From the Principal

Our world has altered. The pause button was pushed on so many aspects of our lives and we were forced to re-think and re-imagine. The choices we made and the steps we take next will certainly reveal us – as individuals, as an organisation and as a community.

David Shepherd From those very early days when decisions were made daily, hourly, to guarantee the health and safety of all within our community to the successful rollout and delivery of our online learning program for students from Prep to Year 12, students, their families and the entire Clarendon team have collaborated, problem-solved and adapted.

We saw our values – the behaviours and attitudes which underpin all that we do and are embedded in every endeavour we undertake – in action. Our commitment to learning, effort and progress; our responsibility to ourselves, each other and our communities; our focus on our social, emotional and physical wellbeing were revealed despite the challenges of COVID-19.

We should all be immensely proud of who we are and what we’ve achieved.

The coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed how we live, learn and interact – how we function as a community. Clarendon’s agility to respond to the unfolding crisis was evident in the speed with which our team operationalised new learning platforms, adapted the intended curriculum for online learning appropriate for the age and needs of our diverse learners and provided a quality educational program to provide some sense of stability in unstable times.

The innovation, cooperation and collaboration required to respond saw teams move into action.

These teams of people were driven by one motivation – how do we re-engineer a Clarendon education in the new reality of spatial distancing, isolation and an overriding commitment to ‘flattening the curve’; how do we continue to provide a safe, accessible, engaging and stimulating educational program for our learners; how do we care for the wellbeing of our students, their families and our staff?

With shared values and principles, with a common purpose, with trust and collaboration, people created new spaces and new collaborations to get things done.

Navigating these news paths tested us all at times – students, parents and staff. Not everything worked; there were frustrations and upset. But, in the main, students, parents and staff embraced the challenges as opportunities to learn and innovate, to refresh and evolve. And, in the main, our deeply held and shared values held us steady.

Together we endured. More than that – in many ways we thrived.

Teams worked to creatively engage Prep to Year 12 students in online learning as well as opportunities to support the mental, social and physical wellbeing of students, families and staff.

Online pastoral care sessions and House competitions – like trivia or the skipping or handstand challenge – provided new ways of engaging with each other online. Assemblies, physical activity, mindfulness, Chess Club, group performances and Science challenges connected our students in ways we’d never imagined. Student leaders emerged to organise events, drive initiatives and creatively respond to our ‘iso’ reality.

And our ANZAC Day Commemorations were just as powerful and just as moving despite being shared online. We came together as a community to reflect and honour those within our Clarendon family, and beyond, who sacrificed so much.

The challenges created by COVID-19 heightened our sense of community. We know that many families continue to grapple with uncertainty and upheaval. We are thankful for those members of our Clarendon community who are fighting on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic and express our deepest concerns for those who have been affected by this crisis in significant ways. We stand together and together we will prevail.

In the midst of the upheaval at the beginning of Term 2 2020, Clarendon did have cause to celebrate. Named the top rural and regional non-government school in the ‘2020 Schools that Excel’ feature in The Age, Clarendon was honoured to be acknowledged, yet again, for its commitment to a research-based and data-driven approach to teaching and learning. And that commitment is unwavering – no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in.

We have experienced a defining moment in our history; we revealed ourselves by our reactions and our responses, our shared values and aspirations. Adaptation, innovation and creativity were embraced and an already cohesive community was strengthened.

And this makes us wonder where our next steps will take us.