Message from 

the Principal

A warm welcome return to Campus

I have been delighted by the positive and supportive way our students and families have embraced the staggered return to campus over the past two weeks. It has been wonderful to have our students back and see their delight in being able to reengage with their friends and teachers. Last week in the Senior School we welcomed back Year 11 and Year 12, and this week our Year 7’s while in the Junior School our students are experiencing a 2 or 3 day week.

With strict hygiene and organisational measures in place, students and families have carefully followed guidelines to ensure we have an environment safe for all. Things will not return to normal for some time and I am most grateful to all for your support and cooperation. We take our final step in our measured staggered return to campus next week with all students returning to face-to-face learning. 

Over the past weeks our staff have been teaching remotely and face-to-face, demonstrating agility and creativity that is a marvellous credit to them. I have no doubt they will be looking forward to next week when we welcome all our students back to campus.

We will continue to monitor Medical and Government advice regarding the easing of restrictions and safe practices in our School community. Our focus at this point in time is on our students learning and their wellbeing and as the situation evolves over the coming weeks and months, other aspects of our usual educational offering will be explored. The virus will be a threat to our community for some time and we must be patient and continue to maintain healthy and safe practices. 

Co-curricular at KWS

Term 2:

We are carefully following Government guidelines to inform our School practices around the resumption of Co-curricular activities. While there are a range of restrictions around sporting and recreational activities currently in place, we are not in a position to offer formal co-curricular sport training or games this term. Some of the rules around community sporting activities have recently been relaxed, but the current restrictions will still prevent us from running regular training sessions or games for the remainder of the term. This will also apply to Cadet home training and Performing Arts ensemble rehearsals. 

Term 3:

We are currently looking at options for the resumption of some of our activities for Term 3. These are exceptional circumstances, and we must acknowledge that Co-curricular programs cannot proceed as normal. Whilst we highly value these experiences as part of the holistic educational offering at KWS, we must consider the associated risks that resuming our regular program next term would expose the School community to. We have a duty of care to protect the health and wellbeing of the KWS students, staff and community and this is central to all of our decision making processes.

Our regular Winter sporting competitions involve close mixing and contact with members of the local Orange community, and communities further afield. Sports such as Girl’s Football and the ISA Rugby competition also involve extensive travel. These elements of our regular competitive programs have the potential to expose the KWS community to risks which we must consider for our School context. 

A number of my fellow Independent School Heads have concerns regarding the resumption of competition sport. Next Friday I will be meeting with the ISA Board where we will discuss the future of 2020 Rugby competition. Each school has differing contexts and particular challenges and our regional location, lengthy travel and large boarding school environment present a number of risks that must be carefully considered. 

In the coming weeks we shall also need to make decisions concerning our involvement in a number of Orange-based sporting competitions. 

We do not know what the next few months will look like, and can only plan with the information we currently have at our disposal. Whilst we understand that there may be considerable disappointment from within our community if we are unable to participate in some activities and competitions, we must consider the risks that are presented and understand all our decisions will be based upon the health and wellbeing of students, staff and community. Unfortunately, the disruptions caused by COVID-19 have seen many around the world miss opportunities this year - our Olympic athletes readily spring to mind. 

We will apply the same parameters of managing risk around the resumption of Cadet training and Performing Arts ensembles. A decision about these activities for Term 3 will be made in the coming weeks. 

Out of adversity comes opportunity

As challenging as the COVID-19 experience has been it does provide opportunity for us to consider how we might be able to do things differently. We have endured considerable disruption, disappointment and challenge but I strongly believe such experiences can teach us a great deal about how we operate as an organisation and help us grow as individuals. I am reminded of the well known statement of Benjamin Franklin, one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the United States who wrote in the 18th Century “out of adversity comes opportunity”. This is as true now as it ever was.

What have we learned about ourselves? The period of remote learning and social isolation has been different for many where some have thrived and further developed their independent learning skills while others have struggled. Being disconnected from friends and family has left some with feelings of loneliness and being unable to engage in our usual activities and has seen others experience boredom. Many have seen opportunities and possible experiences evaporate and feel sadness for their loss.

