Beginning with the uplifting song ‘We’re All in This Together’ from High School Musical, Ms Gordon welcomes the whole school, and reminds everyone that although this can be a lonely time away from friends and family, we are still a strong school community, to which we all belong. The latest numbers show that incredibly there are now over 1.5 billion children around the globe — or nearly 90 percent of the Earth’s student population — at home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, and more than 63 million teachers are affected as well, according to UNESCO. While our Leaving Cert students are understandably worried about what will happen with their exams, they share this concern along with students across 185 countries.
Ms Gordon referenced the leadership we’ve witnessed from President Michael D. Higgins who called for ‘compassionate citizenship’, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s historic St Patrick’s Day speech: ‘In years to come, let them say of us, when things were at their worst, we were at our best.’ Ms Gordon also quoted the President of the EU Commission, Ursula Van Den Leyden’s acknowledgement of the importance of ‘small acts of kindness’ and solidarity. This is echoed in Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ words, ‘Selfishness will not protect us from coronavirus’. This idea of the social contract we all belong to is something TY students will recognise from our study of John Locke in Philosophy class.
Ms O’Kelly was celebrated for her tireless dedication to the school’s functioning online; instead of a standing ovation, a flood of emojis appeared in appreciation from students and staff. Ms Gordon commended staff for adapting so quickly to teaching online, and for maintaining a sense of routine and connectedness for students.
‘When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves’, Ms Gordon quotes the inspirational Viktor Frankl, famous Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor, to help us feel a sense of control over ourselves, in what can feel like a powerless situation. She urged students to think of silver linings or actions we could all take which would positively influence how we feel.
To conclude the assembly, I read Derek Mahon’s wonderful poem ‘Everything will be All Right’ from 2011 at Ms Gordon’s request. Here’s to remaining hopeful and looking after each other.
Ms L. Talbot
Everything Is Going To Be All Right - by Derek Mahon
How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?
There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.
The poems flow from the hand unbidden
and the hidden source is the watchful heart.
The sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.
