The Delany community
Here we are at the conclusion of the school year. What an extraordinary year, but not without some silver linings. We were fortunate and blessed that our immediately Delany families remained COVID-free in the worst of the Sydney outbreak. By April we were closed! It was at this point that our outstanding teaching staff rose to the occasion and, with the flick of a switch, moved to online learning mode.
At the beginning of term 2 Delany College was one of the first schools in the state to have Year 12 students return to the classroom. Year 11 students followed quickly after, and from that point online lessons simultaneously commenced with limited class attendance for Years 7 to 10. Just as quickly, before the end of Term 2, we were thrown back together.
I write this to highlight the rapid changes we have all survived this year. Teachers and students have adapted quickly to these disruptions, but I also acknowledge that many families and students were (and remain) under pressure. Thank you for your continued support of the College, and I invite you to contact us if there is any support we can provide to you and your families.
The academic community
Our driving question for 2021 is:
To what extent am I improving all students’ learning?
During these last weeks of term we remain full steam ahead as we prepare teaching programs for 2021. To complete my discussion of the above driving question I’ll briefly write about learning.
Our program of learning for 2021 will focus on the “whole person”, meaning:
academic - content is driven by our NSW syllabuses, while the College has discretion over how these are delivered. We use an inquiry-based learning framework which teaches and challenges students to apply the taught skills (surface skills) to real-world problems and scenarios (to deepen their understanding), with the ultimate goal of enabling students to apply these skills to unfamiliar situations (transfer of skills and knowledge).
social - our program for years 7 to 10 in 2021 will explicitly provide time to teach skills including wellbeing, growth mindset, resilience and positive mental health (to name a few). We know that school (and in fact all our working lives) are intensely social in nature, and it is important that students are equipped with the skills to be successful in their part time job or full time employment.
wellbeing - similarly, an aptitude for resilience and good mental health is more important than every. Our programs will introduce students to skills and strategies to monitor and manage their own mental health, to seek assistance when necessary, and explain where and how to access services when things go wrong.
The Patrician community
We wish our Patrician brothers, here in Australia and around the world, a blessed and joyful Christmas. The Brothers have been sorely missed from our corridors this year, and we look forward to having them more regularly in 2021. We finish the year with good news for our Delany Foundation with a donation of approximately $1500. This, along with the food donations to the Vinnies Christmas appeal, is a reflection of the generous spirit of our students and families. Thank you for your support throughout the year.
I acknowledge that Christmas can be the best and hardest of times. It is a joyful event with family and friends, but for some it highlights loneliness and loss. I pray that every member of our student and family community is blessed with peace, good health and joy over this period.
St Patrick, pray for us.
Mr Anthony Blomfield
Assistant Principal
