kept on top of their studies and somehow maintained high levels of motivation. By now, you will be aware of the Premier and Education Minister’s announcement about Year 12 exams. This is great news for our senior students and staff, who can now plan ahead with greater certainty. 

On the whole, students from all year levels have risen to the occasion. We are proud of the way CHS students have adapted to new ways of learning and teaching. It has not been easy. The feedback from the students who have returned to school on site has been that at times one of their biggest challenges was the boredom of being at home for such long periods of time. Some students staved off boredom in the afternoons by spending more time learning a musical instrument, making art, re-designing their rooms, reading books, immersing themselves in learning another language, learning to shuffle cards or to shuffle-dance, baking things, taking the dogs for a walk, looking through old photos, and even taking up new hobbies like jogging or knitting or solving Rubik’s cubes or learning to touch-type on the computer. Above all, everyone seems to have realised, more than ever, just how essential our friends are for helping to draw us out of mundane everyday routines, through fun, games, laughter and good conversation. 

There were lots of big smiles as our senior students returned to school on site last week and it was wonderful to see them reconnecting face-to-face with friends. We look forward to welcoming all students back to school next Tuesday. All 1,050 Coburg High School students will contribute to bringing our dormant school and empty classrooms back to life. 

As we make this transition back to on-site learning, we also turn our attention to term 3 and the important business of Pathways Planning for 2021. Early next term all students in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be involved in decision-making about their electives or VCE subjects for the following year and our Year 12s will continue planning for their futures beyond school. 

When it comes to future pathways, an attitude of curiosity is critical. There are many potential pathways to explore before settling on certain options, both in terms of the subjects we choose to study at school and the pathways we pursue after graduation. School is a fairly structured environment and one of the challenges faced when leaving school can be the wider range of possibilities: Do I go on to further study and, if so, what will I study and where? Or do I join the workforce and if so what type of work will I start out doing? There are many decisions to make on our own after school, and even though there will always be supports along the way, no one can make those decisions for us once we leave school. When we graduate, we become the architect of our own lives, which can be both exciting and daunting. 

Throughout life, our sense of curiosity and openness to learning new things stand us in good stead for the future. 

I refer everyone to the Remote Teaching & Learning section on page 2 because there are several wonderful examples of student learning from home in that section. 

Reconciliation Week

Reconciliation Week began with National Sorry Day last Tuesday 26 May. The National Day of Healing is held to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples here in Australia, as part of the ongoing process of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the settler population. In 2008, former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, offered this Apology to the Indigenous peoples of Australia: 

I move:

That today we honour the indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, indigenous and non-indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

There comes a time in the history of nations when their peoples must become fully reconciled to their past if they are to go forward with confidence to embrace their future.

Our nation, Australia, has reached such a time.

That is why the parliament is today here assembled: to deal with this unfinished business of the nation, to remove a great stain from the nations soul and, in a true spirit of reconciliation, to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Australia.

It is time to reconcile. It is time to recognise the injustices of the past. It is time to say sorry. It is time to move forward together.

To the stolen generations, I say the following: as Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry.

On behalf of the government of Australia, I am sorry.

Vale Ashley Cooper and Peter Rich

Two notable alumni of Coburg High School have recently passed away. 

Last week we received the sad news that a former Principal of Coburg High School, Peter Rich, died at age 85, at Albury Hospital. Peter was admired as a caring and dedicated educator. He was the Principal of Coburg High School from 1984 to 1989. Peter returned to our school for the centenary celebrations in 2016 and seemed to enjoy meeting up with former students and staff. He is pictured below at the reunion. 

In addition, a former CHS student, Ashley Cooper AO, recently passed away at age 83. Ashley was a successful tennis player and was number one in the world in 1957 and 1958. His death was reported on various TV news channels last week. Ashley was previously inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.  As a Coburg High School student, Ashley was a Prefect and a Green House Captain. In his final year of school, he won the state tennis championships in various states across Australia. Just five years after graduating from Coburg High School, he went on to win Wimbledon. 