Such challenges and inconveniences are part of life and one must learn to deal with disappointment and adversity, for as sure as night follows day we will all experience sadness, failure and misfortune at some stage along our journeys.

It is through navigating our way through adversity that we become strong and more complete people. We emerge more resilient, more sympathetic and more determined and appreciative than ever. For those who have thrived, they have grown in confidence and independence, factors that will have imparted positively on their sense of wellbeing.

Franklin’s premise that adversity presents opportunity has been well illustrated in the rapid and innovative responses to manage the COVID-19 crisis across many sections of the community and economy. In the field of education the pandemic has forced swift and dynamic innovation and creativity as teaching has hastily transitioned from face-to-face interaction to off campus remote learning.

The pandemic has forced educators, parents and students to think critically, problem solve, be imaginative, communicate, collaborate and be agile. It has taught us that there are other effective ways of assisting our students to learn which will greatly contribute to how we approach teaching and learning in the future. Andreas Schleicher, Head of Education at the OECD, believes the current crisis has created “a great moment for education, all the red tape that keeps things away is gone and people are looking for solutions that in the past they did not want to see…. Students have had to take ownership of their learning, understand more about how they learn, what they like and what support they need. They will personalize their learning, even if systems around them won’t”.

At Kinross Wolaroi we have discovered many new ways that technology will be able to enhance our students learning experience, staff have developed greater digital literacy skills and  effectively collaborated in creating and delivering new remote learning programs. Our students have had to become more independent and agile in their learning, both highly important attributes required to flourish in the modern world.

However, I believe the crisis has also made us appreciate the phenomenal value played by human engagement and personal interaction in the teaching and learning experience. We have been provided a stark reminder of the critical importance of school not just as a place of learning, but of socialisation, care and coaching, of community and shared space, characteristics difficult to achieve through the digital experience.

Schools are community minded organisations that allow students to communicate, influence and articulate their values and beliefs and develop socialisation skills. It is not surprising that some students and parents found the experience of remote learning challenging. Many found it so because of the lack of social and interpersonal engagement, not due to a lack of information or content. 

This viewpoint was recently supported in an occasional paper from the Centre of Strategic Education entitled “Leading social cohesion: The key role of schools’”. Wilkinson et al (2020) rightly identify that “it is in the daily encounters of playgrounds, classrooms, corridors and assemblies that children and young people’s social values and attitudes, beliefs and stereotypes are shaped, reproduced and reinforced, or alternatively challenged and interrogated.

Schools play an essential role in the development of the holistic social and emotional development of young people. Our rich and diverse experience at KWS is deliberately structured to equip our students with the attributes they need to live purposeful and fulfilling lives where social and emotional skills are as important as academic and professional skills.

Emotional intelligence, reaction to failure, optimism, perseverance, resilience and the ability to learn and adapt are attributes of growing importance for success in the fluid and ever-changing landscape in which we live. Students need to be able to work collaboratively, communicate effectively and possess empathy and compassion for those around them, these are not attributes learned through an online learning experience, they are learned through the social and relational experiences provided at school.

I believe we will learn much from the adversity and challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will learn a great deal about ourselves, of how we can utilise new technology to enhance our students learning and very importantly, we will be served a powerful reminder of the primacy in the educational process of schools and human engagement in the holistic development of young people.

It is a delight to see the joy and energy of our students back on campus as they enthusiastically embrace the social advantages of being back at school.

Staff Appointments

Reverend Dr Rosalie Clarke – Chaplain 

After an extensive search and recruitment process I am delighted to announce the appointment of Reverend Dr Rosalie Clarke as our new Chaplain at Kinross Wolaroi School. Rosalie will commence with us at the start of Term 3 2020. Some may remember we had the pleasure of Rosalie addressing us at a School Chapel service in February this year.

