Dear Parents

As we complete our second week of on-line learning, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents, students and staff of the College for their dedication and perseverance as we work together to ensure that our students are able to continue their schooling.  There have been a few glitches along the way but also some amazing learning opportunities for both our students and their teachers.

Online and remote learning is not a new educational concept.  Most universities deliver entire degrees online, the School of Distance Education delivers its courses remotely, and when I was growing up in rural Queensland, School of the Air delivered education to students in isolated communities, and still does today.

With very little notice, we have all adapted to a new way of educating children.  Teachers have quickly learned new technologies, developed new resources and learned how to lead their student learners online.  Students are developing skills to become responsible for their own learning, time management and how to be more self-sufficient with their schooling.  Parents are now more involved in the education of their children, whilst managing a household, working from home and dealing with the anxiety of the unknown.

I cannot think of a time when there has been such a focus on education.  We have been forced to rethink, reinvent, reflect and look to the future of schooling.   On-line delivery is different to what we know as ‘main-stream schooling’ but the objective remains the same – to provide a quality educational outcome for our students.

There is much confusion regarding students returning to school.  Conflicting advice from various levels of Government, coupled with media commentary, has been a source of frustration.  All schools in Queensland must operate under the directions given by the Queensland Government’s Chief Health Officer.  There are significant consequences for the College if we do not follow these directions.  As such, until we are notified of any changes, our College must continue to offer online learning and remain open for children of essential workers only and students who fall into the vulnerable category.  I ask parents to follow the directions of the Chief Health Officer for the safety of our College Community.

Secondary Students have many subjects and many teachers.  So that we can continue to improve our on-line offering, our Secondary Students have been asked to complete a Work-Life Balance Survey.  I encourage Secondary Campus Parents to ask their child to complete this survey so that we can tailor our programs to better suit their needs. Parents of the Primary Campus should continue their open communication with our Primary Campus Staff.

I am grateful to parents for their support at this challenging time, and to our excellent staff who are remaining positive and are committed to their most important work.  Young people are highly social and thrive within a ‘real’ community rather than in isolation.  Our College Chaplain has provided a short reflection below and a link to her Nexus pages for resources on self-care for our community.

Best wishes

Steven Morris
Principal

From the Chaplain

In these changing and uncertain times, self-care is important.  This term, in our weekly RaVE and spiritual lessons, we will all be learning to take time to care of ourselves.

Jesus himself modelled taking care of yourself and in the Matthew’s Gospel, God calls us to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’  The bible does not directly talk about the idea of self-care, however it does provide some guidance for understanding our physical and mental health. Jesus often withdrew from crowds to rest and pray.  He encouraged his disciples to also rest (Mark 6:31) and care for their physical and mental health.

Self-care is any activity that we deliberately do to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. On the Primary Connect and Secondary Connect Pages on Nexus there is a list of suggested activities, resources and websites to help you get started.  Additional resources can also be found in the Chaplaincy folder on the TSAC Parent Community Group page.

Self-care isn’t selfish, it is not just considering our own needs but rather knowing what we need to do in order to take care of ourselves and subsequently being able to take care of others as well.

Self-care reminds me of one of my favourite pieces of scripture, Matthew 11:28 “Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” We are reminded to be Mary, sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to his teaching (Luke 10:39) and to trust Jesus to help us carry our load and find rest.

Blessings, Reverend Erika Williams, College Chaplain