Dear Parents/Guardians
The first term of the new year is now over and it has been a full one with moments along the way that have inspired us, yet ones that have also challenged us as a College. We have managed Covid well, I feel, with minimal infections in our community and a careful and compassionate approach with our boys. It has not always been easy as their natural instinct to connect, particularly physically, has had to be curtailed for the sake of their safety. They have had a return to a number of activities which they have enjoyed and it has given me great pleasure to see our boys playing again and taking part in events once more. My thanks go to all parents for working together with us as we manage this pandemic. My thanks go to our staff who are constantly watching out for the boys in their care. We have no idea when it will end, or indeed what that end will look like, but we will continue to look after our boys’ health, both physically and mentally.
The transformation journey has continued, albeit slowly, under Covid conditions which have not allowed for engagement and debate in large groups of people. The process of training staff took the form of a training session for 15 facilitators from our teaching and non-teaching staff and a session for our Executive team – both of which have been extremely valuable. We will be extending the training to the full staff of all three campuses on Monday 19 April in an all-day session involving every single employee of the school. We will thus have to close school for the boys that day as we undertake this important step and ask that parents understand the need for us to do so and support the process.
Staff news
We bade farewell to Ms Katherine Spindler who has taught junior Art and run the Accelerated Art Programme for many years. She leaves us to pursue her painting career full time and we wish her well for the future. My grateful thanks also go to Ms Wendy Moult and Dr Paul Murray who have stood in so capably for us this term. Both are accomplished experts in their fields and it has been wonderful to have them add to our boys’ experiences in the classroom. We will be welcoming the new permanent staff next term, Ms Rebecca Goble in Life Sciences and Mr Sam Mofokeng in the History department.
Discipline
At our final assembly of the term I spoke to the boys about the disciplinary process that plays out should something go wrong. While there is an understandable desire for people to be kept informed of process and consequence, that is not always possible in a school situation as we are dealing with minors. Whenever there is an issue to be dealt with, we will do so in an educational manner, keeping the best interests of the boys and the school at heart. We are fully aware that some may feel this “sweeps matters under a carpet”. I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. We will always deal with things we know about and incidents that come to our attention. But we will deal with them in a manner that respects the age of the boys involved and their emotional development. We must be very careful not to apply judgement normally reserved for an adult, developed brain, to that of a child still in development.
We have had a tough time this past week, as individuals and as members of the Bishops community as the spotlight fell on us again. I remain concerned at the ease with which matters were reported on in public without full knowledge of the real situation. We tried to keep parents informed as best we could given the circumstances, and assure them that this incident was not what it was made out to be. The boys have been dealt with as part of our disciplinary process and many valuable lessons learned by all.
Two main lessons stood out for me and I raised them with the boys at our final assembly today.
Social media and the ease with which images and content can be shared is both a blessing and a curse. Our boys often battle to understand what is appropriate and what is not and forget, in the moment, that what they send to another can have far-reaching consequences – for them or for the other person. There is a permanence at play as well, as the content they post, share, like or comment upon is there forever. I urge all parents to talk to their children about their cyber responsibilities. We will be trying to get help for them in the form of experts in the field of cyber law but this remains a vital part of parenting – those difficult conversations we need to have.
The second lesson is more difficult and has to do with masculinity, sexual citizenship and responsibilities. Our world has an awful history of abuse, particularly of women, and we need to help our boys become better men. Men who respect women and their partners, and respect the act of sex as one between consenting adults in a committed relationship, according to family values, tradition and acceptable practices. The criminal act of rape is abhorrent under every circumstance and our boys also need to understand what sexual consent is about – when “no” means “no”.
Part of this conversation is the respect our boys should show others - girls and women in particular. This includes names that girls are sometimes called, wolf-whistling, commenting on a girl’s clothing and so many other examples of completely unacceptable behaviour. This conversation is also one we as parents need to have with our children and I urge you to talk to your boy and teach him about how Good Men behave towards women as we work in partnership to help him.
I share the following words from Marge Kennedy which resonated with me, particularly as we deal with difficult moments as a community and within our families.
“In truth a family is what you make it. It is made strong, not by the number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring, and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a unit.”
Easter
We will be celebrating this most holy of our moments in the Christian calendar during the upcoming holidays. This is a time for deep reflection and spiritual renewal and I wish our families a Blessed Easter. A happy holiday to you all.
Kind regards
Tony Reeler
Principal |
