Our mission at Wilderness is always to ensure that every girl can be the best that she can be.

Even when we face challenges, including a state-wide lockdown, our highest priority remains the girls and their education.

Together, we faced the hurdles the pandemic laid before us, remaining true and adventurous in our learning.

It is a testament to the professionalism and quality of our staff that, despite these hurdles, they seamlessly leaped into virtual learning and continued our tradition of providing rich learning experiences, whether face-to-face or online.

Meanwhile, our girls embraced their remote classrooms with open arms and epitomised the meaning of true and courageous self.

This excellence, effort and can-do attitude encompasses the Wilderness spirit.

Yesterday, we connected with the girls and staff via a Whole School Assembly broadcast to their classrooms. This was a wonderful way for us to come together after being apart.

SRC President, Ella Beinssen, encapsulated the School’s thoughts on the kind, joyful and open-minded approach our girls and staff took to learning throughout lockdown.

“I just want to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of you for your open-mindedness and cooperation over the last week – we did what we had to do and it’s so good to be back together again.

“On behalf of all of us, I want to say a massive thank you to every member of staff for their flexibility and kindness during lockdown. We are so lucky to have you – your hard work and commitment to our learning enabled our week of online school to run so smoothly.

Middle School SRC President, Elena Tsamaidis, commended the School's flexibility when facing the challenge of moving to remote learning at the start of Term 3.

"Isn't Wilderness School the model of flexibility and success in online learning - fast, skilful and effective. James Bond isn't a patch on the girls here.

"Congratulations to you all, our magnificent teachers, students and staff including our genius IT Department for continuing to teach and learn with excellence during all the challenges of a lockdown and in the midst of a global pandemic."

Our Junior School SRC President, Annika Ganesh, also noted the resilience of our girls.

“I am delighted to be returning to the classroom after what has been a challenging time for our community. And I can see from the happy and excited faces of our ELC and Junior School girls that this is a feeling that we all share. 

“While there is nothing quite like the feeling of walking through the school gates, we should all be very proud of the resilience and positive attitude we have shown in keeping up with our remote learning.

“It's great to be back in school doing the things we love, playing together, sharing stories, hearing about all the things everybody has been up to, and importantly, getting on with our learning. We look forward with hope and excitement to all the amazing events coming up in Terms 3 and 4. As leaders of the Junior School, I, along with my peers in Year 6, will be positive mentors and create many happy memories.”

These reflections from the girls echo the School’s remote learning curriculum's exceptionally positive feedback from the community.

It fills me with confidence that no matter what challenge presents, together Wilderness will rise to it.