This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary represents all that is good about humanity and sits at a place of honour within our Catholic tradition. As a fully human being, she is the closest thing to perfection that has existed within humanity and obviously holds special significance to our community. Being named after Our Lady of Mount Carmel and having a charism based in the Marist (Little Brothers of Mary) charism, we look to Mary as a guide and role model. On the Feast of the Assumption, we solemnly celebrate the way that Mary was taken to heaven under the authority and power of God. This is different to the Ascension (where Jesus rose under His own power) and signifies the special place the Mary holds within creation. This Sunday, we honour Mary and pray through her for her intercession before God on our behalf.

Over the first few terms of this year, I spoke with the students at assemblies and in newsletters about the importance of taking time occasionally to stop. The Marist theme for this year is ‘Breathe’ and it highlights the importance of stopping to catch breath. As Remote Learning has progressed, I have asked staff to provide regular ‘catch up’ lessons where students do not get new work and are able to finish work where they may be behind. This has had mixed success. Following the last few weeks of remote learning, it is time to put this concept of breathing again into practice. Over the last few weeks, I have been speaking with staff, students and parents and believe we are at a point where we need to stop and breathe. For this reason, I will be asking teachers to provide this opportunity for the students next Friday. Whilst the school will still be open for those students who require essential supervision, next Friday (August 20) will be a day where NO zooms occur, NO new work is given and NO formal lessons occur. This will be an opportunity for students to catch up on work where they may be behind or take a breath if they are up to date. I will be asking staff to do the same thing, so they will not be answering emails or phone calls. The only group who will still have access to teachers will be Year 12 as they prepare for their final assessments. Again whilst there will be no formal classes, the Year 12 students will be able to contact their teachers during their normal timetabled lessons. For all students, this will be recorded as a flexible day so students will NOT be required to check in at all during the day. I hope this will provide a small circuit breaker that many people currently need.

I am aware that some parents may be receiving multiple emails from a variety of staff to inform you if your child has missed work during remote learning. As much of our normal communication is reduced, I realise the stress that this may place on some parents. For this reason, I am asking staff to now wait for multiple missed work prior to emailing parents. I realise this is a change in process however, in the current conditions it is necessary to give students a chance to catch up. Please regularly discuss with your child how they are coping and engaging in their classes.

Last Tuesday, we held the Term 3 Parents and Friends Meeting. Thank you to those who attended. Amongst the things discussed was the decision around Year 12 and 11 final assessments and a discussion around introducing pants as an optional part of the Senior Girl’s uniform. This uniform suggestion was received with unanimous support and I will be pursuing this as a potential change for next year. It is possible to do this with the senior uniform as it is a simple option to wear the skirt or pants. Discussions may occur later with regard to junior uniforms however this would be a more substantial change.

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