Principal

Term 1 Commences with A Vengeance!

It was wonderful to see all the boys returning this week. I thank the SPC parents/carers for their efforts to have their uniforms ready for the first day. They were beautifully turned out and I am truly enjoying the new, unscratched school shoes!

We had our first assemblies on Thursday, where I took the opportunity to present the Student Theme for the year. Here is an extract of my address to the boys:

“As you begin this new journey, I want to share with you a story and a book that has inspired me and taught me valuable lessons about life. The story is the parable of the mustard seed, and the book is Atomic Habits by James Clear.

The parable of the mustard seed is one of the shortest and simplest stories that Jesus told. He said that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is planted, it grows into a large tree that provides shelter for the birds.

What does this story mean? It means that great things can come from small beginnings. It means that even if you feel small or insignificant, you have the potential to grow and achieve amazing things. It means that you should not avoid paying attention to small things; rather, you should embrace and nurture them. This parable is what inspired our Student Leadership Team for 2024 and the visual representation can now be seen in our foyer and around the school. It is an incredibly powerful image that reminds you that you are on journey as you attend school here from boyhood to manhood and the growth you will experience physically, spiritually, emotionally, and academically.

The book I will be drawing from Atomic Habits is a wonderful resource for students like you who are growing and trying to improve. It is a practical guide on how to form good habits and break bad ones. It explains that habits are the compound interest of self-improvement, and that by making tiny, easy changes in your daily routines, you can achieve remarkable results over time.

What does this book teach us? It teaches us that success is not a matter of luck or talent but of choice and action. It teaches us that we do not rise to the level of our goals but fall to the level of our systems. Your goal may be making an Opens or A-grade team but failing to follow a consistent training schedule. You may wish to improve in your writing school and decide to give a piece of writing each cycle for your English teacher to review, but you stop after the first fortnight.

The book's message is very powerful: that we can change our habits by changing our identity, environment, and actions. The successful students in last year’s HSC class are living proof that you can change your own narrative. Once you fix on a goal, changing habits, small ones to begin with, is the only way to achieve your goal.

Why am I telling you these things? Because I want you to know that you have the power to shape your own destiny. You have the power to grow from a mustard seed into a mighty tree. You have the power to build good habits and break bad ones. You have the power to become the best version of yourself.

But you also have the responsibility to use your power wisely. You have the responsibility to think of how we plant a seed: if you plant yourself in good soil, if you ensure that like a seed, you water it and protect it from weeds, then you will grow into a healthy, strong, well-rounded individual.

The staff have set the goal this year for teaching and learning. You will find that across the College, there will be renewed energy and work in ensuring a consistency of approach in what we will expect of each of you. What do we expect:

Punctuality and reliability
Prepared for all lessons
Observe classroom rules
Complete all classwork to the best level that you can manage
Complete all homework, assignments, and assessment task
Treating everyone, students, and teachers, with dignity and respect and most importantly,
Ensuring you do not disturb or disrupt the learning of others.

We will soon be implementing a tracking system where we can track your grade point average (straight As means an average of 5, straight Bs means an average of 4 and so on). If your grades slip, action will be taken. We will also be tracking your student attributes, Student Attribute average, so if for example, the SAA for completion of classwork/homework is Always for every subject, then your SAA will be a 5 and so on. We will pick up bright students whose learning attributes are slipping. We will pick up students who may not achieve the marks they want but are trying their best. They will be identified, celebrated, and rewarded.

This morning my message is about each of you taking steps to build stronger, positive habits.

You have the responsibility to design your system for success, to make it easy, attractive, satisfying, and aligned with your values. You are responsible for being accountable to yourself and others, measuring your progress and learning from your mistakes.

This year, I challenge you to take your power and your responsibility seriously. I challenge you to set high but realistic goals for yourself and to work hard to achieve them. I challenge you to cultivate good habits and eliminate bad ones, and to make them stick. I challenge you to grow from a mustard seed into a mighty tree and to provide shelter for others.

I believe in you. Your teachers believe in you. I am here to support you. Your teachers are here to support you. I wish you all the best for this year and beyond.”

I very much look forward to meeting all our parents and carers as we run through our Information Sessions this week.

KISS AND RIDE ZONE

Our new parents and carers have now had an opportunity to take advantage of our Kiss and Ride zone however, we have had a few issues with parents/carers parking there in the afternoon from 2:30 PM, resulting in traffic queues that stretch back past Francis Street, at times, across roundabouts, preventing the school specials from leaving in addition to disrupting local traffic.

I have contacted Council Rangers, and I warn parents and carers that there is a two-minute limit in the Kiss and Ride Zone. No car should be queued before 3:08 PM. YOU WILL BE FINED. Be thoughtful and kind and arrive no earlier than 3:08 PM. If your son doesn’t come out promptly, you will be moved on to join the queue again. It means ALL boys get collected efficiently and safely. You are in comfort in your cars – just do what staff ask for the greater good of all our boys.

To ensure the safety of members of our community and in consideration of our neighbours, all parents and carers are asked to comply with the following request when dropping off and picking up students before and after school. Between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:45 PM the only place where students can be picked up and/or dropped off is along the Fraser Street ‘Kiss and Drop’ area.

Again - Strathfield Council and Police are monitoring this area.

Kiss and Ride zones provide:

Drivers can stop their vehicles within close proximity to the College.
Students have the opportunity to enter the school premises without having to cross roads or driveways.

For the safety of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians please:

Approach the “Kiss and Ride” zone from Shortland Avenue; the “Kiss and Drop” zone is on Fraser Street only. Do not park in the No Parking area, and do not stop in the No Stopping area.
Do not ‘double park’ or stand your vehicle in this zone from 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM.
Enter or disembark from the vehicle as close as possible to the top of the zone.
Ensure the driver does not alight from the vehicle while in the zone.
Ensure passengers enter and disembark from the vehicle via the KERB side door, preferably the rear door. Items should not be collected/placed from the boot.
In the afternoon if your son is not there you are required to move off, do a lap of the block and join the end of the queue.
No student is to be dropped off on Merley Road or Hydabrae Avenue during the above times.
In the afternoon, Years 7-12 can access Kiss & Ride from 3:25 PM only.

Please note: Parents and Carers driving to the College are asked not to park on Hydebrae Street (the street that runs perpendicular to Francis Street).

When travelling to the College from Barker Road, Albert Road or Heyde Street, there is a lot of traffic in this area due to the primary school and the university. It might be easier to travel up Homebush Road, into Broughton Road, Mackenzie Street, and then onto Shortland Avenue to join the Kiss and Drop on Fraser Street.

In Memoriam

We keep in our prayers:

Gus Cockrell (Year 11) on the loss of his father, Edward Cockrell, during the recent holidays.
Christian Tassopoulos (Year 11) and Old Boys George Tassopoulos (‘21) and James Tassopoulos (‘23) who recently lost both of their grandfathers, Franco Galasso and George Tassopoulos, within 11 days of each other.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace.