Principal's Welcome - Week 1, Term 1, 2022
Dear College families,
Welcome to 2022! A year full of the promise of a return to "normal".
It has been so wonderful to watch students arrive on campus each day this week. There were hugs shared, huge smiles and exuberant greetings and, secondary students expressed awe and wonderment as they explored their new learning spaces. However, what I think was present for all of us, parents, students and staff, was a spirit of gratefulness to be stepping back into the predictable routines of school. After two years of navigating changes to schooling routines, it was freeing to know that this year is much more likely to be predictable.
In the midst of COVID, we learnt lots of lessons about the resilience of children, the multiple ways in which learning can be delivered and, the importance of community. However, the key lesson we have learnt is that nothing beats face-to-face communication; we need it and we were designed for it. Whilst we have been grateful for platforms such as Teams and Zoom to connect with members of our community these could never replace the kinds of connections that are generated through face-to-face interactions.
Recently, I learnt that the word media, used most frequently in the phrase "social media", is the plural form of the Latin word 'medium' meaning 'middle ground or intermediate'. Social media therefore describes the action of putting a medium between ourselves and the person with whom we are trying to connect. Obviously, there are contexts when this is either necessary or just efficient. Certainly, over the last two years, it has been very necessary for the delivery of online learning. But long-term, this is not ideal for the formation of rich connections amongst community members.
With that in mind, we are very much looking forward to being able to connect with parents, face-to-face, in the coming year through a range of events. The first opportunity for this will be on Tuesday, 8 February at Know Your Norwest. I encourage you to come onto campus being mindful of the COVID-safe measures that will be necessary to protect you and other members of our community and meet face-to-face with other parents and carers at the start of this new year.
Felicity Marlow
Principal
