What a joy it has been to have all the girls back on site this week. For most, being back in physical classrooms is a great relief. The majority of students managed to complete all work set during the remote learning period and have moved easily back into the rhythm of being in classes. I am particularly proud of the fact that curriculum across all year levels has been able to be completed, with only a small number of units of work needing to be deferred. This is a testimony to girls and teachers and to the effort put in also by families to support the learning while we were off site.

For a small number of students, remote learning provided challenges and work was not able to be completed at the usual rate or to the usual standard. Girls who find it difficult to focus, as well as those who require high levels of teacher intervention, struggled without their usual school routines and for others, issues with internet or lack of work space provided other barriers to learning. Now that we are back, staff are working to identify where girls need assistance to fill in gaps or where additional instruction or practice is required. The final two weeks of term will have a focus on ensuring that all students are as up to date as possible and that they are feeling confident to move into Semester 2. 

One of the complexities that we have dealt with since the emergence of COVID-19 has been the lack of certainty in what is to come and the need to adapt to a continually changing landscape. This continues to be the case as we now wait to see whether anything will change as more people move around in the world and new cases of the virus are detected. Even though we are tired and our reserves are somewhat lower than they might ordinarily be, we need to continue to stay steady and not panic as we navigate each day and week. At school, we continue to be guided by the Premier of Victoria and the Chief Medical Officer in our decision making and we will continue to do this in the event that anything escalates or develops. Thank you to everyone within our community for your ongoing support. 

Elisabeth Rhodes
Principal