PRIN CIPA L REPORT
WEATHERING THE STORM Rangi’s Leading Ladies - left to right: Stephanie Barnett (Deputy Principal - Care & Development), Melanie L’Eef (Assistant Principal - Teaching & Learning), Juliet Collins (Assistant Principal - Curriculum) with School Principal Dr Sandra Hastie.
The year 2020 has certainly thrown us some curve balls. Every one of us has had to learn to adapt, adjust and rethink how we could work and live differently, on top of accepting many disappointments such as cancelled events and special occasions. The journey has indeed been a team effort and we have all played our part in some way. The impact of COVID-19 on the world has been immense, and its effect may unfortunately continue to be felt for some time. The uncertain waters that we have had to navigate have affected us all, with some managing to live in smoother conditions, while others are still in rough waters hoping that a sense of normality will soon return. As a country, we have been so fortunate that our government has ensured that we have so far been able to limit the effects of the virus, enabling us to participate and join together in many activities; a privilege not currently enjoyed by most of the world’s population. We have a lot to be grateful for. The staff team at Rangi have been outstanding in adjusting so quickly in the delivery of their learning programmes. To move to Remote Learning Delivery at all levels, and maintain continuity in both quality learning and wellbeing, was no easy feat and the team remained focussed on the girls throughout.
We realised early on that being in front of screens all day was exhausting and that powerful learning, which we know can only happen when we are engaged, energetic and focussed, meant we kept online sessions short and meaningful, allowing students to manage their time. We also recognised that at the centre of dealing with the effects of isolation, was wellbeing. Our Deans and Tutors worked tirelessly to ensure that each student was connected on an individual basis and our Psychologists continued to reach out to students who were finding the situation stressful. With their reassurance and strategies, I knew that every one of our girls were being cared for; a huge sense of relief for me as a Principal, running a school remotely, navigating unchartered waters without a manual! As educators, this experience has given us the opportunity to reassess how we are currently delivering our teaching and learning programmes. By gathering feedback from students and parents, we have challenged ourselves to set new goals and direction, rather than reverting back to how things were and the comfort of familiarity which would have been so easy to do. Coming back to school, we made changes to our timetable to allow a later start time so that sports and extra-curricular activities could happen at the start
of the day, and lunchtime was limited to 30 minutes with the focus placed on eating, recharging and connecting, not tearing off to attend meetings or practices. I am very proud of our girls and the resilience they have demonstrated in embracing both the compromises foisted upon them and such a different way of learning. Our students adapted quickly, worked through challenges and were so responsive to each other. Led by our Senior Leaders, the theme of “Live, Laugh, Love” chosen for 2020, couldn’t have been more appropriate, as they collectively set about ensuring that every girl was able to feel that sense of sisterhood and that “we were all in this together”. Reading through this edition of Wide Sky, you will see evidence of all that has been achieved despite the year that we have experienced. There has still been much to celebrate and appreciate. We look forward to 2021 with the hope of a vaccine and perhaps the chance to travel abroad again, however, should COVID-19 still make an appearance, we know that we are strong enough to face it together. “It might be stormy now, but rain doesn’t last forever” anon
Words by Dr Sandra Hastie SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
