School superhero Mechel Poukalis

Principal at Cumberland High School

At Cumberland High School, in Sydney, 70 per cent of students speak a language other than English, and 57 different languages are spoken altogether. When COVID-19 hit with force in February, many of principal Mechel Poukalis’ 780 students were stranded overseas. Others, whose families had already weathered SARS, were self-isolating, terrified in their homes. “You can imagine the fear if you’d been through that,” says Mechel. “So we’ve been dealing with this outbreak from early on.”

The school now runs its regular timetable online and the library is open for children who need to be at school. They can join the online classes there, and Mechel is determined to keep that space open for them. Some wouldn’t have adequate supervision at home, others wouldn’t have access to technology and there are others for whom school is simply a safer space.

Some teachers have always volunteered to come in early to provide a breakfast club, and that’s still running, even with diminished numbers. Plus, as the canteen has closed, Mechel is buying pizzas and other favourite take-aways for lunch.

Cumberland’s staff are pulling out all stops to ensure this pandemic deprives no one of an education.

“Our administration team is calling children at home to make sure they’re logged on and know what to do, because we’re running our regular timetable, as we would if the kids were at school. We have learning support available on the phone. We have telecounselling when students need someone to talk to.

“Many of the kids are very distressed. I think they’re missing us immensely, and we’re missing them.”

Mechel has also supplied internet dongles and laptops to kids who need them, boxes of supplies have been ferried home for HSC major works, and she has even ordered groceries for families who have been unable to get to the shops. “Some of our families have it really hard,” she says. “That’s just the way it is.”

Mechel knew in her heart that she wanted to be a teacher at age four, but it wasn’t until a Year Nine history teacher (shout out to Ms Paraveskis) spotted her talent that she began really dreaming of going on to university. She was the first of her very traditional Greek grandparents’ granddaughters to get there.

Now 48, she is determined to support her teachers and students through this crisis.

“There’s so much negativity and so much despair at the moment,” she says, “but when we come together and support each other, we’re stronger. We will be able to get through this. I believe that, and I try to communicate that to my school community, to say: It will be hard but you can always call on us to be there for you. We will do whatever it takes.” ST