Missing the good stuff: Helping the Class of 2020 through a very different year

Their responses have married the comfort of keeping as many school-based events as possible running – such as the house music competition, which will be conducted virtually rather than in front of 2000 people at Costa Hall – with innovations including an online ‘press’ publication, and a recess channel where groups come together remotely during home schooling.

Cherished trips have been missed – to Cambodia, Vietnam, central Australia and a music tour to Queensland – but the show has gone on in house drama, and the popular annual ‘wearable art’ fashion parade will be filmed and shared.

Compassion and understanding are key; Glen McKeeman isn’t about to dismiss the students’ 2020 trials as small beer in the grander scheme.

Andrew Fuller notes that rites of passage have been spoken of throughout human existence, citing Homer writing of Odysseus’ 10-year struggle to return home from the Trojan War. In a recent webinar for The Parents Website, he floated the idea of celebrating a seminal event like graduation as soon as possible – even if that means next year.

That is one of several scenarios being discussed at CCG, including an outdoor, stand-up, cocktail-style gathering later this year if the climate allows. And there is a determination that a ritual unique to the school that has happened for nearly all of its 40 years will go ahead, even if in small groups.

‘Our Year 12s climb the clock tower on the last day of school and write their name on a brick,’ Glen McKeeman says. ‘It’s really emotional. I believe each student getting their brick is their mark, and their mark is part of something that’s much bigger than them.’

Before then, Andrew Fuller says it’s time for parents and schools to build some certainty into the crucial weeks leading up to exams. Put in the hard yards now, and the silver lining could include tertiary institutions with extra places to fill in the absence of foreign students. Whatever happens next, he says, society needs the enthusiasm and adaptability of youth more than ever.

‘I say to young people, “If ever there was a world in need of reinvention, here it is. Here’s an opportunity to think about the contribution you can make to a better future.’

And when they get to the other side, they’ll forever have a boast unlike no Year 12s before them. ‘Later in life, when people ask, “What was your final year of school like?” These kids can say, “Well, let me sit you down for half an hour and I’ll tell you!”’