We ask that you cast your minds back to the Speech Night of 2019, which took place in this very hall, it was a wonderful event spent celebrating the year that had been. However, another common theme of last year’s Speech Night was detailing the exciting things to come in 2020, a year which was to mark the start of a new decade and coincide with St Margaret’s 125th anniversary. It is safe to say that everyone expected big things from 2020.
In particular, the senior cohort were delighted to finally don the brown collar and experience the year associated with it. The brown piping being symbolic of the final chapter, of leadership, respect, a year of lasts and exciting moments. However, while we had often been told to ‘expect the unexpected’, a global pandemic was not something we saw in our future.
Although 2020 was not exactly the year we imagined, it was a year which did not disappoint and one which we will remember and cherish forever. In light of the events of 2020, we have decided to discuss the values which we have come to utilise and appreciate throughout our unique senior year.
With the constant uncertainty that surrounded 2020, the ability to be adaptable and resilient were more important than ever. We had to let go of planning all the way from A to Z and be comfortable with planning from just A to B. After all, by the time we got to B things may already have changed. The necessity for flexibility presented itself when events had to be adapted to include social distancing, online capability and to adhere to COVID-safe policies. We were so proud of the way that girls transitioned to these adapted activities with excitement and energy as the pandemic could not keep the Maggies’ girls from sharing their passions.
2020 also taught us the importance of recognising the things you have control over and conversely, the things which you don’t. For example, moving into online learning was not something we had any control over. However, what we did have was the power to change was our attitude, our application and our mindset. We have found that it is far more beneficial to adjust your outlook, rather than try to approach challenges with a fixed frame of mind.
There were certainly times throughout 2020 where our confidences waivered, our frustrations surfaced, and we were puzzled by the events before us. It has been our St Margaret’s spirit which has stood firm and showed us that in coming together we were not only able to endure these setbacks, but thrive though them. The support of our teachers, peers and the wider community was integral to our emotional, physical and mental wellbeing and we could not be more grateful.
The tight-knit St Margaret’s community has always been one of our favourite aspects of the school. The moments of spirit that last forever like the announcement of the Old Girls’ Award, St Margaret’s Day and the Ponytail Project are all examples of our community coming together and celebrating. However, never before have community, spirit and connectedness been so important to the elaborate tapestry of our school and our world.
One of our biggest goals throughout the year was to amplify the spirit within our school and this became ever more pivotal during isolation and online learning. We had to find new ways of connecting, sharing and coming together. It’s safe to say that our video editing and vlogging skills drastically improved as we utilised online tools to connect with the girls and the wider community. We created the ‘prefect updates’ page on the POD as our main method of communication and interaction with students, staff and parents and were so excited to see how girls engaged with us virtually. Despite us being unable to celebrate our community and spirit in the ways that we were used to or were comfortable to us, we found new ways to do this, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and adapting to challenges.
Not only have the obstacles of this year taught us to appreciate the community and spirit within our school, they have encouraged each and every one of us to reflect on the importance of connectedness in our world. It has revealed that as a global community we need empathy more than anything else. The ability to understand how others may be feeling has helped us to gain perspective on our problems and to overcome mental challenge. We need empathy with those in our communities who are struggling the most, empathy with leaders and from leaders and empathy with those who we disagree with. As a school, and across the globe, 2020 has been a year of change, and one that has proven the importance of strength and commitment to our values. We know that as leaders, and as people, we have come out of this year as more resilient, adaptable, connected and empathetic individuals.
As seniors, as leaders and as a school, our expectations for 2020 were like fine pottery, the harder we held them, the easier they were to crack.
Rather than letting the broken pieces define our experiences, we reshaped them and utilised them to our advantage, finding the beauty and joy in a year that can only be described as ‘unprecedented’.
Karen Gorrie