Never before has patience been more of a virtue for our Year 9 cohort than over the past year.

We have weathered the uncertainty of lockdowns, missing various sporting finals and working through internet issues with good humour. We have persisted in baking together via Teams, learning how to scan and send multi-page documents on a phone and navigated the polite intricacies of gently telling teachers their microphone is off.

The light at the end of the 2021 tunnel has been the promise of balmy weather during our Year 9 Kakadu and Ningaloo Camp, scheduled (hopefully) for September. It has beckoned all year. The promise of camping under the stars, snorkelling over Ningaloo reef and appreciating the overwhelming vastness of the vistas in Kakadu. Not to mention diving headlong into our rich cultural history and learning first hand from First Nations people about their connection to the land we are so lucky to explore.

So, while we continue to incorporate our pets into meetings and thinking about how much time one can spend on a computer without getting square eyes, we keep our eyes on the prize and we are patient, and we are kind.