As we come to the end of our assessment block for Term 2, it is time to reflect upon what has been a tumultuous time. With the commencement of Semester 2 curriculum next week, it is also a time to plan fresh beginnings. Girls and young women aged 14-24 spend almost 5 hours a week more than males of the same age bracket on social media. It is thought that this is an indicator of the stronger social bonds that girls make with their peers. Whilst generalising, this stronger need for social media connection for girls could easily be extended to face to face interactions. Girls tend to value social interactions more highly than boys. For many of our girls, the most difficult part of COVID-19 Learning@Home was not accessing curriculum and teachers, it was the loss of face to face social interactions with their friends. Whilst the Teams platform does cater for interactions, for some girls, COVID-19 may well have impacted upon their ability to collaborate with peers and in turn impacted upon their academics. Whilst we still do not have all our students back on campus, things are slowly returning to normal – as they are for society in general. Children in general are resilient but some of our girls are finding assessment block more difficult than they normally would. We are aware of these difficulties and are working with them to guide them through. Please do reach out if your daughter is showing undue signs of distress around her assessment. If she is feeling disappointment with her academic results, please take the opportunity to emphasise the opportunities brought by a fresh start. We commence Semester 2 on Monday meaning all GPAs will reset and everyone has an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start again. For many of us, it will be an opportunity to put a line under COVID-19 and to move forward.
Dr John Fry
Deputy Principal - Studies