LORETO TOORAK
Farewelling our Captains of School
Mia O’Callaghan and Francesca Zappia What a year! 2020; a year that none of us would have expected. At the start of the year, our biggest concern as Captains of School was maintaining a cohesive school spirit with the new school timetable. Yet, little did we know that we would be thrust into the midst of leadership online. At the start of the year, with great enthusiasm and optimism, we eagerly embarked upon our roles, ready to influence the Loreto community with our Verity theme; “ignite our light, let truth unite”. Having rarely thought much about Verity before, we were ready to passionately promote the ideas of being authentic and true to the rest of the student body. Verity was exemplified in our wonderful Performing Arts Festival where our senior students put on a night to remember for our entire Loreto Toorak community.
for the students, it offered some light relief and was a vehicle through which they could connect with the School Leaders. Although we deeply missed our friends and certainly would have preferred a year trapped in the atrium of the Mandeville Centre rather than our bedrooms, our year at home has undoubtedly uncovered our resilience. This year has provided different challenges for everyone, but embracing a positive outlook, we can say that our circumstances have left us with lifelong skills that we can draw on in future years. It has deepened our sense of gratitude, particularly for the smallest instances of human connection.
This year has deepened our sense of gratitude, particularly for the smallest instances of human connection. However, Verity has taken on a completely new meaning in the context of our current climate. On Sunday 15 March 2020, Loreto Toorak students were informed of our first transition to online learning and we quickly realised that Microsoft Teams would become our new best friend. Initially anticipating an interesting and trivial two-week quarantine experience, only looking back now can we realise and appreciate the fact that Loreto Toorak girls have conducted most of their lessons online this year. Although initially disappointing, the challenges of the remote learning experience only encouraged us as Captains of School to work even harder to bolster school spirit. Our semi-frequent production of Keeping up with the Councillors episodes became our new platform to interact and engage with the girls at home. For the Councillors, it offered them the opportunity to demonstrate and share their tips and tricks of surviving quarantine life, and 8
Whilst we have been told many times what a disappointing year it is to be Captains of School, we politely disagree with this statement. Leadership is not all about everything running smoothly; true leadership is about maintaining perseverance and flexibility even when confronted with challenges, like a global pandemic. Yet, we would not have made it through this time without the support of all our teachers. We would particularly like to thank Dr Stevens, Ms O’Dwyer, Mrs Guggenheimer, Mrs Jaensch and of course our wonderful Councillors for their continuous encouragement throughout this year. Finally, to the Class of 2020, we wish you all the best in your future endeavours and despite not being together in person this year, we remind each and every one of you that once a Loreto girl, is always a Loreto girl.
