“In lockdown I’ve often gone in prayer to those who sought all means to save the lives of others. So many of the nurses, doctors and caregivers paid that price of love, together with priests, and religious and ordinary people whose vocations were service. We return their love by grieving for them and honouring them… They are the antibodies to the virus of indifference. They remind us that our lives are a gift and we grow by giving of ourselves, not preserving ourselves but losing ourselves in service.”

• Pope Francis, December 2020

Pope Francis spoke these words less than a year ago. At the time, he was addressing health care workers in Rome. He was praising them for their courage and their selflessness. His words are inspiring, as they so often are, and in particular, his phrase “…they are the antibodies to the virus of indifference…” struck home with me. This is because situations like COVID, I think, apart from the havoc they wreak on people’s bodies and lives, can make us indifferent to the needs of our neighbour. Simple acts of kindness and generosity can take on a completely new meaning and be a sacrament in themselves, in that they point to something greater behind the act of kindness. That ‘something greater’ is what we commonly call grace, or love, or the presence of God. Our lives are a gift, always.

Lockdown and Remote Learning

Today marks the second day of our Remote Learning. I hope that the transition to remote learning has been as smooth as possible for you and your children. Undoubtedly, there will be the occasional hiccup as we navigate the future, but I think the staff’s skill, ingenuity, commitment and hard work, combined with the experience of last year, will stand us in very good stead. Please do not hesitate to contact me, or your child’s teacher, if there is something you need or if there is a way we can help. The level of student attendance through MS Teams and the amount of work that teachers are getting back from their students has been excellent. This bodes very well. You would know of course that lockdown has been extended for another two weeks from tomorrow, until September 2, meaning that weeks 7 and 8 are in effect lockdown weeks too. On Friday, we will release the work for the next two weeks and the website will be updated accordingly. In all of this, parents can become needlessly stressed about the amount of work their children are doing. There will be some days when an hour of work may be all you can achieve; other days will see you and your child work for 3 hours, or more. Your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing is extremely important, and it is ok to give yourselves permission to hasten slowly when you need to. Please contact me directly if I can be of any assistance.

Zoom Meeting for Parents on Friday

On Friday at 9.30am and again at 4pm, Sean Rutledge and I will host a zoom meeting to explain and outline your child’s learning over the next two weeks. Like last year, we hope to both outline expectations and the way the learning will work, as well as take you through the website in more detail and provide assistance in navigating the site. I hope that it will also provide an opportunity to address any questions you may have. 

School Routines and Calendar Events – Medium Term Future

The current situation with COVID and the ACT lockdown, with the subsequent demands of remote learning, demands the full attention of schools be focused on ensuring that things are running as smoothly as possible and that families are given as much certainty as possible, particularly as these times are so uncertain in themselves. Within this context, it is also important that schools try to keep the bigger picture in mind, as much as possible, as they would in normal times. To that end, staff at Sts Peter and Paul are looking at ways in which we might be able to incorporate awards, assemblies, Science Week, Book Week, and the like. In some cases, it will mean postponing an event until we return to face-to-face; in other cases, we will be able to introduce a modified version of the event in question. We will communicate in due course details around future school events.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any way in which the school can support your family during these difficult and uncertain times.

Have a good week with your family.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal