9 October 2020

Principal Christopher Reed of Mother Teresa School, Mount Ridley, shares this week’s school newsletter, highlighting the incredible wisdom and resilience of our children.

Term 4 begins today. The year has challenged us in so many ways. We are however people of hope. This term we have many reasons to be filled with hope. Firstly, we hope to see a return to onsite learning next week. But more importantly, a hope in renewed friendships and continued learning opportunities within an onsite environment.

Learning opportunities provide us with the time and opportunity to reflect on the challenges we have experienced, but also on the positive growth that has occurred. Within the learning community of Mother Teresa, I am always eager to promote and hear the voice of our children through the various ways they express and share their thinking. Our learning community is characterised by the presence, promotion and the valued place of student voice. With her permission I would like to share Keana’s reflection on her learning in the final weeks of Term 3.

This term I have strengthened the disposition Resilient. What makes me say this is because while having incursions with Kids Helpline, and learning about this disposition in depth, I really did understand more about it and then was able to use that disposition properly now that I know what it really means to be resilient. I used to not get the difference between persistent, flexible, and resilience. But, now I know.

I have grown as a learner, and even as a person through this whole lockdown process. I have learnt that you can’t take things for granted, and I didn’t even know I was at the time. I love school, and seeing my friends and teachers, and playing outside, but I didn’t know how much that really meant to me. And now that I have had some time for self-reflection, I have become so much more grateful for the things that I have. My amazing family and friends, my good education, and so much more. I was a grateful person then, but I have grown into becoming an even more grateful person now.

I have a lot of things I hate about the Coronavirus, but part of me is actually kind of grateful that this happened. If it didn’t happen, then I wouldn’t have realised how much so many people and learning opportunities mean to me.

One more thing that I enjoyed was engaging in my iTime. I love the idea of iTime, but specifically now, the iTime I engaged in is something that I was really passionate about. And learning about it was everything I hoped for and more. And I am also so incredibly grateful for all the teachers who have helped me get to my goal. Thank you!

This Pandemic has changed my life, and I’m sure it’s changed your own life as well. I have grown so much, and I’m honestly really happy about it. I am so happy and excited to go back outside and enjoy the sun, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of us!

Keana’s reflection provides us with hope. She has captured not only the struggles but a growth in understanding about many things, including a sense of gratitude for what and who we have in our lives. Her insights into a greater understanding of the disposition of resilience and the chance to engage in a personalised inquiry – iTime – involve a deep level of reflection.

What might your reflections be? How have you been challenged but grown? What new sense of gratitude now exists? What are the signs of hope for you? Let us remember the life lessons learnt over the past months. Let us celebrate this with hope as the children return to onsite learning next week.

Kind regards
Chris