Principal Report
Principal Message Week 5 Term 3
I can hardly believe that we are officially halfway through this term. With the rate of change of which we have had to adapt, it is hard to keep pace with what has transpired so far this term for our school. Time has certainly flown by and I feel now is the right time to acknowledge some of the milestone moments which could easily pass by unnoticed.
To date, we have navigated stage 3 and stage 4 and our children have slipped back into remote learning with much more flexibility and adaptability than I think we perhaps give them credit for. The greatest challenge for many I feel has not been remote learning itself but the lack of social contact, being and playing with friends and just being in the classroom and at school in general. During a recent zoom visit with Year 5/6, when asked what do they miss – without hesitation they resoundingly replied the classroom. It is the simple things and the connection is definitely the front runner this time around.
For the children at our school, it is vital that we keep the connection to school alive and that we celebrate as a class and as a school as often as we can. Whilst we cannot all be in the same place all at once we can share in the achievements of individuals, cohorts and the school as a community albeit remotely. That is why throughout this pandemic since the first lockdown we have maintained our weekly assemblies, the School life 101 podcasts and our morning zooms in acknowledgement of this. Just being able to see one another goes a long way in helping to maintain the bonds, connections and relationships that we take for granted when at school. We are hoping that with the increased number of smaller zoom sessions held throughout the week and the more frequent communication we will be able to provide more contact and face to face time this time around for our children. As social beings this is vital and strong relationships we know are key to success academically and socially emotionally.
As we know we may not return this term, we are determined to continue to provide opportunities for the children to come together. This Friday was declared Super Friday – in acknowledgement of all essential workers and our everyday heroes who are working tirelessly throughout this pandemic. This initiative was led by our Year 6 leaders and in true St Columba’s fashion included the obligatory talent quest which saw a good number of entries from across the school. It has been wonderful to see so many children putting themselves out there having a go and most importantly having fun.
We also celebrated a major achievement for some of our youngest students during the week. On Tuesday our preps celebrated 100 days of Prep! What a rollercoaster year it has been for them. However, despite this they are a resilient group who have shown with perseverance and risk-taking much can be achieved. They have certainly not shied away from the challenges of remote learning and have in fact demonstrated that learning at home might look and be a little different from learning at school but it is still doable.
Whilst many of the things planned for this term have had to be cancelled or put on hold it is important that we continue with as many of these types of experiences as possible. We may be in lockdown but it doesn’t mean we have to stop doing what makes us special as a school and community. As the saying goes when one door closes another opens and at St Columba’s we hope to be able to continue to find the silver lining where ever it presents itself so that we can continue to nurture and foster the relationships we know are so vital for the wellbeing of the children in our care.
School Closure Dates Cancelled
Please note that prior to COVID-19 Restrictions there were two planned school closure dates scheduled to occur next week. These have been cancelled. There are no planned school closure dates scheduled for term 3.
School Website
We have launched our new website this week. If you get a chance please check it out:
https://www.stcolumbasprimary.org/