Principal's Report

Ms Regina Menz

Dear Parents and Carers,

Our Presentation Day was held today Friday 4th December and was a wonderful celebration of our College Learning Community. Below is a copy of my speech as it summarises what a year 2020 has been -

I was looking back at my speech from last year where I stated that 2019 had been a year of great achievement in the face of real adversity. The effects of drought and bushfire impacted each and everyone to varying degrees. Well I did not know that 2020 would be one that further stretched us in a very different way.

COVID 19 presented a whole new level of challenge. When I reflect on this year, I do so with some amazement and also with disbelief - did it really happen? It seems at times to have been occurring in an alternate universe. When the normal parts of life continued, albeit differently, with this thing called COVID lurking in the background. 

Our country has long been known as the lucky country and again during COVID our island nation was again lucky. We worked together to minimise the spread and showed that together, by following the restrictions, we could reduce cases and deaths. We take time to remember those who have died during this time and our thoughts and prayers are with the families during this Christmas time. Every death is a loved one who will be missed. 

When uncertainty hit us, and the fear was palpable, the pull to draw inwards was strong. Families were trying desperately to see each other and enter lockdown. When some retreated, we reached out, to each other and to all in our community to support and check in on others. 

The source of our strength and our greatest asset were, and remain, our people, our students, teachers, staff, parents, carers, priests, parish and in fact our whole community. The culture of trust in our leading and management of learning has been strong and allowed us to determine the best path for our community. I personally thank the Catholic Schools Office led by Director, Chris Smyth and Human Resources Manager, Kate Kenny for their support and trust of us in this work. 

To our students who adapted to connected learning at home. For some it was easy and others very challenging, but no matter how it was for you, you all tried your best and made it through a difficult time. The transition back to school was not easy for some and we continue to support you to achieve your best. Thank you for your resilience and courage you have shown throughout the year.

To our teachers, who with very little notice, moved to an online learning environment, quickly learning a range of technologies, like zoom (you’re muted!) and other learning platforms, while at the same time, making resources for students who did not have access to the internet. I thank you for your adaptability and agility in making learning happen for our students, for your care and concern for the wellbeing of our students and the pastoral care you showed, all while worrying and caring for your own families. 

To our support staff, Learning Support Staff, Aboriginal Education Mentors, Administration Staff, Counselling Grounds Staff, IT and of course our cleaners led by Warren Lawrence, who kept our school going, who worked with our students, who answered all our questions, who printed, scanned and packed work packs, who set up IT, who cleaned more and more surfaces, what an amazing effort, thank you.

Our staff have continued to support, mentor and learn with each other. I would like to thank all staff for their commitment to each and every student, knowing them, caring for them and challenging them to do their best. The dedication, resilience and talent  of our staff is exceptional and I am grateful every day to work with them on this learning journey.

To our parents and carers, who suddenly had full households again, who were trying to navigate their own workloads and supervise secondary school students to do some learning! Parents and Carers who had to balance the fear and uncertainty of the world (and finding toilet paper) with the emotional needs and insecurities of their families. We thank you for your support this year. 

It has been a joy to have our students start to have some of the same experiences as previous years this term. We have worked hard to deliver a Year 7 camp, Year 6 orientation day and celebrations to recognise and congratulate Year 12 2020. These rites of passage are important parts of our community and it was great to see students enjoying themselves during this time. 

I am not going to jinx 2021 by saying it will be different, but if 2020 has shown us anything, it has shown that we can rise and meet any challenges that are presented to us with creativity, determination and humour.

It is with pleasure that I present a Diocesan Distinguished Service award to one of our teachers. These awards acknowledge dedication and commitment to Catholic Education in the Diocese of Armidale.  A Diocesan Distinguished Service award is presented to Mr David Lush for 30 years of service.

In 1990, Mr David Lush was appointed as a full-time permanent teacher at O’Connor Catholic High School (as it was known back then) and during his time here has taught junior Science and senior Biology for many years. In that time he has learnt a staggering amount about these areas, (in Mrs Liz Brown’s words) “he has probably forgotten more Biology than most people have ever known, and he hasn’t forgotten much!” He has a calm way about him, he never shouts and his patience is legendary.

One of his greatest skills is that of captivating the imagination of his class in a good story. There have been many times in which David has told classes stories about parachuting, rock climbing and of course, who can forget the infamous black panthers. These stories captivate the attention of students and get across key scientific truths without students realising that they have just learnt something. He has a knack for pairing these stories with hands-on activities that really get students to walk in the shoes of past scientists, using their problem-solving skills to answer questions that were posed by scientists on the road to discovering key ideas about how the world works. When catching up with these students long after they have left school many of them can still recall those stories quite clearly, demonstrating how effective and long-lasting the impact of his teaching is. Congratulations David on a wonderful achievement.

Thank you to the O’Connor Community, students, staff, parents and Parish for your support this year. I would like to wish you a happy and holy Christmas and hope that you have some time to rest and reflect this Christmas time. Today is about recognising our students who have achieved academically, culturally and in the sporting area. Congratulations to all our award winners and to all our students who have grown so strongly in their learning this year. 

What new learning will you undertake this week?

Regina Menz