This week’s Principal’s Message is in Video format. We have included a copy of the transcript below if you wish to read instead.
I’d like to welcome the family and friends of the St Edmund’s community to this different style of principal’s report for Term 1 Week 9 of Vortex – our newsletter. I hope our students and families are coping well with the many changes we have had to endure over the last few weeks. I do know that a number of our families are struggling with the financial impact of businesses shutting down – our thoughts are with you at this very difficult time – I’ll address how we can be of assistance to you a little later.
I feel that it is really important to try to retain our strong sense of community at this time, so presenting my Vortex address in this way hopefully maintains a more personal and communal environment.
We have commenced our online teaching and learning program for the next two weeks leading up to the school holidays.
Can I start by clarifying that our online teaching and learning program is not home schooling. So many media outlets are referring to this as home schooling – home schooling suggests that parents are at home directing schooling their children. Please know that this is not the case with us – we are professionally and morally responsible to continue the education of your children, which is why we spent most of last week preparing our materials and online teaching methods. You would be aware by now that we are following our normal school timetable with teachers asking our Year 7 – 12 students to do four making things:
- Engage with the tutor in the morning at normal tutor time to indicate that the student is present
- Engage with the class teacher at the beginning of each lesson to indicate that the student is present
- Engage with the work during the lesson
- Submit whatever has been asked of the student towards the end of the lesson to indicate that the work has been completed
The online teaching and learning program for the Junior School is a little different to this and our Junior School parents have been informed of this.
I would encourage you to communicate with the class teacher if you need to discuss your son’s progress with the online program, just as you would if your son was here at school. If there are technical problems, again please let us now so we can work together to rectify those problems.
Similarly, if you wish to access our wellbeing services, please do not hesitate to contact the heads of house, counsellor for his school or Mr David Kelly for Junior School. We are still delivering those wellbeing services as the welfare and wellbeing of our students is still at the very forefront of what we do.
Hopefully you have a clear awareness that we have not shut down and that the school is not closed. Sure we are doing some things very differently, but we still aim to serve the Eddies community and serve our students in the very best way we can. If you are in a position where it is difficult or impossible for you to be at home caring for your son, please remember that we are open and we still have a small number of students here at school working through their online program.
Last week we appointed a new Defence Transition Mentor, Danielle Ridgway who will commence at the beginning of Term 2. I apologise to our defence families for the delay in filling this position – we dropped the ball here and I apologise profusely. It should not have taken us that long – this term has been quite challenging in many ways but we should have filled that position to serve our defence families much sooner. Danielle will contact our defence families at the beginning of the term and have a chat about your needs and how you are all travelling in the current circumstances.
Firstly, I am aware that many parents will have lost significant employment or business income due to coronavirus. The school’s immediate priority is to provide as much stability as possible for your child and with this in mind we are committed to providing fast, flexible and confidential financial assistance to assist you with managing your school fee commitments for 2020.
Any family facing financial difficulty for any reason should contact our Finance Department to discuss your situation. We are acutely aware of the hardships being experienced right across the community and we will do all we can to facilitate the ongoing education of all students.
As a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition – can I reassure you that no child will be denied ongoing enrolment due to inability to pay fees.
We are committed to working with all of our families throughout this complex time. Please do not hesitate to contact the College to discuss any of these items further.
There is a great deal of material around social media and websites about the wellbeing of students during this time of online teaching and learning. Physical activity is very important and meeting up with friends is crucial, even if through social media platforms. The great energy that takes place at school during recess and lunch, and during training and participating in basketball or rugby or football or whatever the sport may be has disappeared for the moment. That sense of connection for our boys is still so very, very important but very challenging for parents to establish at times when we are encouraged to stay at home.
I’ve spoken many many times about the strength of the community here at St Edmund’s, and it feels quite alien to not have the community physically around us at this time. But we are a community, and we need to be in support of each other. I appreciate the value the many positive comments we have had from parents about how we have led up to our online teaching and learning program – thank you so much for your support and encouragement of what we are doing. Our staff have worked very hard in the last week to ensure that their care of your boys, academically and pastorally, is the best care we can give them in this new context. This is the legacy that Blessed Edmund Rice left for us, and it is a legacy we take seriously.
I would encourage you to continue communicating with the school, remembering that we are not closed, we are not shut down, and that we are still offering our services to the very best ability we can. We want to keep our sense of community even at a time when we are not seeing each other or being with each other. It is so important for all of us to stay connected with each other and be aware of each other.
I would like to end this week’s Vortex address in prayer and I hope you will join me in this. This is the prayer from Pope Francis to our mother Mary during the pandemic:
O Mary,
you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of all People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.
Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our Hearts, forever.
Take care, be safe and God bless.