Principal
Over the course of the past ten days two remarkable human qualities have stood out for me as individuals, families and community groups have responded to the devastation of the flooding rains. The first is the resilience of those most affected by the floods. People who have lost their homes or their businesses. Ordinary Australians who are determined to rebuild. The Aussie battler whose home has been flooded for the second or third time. Their stoicism in the face of profound adversity is inspiring.
The second quality is the generosity of spirit of so many in the community to help and support others. This has taken a myriad of forms - large and small; immediate as well as long term. It is a truism that out of tragedy and adversity there rises hope that is often generated through the good deeds of others. Sometimes these deeds are very public and well known, at other times they are private and unseen by most people.
I am very proud of how members of Nudgee College have rallied around others. Last Saturday, volunteers from our staff and our Boarding students helped out in the recovery effort in Deagon and Albion. Members of Shaw House have been incredibly generous in offering support to one of our families who have suffered badly as a result of the floods. Fortunately as a school community, we have been largely unscathed by this widespread suffering. Many other schools have not been as fortunate and we have offered assistance where it has been practical to do so.
One of the consequences of the disruption that we have experienced since the start of the year, as well as with the recent rains is the alteration of the timing of many scheduled events. While some people will know the changes to their particular event or occasion of interest it may be helpful to know the wide number of changes across the community. These include:
- GPS Senior Swimming Championships - evening event - Thursday 10 March
- Cross Country relays and Season Launch - afternoon/evening - Friday 11 March
- Ladies Auxiliary Welcome Luncheon - day time - Saturday 12 March
- GPS Cricket vs Gregory Terrace - all 31 matches hosted at NC - Saturday 12 March
- Boarding Formal Dinner - Wednesday 16 March
- GPS Junior Swimming Championships - day time (no spectators) at NC - Thursday 17 March
- St Joseph’s Day Mass - all school event in lieu of the Opening Mass of the Year which has been held over since early February
- GPS Head of the River Rowing Championships - Saturday 19 March followed by the Presentation Dinner at the College in the evening
When considered in their entirety these series of events will make for an incredibly demanding ten days at the school. Every one of these has required a change of plans. Some are internal school events, others involve other schools. The fact that the school can host most of them is noteworthy.
Further to that, every one of these occasions is a significant event which requires planning and preparation. They also require enormous effort and resourcing. These resources include the physical assets of the College but more importantly our human resources. The changes to the scheduling of these events has also required people to be flexible in their thinking and to be able accommodate late changes.
There are countless numbers of staff involved who are capably assisted by generous students and parents. I thank everyone involved but particularly the staff members for their commitment. In particular, I extend a special thanks to the staff from Property & Services; the Catering staff in the kitchen and the Events staff from the Development & Communication office.
Finally, it is very important that with all these activities, as well as others that are scheduled during the next two weeks, that we do not allow the boys to lose focus on their school work. Deadlines and due dates are looming as are various forms of assessment before the end of term in three week’s time.
Clearly, it has been a disruptive term: a disrupted start to the year; over 300 students affected by COVID-19 or as close contacts during the past five weeks; and the interruptions caused by the recent weather event. At school this week, we have repeated the message of rhythm and routine with the boys in an effort to focus them on their school work. We hope that it has been effective but we also need parents to remind their sons of their commitments with the end of term coming quickly. Where parents have concerns for their son’s focus please be proactive in contacting class teachers, Heads of Faculty, House Deans or Heads of Boarding to seek their assistance.
With every best wish for the busy week ahead.
Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal
