Principal Report

Message from the Principal Term 1 Week 5

It certainly feels like we have been on a roller-coaster this term. The snap lockdown definitely took us by surprise and before we knew it, we were back at school. It seems 2021 will continue to be a year of surprises and challenges.

There is no doubt that COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives. Now more than ever we need to pay attention to our own and our children’s well-being. We are living in a time of uncertainty and with that comes greater anxiety. It is important that we address this for ourselves and our children and ensure that we provide them with support, reassurance, consistency and continuity. Providing a sense of connection and community spirit and focusing on the things we do well as a community assists us to achieve this.

I am very proud of the way in which we responded as a school community to the lockdown. Having to move to emergency remote leaning within a very tight timeframe did not come without significant challenges. I am very grateful for the support that we received from you last week and I am indebted to the staff for their ability to ensure our children could continue learning at home with ease. I feel very fortunate in the knowledge that we have such a dedicated staff and a committed community because, without this, the move to remote learning overnight would have been a much more difficult and daunting prospect.

As the term progresses, I am seeing how creative, intuitive, resilient and adaptable our children can be. I have mentioned before that I conduct regular learning walks with staff throughout the week. Learning walks enable staff to gain an understanding of how the school is working towards improving learning outcomes for all children. They assist staff in gaining new insights and help build a shared understanding of pedagogy across the school. Throughout the school, there is a real buzz of excitement and zest for learning. It really goes to show how connected our children feel to not only their peers but also the staff and school. Lockdown may have been an inconvenient disruption, but I can see that our children are genuinely engaged and are making significant progress already this year.

Lastly, it has been wonderful to see the way in which we have all come together to share, connect and learn from one another; keeping that wonderful community spirit that we have as a school alive. We are the ‘Little school with a big heart’ and each time I greet the children at the gate I feel that wonderful and intangible sense of connectedness and belonging that outwardly permeates our school. Wellbeing is central to who we are and to see our children smiling, actively participating, and wanting to engage and be engaged is truly remarkable.

So, I thank our children, our staff and you for ensuring that our school and our community continues to grow and learn from one another and is there for one another despite whatever comes our way. Knowing this gives me great joy and hope for the year ahead.