Dear Teachers, Students & Parents,
2020 was a tumultuous year for everyone. The invisible android
played havoc across the globe. Lives and events were turned upside down. People lost jobs, unemployment soared, thousands
died. Everything was locked down. Schools were shut, children missed their friends, teachers and school activities.
Remote Teaching replaced classroom teaching. Videos, YouTube links, WhatsApp messages, Google Classrooms & Google
meet, Zoom meetings, video recordings of lessons, assignments & tests, online MCQs & tests, uploading of pictures
& worksheets – all these replaced the real-time human interface. Fear gripped us all. Masks were out, children
were in! Sounds of the ambulance siren wailed each day and the town looked desolate and forlorn.
But now in 2021, even though the threat of the virus is real, things are slowly returning to normal. Crowds are back, there
is movement on the streets, schools have partially reopened and people are moving about normally. However, uncertainty
still prevails. Some are still reluctant to come back to school. Alarming news of the new variant of the virus which
spreads much more quickly than the original strain, is coming in. People are still watchful and afraid. As a result,
schools are functioning within prescribed limits and with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Where do we go from
here? What is in store for us in 2021? Will the vaccination reach us? Will it change things? Will it be safe for us
to go back to normality?
On the other hand, other serious and unseen problems are affecting our children and their families. Parents are weighed
down with additional responsibilities of looking after their children, checking their studies, plugging the learning
gaps, etc. Children are bored, listless, putting on weight, missing their friends, teachers and the school activities
. They are getting addicted to gadgets, internet, video games and screen time. They are getting detached from people
and human interactions. This is quite serious I feel and it needs to be addressed.
We are all up against numerous problems which are increasing daily. But am certain that our human spirit of resilience
will face this storm of uncertainty and ultimately prevail. People dear to us and known to us, have lost their lives.
Relationships have been severed. Families have been separated. Yet, we believe in the resurrection. Just like renewed
life emerges out of the ashes left by a violent and devastating volcano, we believe a new creation will emerge out of
the chaos left by the raging pandemic.
Let us all unite in our efforts to fight this virus and its rampaging effects. What we need is resilience in the
face of adversity. We need to look after our young and the elderly, the sick and the vulnerable. For our children,
we need to be there to listen to them and act with empathy. Let us all cohesively work to bring about some semblance
of sense and purpose in what we do, so that our children are happy.
We ask for God’s blessings on all our Teachers, Students, Parents, Administrative Staff, Support staff and the
Security personnel who are working in our school. We pray to God to keep us in good health always and for the
strength to face the uncertain future that lies ahead.
Stay safe & Stay blessed!
BR. SOLOMON
MORRIS
Principal