From the Principal: 27 April 2022
By Fiona Godfrey, Principal
As we begin another new school term, I would like welcome back staff, students and parents. I hope everyone is well rested and ready to be fully involved in another busy time at the College. Traditionally, Term 2 is a demanding time for academic assessments, especially for our senior students, as they head towards their mid-year examination period. I encourage all students to be as organised as possible.
At the end of last term, I announced that our Head of Secondary School and Deputy Principal, Dr Adrian Johnson, will be leaving Radford at the end of this term to take up the role of Principal at Trinity Anglican College, Albury. We have already started the process of finding Adrian’s successor, having appointed Fisher Leadership to lead the recruitment process, which will involve an extensive national search.
Although we initiated this recruitment process very quickly, it will be impossible to have someone in a position to start at Radford from the beginning of Term 3. We may need to even wait until the beginning of next year to have someone suitable appointed to the role. Therefore, we will be appointing one of our senior members of staff from the Secondary School to be the Acting Head of Secondary School for at least Term 3, and perhaps even slightly longer. An announcement will be made to the school community in the coming weeks as to who that person will be.
The situation is somewhat complex because it was arranged with the Board last year, before Dr Johnson's resignation, that I should take a sabbatical this year. I decided that Term 3 would be the least-disruptive time to be out of the school, not knowing at the time that we would looking for a new Head of Secondary School. It would be impossible to now completely change arrangements for my sabbatical, however, it will now begin from the start of Week 3 in Term 3, two weeks later than initially planned.
I had originally intended that the two Deputy Principals, Dr Adrian Johnson and Mr Andy Gordon, would share the Principal’s duties and act on my behalf whilst I was on sabbatical leave. However, those responsibilities will now be predominantly fulfilled by Andy Gordon. The Acting Head of Secondary School will still oversee all Secondary School events, assemblies, camps, new student interviews and tours, and any other matters pertaining directly to the Secondary School.
My sabbatical will be a mixture of school-related work and rest and relaxation. During the time that I will be overseas, I will be visiting a number of Round Square schools with whom we organise exchanges, visiting a number of other schools who run interesting and varied programs, and spending some time in Reggio Emilia (the birthplace of the Reggio Emilia Early Years Framework which is used in our ELC). I will also spend some time in Spain, seeking to establish a sister school relationship with a suitable school. This will enable us to have an exchange schools program for our Spanish language students, in the same way we currently offer exchanges for the Japanese, French and Chinese language students.
Changes to the mask-wearing mandate in schools
Over the holiday period, I received correspondence from the Chief Health Officer (CHO) advising of changes to the mandated public health requirements for schools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. The letter said ACT Health has recently undertaken a review of public health social measures (PHSM) and test, trace, isolate and quarantine (TTIQ) requirements to ensure that restrictions remain proportionate to the risk being managed.
The review has determined that the Public Health Direction can be amended to remove the mandated requirement for face masks to be worn in indoor spaces at a school or ECEC setting. This change came into effect from 11:59pm on 25 April 2022.
The Chief Health Officer’s letter said that this change reflects current views that a mandate for mask wearing in school settings is no longer a proportionate response in the context of our improved understanding of the severity of the Omicron variant, our community vaccination coverage, and consistency across other settings in the ACT. This change also reflects requirements in place within most other jurisdictions.
Whilst the mandate is no longer in place, we will be reviewing all school-related activities, and may, as part of our risk planning, determine that masks are compulsory for some activities or some settings going forward. On such occasions when masks are required for Secondary School students, we will notify students, staff, and parents, well before the event or activity. However, we would ask that all Secondary School students still routinely bring a mask to school and leave some spares in their locker or school bag.
Seeking expressions of interest in joining Board committees
As some of you may be aware, the College Board is supported by three Committees:
- Finance Committee
- Education and Wellbeing Committee
- Building and Grounds Committee.
The Board is currently seeking expressions of interest to fill upcoming vacancies on the Committees. Expressions are sought from people who have relevant experience in operating on boards and/or governing committees or sub-committees, with relevant skills appropriate to the roles and responsibilities of the committees.
Please contact the Secretary to the Board, David Perceval, at David.Perceval@radford.act.edu.au to obtain the respective committee charters.
Expressions of Interest are to take the form of a brief half-page outline of relevant skills and experience and your reason for expressing interest.
Expressions should be provided to the Secretary by no later than Friday 6 May 2022, via email to David.Perceval@radford.act.edu.au