Deputy Principal

Well after two years of the pandemic, COVID-19 finally caught up with me, and I spent all of last week isolating at home with my 9-year-old daughter, while my wife and other two children remained Covid free. It gave me time to reflect on how much the world has changed over the last three years. When COVID-19 first hit, I remember the day vividly when our former Premier, Gladys Berejiklian announced that schools were going to shut down. At the time, I was responsible for the welfare of 320 boarding students who were mostly from rural and regional NSW, as well as from overseas. Case numbers were extremely high, and hospitals were under enormous stress as ICU wards were full, and there were large numbers of deaths relating to Covid. 

After all this time, schools are now back and operating without the uncertainty of having to worry about closing or sending certain cohorts home due to exposure. Reflecting on my own experience, I am grateful that my family and I had access to the vaccine and thankfully neither my daughter nor I got too sick. I pay special tribute to our health professionals and medical researchers who have done so much to keep the community safe over the last three years and thank them for the dedication to keeping us all safe. I pray for all those families who have lost family and loved ones to Covid and will continue to keep them in my prayers.

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal