From the Principal

At the heart of our Ignatian tradition lies a call to explore the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity. This week’s focus on Science aligns seamlessly with this principle, but is not only through the study of Science that our students’ innate curiosity is ignited of course.  It is during every year of John XXIII College schooling, from Pre-Kindy to Year 12, that we encourage our students to ask questions, investigate and seek answers. 

As I have written before, if we truly believe that we are called to prepare our students for life’s inevitable challenges so they can go out into the world and make a positive difference and be people for others, which is of course our mission, we need to ensure our students are appropriately skilled to do so.

We have to prepare our students for their future as opposed to our past. To be well prepared for their future, our students need to think critically, be creative, communicate and collaborate, and the development of these skills needs to start as early as possible. One of the blessings of our Pre-Kindy to Year 12 College is that we can ensure our students are taught how to develop these skills from a very young age. We can have a powerful influence on our students’ preparedness for the world that lies beyond the John XXIII College fence line.

‘Innovation: Powering future industries’ has been the theme of this week’s Science Week. Perhaps to truly innovate we need to consider the importance of ‘failing forward’ which is such a critical component of scientific discovery and learning more generally. Being courageous enough to embrace the struggle of learning new concepts and celebrating the effort and the deep understanding that subsequently eventuates are such important traits to develop in order to better prepare our students for their futures.

Finally, during a series of meetings with Loreto School Principals this week I was reminded of the importance of innovation when reflecting on the impact on education of one of our founders, Mary Ward. Considered to be a ‘dangerous innovator’ during her life, Mary Ward was imprisoned by the Church for her passionate belief in the education of those who were refused access to an education at the time, namely females.  Mary Ward certainly had the courage to embrace her struggle and it is our modern-day society that is the true beneficiary.  Fittingly, congratulations to Yvie Rigg, College Captain, who was awarded first place in the 2023 Speak for Faith public speaking competition.  Yvie delivered an inspiring speech on the developing role of women in the Church.

Congratulations also to two students who were awarded major awards at the Angelico Arts Exhibition this week.  Year 12 student, Elizabeth Newton, was awarded second prize in the Angelico Arts General Exhibition category and overall winner of the Fra Angelico Award 2023 and, congratulations to Year 11 student, Bella Samson, for receiving the Caritas Award.

Daniel Mahon

Principal

Heritage  |  Issue 50  | August 2023

Welcome to the August 2023 issue of Heritage. This issue is packed with stories of John XXIII College Alumni, staff and students creating, leading and innovating for a better world.