From the Acting Head

It is easy to feel like everything is uncertain in times of uncertainty. The temptation, especially for leaders, is to think that they must have the answers. When in fact, what is required is to employ poise, as distinct from hesitation and to know when to act, as distinct from reacting. 

At least once every week, and up to five times in a week, the Girton Coronavirus Action Team confers on the operations of the school by taking a mile-high view. Our starting premise is that we do not have the answers and cannot provide certainty that many people seek. However, on a micro-level – within our own school community - there are many things about which we are crystal clear, and I would like to reaffirm what I hope most members of our community already know. 

Firstly, we believe that we have a responsibility to continue to provide the very best educational services possible. This necessarily means keeping face-to-face teaching for as long as the Victorian Chief Health Officer deems it safe to do so. The safety of staff and students will always come first. While we believe we offered an excellent programme during Term 2 remote learning, we are also convinced that there is no substitute for being in the classroom, in the lab, on the field, on the stage, in the gym, in the playground, and even at the lockers. Direct instruction is only a fraction of what our teachers do each day. We know that our students need the full range of formal and incidental interactions – social, emotional, physical, and spiritual – to reach their full potential, and this is near impossible to deliver via a screen alone. 

Secondly, we continue to believe that the experts, especially the Victorian Chief Health Officer, have access to the best evidence and data. Only they, therefore, can make the appropriate decisions about things such as the projected transmission rate of the COVID-19 virus within the Greater Bendigo region. We will, therefore, continue to follow Victorian Government advice carefully. It is not always easy to silence the ‘noise’, but the Coronavirus Action Team has become disciplined in making what we believe to be sound judgements based on evidence and fact. We acknowledge that while we understand what the experts say, this does not make us the experts. 

The ability to decide and act without having the full picture can be difficult. Handling risk and uncertainty is stressful. We are all doing these things every day. There are two things that I believe we can do to help to lead young people through the Coronavirus pandemic. Firstly, we can increase our self-awareness. This means understanding and being mindful of our own tolerance and reactions. Secondly, we can make an effort to adopt an objective approach where facts come first, and opinion is optional. 

The good news is that young people are more resilient than we might imagine. I wish that every parent could see their child during the school day at Girton. The atmosphere in both the Junior School and the Senior School is buoyant, and students are going about their school days with that improbable blend of boisterous respect, as they always have. 

I believe that right now, school is the best place for our young people to be and that we are privileged to be here. 

Dr Emma O’Rielly

Acting Head