PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Recently I attended a wonderful evening with a passionate group of educators who are a community of learners who wish to be challenged, stretched and inspired. As Christian educators from across the country, we meet regularly to discuss, debate and share their ideas on the interaction of Christian beliefs and educational practice. At our most recent evening we discussed the work of Professor Trevor Cooling - Faculty Director of National Institute for Christian Education Research – Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. The topic for the evening was the question “Does character trump competency?”

It was a lively discussion (as it always is when discussing Professor Cooling) and it sparked in me the memory of 2005. This was the year that the Federal Government distributed a poster to all Australian Schools outlining what it perceived as the essential Australian values. These are listed below:

Care and Compassion

Care for self and others

Doing Your Best

Seek to accomplish something worthy and admirable, try hard and pursue excellence

Fair Go

Pursue and protect the common good where all people are treated fairly for a just society

Freedom

Enjoy all the rights and privileges of Australian citizenship free from unnecessary interference or control, and stand up for the rights of others

Honesty and Trustworthiness

Be honest, sincere and seek the truth

Integrity

Act in accordance with principles of moral and ethical conduct; ensure consistency between words and deeds

Respect

Treat others with consideration and regard, respect another person’s point of view

Responsibility

Be accountable for one’s own actions, resolve differences in constructive, non-violent and peaceful ways, contribute to society and to civic life, take care of the environment

Understanding, Tolerance and Inclusion

Be aware of others and their cultures, accept diversity within a democratic society, being included and including others

In and of themselves, these fine values. There is a sense that these are all things that, as people in general, we would want our children to be familiar with and to apply to their daily lives. As a school that is founded on Christian values, the question of how well do these specifically and intentionally Australian values align with gospel teachings.

In the Gospel according to Mark (12:28-31) Jesus states in reference to the question posed regarding the most important commandment that:

“The most important one” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Love your neighbour as yourself! When you think about this statement and the world in which we live…this is a very radical statement.

It was this theme that framed my address to students and staff at the beginning of the year.

• Be respectful of one another
• To value all of our individual idiosyncrasies
• To welcome the stranger
• To understand that even if you do not agree with a person’s point of view (with the exception of illegal or unsafe activities of course) – they have the right to have the opinion
• To allow people to feel safe
• And to stand up for those who are the target of inappropriate interactions

Whenever I speak with young people in schools I am at pains to communicate that they will be together for the long haul and that their relationships are very special. We all remember the people we went through school with and it is these memories that are the most prevalent... both good and bad.

Paul Humble | Principal