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TERM 2 IS DUE TO RECOMMENCE ON WEDNESDAY 15TH APRIL,
SUBJECT TO STATE GOVERNMENT RULES.
PLEASE KEEP CHECKING SZAPP FOR ANY CHANGES TO THIS DATE.
Thank you so much for all the absolutely beautiful emails we have received regarding how well prepared the students are for what well may be an extended absence from school. You are a sensational parent body and as I have said before I feel honoured and blessed to have my role within this beautiful community.
I went online to find some ‘wise words from Principals’ to stay calm in these unchartered waters but either I was doing the wrong searches or no one can think of anything wise to say. I did find some hilarious memes about the impact of homeschooling on parents but I figured you don’t need me to reiterate what undoubtedly you have already seen. Therefore my words aren't wise but there are two things that I hope come from this time of turmoil.
The first is resilience. We have tried for three years to build Resilience within our community via ‘The Resilience Project’ but what will really build resilience is struggle. The OLOL community has the tools through GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness) to not only get through whatever is before us but also become stronger individuals because of it. We can teach ‘Resilience’ from a book and complete a worksheet - or we can live it.
Secondly, we all know this will end, eventually, and it might be useful to pause and think of the ‘after’ of all this. What do you want your children to have experienced, that is within your control? How will they look back on this time? Literature is full of authors who have written extraordinary stories of their childhood experience of worldwide phenomenon. From Alan Marshall’s uplifting tale of surviving polio in ‘I Can Jump Puddles’ to Judith Kerr’s family escaping Nazi Germany in ‘ When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.’ Their family had to keep moving in dreadful conditions from Berlin via Switzerland to France and then finally to England. There is a beautiful passage in Kerr’s book …
“My parents were wonderful. My brother Michael and I knew there wasn't much money but it didn't seem to matter much. They made us feel it was an adventure. I much preferred it to the sort of childhood I would have had had we had a so-called normal childhood. When we were in Paris we had this grotty, tiny flat and were looking out over Paris and I said to my father, 'Isn't it wonderful being a refugee!'
So if we think about this experience in terms of ‘exit strategy’, as an adult, how will your child reflect on this time ? What learning? What skills? What knowledge? What great novels can we expect from our children in time to come?
All the very best for the coming weeks and perhaps months,
May God Bless you and your families
Francine
Bags Packed, Ready for Home Learning.
Just to reiterate we made the last newsletter ALL about Home Learning, so if in doubt ...
GO BACK TO NEWSLETTER #4
Term Two and Three are traditionally the terms when we wear winter uniform, however because the weather is so patchy we usually give the students a two week ‘grace’ period before the winter uniform rule comes in firmly.
Even though we are uncertain at the moment exactly when Term 2 will commence, the two week grace period will apply regardless, so please don't panic if your child does not yet have their winter uniform.
The winter uniform consists of :
Boys
- Long sleeve blue shirt with logo
- Long navy pants
- Navy socks
- Navy wool school jumper
Girls
- Long sleeve blue shirt with logo
- Winter tunic
- Navy tights or knee length navy socks
- Navy wool school jumper