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PANDEMIC PAPERS
IS THIS THE NEW NORMAL? COVID-19 has changed so much about our day-to-day life, especially in the St Peters event space. As we grapple with just what the College’s ‘New Normal’ will look like, it’s time to reflect on how our events have been able to adapt.
KEL SEY BRICKNELL
communications officer
I
f you were to open this edition of Plus Ultra alongside its counterpart from the same time last year, one thing would be blatantly clear—there has been a distinct lack of College events in 2020. Sure, we moved our Open Day into a virtual space and the annual Parade of Nations went ahead as a pre-recorded presentation in Term 3, but actual events—whole College gatherings; live performances; Community Engagement functions—these have significantly decreased. Rather than dwelling on their absence, there’s a lot to celebrate about how well different departments at St Peters were able to adapt and persevere in 2020. For starters, the Sports department still held all three of its major Inter-House Carnivals. Swimming, luckily, snuck in just before the outbreak. Cross Country, a little less lucky, was held in individual HPE classes across the Year Levels and, similarly, Track & Field was transformed into a three-day event (one Year Level at a time) for Junior High and Senior students, and a two-day event for the Primary Years. In the Performing Arts and Music space, 2020 events have been very much ‘situation abnormal’. Despite this, the departments have thrived online. Starting with ANZAC Day, St Peters Music staff, students and Old Scholars answered the call to ‘Light Up the Dawn’ by playing The Last Post on their driveways. This nation-wide initiative showed a deep respect to those who have fallen for our country, but also worked to ignite a fire within the Music department.
Pictured: (from top) A music lesson via Zoom; Behind the scenes of the Year 7 Virtual Open Morning; Dave Brown with Old Scholars at the annual Football match; (background) Year 9 student, Alex Gilfedder, plays The Last Post on his driveway on Anzac Day.
Plus Ultra | November 2020
Newly aware of the virtual possibilities, Music set about creating a range of At Home