Rosalie comes to us with a wealth of pastoral and educational experience and is greatly excited by the prospect of joining the Kinross Wolaroi School Community. She has served in Uniting Church communities in Sydney, Darwin, Terrigal NSW and the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. At St Charles College, an Independent Boys School in South Africa, Rosalie was Chaplain to the Junior School while also teaching Senior History and leading the History Faculty. 

Rosalie holds a Doctorate of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, a Master of Education from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Theology from Charles Sturt University. 

Rosalie is passionate about people and thrives on engagement with youth and children. She has a proven record of building community and establishing connection across divides. Rosalie possesses a strong ecumenical background that has enabled her to experience different styles of worship and faith expression, from social justice and advocacy, to charismatic, from Methodist to Catholic, from Africa to Australia.

Rosalie’s great love of people, community and diversity will see her make a wonderful contribution to Kinross Wolaroi School and the broader Orange Community. She has family in South Africa and in Denman NSW who run rural properties which has provided her some insight into the joys, challenges and pressures faced by many of our families.

I am most grateful to the members of the Uniting Church Presbytery and the members of the selection committee for their wisdom and guidance during the appointment process.

We are also most thankful for the marvellous support which Reverend Andrew Cunningham provided in the 12 months the School was without a Chaplain. Our students and staff have greatly enjoyed Andrew’s thoughtful and inspiring Chapel services.

Ms Natasha Terry-Armstrong – HSIE teacher

Ms Natasha Terry-Armstrong has been appointed to teach in the Human Society and its Environment faculty (HSIE) for 12 months commencing at the start of Term 3, 2020.

Natasha is a highly experienced educator with more than ten years of service across a number of leading educational institutions in Sydney and has also been Head of School Management at Antipodeans, an organisation delivering life-changing travel experiences for young people.

Natasha has been described as an innovative and progressive educator by members of the faculties where she has taught which include St Ignatius College, SHORE and Santa Sabina College. At St Ignatius, Natasha was Head of Faculty (Economics, Business Studies, Commerce).

Natasha has a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Teaching from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration (Educational Leadership) from Charles Sturt University. At SHORE, she was awarded the James Fellowship that enabled her to participate in the Project Zero Classroom and Future of Learning Institutes in the USA, run by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

While at SHORE, Natasha was a Resident Boarding Assistant. During her career she has been involved in a wide range of school co-curricular activities including Tennis, Duke of Edinburgh, Snow Sports and has coordinated school tours to destinations such as Nepal, Ecuador and Tanzania. 

We very much look forward to welcoming both Rosalie and Natasha to KWS and Orange next term.

Staff Resignations

Mrs Nicole Deans – Acting Head Librarian

I have accepted the resignation of Mrs Nicole Deans who has been on Long Service Leave. Nicole will finish at KWS at the end of Term 1, 2020 and has been employed at Kinross Wolaroi School since 2006 as a Teacher Librarian and more recently as the Acting Head Librarian.

Nicole has made many significant contributions to the School and our students during her time with us. Some of these include her instrumental role in establishing the Wider Reading Program with Year 7;  co-ordinating a variety of Book Week activities and parades; organising Simultaneous Storytime within the Junior School; assisting parents and students in the School’s participation in the Premier’s Reading Challenge; co-ordinating author visits; assisting with Speech Day and Year 12 Graduation and managing the KWS Library Collection.

We wish Nicole well as she embarks on a new and exciting phase of her life.

Mrs Kelly Cunningham – Teacher and Head of Loader House

I have also accepted the resignation of Mrs Kelly Cunningham, who has accepted a promotional position as the Head of Boarding at Beconhills College in Victoria. Kelly’s last day at KWS and Loader House will be at the end of Term 2. Kelly has made a significant contribution to the spirit and culture of Loader House since she started last year. I know that she will be missed terribly by the students and families of Loader House and by the students that she taught.

Please join with me in wishing Nicole and Kelly all the best in the next chapter of their journey.

Take care. 

Dr Andrew Parry 

Principal - KWS