A different kind of school reunion – community and belonging during COVID-19

As a COVID-19 project, myself and a few school friends have been working on a text-based reunion with our fellow Class of 1985-86 ‘white shirters’ (the senior year shirt). The idea was to share five points of personal significance since finishing the Higher School Certificate (HSC). They could be facts, insights, lessons learnt, or amusing anecdotes.

After months of sleuthing, we were able to contact almost two-thirds of our contemporaries. Most contacted opted in enthusiastically, a few were straight up ‘thanks, but no thanks’, a couple were ‘Why would I?’, and, sadly, two had passed away all too young. 

This afternoon the manuscript was emailed to all 55 who had participated. Included was a forward by an influential teacher, Year 11 and 12 group images, before and after pictures of each participant along with their five points, and a funny series of emails with our public school as we come to terms with the fact that all records of our existence were destroyed after only 7 years!

Possibly made all more poignant by my eldest daughter doing the HSC this year (of all the years) at the same school I attended, the project has provided an opportunity to reflect, give thanks for good fortune, consider those whose lives had intertwined with our own, and rekindle friendships lost in a pre-social media world. 

While COVID-19 has had significant impacts on the world, it has also let us think differently about how we connect with our communities, wherever we find them. While a face-to-face reunion would be the usual go-to, this text-based approach has allowed a deeper dive into each other’s lives than we could ever have possibly picked up in a rowdy function room. 

As described in the forward by my fellow classmate and project lead, Darren Campbell, 

“Ultimately, this catch-up is a chance to recognise that we are each a part of a greater humanity, all subject to the human condition. By sharing these glimpses of each individual's journey, all of us gain a broader appreciation of the joys and struggles life can bring and, with luck, understand more fully Plato's advice to, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle".”

While the attribution of the quote to Plato may be contentious, during this year and the challenges that surely lay ahead, the words and sentiment are worthy of remembering. 

Finding and connecting with community - whether by design or a random act of geography and fate that put you together in the same schoolyard over 35 years ago – provides a sense of belonging that can sustain even in the most difficult of times.

Our school motto was 'And joy in the making' and while being part of this project has been a labour of love, the lessons from the stories and the outpouring of appreciation from our peers has definitely made it all worthwhile.