Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School students had a tough first week of lockdown.
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Not only could they not see their friends and teachers in person but they found out their school was a casual exposure site and that everyone would have to be tested and go into quarantine.
Principal Brad Gaynor was trying to lift the spirits of his pupils by posting a video of himself lip-syncing to Eric Carmen's power ballad All by Myself while out the front of the empty school drop off zone.
Little did he know that the video would rack up thousands of views, bringing a bit of joy to all Canberrans.
"It was just purely for my community and [for the kids to] just have a bit of a laugh and a smile after such a tough week ... I had absolutely no idea that it was going to go so viral and have over 30,000 views," Mr Gaynor said.
"I'm slightly embarrassed to be honest. But, look, if it's given our community at my school and the ACT community a bit of a laugh, well I think that's a great thing.
"I think we need, as a community we do need to rally together and try to find some, some lightness in such a challenging time."
Mr Gaynor said the school was very well-supported by ACT Health and Catholic Education since being notified of the casual exposure.
All of the students and staff were able to be tested at the Gold Creek School pop-up site operated by Capital Pathology and had their questions answered through an online forum.
"It's been a real team effort and I'm very proud to be leading a school in such a great community."
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The primary school resumed home learning on Wednesday following the testing. This time around, everyone is more familiar with the platforms being used.
"We're just going to have a device-free Friday where you just check in and then [do] the activities you don't need to be online with, just to give everyone a bit of a break," Mr Gaynor said.
As for any other comedic relief, the principal has learned his lesson and will try to stay out of the virtual spotlight.
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Sarah Lansdown
Sarah covers all stages of education in the capital, from early childhood to higher education. Previously she was a general news reporter at The Advocate in North West Tasmania. She was named Best New Journalist at the 2019 Tasmanian Media Awards for a series on paramedic shortages. Email: sarah.lansdown@canberratimes.com.au
Sarah covers all stages of education in the capital, from early childhood to higher education. Previously she was a general news reporter at The Advocate in North West Tasmania. She was named Best New Journalist at the 2019 Tasmanian Media Awards for a series on paramedic shortages. Email: sarah.lansdown@canberratimes.com.au
