From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Ok, let’s go with something different this week. My apologies for a very brief history lesson but I hope you bear with me.
If you are in need of a story that will simply amaze you, may I suggest you take some time to read about one of the greatest of human achievements in known history. I would also encourage you to share this extraordinary story with your children before sharing stories of certain parts of our history become somewhat a social taboo.
The story that I refer to is the one of Captain James Cook. This year marks the 250th anniversary of Cook’s arrival and charting of the east coast of Australia and I fear, due to the effects of COVID-19, this amazing feat of human endeavour will go somewhat unnoticed this year.
You may have noticed I did not say “discovery”. I purposely did not say this, not for any political persuasion but more so for factual reasons. We all know James Cook was not the first person to set foot on Australian soil. He wasn’t even the first European or Englishman to set foot on Australian soil. Cook himself never proclaimed he discovered Australia. Many of us oldies however were taught in primary school that Captain Cook was the person who discovered Australia. A perfect example of how generations of the teaching of inaccuracies can lead to a distorted understanding and viewpoint. It is also a good lesson for educators of today… don’t teach something that we’ll need to un-teach later on. Instead of teaching just one person’s version of events, it is more important to teach our kids to be critical thinkers. For this to happen, children not only need factual information but it is important for them to listen to and understand both sides of any issue.
The main reason for Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific regions was to observe the planet Venus moving across the face of the Sun from Tahiti. This might not sound all that difficult or important in today’s reasoning but in trying to put it into perspective, this was the 18th Century’s equivalent to space exploration and putting a man on the moon. It is the magnificence and awe of Cook and his crew’s feats that need our genuine recognition. Like the Apollo missions, it is a wonderful example of perseverance, courage, resilience, and of overcoming adversity that should be recognised.
Just take a moment to imagine what it takes for someone to sail from England in 1768 down the full length of the Atlantic Ocean, around the bottom of South America, across the Pacific Ocean, around both islands of New Zealand, up the East Coast of Australia, including navigating through the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, across the Indian Ocean, around the bottom of Africa and zipping home four years later on the other side of the Atlantic. In other words, he sailed around the world. All this in a wooden boat the size of a tennis court! Then in 1772, just one year after he returned home, he did it again. But wait there’s more…in 1776 one year after he returned home from the second voyage…you guessed it, he gave it another go, sailing half way around the world until on the 14th February 1779 at the age of 50, his life came to a violent end in the Hawaiian Islands.
Cook was arguably the greatest of maritime navigators, a remarkable seaman and a man of great courage and conviction. It is the character and qualities of the man and his crew and the hardships they endured to achieve extraordinary feats that warrant our due recognition.
Some other major achievements of Captain James Cook include:
- Circumnavigated and charted New Zealand's North and South islands in 1769
- He and his crew were the first to cross the Antarctic Circle
- He was the first European to find the Hawaiian Islands
- He explored and charted the Pacific coast of North America in his search for the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean
No matter whether your viewpoint on European exploration in the 18th Century, was either humankind’s intrigue into the discovery of the unknown or of one particular country’s desire to take possession of or invade other peoples’ territory, James Cook was not a conqueror or a war mongering General with hordes of foot soldiers who destroyed all in their wake as depicted in some sections of the media. In fact, his rank on his first voyage was one of a meagre Lieutenant, in charge of a crew of approx. 70 men which included naturalists, scientists, artists, an astronomer, doctors, cooks, carpenters, officers, regular sailors, eleven civilians and just twelve marines. Hardly a military force hell bent on taking over other nations.
The consequences of Cook’s vast explorations did lead in later years to the English and European exploitation, displacement and possession of other nations. We need to acknowledge that atrocities occurred and learn from the mistakes of the past.
“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” [Winston Churchill]
Students Return
I must congratulate our Preppies and Year One students for settling back into school routine so well. Parents, take a bow for your efforts in supporting your children at home over the past few weeks and preparing them for their return to school. We now very much look forward to all the other students from Grades 2-6 arriving back at school next Monday.
I cannot thank the teachers and support staff enough for their efforts in providing quality home learning experiences and I commend them on their ongoing online support they have provided for students and their families. It has been most rewarding to receive praise from parents. We know it has been a challenge for many of you and it has been a trying time for all, but knowing that you are genuinely grateful for what teachers and support staff have done during this time of isolation makes all the hard work worthwhile.
I was encouraged to hear that all year levels are keen to continue to offer some level of online learning. Don’t worry parents, asking kids to stay home was not one of the ongoing initiatives!! It is most important that the students maintain their confidence in navigating around learning platforms and there are obvious benefits for students and staff to continue accessing online teaching and learning.
School Photos Postponed
Next Monday was set down for our annual school photos to be taken. Due to the current circumstances, school photos have been postponed and will now take place on Wednesday 5 August 2020.
Tuckshop
A reduced menu tuckshop will be available again this Friday for those students in attendance at school. The full menu for Term 2 will resume Friday 29th May. All orders as usual need to be placed via Flexischools.
School Uniforms
New winter girls’ tunics should be available from Hanna’s by the end of next week. The full range of school jumpers are all available including the popular spray jacket. A reminder that the knitted woollen jumper is optional. Parents have a choice of pullover to wear under the spray jacket on those colder days between the knitted jumper or fleecy pullover. All jumpers of course need to have the embroidered school badge.
As stated in the uniform requirements, track pants need to be navy blue. Not navy with Canterbury logos and not black. Ties are also a requirement of the winter uniform for both girls and boys. Please ensure they are wearing their tie on the formal dress days. From next Monday, all students are required to be in their full formal winter uniform. Sports uniforms are to be only worn on the day they have P.E. and every Friday.
Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly named. This makes the returning of clothing a lot easier.
Extra-Curricula Activities
Many school related activities have of course been put on hold during this period of isolation and gradual process of lessening COVID-19 restrictions. We really do hope that we will be able to still conduct a number of our annual extra-curricula activities such as the cross country, athletics and ballgames carnival’s, Speaking Festival, concerts and school camps. All of which will depend on government decisions as to when and how such activities can be conducted. As soon as we receive direction, we will commence planning to organise as many of these events as possible at some stage this year.
Signing In
For the safety and wellbeing of all students, a friendly reminder that it is mandatory for all students who arrive late to school, to sign in at the office upon arrival. Similarly, students who need to be collected from school earlier than 3:00 p.m., are required to be signed out by their parent or carer. Your co-operation with this process will be greatly appreciated.
Report Cards
Semester One’s report cards will still be issued. So, for those who have been a little slack in accessing home learning activities, you might just want to crank up the work rate before your return next Monday! Given recent circumstances, this semester’s report cards will look a little different. Teachers will only be reporting in five learning areas – English, Maths, Religion, Science and HASS. If there is insufficient evidence for teachers to assess in a particular learning area a “N” grade will appear on the report.
School Fees
School fee invoices will be forwarded home late next week. Your prompt attention to the payment of these fees will be of great assistance in ensuring that resources and services are maintained. If any family has been genuinely affected financially by the COVID-19 restrictions on various jobs, please do not hesitate to contact me in order to arrange alternative payment options. A reminder that school fees are no longer sent home monthly. They are calculated quarterly and forwarded home via email once a term. The amount of fees that appears on your invoice is the quarterly amount not the monthly amount.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone back next week.
Thanks for reading…
Chris