Principal
Time Management
On Friday we held a virtual assembly for the entire school. In my address, I stated my expectations to the boys about setting their learning and personal goals for this second semester. I reminded them about our assembly on 25 March where I spoke to them about using their time wisely.
In that assembly, I asked the boys to imagine they had a bank account that deposited $86,400 each morning. The account carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every dollar each day!
We all have such a bank. Its name is Time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever time you have failed to use wisely.
It carries over no balance from day to day. It allows no overdraft so you can’t borrow against yourself or use more time than you have.
Each day, the account starts fresh. Each night, it destroys any unused time. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, it’s your loss and you can’t appeal to get it back.
There is never any borrowing time. You can’t take a loan out on your time or against someone else’s. The time you have is the time you have and that is that.
We know that some boys are wasting their time during their lessons and during their breaks. There are some who disrupt lessons. They don’t listen. They disrupt others. They are really spoiling the learning experience for the teacher and the students in that class.
There have been some boys who have been malicious and mischievous towards others. Instead of using their recess and lunch breaks to eat, enjoy one another’s company, get some sun, stretch the legs, and exercise a little, they spend their time seeking ways to make trouble. They make trouble by annoying others; spreading idle gossip; making other boys feel uncomfortable. What a waste of your precious time.
In the cases I have come to know in the last week, their progress at school is being hampered by their childish, inappropriate behaviour. They are wasting their time. They are wasting some of the 86,400 seconds given to them for that day to use towards their life. What a waste!
I challenged the boys that as young people, time management is theirs to decide how they spend the time, just as with money you decide how you spend the money.
It is never the case of us not having enough time to do things, but the case of whether we want to do them and where they fall in our priorities.
If you want to succeed at school, to improve and make progress, use that precious time wisely. You will never get it again. You DO have time to make a change.
The way we spend the time we have been given defines who you are.
If you are a person who spends his time spreading malicious rumours and fuelling friendship fires, then that says a lot about you. You are not a good friend. You may get a laugh or two; make yourself feel big and tough. But in effect, you are wasting your time on being a shallow friend.
If you spend your time at school listening and participating in lessons rather than challenging the teacher at the front, then you will not get the benefit of that class or the teaching expertise of your teacher.
In the playground, are you having fun, a laugh, looking out for those that are alone? You are a person making the best use of your time account.
As Mother Teresa once said:
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever.
Building Progress
The Scientia Building is a little behind schedule and we anticipate we will need a few weeks in the new year to move in. No matter. We will manage as we still have our science laboratories in the Hodda Building and a functioning canteen.
Here is the time lapse video of the building works to date. You will see how the rain events have hampered the progress of the build. This video is hosted on our website on a page dedicated to documenting the build.
In Memoriam
We keep in our prayers Dominic Taffa (Year 11), Old Boys Julian ('18) and Christian ('20) Taffa, and their cousins Andrew ('11) and David ('17) Colman on the loss of their beloved grandmother, Margaret Young, who sadly passed away earlier this week.
We pray for the repose of her soul and all the souls of the faithfully departed.
Requiescat in Pace.
Dr Vittoria Lavorato
Principal
SPC boys can do anything!
**except divide by zero