Links - Term 1, Week 11 2020 Dear Friend of PLC A Message From The PrincipalEleven weeks ago we started our school year. As I am sure you all did, eleven weeks ago I had a focus for the year ahead that has changed significantly, so significantly I struggle at times to comprehend what I see happening in the world around me. As we end the term, I would like to share with you some words I read regarding Margaret Mead. "Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was apparently asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to speak about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilisation starts. Mead said, ‘We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilised’” In these most confusing and uncertain times, I think that we can all take something from what Mead says – that helping others through difficult times, is where civilisation starts. For many of us, these weeks and now months, have become the most challenging that we have ever faced and possibly ever will. As a community across Perth, Western Australia and Australia; we are all at our best when we serve others. In the last few weeks I have seen such compassionate acts of service and care. From our senior students making personal phone calls to members of our OCA and writing personal cards to thank the staff, to parents offering financial support to other parents experiencing financial difficulty. I would not say that I am surprised by what I have seen, it was the strength of our school community that drew me back to PLC. I would say though that I am in awe of the levels of compassion and generosity that I have seen. Whilst this term has not been what I thought it would be and I could be tempted to focus right now on all it ‘hasn’t been’, I choose to focus on what it has been. It has been a time when I have seen many acts of great care and compassion, many people focussed on helping others through a difficult time. For me personally I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support and advice of our School Council, in particular our School Chair, Claire Poll. Every school Principal relies on the guidance of their School Council and I am very grateful that we have a Council who have been so willing to give so much of their time to help navigate this unfolding situation. School Council members give of their time voluntarily and I am conscious that they all do this in addition to their own workloads and commitments. Thank you. I also acknowledge our students. I do wonder if I had been told as a young child that I could not go to school, how I would have responded and how I would have coped. If I had been told in Year 12 that I needed to learn from home and not know whether or not my Year 12 exams would go ahead. If I had been told at 10 that I could no longer see my friends every day – I was that child (in a state school in the 80s) who turned up at school even when there was a strike on, simply because I loved being there. I think back and I know that I would not have coped as your daughters have coped. Your daughters have been amazing and I commend all of our students for embracing a way of learning that just eleven weeks ago, was not within our plans. I spent some time thinking this week about the process we would have followed if we had made a conscious decision to take learning online. We would have spent at least a year planning and preparing, and yet when asked staff managed to have learning online within weeks and without any students having to miss a single day of school for professional learning. I know that we still have some aspects of our online programme to work on and that there are areas we can improve, but when put in context what has been achieved in a short amount of time has been quite incredible. We will continue to work on improving our programme in all year levels and I look forward to the feedback from the parent, student and staff surveys that should assist us to do this. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our staff. As a school Principal, this week has been certainly the most challenging of my career. In an effort to minimise spending and save costs, the difficult decision was made to stand down 46 highly valued staff for Term 2, another 20 have had their hours reduced and a further 10 have been redeployed. Members of the Senior Leadership Team have each taken a 10 per cent pay reduction and I have taken a 30 per cent pay cut. These savings are all in addition to a range of cost cutting measures including outdoor education programs, IGSSA sport, staff professional development, the lockdown of unused parts of the school to save on running costs, reduction in cleaning contracts, dedicated school buses and non-essential contract work on campus. The construction of the new Music Centre as also been postponed. So while, eleven weeks in, our school year is not panning out as many of us had hoped it would, I thank all members of the community for your support of our school and each other. It is an extraordinary time in which I have seen many extraordinary acts of kindness, compassion and generosity. I know there are many members of our community who are hurting. For some, their family businesses may have been impacted by this pandemic. Others may have had their own working hours reduced or been stood down. My heart goes out to everyone affected. We will continue to work to support all of our families. It is the School’s primary objective that every current student will be able to complete their PLC education. I wish all families a restful Easter weekend, and look forward to reconnecting with you all in two weeks. Our staff have put together a short video to wish you well for the holidays. Click below to watch. Take care and stay well. - Cate Begbie, Principal Easter Brings Us HopeThis Easter will be unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before with no family gatherings, no Easter egg hunt in the neighbourhood, no holiday down south, camping trips or spectacular holiday, nor an Easter service at school or over the weekend. Many children miss their grandparents and friends – for sure, this Easter will be very different. The message of Easter, however, is timeless: the cross reminds us that the full price to restore the relationship with God has been paid. Instead of receiving an invoice to relieve us from guilt, to lift the shame and to make up for a creation purpose missed, we find a receipt. Settled in full. You owe nothing. In these strange and challenging times, when our freedom of movement, work, socialising, sport and shopping have been impacted, we’ll do well to remember that we are much loved by God. We’re in this together and God is by our side! Easter eggs and hot cross buns are still available and we should find creative ways to celebrate Easter with friends and family in this new virtual world. May God bless and keep you. Rev Manie's (Virtual) Easter ServiceI hope Junior School students are able to watch my video newsletter on SeeSaw each day. I have really enjoyed the feedback from the students and am always looking to improve it – I welcome all ideas. The first two weeks of Online Learning have provided us all with the opportunity to refine how we teach and learn in an online environment. What is happening today is very different to 30 March and I have no doubt will be different to the future. We are really assessing and responding to what is working and what is not. Excitingly, from the beginning of next term all students in Junior School will have the opportunity to have live conferences with the teachers. Our Years 1-3 using their school device, Pre-Primary, Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten using a parent or home device. More instructions about how this will work will be provided at the start of Term 2. As with all things in schools, what works for one age group needs to modified for others. Having a whole class on a conference seems to lend itself more to older children, because as in any class, many people speaking at once means no one is heard. Therefore, although it is nice to get everyone together, if we are to have rich and valuable support and teaching in the younger years, it seems smaller groups ensure all are heard. I know time with our children is always precious and often hard to achieve, so enjoy the time you have with your children over the coming days or weeks, and have a happy and holy Easter. How To Use Your COVID-19 SuperpowersTo support PLC families during this tough time, the PLC Psychologist team have created a helpful e-book filled with great resources, activities, apps, agencies and ideas on how to keep children and young people engaged during a period of physical distancing and isolation. - Richard Wright, Head of Junior School It has been an unpredictable, busy term that I am sure no one could have ever expected. As our community moved onto online learning, the girls have really adapted to this change, and our Senior School staff have also risen to this challenge. Learning new technologies, conducting meetings online and thinking about ways to keep our community strong, have really shown me how connected the students, staff and parents at PLC are. Next term we continue this journey, which makes it all the more important for both our staff and students to make sure that they have a really relaxing Easter break. I would encourage everyone to take time away from screens and do something which they enjoy this long weekend. I look forward to welcoming all students back in our virtual learning next term. - Rebecca Watts, Head of Senior School The Great PLC Glamp OutWith many families' plans to travel or go camping this weekend cancelled, the PLC Outdoor Education Department are inviting PLC families to participate in the Great PLC Glamp Out this weekend at YOUR house! Celebrate your love for the outdoors with a night of glamping in your own backyard. Click here to find out more. |