I would just like to take this opportunity to congratulate St Francis Xavier College on the way it has transitioned to remote learning for Term 2. This is an unprecedented event, and it has happened quite smoothly. 

This whole COVID-19 pandemic has been a bit surreal and left us all riding a roller-coaster of emotions, however College leadership is to be commended on its communication from the outset on its protocols and practices to ensure the safety of the whole community. 

With any change, there will always be people with opinions on the what and how things should happen. This has been evident during this pandemic, as overnight, people became experts in education, health, finance and so on. It is quite comical when you think about it, but for most part it has come from a good place. 

I know that the College has done its best in the limited time it had to prepare for the remote learning program. The staff are to be congratulated on their efforts, especially those who are parents themselves and possibly assisting their own children with their remote learning. Teaching on a good day is hard, let alone during a pandemic!

As we all know, education has the most impact when teachers and students are together, face to face bouncing off one another, facilitating each other’s learning. However, at the moment this is not possible. What frustrates me with remote learning in general, is that teachers are unable to interact with their students, where they have the uncanny ability in a classroom to pick up so many nuances that give them vital information about how each student is going. Having said that I must commend those teachers who are sending regular emails not only informing of important information but also checking in, answering student and parent emails promptly, providing constructive feedback and assisting the best they can.

This is nearly as good being back at school in the classroom, face to face!