From our Principal

MS MARINA UGONOTTI

PRINCIPAL

“Our call as Loreto people is to actively navigate change by recognising its transformative potential and embracing it with joy.”

AS EDUCATORS AND LEARNERS IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT, WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH CYCLES AND SEASONS.

Every school year has its terms and its holidays; its winter and summer sports; its assessment blocks and its celebrations. As people of conscious Catholic faith, we are also guided by the Church calendar which distinguishes periods of contemplation, anticipation and festivity.

Rather than simply letting the passage of these seasons carry us along to December, our call as Loreto people is to actively navigate change by recognising its transformative potential and embracing it with joy, gratitude and vision. In 2021, when the contrast between our terms and seasons was as stark as ever and our routines overturned, this approach became particularly critical.

Like every school year, 2021 commenced with a season of anticipation and newness. We were buoyed by the optimism of the Year 12 student leaders’ motto, ‘Here comes the sun, Loreto 2021.’ Setting new goals across our FACE Curriculum, students and staff alike knuckled down to focus on learning and revelled in special events like Loreto Day and Music Festival.

What followed was an unexpected season of quiet and solitude as we entered an extended lockdown. For some, remote learning provided peace and calm, and for others uncertainty and loneliness. We drew strength from the legacy of our foundress, Mary Ward, who faced her own time of isolation and doubt when she was imprisoned for her radical insistence on female involvement in the Church. Just as Mary Ward wrote letters to remain connected to her companions, we too emphasised community and togetherness through our LN Community Olympics, IN-SPIRO Day, Tutor Group trivia and Boarding cohort virtual parties.

The return to onsite learning proved a season of wonderful gratitude and felicity. It was a delight to observe students on that first day back as they greeted their friends, decorated the quad with chalk flowers and motivational messages, and shared what they were grateful for on tiny cardboard ‘Normo’ girls which were then placed around the grounds.

Finally, as the school year concluded and we entered Advent, our community embraced a season of hope and renewal. We looked once more to the future; we met new Loreto families at virtual Orientation Days, launched the first phase of our Master Plan upon approval of our SSDA and planned for the 2022 celebrations of Loreto Normanhurst’s 125th anniversary. Inspired by our Ignatian tradition of mindful reflection, we also took stock in all we had achieved throughout the year.

The beauty of the seasonal nature of the school year is that, when we look back, we can see evidence that we are constantly on the move. We can signpost our growth as people of service, spirituality, curiosity and compassion.

As you peruse these pages, I invite you to relish in the many and varied experiences, relationships and changes that have characterised Loreto Normanhurst in 2021. I hope this issue of Loreto Life will illuminate to you our community’s collective and resolute felicity amid ever-changing seasons.