Magazine 2020

3 2020 | Edition No. 23 | Barry Tilney Chairman Anne Ray Director Lorraine Roth Managing Director Brett Moore Director Anton Pillay Director Werner Roth Director Richard Knaggs Director No one expected our world to be turned upside down by the devastation of Covid-19 nor the impact it would have on humanity.We have all been affected in some way or an- other by this virus. Its effect on our everyday lives may have eased slightly, but the pandemic continues to take its toll. Even the slightest lapse in our alertness at this moment could lead to a resurgence in infections, therefore health and safety practices at school are a high priority. Teachers join front line workers as they risk their lives on a daily basis in order to teach, serve, protect and care for others. It is necessary for us to express our appreciation to these valuable people who continue to make our daily existence possible. At the onset of lockdown, our teachers moved seamlessly from face-to-face teaching in the classroom to delivering their exceptional lessons online, and comfortably became a part of each family’s daily life as a result of their presence in every learner’s home. Face-to-face, yet different. The astonishing resilience and ability of our learners to seize the moment, created opportunities for them to participate virtually in music and dance classes, concerts and fitness programmes and achieved exceptional results in eistedd- fods and competitions. Online lessons also provided our learners with an opportunity to meet virtually with their classmates and this often extended to interactive games during the afternoons, reducing the sense of isolation. The College achieved an exceptional level of online learning, which was no mean feat and resulted in lengthy preparation, professional delivery and personal communication with each learner, by every teacher. I would like to quote Mr Knaggs who has included the following statistics in his re- port, “Our backend reports that the school as a whole delivered 6238 hours of online synchronous learning, training and meet- ings from 6 April 2020 to the end of Quarter 3 (23 September 2020) through Google Meet. This is a total of approximately 1040 online school days of 6 hours each, which is just short of 3 years of online video interaction. In addition, asynchronous learn- ing and teaching through Google classroom, offline preparation and parent support added an immense amount of time to this calculation. No wonder everyone is feeling exhausted!” We are proud of the fact that our learners did not miss one academic day of school during this time and we recognise the important role played by parents in the process. How- ever, we can never underestimate the power of that individ- ual connection between a teacher and a learner. Thank you to our teachers for their enthusiasm, commit- ment and dedication to delivering learning online. Thank you for ensuring that every learner was able to complete the academic year having covered the full curriculum. It is our sincere hope that our Matrics of 2020, who have endured a disastrous year, will benefit from this all-round effort and do us proud in their final school examination. We are hopeful that 2021 will bring with it a return to some sense of normality and certainty, particularly on the educa- tion front. A lesson from Madiba’s life and legacy after almost a year of living in a state of disaster,“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others, that will determine the signifi - cance of the life we lead.” Hopefully the College has fulfilled this statement. We also need to demonstrate courage in the face of Covid. Madiba himself said,“We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road.” As we remember the past and contemplate an uncertain future, we can take inspira- tion from these wise words. Madiba is an example for us to emulate and his message is universal. 2020 presented us with extreme challenges, highlighting the extraordinary College spirit that was fostered by everyone within our community. We worked together driven by a common goal to provide the very best teaching and learning for the young people in our charge. I have been encouraged by the tremendous support displayed by our dedicated and caring staff and in particular, our Principals and their depu- ties.We also acknowledge our parent body for their posi- tive and valuable contribution and look forward to their on- going support as we move towards a new year in which we shall continue to extend, challenge and prepare ourselves for a dynamic and ever changing landscape. I would like to thank our Board of Directors for their con- tinued commitment to our vision and for their ongoing sup- port of the College. To our newly appointed Chairperson, Anne Ray, welcome. In closing, we would like to bid Mr Barry Tilney, our Chair- man since 2002, a fond farewell and thank him for his loyalty, support and guidance over the years. Hamba kakuhle, tot siens, au revoir, farewell. Lorraine Roth