From the Principal

Mystery At Magpie Manor

Congratulations to our talented Year 4 students and our Primary Music Teacher, Mrs Shelley Morrell, on this week’s excellent production of ‘Mystery at Magpie Manor’. Thank you to all involved in such a wonderful Production. 

Dressed For All Occasions 

Two of my daughters are University students. My 18 year old recently attended an interview for a summer vacation role for a national retail outlet. Interestingly, the job interview was conducted and recorded online which I found fascinating. Zoe, and the other candidates, were advised to watch an instructional video on how to prepare for the interview particularly as answers would be delivered to a camera and the respondent would not be able to gauge the reactions of the person framing the questions.

One of the suggestions on the instructional video was for the candidates to dress as though they were attending the interview in person. The idea was for the candidates to place themselves in ‘interview mode’ to be best prepared for the questions to follow.

That is often our message to students – dress according to the situation. When the West Coast Eagles head to Adelaide this weekend there will be an expectation on how they travel and present for the game. Closer to home when our Musicians display their skills they will be expected to adhere to dress requirements for the role. Similarly, our Rowers recently attended their end of year function and followed some protocols with respect to dress and appearance.

The same applies at school. We ask our students to attend classes in a punctual manner and to be appropriately attired and prepared for class. When I spoke to our Year 12 students this week I reinforced the importance of attending to those small factors. The workforce demands punctual attendance and so does the school. We expect our students to adhere to uniform and grooming requirements. It is part of being a member of the John XXIII College community. I am really pleased that we have had so much support from our community in attempting to raise standards in these areas.

I am sure this week that the AFL finalists will receive plenty of instructions as part of their game plan. Coaches will remind their players to attend to processes rather than worrying about the scoreboard. It is amazing how often attention to detail can lead to improved results.

Mother's Day And Father's Day Celebrations

Every year the College conducts beautiful Masses to celebrate the special occasions for our Mums and Dads. As part of the Fathering Project, we receive regular emails with suggestions and ideas for parents. I particularly like this week’s message from a former Prime Minister:

"You just have to be flexible so that when they want to talk you are willing to do so. I always just put aside what I'm doing and talk to them. Sometimes they would come in and sit on the bed and talk late at night. Of course sometimes it's impossible - if I'm in Question Time or in the middle of a speech. I guess it is similar to a surgeon operating on somebody - you can't interrupt then - but beyond that you should never be too busy to talk to your family. That's really what it boils down to. It's not a terribly revolutionary theory but it seems common sense to me that if you want to tell your children that they are important the best way of doing it is to never be too busy when they want to talk to you."

- John Howard

(via the Fathering Project 2017).

Together, let us seek justice.

Yours sincerely

Robert Henderson

Principal