As we draw to a close on this tumultuous term, I want to thank you all for your hard work, resilience and patience in navigating these unprecedented times. Things have been changing so quickly that it has at times felt like Groundhog Day, working through our response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, only to wake and discover everything has changed again.
It has certainly been a challenge for us all to adapt to this ‘new normal’, which may be with us for some time. Students will also feel challenged as they reset their thinking about what their schooling experience will look and feel like as we go into next term. We thank parents for the huge efforts you are investing into supporting your children to embrace a new mindset which is necessary to maximise the learning opportunities in the online environment. We do not underestimate how challenging this is for you all given that so many now are working from home and dealing with your own set of new realities.
As we move further into this crisis, we are all wrestling with the uncertainty of the duration and the level of the isolation we will face. We are starting to feel the very real impact with job losses within our own community, and illness striking loved ones and friends. Being faced with so much unknown can be truly overwhelming, so instead, it may help to focus on taking care of ourselves and our families, staying calm and maintaining a sense of perspective in response to the situation.
As we endeavour to conduct our lives with kindness and compassion for others, let’s try and express gratitude for what we have and what others have done for us. Let’s all try and savour the time we have over the break, to read a book we have not managed to get to, to indulge in a passion at home or to take the time to express our love for family members through cooking a nice meal and being present together around the dinner table.
I hope you are all able to find a period of rest at some point in the days ahead and I look forward to connecting with you again as the situation unfolds.
I wish all of you a happy Easter.
Jonathan Walter
Principal
