Principal
Through the various NC@home updates I have shared with you some of the strategic thinking that informed the implementation of our program. Consistently throughout the program we have received very affirming feedback about the quality of the content, its seamless delivery and its breadth.
In formulating its strategy and implementation the College Leadership Team and senior leaders considered what our goals for the program would be. At the time, it was not clear just how long boys would be learning from home - a term, even a semester, were on the table as possibilities.
I share with you our response to this statement: NC@home: We know we are successful if...
- NC@home was a sustained effort (standards maintained and improved)
- There is an identifiable change in Nudgee College Learning and Teaching
- Our Year 12s felt that what we did for them as Seniors was meaningful
- Our Valedictory and end of year rituals are authentic for our Year 12s
- The standard of final Year 12 results are strong
- Nudgee College culture remains
- There is gratitude from boys, parents and staff
- The community see we have been supportive in our charism and have remained a Sign of Faith
- There is increased collaboration amongst our teachers
- Our enrolments for January 2021 are strong and our current enrolments are retained throughout the remainder of 2020
- The three building projects keep progressing
While we have not quite concluded NC@home we are already beginning to assess how successful we have been against these markers.
As we launched NC@home I used three words as metaphors for what lay ahead: Adventure, challenge and opportunity. I sense that the past five weeks have been all of that and more for each of us as staff, students or parents. Not necessarily in equal measure for each of us because our own individual and family context adds richness and depth to the experience.
Beyond our own ecosystem that is Nudgee College there is a much bigger narrative playing out during this era of pandemic. Economic pain and suffering for many. Collective pride in our health response as a state and as a nation. I think that we have noticed, in small and surprising ways, that while this crisis physically isolates us from one another, it is also bringing us closer together. We have found new ways to reach out to others with small acts of kindness. Early mornings and late afternoons have witnessed scores of people exercising and recreating on the streets and in the parks.
There is also a dawning reality that while lockdown is easing there is a long and potentially hard road ahead for all of us. Despite this darkening possibility, as parents and educators, we need to imbue our young people with a sense of hope and optimism about the future. Hence, I look forward to next week and the return of Years 5 and 10 students and to making the most of the next four weeks of Term 2, as well as the semester of opportunity, challenge and adventure that follows.
Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal