From our Principal, Peter Rodda

Now that we are about to return to school, it is timely to pause and reflect on our recent journey. We understand that it has been unsettling for all of us to have rapid change thrust upon us, requiring us to adapt quickly. And yet, in amidst the upheaval of that change, we know the strong Catholic values underpinning our children’s education are truly required and have been shown to flourish within each of us.

In fact, the new skills and ways of learning that we have all been introduced to, must certainly have a place in our 21st century classroom.

I feel so truly touched by the wonderful show of community that we saw at our Mothers’ Day celebrations. All of us joined together in faith and love, strength and resilience. Such joy in a time which could be bleak; it all depends on which perspective we decide to use.

It is when times are tough that our Catholic faith can truly lift us up as we are reminded to be brave and strong. ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.’ (Joshua 1:9).

Our St John Vianney’s family have shown remarkable faith, resilience and adaptability in dealing with our new way of teaching and learning. I have enjoyed seeing the children gather together on the varying online platforms, helping each other, waiting for their turn, learning new skills, and all the time being kind and strong. It’s been wonderful to have our parents feed back to us about their child’s learning in the home environment. The comments and the photos you’ve shared and the time you have invested have been heartening. I’ve also loved hearing from both students and parents how the silver lining of this time has been working for them, often the increased time together leading to other activities like cooking, bike riding and working on various projects.  

I’ve been amazed as I have watched the staff dedicate themselves so generously to both their own and their colleagues' work. Skills have been shared, offers of help have been given and accepted, and the strong bond between students and school has been maintained. All of this has been achieveable because of the whole-hearted support that we have received from parents. I think it is this sense of community that is really worth celebrating.  

I have placed a few quotes below that I have received over the course of the last few weeks that demonstrate the substance of some of the words that I have used above.  

A quick note to say a huge thank you for Kaitlin's birthday card in the mail today - she was so surprised and excited. Just beautiful.
As for this morning, what an incredible effort - thank you so so much.  Truly heartfelt and the girls were so excited to see all the teachers waving and smiling.  Another example of our beautiful teachers, our leaders, our friends.  Thank you SJV

Just passing on some positive feedback from the Hill's...They loved seeing all the happy faces this morning and getting the sweet treats. Fantastic idea, really enjoyed it and thank you for setting it all up and all the hard work.

Overall we have been extremely happy with the quality of the program that SJV has developed and we want to thank yourself, Mrs Stilling and all involved. We also wanted to mention that we are astounded at how quickly and seamlessly you have been able to pivot from face-to-face lessons into an online environment. This is no mean feat, and something that the whole school should be proud of.
We feel truly blessed to be part of the SJV community.

What an amazing job Sharee and the school are doing. The speed with which resources were organised for last term was great. The remote learning for this term is amazing. I know friends in the UK have nowhere near the level of interactivity and communication you have all achieved.
I have no idea if the rest of your staff group are as dedicated as Sharee but if they are you have a phenomenal team on your hands.

I am beyond impressed with Sharee and the school's response to this situation.

We have always been a family, and now, more than ever, we see the connectedness between each of us.

None of us is alone.