WATERFORD
Year 7 You would have to be living on Mars to not be aware of the challenges that everyone has faced in this unique year of 2020. The first year of secondary school for the Year 7 2020 cohort will go down in history as one that will never be forgotten. Perhaps in many years they will be telling their grandchildren about the year of school they had where they barely attended the school. Their grandchildren will probably laugh in disbelief and say something like, ‘that would be awesome,’ probably using some other adjective that the new generation will have invented as part of their vernacular. However, we know that the reality has been difficult, for students, teachers and parents. Nevertheless, whilst it has been a year like no other and far from the expectations of 336 excited young people about to begin the new phase of their learning journey, the Year 7 students of 2020 have been brilliant. They have demonstrated flexibility, resilience, innovation, collegiality and good humour throughout the course of 2020. A tumultuous year? Yes. Did the students rise to the challenge? Most definitely. We are very proud of all the Year 7 students of 2020. Term 1 provided the most ‘normal’ term of the year. Students were able to grasp aspects of the life and culture of St Joseph’s College. Their enthusiasm and participation in the Swimming Carnival and on Athletics Day was admirable. The students were participants and witnesses to a group of nearly 2000 students and staff coming together to celebrate the vibrancy of its community. The level of participation was high and there were some terrific achievements too. At an early year level assembly, students were treated to a visit by Jordan Kamara Edwards -Gunditjmara, Aranda and Wathaurong man. He is the traditional owner/cultural advisor at Wathaurong aboriginal co-op and also the elected south west region Victorian treaty assembly member. Students participated in a smoking ceremony before they entered the gym where they learnt more about the significance of an Acknowledgement of Country and a Welcome to Country. The College’s possum skin cloak project was also presented to the students and its significance explained by Lisa Couzens. This presentation really helped students gain a deeper shared understanding of Australia’s Indigenous people’s history and its connection with SJC culture.
Despite the challenges of remote learning, students still embraced many opportunities to participate in the life of SJC. Some of these opportunities included: • Service Learning • The Winter Sleepout • ACC virtual cross country challenge • Book week • The Virtual Run Australia Challenge • Various skills challenges such as the soccer skills challenge or juggling a golf ball on a club • The Movement and Well Being program 2020 has been a vastly different year to what anyone could have anticipated, yet amongst it all Year 7 students have remained positive and embraced their first year of secondary school. The broader competencies that students have had to develop this year will stand them in good stead for their future years. This is only the beginning of their secondary journey and the opportunities looking forward are exciting. We are very grateful for the support that parents have provided for 2020. It is a team effort and your support of your son’s teachers and your sons cannot be underestimated. We wish Year 7 students a wonderful, relaxing and safe break. We look forward with optimism to the promising opportunities that 2021 will bring. Peter Malone and Meleah Zanos
Whilst not all students were able to attend the YMCA Lake Dewar camp in Term 1 due to the onset of COVID, those that did had some memorable experiences engaging in various fun activities, such as the flying fox, gorge walk, mountain biking and kayaking.Thankfully, those who missed out in Term 1 were able to spend a full day at Lake Dewar in Term 4 taking part in a similar activities program – a very fortunate opportunity in such turbulent times.
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