I can honestly say that the last six months have been the most challenging I have ever experienced in over thirty years of working in schools. During Term 1, we had constant changes to the Covid restrictions which were confusing and difficult to implement. Many parents felt bombarded by the ever changing updates we were required to distribute to you which is understandable. On top of this, we had many students miss time at school due to illness and isolation protocols. At the beginning of Term 2, the restrictions eased which was great except that our staff tested positive to Covid in high numbers. As you may be aware, we are currently experiencing a teacher shortage in Australia, and we often had days with over ten staff being absent, which was a huge challenge as we didn’t have enough teachers to replace them. This meant we had to be very flexible and creative with our timetabling and myself and the Assistant Principals had to teach on many occasions just so there was a teacher in front of those classes on those days. I really need to acknowledge the mighty efforts of Lisa Liebregts and Jacki Tucker who did a huge amount of work behind the scenes just keeping us ticking over day by day. I also would like to acknowledge the whole staff as this semester has been very difficult for them too. I believe they have done an extraordinary job under very difficult conditions. Lastly, I would like to thank all our parents who supported us though this time. I appreciate it wasn’t much fun being contacted, informing you that your children are unwell and that you need to go into isolation. This has had a huge impact upon all of us, and as a community, I believe we had stood up really well and have come through in very good shape. I sincerely hope that next term, we can go back to a more normal routine where we are all safe and healthy and experience fewer disruptions.
