The Southport School Band of Brothers Issue 22

Mr Greg Wain, Headmaster

THINGS Have Changed (temporarily). I have been a Bob Dylan fan since high school and still sing along in the car to one of his original songs The Times They Are A-Changing from 1964 and the other thirty-two of my favourite Dylan songs on my playlist. In thinking about this ‘most unusual Term’ just gone I remember very early in the COVID-19 experience another Dylan song… Things Have Changed.

Back in March when there was a great deal of volatility and ambiguity in our lives, the opening line … A worried man with a worried mind… really summed up how I felt about our School and the staff and boys. I played the song regularly back then and each time when I said aloud the title Things Have Changed, I added an emphatic TEMPORARILY after the title to remind me that this event was currently a worry, but not permanent. We would get through it.

The chorus lyrics were also relevant during March and April …People are crazy and times are strange… Any minute now I’m expecting all hell to break loose. The heightened anxiety and stress of the strange times and unknown future caused behavioural changes in most of us - tolerance levels were low and we all needed to treat each other with greater understanding and kindness, something I reminded the boys of regularly at our online assemblies.

That stress is still very real. Infection rates have dropped, so less stress there, but the financial stress continues for many families as we wait for the economic recovery. We need to continue to be kind and understanding towards each other, including the boys being helpful and kind to their parents and family members.

It is normal in troubled times to wish we were someplace else! Bob Dylan reminds us that we all have our limits, we can only stand so much. Keep an eye on each other and seek help if you need it. The economic impact of COVID-19 has been random with some people affected only a little, but others very much being dealt a ‘losing hand’. We need to remember this losing hand is temporary, the economy will bounce back, but in the meantime there will be a need for flexibility and to adapt to temporarily changed circumstances.

Starting out as a rock music poet writing about the social issues in the 1960s, Bob Dylan has truly persisted and adapted to the times, releasing over fifty albums including his most recent, a month ago, at the age of 79. Pretty impressive staying power, including being awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for his entire body of work.

Adolescent boys are very good at putting on a mask. These continue to be stressful times and whilst I know our boys will be kind to their families, we need to keep an eye out and make sure we are listening to them. They are adapting well, but they still need our love and encouragement.

Enjoy this edition of Band of Brothers, from MENS Health Week to stories of Prep resilience, pictures of Boarders who spent the whole Term online, and how TSS Online rated on Mornington Island up in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Thank you again for your support of TSS. We look forward to an even more normal Term Three with many music, extracurricular and sporting stories being created in the next few months.