Ashley Cooper’s Wikipedia entry can be found here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Cooper_(tennis)

Our deepest sympathy is extended to the families of Ashley Cooper and Peter Rich.

A peaceful gesture of solidarity for human rights

Finally, in the context of recent events in the United States of America, I would like to draw attention to an athlete who grew up here in Coburg and is famous not so much for his silver medal at the 1968 Olympics with a time of 20 seconds—which still remains the Australian 200 metres record 52 years later—but more for his decision to support the two African American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who he shared the victory podium with at the medal ceremony. The photograph of that moment was declared by LIFE magazine and Le Monde to be one of the 20 most influential photographs of the 20th century, and the most influential image from any Olympic games.

This is that photo (Norman, Smith, Carlos). 

The context for this moment in history was that it was during the Civil Rights movement in America and the drive for equality for African-Americans. Before going out to receive their Olympic medals, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, asked Peter Norman if he believed in human rights. He said he did. He said, 'I'll stand with you." On the way out to the medal ceremony, Peter put on the badge for the Olympic Project for Human Rights in solidarity with Tommie and John, who gave the black power salute. The Americans were shoeless, to express their empathy with the poor, and they bowed their heads. Each wore a single black glove, which they raised in a salute during the national anthem. Peter Norman stood with them.

It was a moment in time that made history. And it was an act not without its costs to the three of them. The two American athletes paid an immediate price—they were sent home afterwards, for making an overt political statement because the Olympics are supposed to be free of politics. They were withdrawn from the relays and sent home. Back in America, they were largely ostracised. They had trouble getting employment, received death threats and one of their homes was even attacked at one point.

Peter Norman was also snubbed by many after his return to Melbourne. Despite being the fastest Australian qualifier he was not selected to compete at the next Olympics in 1972. It was only many years later that the Australian government apologised to Peter Norman for the treatment he received on his return to Australia, finally acknowledging that what he did was right and that he believed passionately in equality for all, regardless of colour, creed or religion—which is the Olympic code.

All three athletes stated that what they did on that podium was more important than any athletic feat. When Peter Norman died in 2006, both Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave eulogies at his funeral and were pallbearers. 

We can be inspired that a young person raised here in Coburg took a stand—a peaceful and non-violent stand together with Smith and Carlos—as a gesture of solidarity for human rights and that their stance had an important impact. 

Stewart Milner

Principal

Coburg High School

End of semester reports

In line with Department of Education guidelines, Semester One reports will be released at the end of the second week of Term Three rather than the end of Semester One as usual. In addition to our usual report sections, there will be an additional summary of how your child adapted to remote learning remotely during the first part of Term Two. 

Reports will be made available to parents on Compass at the end of the school day on Friday 24 July. 

In the meantime, individual assessment results are made available as teachers complete feedback through our continuous reporting process on Compass. 

We are in the process of arranging conferences for VCE students at an early stage in term 3. 

A Message from our Captains

Hello Coburg students! 

The captain crew would like begin by welcoming our fellow junior cohort back to school next Tuesday. 

The senior school's return has been smooth sailing and both 11s and 12s have loved being back at school, whether it is to see our friends once again or get back into our regular work routine. We are all so excited for your return! 

However, there are some reminders before you guys begin school again. 

We want to remind our junior students to continue to practice social distancing both during recess and at lunch. The introduction of hand sanitiser stations in crowded areas and extra precautions such as alcohol wipes and sanitisers in each classroom should be used to maintain the health and safety of the students and teachers within our school. 

As school captains, we would like to reiterate how excited we are to get back to a full school. In doing so we want to ensure not only your safety, but the safety of all within the school, and the greater community is cared for. 

We urge you to remember that the ‘new normal’ is in place for those who are most at risk, and regardless of little risk being present for young people, restrictions are in place for the safety of others, and that is why it is so important to respect proactive actions taken by Coburg High. 

Covid-19 has presented great difficulties for most of the school, and we all hope that years 7-10 enjoy a smooth return to school, and in coordination with the rest of the school, can help to make sure that we all stay safe.

Your school captains: Shakiba, Jasmine & Jeremy