Mandevillian, 2020, Vol35, No2

Page 73

MANDEVILLIAN DECEMBER 2020 VOL. 35 NO. 2

Returning to a New Normal During Mother Damien McGowan’s tenure [born in Scotland in 1907, music and singing teacher at Loreto Toorak from 1934 - 1945], Loreto Toorak was closed twice for several months during the polio epidemic of 1937–1938, when more than 2000 Victorian children were infected. The highly contagious disease affected children regardless of their social standing, which was alarming in a society accustomed to disease accompanying poverty. Polio was known as infantile paralysis, as the victims were mainly under 12 years of age. For quarantine to be effective, children needed to be isolated. During the peaks of the epidemic, students were kept at home and were not allowed to play with the children next door or travel on public transport. The students received their school work weekly by mail and returned it in the same way to the teachers for correction. Mother Margarita Farley and Mother Lena Bongiorno, two Sisters in the community who were attending the Toorak Teachers’ College, were isolated from the convent and the school. For several months they lived in the Priest’s Cottage, which was one of the chalets between Mandeville Hall and the gully. After the Easter break in 1938, school life gradually returned to normal routines. As we welcomed our students back to school in Term 4 of this year, we remember and acknowledge the difficult times in the past when we have been apart. Above Left: Junior School Prefects at the Mandeville Crescent gates, welcoming students back in 1961; Diana Schraeder, Angela Ward, Rosemary Hill, Amanda Jones, Jane Fink, Elizabeth St. Ellen, Jill Flanagan (Head). Above Right and Right: Years 11 and 12 students returning to school after COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne, Term 4, 2020.

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Mandevillian Goes Online

1min
page 78

Family News

4min
pages 76-77

From the Loreto Centre

3min
pages 74-75

Returning to a New Normal

1min
page 73

Donation to the Heritage Centre

1min
page 72

A Legacy Transforming Lives

3min
pages 70-71

Recognising our Donors

1min
pages 68-69

Where Are They Now?

7min
pages 66-67

Generations of Mary Ward Women

2min
pages 64-65

Worldwide Chapters

4min
pages 62-63

Visiting our Pearls

1min
pages 60-61

On Pilgrimage with Mary Ward

1min
pages 58-59

Loreto Vietnam

4min
pages 54-55

MWIA Global Projects

3min
pages 52-53

UN Gender Equality Summit

2min
page 45

Performing Arts

3min
pages 42-43

FULL CONCERT

1min
pages 40-41

A Farewell from St Peter’s ELC

3min
pages 38-39

ELC Returns to St Peter’s Parish

2min
pages 36-39

Inspiring Works of Justice

2min
page 35

Rathfarnham Writing Competition

1min
page 34

VCE Art Show

4min
pages 28-33

Awarding the Margaret Pratt Scholarship

1min
pages 26-27

St George’s Building Project

3min
pages 22-25

An Interview with Mr Séamus Scorgie

4min
pages 20-21

Loreto Toorak Farewells

1min
pages 18-19

2020/2021 School Councillors

2min
pages 12-17

Farewelling our Captains of School

2min
pages 10-11

2025 Strategic Plan

1min
pages 8-9

A Message from our Chair of the Board

6min
pages 6-7

From our Principal Dr Susan Stevens

2min
pages 4-5
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