Principal's Post

May the best House win!

Term Two has commenced at an extremely fast pace, with so many celebrations and students being involved in an array of diverse activities and events. The enthusiasm leading up to tonight’s Interhouse Performing Arts Festival has been infectious with fierce competition playing out between the Houses even before they head to the Town Hall this evening – may the best House win!

St George’s Day celebrated the ‘bravery of Saint George’ in typical St George’s style with a whole school service-learning initiative, led by Mr Ryan McBride, commencing our Patronal Festival and then closing with a Eucharist Service at St George’s Cathedral, led by The Most Reverend Kay Goldsworthy AO, Archbishop of Perth. It was also the day that we celebrated two of the heroes in our own school community whose daily interactions with all at St George’s demonstrate that they live the School’s values of Wisdom, Grace, and Service. I would like to add my own heartfelt congratulations to Ben Humphreys (Year 11) and Meg Docherty (Year 9) who were announced as our 2024 St George’s Day Award recipients as part of our St George’s Day celebrations on Monday. Both students are outstanding citizens of our school who contribute positively to the St George’s Community in so many different ways. I thank them for all that they so willingly give to make St George’s such a wonderful school ~ congratulations Ben and Meg.

Often, brave people are described as being ‘fearless’. This is not how I view being brave - courage is not a characteristic that is fearless and brave people need courage in abundance. Nelson Mandela speaks often of bravery. He talks of being brave as not being fearless but of having the courage to stand up and conquer our fears. This reminds me of the St George’s School Prayer where we ask God to ‘give us the bravery of Saint George to stand up for what is right’. Courage is about using your brain and your heart at a time when every inch of your body is screaming at you to fight or flee – and then following through these thoughts in actioning what you believe to be the absolute right thing to do even if it goes against the tide of other people's actions at the time. Admitting we are afraid or fearful can sometimes make us feel weak, small, or frightened; yet it is these very precise acts of courage that are the first step towards us becoming truly brave.

Brave people frequently take a moral stand and possess a clear sense of purpose within their lives. They have clearly articulated goals towards which they aspire to achieve. This week we celebrated with our Year 12 students the milestone of only 100 days to go until they graduate as the Class of 2024. For many of this cohort this is the end of a journey that commenced for them here in the heart of the city as little Year 7s, some six years ago. It was a wonderful day to see them grasp the fear of what lies ahead , celebrate what they have already achieved as a cohort of supremely successful St George’s students and to acknowledge that the next 100 days will need for each of them to uniquely demonstrate their bravery and to be courageous in all of their undertakings. We wish them all the very best of luck for the next 100 days and beyond.

An artist and writer, Mary Anne Radmacher once said “courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is like the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow” . . . 

This for me is the message of the week for all St George’s students; to keep pressing forward even in the face of the adversity that we all face in our everyday lives. Bravery is not always about grand gestures or demonstrating with great gusto the heroics of Saint George, it is equally about the quiet resilience that supports us to keep moving forward positively even on the most difficult of days. 

Warmest wishes,

Mrs Tina Campbell

Principal