Fond farewell from me

This is my final ICT News before stepping down from my role as Director of ICT.

I thought to leave you with two of my poems, the first about cyber safety:

Suspicious Malicious

Discernment is an Ignatian trait

It can save you from ICT shock

Personalised emails are designed to bait

Via links to a Trojan doc

At first glance they might seem ‘dinkum

Salutation et al all looks fair

But click that link and the travails begin

‘Hello’ key logging ransomware!

As always:

Report criminal communications to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Report suspicious communications, particularly in relation to abuse, bullying and child safety to the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner.

For my second poem, I recall looking eastward over our glorious Loyola grounds one Spring morning when my office was up in Old Loyola on the second floor. The sun had just broken over the distant Dandenong Ranges, when I was distracted from my work by cockatoo cacophony over at the flagpoles. Crazy birds were hanging upside down on the school flags like unruly circus act wannabees, as if training for the bird brain Olympics!

Garrulous Cockatoos

A flapping flurry of sulphur and white

Garrulous cockatoos in frivolous flight

Squawking and screeching through crisp morning air

Stifling sweet slumber with acrid blare

Like young people, these playful, carefree creatures relished testing their courage against their curiosity – a sign of intelligence!

Providing a nurturing learning environment where the boundaries of knowledge and experience can be tested in a safe space is one of the challenges for any school ICT Department.

At Loyola College, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve you, our community, for the past 17 years. This experience has been made possible by supportive leadership, camaraderie amongst colleagues, parents/guardians striving in partnership with the school to enable optimal outcomes for each child and, of course, our wonderful students who have entrusted us to help them spread their wings – and fly!

Thank you for the memories.