From the Principal

We’re already a quarter of the way through 2021, a year that I’m sure many of us still hope will be the great reset after 2020’s trials and tribulations. Last year, we rose to the challenge to define our year’s experiences beyond the impacts of COVID-19, and I share with absolute confidence that 2020 was defined by the positive impact of community at St Aidan’s, and not by the pandemic.

We are familiar with the significance of the attribute of resilience in a pandemic. What if I was to put to you another, not dissimilar attribute, which many have drawn upon in recent times? And that is antifragility.

Antifragility is, of course, the opposite of fragility. At first, this seems to point to simply not being fragile, and instead being stable, or perhaps stoic. But not doesn’t mean opposite. The opposite of being fragile, of falling apart under pressure, is not withstanding pressure: it is thriving under pressure. Thriving because of pressure.

Last year, the St Aidan’s community demonstrated an astonishing antifragility, and we did indeed thrive. One dimension of our school that continues to exceed expectations is the incredible diversity of learning occurring in our school. This naturally includes everything we are learning in the classrooms and in the labs, but it also includes, in equal measure, what we are learning out on the sporting fields and tracks, in art studios and in rehearsal rooms, and much more.

We continue to enliven the Society of the Sacred Advent’s educational philosophy, which was never narrowly academic but actively sought to educate ‘the whole personality, physical, mental and spiritual that girls may live to their fullest capacity’. Paradoxically, as recipients of a well-rounded education, having the choice to diversify learning or participation, by choosing not to focus on one specific pursuit at the exclusion of all others, can in fact allow that one specific pursuit to benefit, even more. My experience of last year may serve here as a personal example. Early on, the balancing act of trying to continue the normal work of our school while also rapidly transitioning to online learning and remote working was at times exhausting. So, when working from home became necessary, and it became clear that the news cycle surrounding the coronavirus was indeed 24-hours long, I knew that keeping all of my attention on work would not only be unsustainable, but it would actually make me worse at my work. Trying to serve our school beyond my capacity would eventually make me unable to effectively serve at all.

Upon reflection, I realise that I diversified my focus. What started as an effort to make my immune system as healthy and strong as possible became an interesting foray into hobbies, which I had never previously given myself time for. I made time for learning about cooking raw foods, which blended with and strengthened the interest I already had in gardening and cultivating potted plants.

Most nights after finishing work, I would unwind by knitting or playing board games from my youth with family. None of these are things I couldn’t do before the lockdowns and work-from-home orders, but the focus on making sure I was as physically, emotionally and mentally well as possible encouraged me to explore how things outside of my primary work could improve my work.

And that is exactly what I see in the stories in this edition of the Huddle. I see young women who are committed to being and becoming well-rounded scholars, philosophers, athletes, performers, artists, fundraisers and people. I take heart in knowing our students will continue to explore all that they can be.

Enjoy,

Ms Toni Riordan Principal