From the Principal

Dear Parents, Staff, Students And Friends

What an exceptional year we are all experiencing.  Last term we were so excited to welcome our Years 7 to 12 students back to on site learning and now we have begun Term 3 with our Years 7-10 students back in cyberspace.  I am so relieved Years 11 and 12 students are still able to learn on site because on site learning, as you are all aware, is so much better both socially and educationally and especially for our Year 12 students whose final year is essential in preparing them for post secondary school course pathways.

Each day we still have 700 students arriving for on site learning.  I have a team of volunteers at each gate measuring each student’s temperature and applying hand sanitiser.  So far no students have had high temperatures.  The support of our community has been fantastic with not one student arriving each day without a mask.  I am sure the wearing of masks is going to become a real fashion trend.  There is such a variety in all different colours, patterns and with artistic motifs (all appropriate at this stage).  Our Senior Students are so polite and patient as they wait to have their temperature checked.  Our students are a credit to themselves but also to their parents and staff who have nurtured them to become the fine young people we are so privileged to be working with.  They enjoy being back at school and feel safe in such a structured routine environment where their health and wellbeing is our priority.

Similarly, our staff are very mindful as always of maintaining student wellbeing as a priority for our Years 7 to 10 students.  They check in daily with our students to monitor how they are feeling about life and to see how they are going.  Any vulnerable students that are becoming disengaged we monitor carefully with the aim of keeping them connected to school.  Our staff are aware of how important it is to support one another and our families by remaining calm and optimistic during such challenging times.  They communicate such optimism to our young people daily to keep their spirits high and for them to understand that eventually we will overcome this challenge.

My spirits were lifted when I read an article in the Age about people in aged care in Orbost who were giving sage advice about this current pandemic.  These people in their 90s had experienced other times in their lives where Australia has faced seemingly insurmountable challenges, such as the Vietnam War or global financial crises or the Second World War and even the great Depression.  I remember clearly the stories my parents told me of the Second World War and those of the Depression.  To me the message from previous generations is that we can overcome challenges that we encounter.  The strength of us all as people is that we can develop resilience and we can develop strategies to work together to deal with any problems that our world confronts us with, manmade or otherwise.

As strange as this sounds this pandemic has taught our young people and us an important life lesson.  This virus has helped us to understand it doesn’t matter what colour we are, what our religious background is, and whatever other many and varied differences we have: that regardless of such diversity we are essentially people.  As people we are united together and supporting each other by maintaining social distancing, washing our hands regularly, wearing masks and supporting others on their bad days.  We are not in a war with each other but in a battle against the virus.  This battle strengthens our sense of humanity and hopefully this will continue forever more after the battle has been won.

Wishing everyone stays safe and well.

Mr John Albiston

Principal