Time, Our Most Precious Resource – Jennifer Oaten
Internet searches on how to bake bread have risen dramatically in the past few months as people stayed home and placed more value on doing things together as a family. For centuries, bread has fed, and nourished generations of people and our “stay at home” requirements have meant we have found the time to participate in this ancient form of cooking. The reason for this? Extra time in our lives.
Many of us have spent more hours at home because we have not been transporting or watching our children play sport on weekends and we have had reduced social engagements allowing us to just be still. Perhaps you have also enjoyed reading more, sitting and relaxing more, being in the garden or building connections with family.
Now that we have removed or minimised the external pressures, such as sport, social outings, and shopping trips, we have realised how overcommitted we are in our lives. How often do you ask a friend or colleague, “How are you?” and the response you receive is “I’m so busy”. This extra time at home has given us opportunity to reflect on how we utilise our time. Time is the most precious commodity we can have because unlike money, we can’t make more of it.
One of our challenges as a school is we want to provide many activities and opportunities for our girls. Staff want this, parents want this, and many of our girls want this. However, the incredible schedule we offer puts significant pressure and increased workload on our staff who coordinate and supervise these activities, excursions, incursions, co-curricular and special events. Our students have meetings during many of their breaks, and they often have co-curricular activities before and after school, making their day extremely busy and full. Then when you add classes and homework schedules, into the equation, where is the time to breathe?
"Time is the most precious commodity we can have because unlike money, we can't make more of it." Jennifer Oaten
The current restrictions have forced us to slow down a little. It’s given us the much-needed time to reflect on our lives, to reflect on the connections we have with those around us and take time to consider what is important. As a school, we have been discussing how easy it is to lose focus of our core business, to provide an education, when there are so many wonderful distractions that compete for our girls’ time.
We want our girls to find their passion, their niche, whether it be in service, sport, music, dance, drama but we also need to be smarter about how we offer all these activities and how they impact on the mental health of our students and staff. We want to focus on quality rather than quantity. As a school, we are always very reluctant to let go of historical activities and events, yet this year we have been forced to re-evaluate and look differently at all our events.
"We want to focus on quality not quantity." Jennifer Oaten
As we move forward, we want to ensure our girls have the right balance between academics, co-curricular, events, wellbeing and most importantly time to be still. For a short time, our world stopped turning, and suddenly we realised that our family and friendships are the most important thing we have. Ensuring we have time to nurture these is vital.
As educators, we can create the change, let’s re-evaluate and prioritise time.
- Featured
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
From the President – December 2024
Acting OGA President Mary Bairstow shares updates on alumni activities, including the Golden Girls’ Lunch, committee changes, and a call for alumni stories. Celebrate the festive season with reflections and plans for 2025 at Santa Maria College.
Calling for Applications – Year 5 2026 & Year 7 2028
Discover exciting opportunities at Santa Maria College for Year 5 (2026) and Year 7 (2028). Applications are open, and interviews start early next year. Give your daughter the chance to thrive in a nurturing and empowering community. Apply online now – secure your spot today!
From the President – November 2024
In the November edition of the Old Girls’ Association Blog, we warmly welcome the Class of 2024 and extend our best wishes to those completing exams. As the year concludes, we look forward to the Golden Girls Luncheon and reflect on unforgettable memories, with outgoing President Gemma Varone bidding a heartfelt farewell after seven dedicated years.