It feels impossible at the moment to open an internet page, turn on the TV or switch on the radio in the car without hearing something about COVID-19. Unfortunately, I really can’t avoid discussing it in this article today.
However, amongst all the uncertainty and naysayers, there are positives and there are some things we can absolutely be certain of!
The first thing I can reassure all high school students and parents about is that no matter what decisions are made about how school will operate in the coming weeks and months, we are perfectly positioned to continue delivering the curriculum and teaching our students in meaningful and effective ways.
Our experience using Google Classroom over the past four years has put us in a great position to be flexible in our delivery, and we have many other innovative initiatives in the pipeline that will ensure that you will get the very best education from Parkes Christian School.
Our Year 11 and 12 students can also rest assure that we will continue to deliver our HSC content extremely effectively and continue to work closely with universities and workplaces on early entry and employment programs.
But on a personal note, it is times like these I’m glad we live in Parkes. Not only are we a little more remote than our friends in the cities, but Parkes has been a town that has adapted well over the years. We have a world-famous Elvis Festival to battle the summer slowdown, water management systems for the drought, investment in industry which has resulted in growth as a town while many other country towns have shrunk.
Best of all, we have a Christian School in a small(ish) town, that towns of similar population would struggle to get up and running. We have God with us and we have a wonderful school community that will work together through this current crisis.
Now is the time for flexibility, adaptability and creativity, and I believe our school has an abundance of all those things. I look forward to coming through the other side of COVID-19 and being very proud of the amazing educational opportunities we were able to provide all our students.
Have a great week.
Mr Ballantyne
High School Coordinator