Principal’s Message

In a recent zoom webinar I attended with other Independent School Heads, I heard this sentence which resounded so much to all of us listening: week four of distance learning; the cracks are going to start forming. And I am realizing how true this statement is. Where everything seemed fairly easy and uncomplicated in week one, now there is the realization that we’re in for the long haul, and suddenly life isn’t so rosy after all. The powers that be are keeping ominously silent on when schools are going to be able to open, and the shift from level five to level four is not providing the economic ease we had all hoped for. As lockdown continues, everyday family life becomes more and more of a challenge, and the enormous task of supervising multiple children in a home in various ages and stages of their education, is, for many, becoming untenable. The same can be said of teachers who are preparing and delivering lessons online for the first time ever. They began in small, easy steps, thinking this would be over in two weeks, and now the realisation has hit that this could also be for the long haul. The need to do more, deliver more, and reach the depths required in “normal” teaching, are hitting home.

I heard another quote that is of such relevance to us today, and especially as we prepare to further our children’s education under such differing circumstances: We’re not in the same boat, but we’re in the same storm (Unknown). The veracity of this statement became even more real to me as I read the responses to our online parent reflection sheets sent out last week. While we are all courageously fighting the same storm of this pandemic, we are indeed in very different boats. These different boats range from economic uncertainty, to three children sharing one device, to having no time to supervise any lessons, to having no resources at home, to constant worry over elderly, sick parents and grandparents. And with this, the constant fear: are the cracks going to become too large for the load in the boat?

I thank you for those of you who responded to our online reflection/response sheets sent out last week. An average of 65% of parents completed these, and of that 65%, an average of 90% were coping with the current situation. We have taken on the chin the few negative comments that came our way regarding the distance learning. As one teacher said to me: one negative can make all the positives sink like a lead balloon. However, amongst those negatives were some very helpful suggestions on how to improve, and we are most appreciative of these. The online learning experience is as new to the teachers as it is to parents and pupils. It is an enormously steep learning curve for us all. We, the teachers, really appreciate your comments and suggestions. We also realise that the younger the child, the harder it is to conduct successful online learning. Our little ones need the contact with their teachers so desperately, and it is with these age groups that we need to do our best to cement the cracks.

As we have had no official word yet from the Minister of Education on the re-opening of schools, the online learning programme will be moving into Phase Two from the beginning of May. During this week, the different departments have met to look at ways to consolidate what has worked and add in new features to the online learning. In this phase new content will be taught via daily contact time with the class teacher, as well as regular weekly contact time with the specialist teachers. I will be conducting Assemblies and RE lessons with each class weekly. We will be making more use of the Google Classroom platform in the Foundation Phase (already used in Senior Primary and Senior School) to facilitate more online contact and we will introduce more daily contact and useful videos in the Pre-Primary.

As soon as we have more clarity and direction on the re-opening of schools, we will let you know. Thankfully, as an Independent School, we have more flexibility in the method of re-opening. We are very busy drawing up the protocols and procedures we will be putting in place – these will be communicated to parents once the re-opening dates are set. Please know that school management is holding frequent meetings to put all the necessary measures in place for the safety and continued education of our girls once they return to school.

I urge you to wait for official communication from the school before reacting to draft and unconfirmed reports that are being posted on social media. It seems that the Minister of Education will be making a statement tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 10:00, so we eagerly await her announcement.

I pray for the continued good health and welfare of all our families during this lockdown period. Today is the feast day of the great Dominican saint, St Catherine of Siena. I end with a quote from her: Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.

Alison Dunn

Junior School Principal

Today we celebrate St Catherine of Siena, a prominent Dominican saint. All those children and parents named Catherine or Siena, we wish you a Happy Feast Day!

I must affirm and thank all our parents and girls for the continued hard work and commitment to our distance teaching and online teaching opportunities. The JP team and I acknowledge that there are many parents working incredibly hard during lockdown, also having to juggle many other challenges. We will introduce Phase 2 of the online/distance teaching model next week. This phase will allow scope for daily contact time with the girls. During the course of the next few weeks the girls will experience contact time with a range of teachers including their class teachers, specialists, Ms Dunn, learnership students, Learning support teachers and I. The various staff will be allocated time slots over the next few weeks. These rosters will continue to be sent out on Sunday evenings.

I’d also like to thank the JP team for their phenomenal hard work and look forward to the next phase being introduced on Monday 4^th May.

Some thoughts to ponder during this time.

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

~by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,

I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.

I'd fingerpaint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.

I'd model less about the love of power,

And more about the power of love.

Please share a virtual hug with the girls from all of us.

Ms Stubbs and the JP Team

Currently there are no sport fixtures for term 2 available, as soon as we receive any information you will be notified.

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