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The Principal's Report
I’m writing this week’s Duce article minutes after the Premier’s announcement, which of course translates into what will be a total of at least eight school days of remote and flexible learning.
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As Principal, I certainly share parents’ inevitable concerns around the impact of a fifth round of off-site learning. However, I am also encouraged by the capacity of our staff and our approach to support our students and parents/families in these challenging times.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, the past eighteen months have seen a raft of research evolve around Victoria’s remote learning experience. So much of what is found to be the most effective strategies in best dealing with the demands of remote learning have already been entrenched at De La Salle.
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The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) found that schools’ leadership teams must adapt, work and innovate with teachers, staff and parents. ACER notes that strengthened school-community-parental relationships were common. I know this has been a strong feature of our approach to remote learning since March 2020 and I encourage all parents to keep in contact with your sons’ House or Year Level Coordinator with any concerns. We can’t fix every issue, but we can certainly listen and suggest a better way forward.
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Central to dealing with remote learning is decisive decision-making, intuition and flexibility, creativity and lateral thinking, tenacity and optimism, different ways of thinking and communication. All our teams at the College are adopting these to support the students’ learning and wellbeing.
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Our school’s approach to lockdown emphasises the wellbeing of students, staff and families, and trying to get students into good routines while managing anxiety. “Wellbeing is no longer a fad…It’s now clear that without their teachers’ care and support it’s hard for many young people to stay well and focused…wellbeing is an essential precondition for achievement. (Hargreaves, 2020, n.p.) It is so important our young men work with their caring staff.
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Context is also important; one size cannot fit all. Our staff recognise the best remote teaching is responsive to different contexts. We’re adapting well, but certainly looking forward to returning to onsite learning and teaching.
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