Principal's Message

Full Commitment

Today marks the end of the formal WACE Examinations. As always, we pray that our senior students have done well and importantly, we trust that they gain rewards commensurate with their effort and zeal. Our Year 11 students are currently completing the last of their Semester 2 Examinations and, after a holiday break, will turn their sights to the opportunities for leadership that accompanies the busy nature of their final year of studies at Trinity College. 

Similarly, in the coming weeks, our Year 8, 9 and 10 boys will commence examinations that seek to validate class work and other assessments completed throughout the year. They also provide invaluable experience and practice in preparing for and sitting formal examination conditions that will be part of their school journey.

With exams and results come the inevitable questions about goal setting and future career pathways. All boys are consistently challenged to assess how committed they are to their studies and to being the best they can be. They are encouraged to set realistic, but aspirational life goals (both short, and long term) and to commit wholeheartedly to such goals. Learning from such commitment and being resilient to the inevitable bumps in the road is an important life lesson and a vital part in the formation of our young men.

There is an important difference between being generally interested in a goal and being fully committed to a goal. Often, we have goals that we may be interested in and will happily do what is convenient and relatively easy if those actions happen to point us in the general direction of our aim. But if our application to a goal is limited to an interest only, rather than being fully committed, we may be prone to opt out when the going gets tough or when desired outcomes are not immediate. We can believe our own excuses and develop our own personal narratives as to why we cannot commit to the necessary hard work and hardship to find some worthwhile gain. 

In recent weeks, at a variety of significant College events, I have had the pleasure of speaking with and celebrating some of our most recent graduates who have certainly displayed total commitment and helped illustrate a Spirit of Excellence in areas of their Academic studies, Music, Sport and Service. In very different contexts, they have shared the value and reward that comes at the end of the well-worn path of hard work and commitment. Aristotle once said; “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Of course, this notion is certainly not new. I am sure that through our own parents or grandparents, we have probably heard phrases such as ‘If you are going to do a job, do it right’; or ‘Near enough is not good enough if it can be done better’. Somewhat old-fashioned values and sentiments that are still as relevant today. 

In forming good young men, it is important that we instil in them a deep understanding of the intrinsic importance of fully committing to something they value. We pray that all boys commit to their end of year exams and to the hard work that precedes any worthwhile goal!

Live Jesus in our hearts

Mr Darren O’Neill

Principal