From the Principal
R U OK?
This distinctive sign is becoming a more common sight in the lead up to Thursday 10 September, a day dedicated to raising awareness of those in our midst who are not OK and may have lost the capacity to reach out to seek help.
In a declared State of Disaster it is increasingly hard for many people to see their own feelings of fear and anxiety as anything more than a reasonable response to the current crisis. Some people, children and adults alike, will feel guilty about asking for help when so many around them are suffering and struggling with personal disasters and family tragedies that make their own troubles seem insignificant and unworthy of attention.
We know, too, that a small number of people respond to times of crisis by seeking to find scapegoats and attribute blame without any understanding or compassion for circumstances and situations different from their own, or the impact their lack of compassion can have on vulnerable individuals.
Thankfully, we live in a time of increased understanding and knowledge of mental health issues. We accept that mental illness is common, widespread and amenable to treatment. No one should seek to shy away from this reality, in themselves or others. We all need to reach out and ask each other, “Are you OK?”
Covid-19 is having an impact on everyone in different ways, some physical, some financial and some much more difficult to identify. Family and personal breakdown, depression, anxiety and unmanageable anger are all predictable results of a society under immense and unequal pressure.
For some of us there is little more than inconvenience; fewer pleasures, limited access and restricted movement. Others face devastation and genuine tragedy that will shape their lives long into the future.
As a school we will do all we can to look after the children and older students in our care. The challenges to do this effectively, using remote forms of communication alone, are significant, but this is now our core business. Enabling learning to take place based on ensuring the wellbeing of each child is the task our teachers take to heart and constantly seek to improve. It is wonderful to have them acknowledged and recognised for the outstanding work they do.
As a small community the current pandemic gives us all an opportunity to live up to the idealism articulated in our vision statement and I hope that ‘Preshil will remain a school that puts kindness, compassion and social relationships at the centre of its operations.’
I hope you are all OK.
Marilyn Smith
Principal