The Gospel this week (John 6: 1-15) contains the story of the Loaves and the Fishes. Many of you would already be aware of this story where Jesus uses five loaves of bread and two fish to feed some 5,000 people. We are often left in awe at the miracle here where so much food is produced from so little. Just as great a miracle however, might be the fact that so many people with disjointed beliefs and backgrounds were able to sit together and listen to a message of peace and love. Jesus was preaching to a group who are historically seen as in conflict and disagreement. For them to remain calm and listen to a message that was counter-cultural for the time is certainly something worth reporting and celebrating. 

Whilst in our current circumstances we cannot come together in a field like the 5000 did, we are able to ‘come together’ electronically (via social media and communication platforms such as Zoom and Google classroom) and think about the message of peace and love that Jesus preached. For our students, at this moment in time, this peace and love can primarily be given by parents and caregivers and siblings by supporting them in their emotional welfare as well as their academic pursuits. For our school community, our teachers, support officers and middle leaders are working hard to maintain contact and help wherever possible even with very limited opportunities. Please maintain communication within your families and where appropriate with the College so that we are able to support each other where we can.

This morning in lieu of our normal College Assembly, the College Leadership Team sent a short (approximately 11 minute) video message to the students via Compass. This was a small way of us keeping contact and letting them know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. Whilst there is nothing major in this video of which parents would need to be aware, please feel free to ask your children to have a look at this if you are interested. I made the decision not to send this directly to parents simply to reduce the many emails that you are probably receiving during lockdown. 

Thank you to the vast majority of students who are using the Zoom opportunities in such a positive way to continue their learning. Unfortunately, a very small number are still attempting to disrupt these lessons. Last week, I included the following message in the newsletter and ask you again to be aware of this:

As you would be aware, there are a number of Zoom sessions that are occurring in different lessons to assist the students’ learning. These Zooms may not be every lesson and may only be for a portion of the lesson, however students have been informed of a number of expectations around these. Students will not be admitted to Zoom lessons if they do not identify themselves with their name. Students who attempt to log on using nicknames or false names will not be admitted to the lessons. Likewise, as in any face-to face lesson, any student who is deemed to be disrupting the learning of others due to inappropriate behaviour, will be evicted from the zoom. I ask parents to please discuss this with your child as they have already been given these instructions.

As always, a very big thank you to the staff, students and parents for your flexibility and ongoing support during remote learning.