From the Principal

Many of our Primary School parents were recently treated to Year 4 performances in, Feathers Fly: Birds the Musical. Our original school production was written by Sasha Cattapan, Primary School Performing Arts teacher, with the musical arrangements coordinated by Catherine Haydon, Primary School Music teacher. How blessed is the College to have such expertise amongst its staff, enabling our Year 4 students to experience the joy of performance in a cleverly written and choreographed musical.

Aside from the strong performances by all involved, the theme throughout the show considered the importance of connection, both with each other and with our natural environment. There are times in schools when the most complex and challenging of themes can be unpacked so simply by recognising a child’s innocent sense of mystery and wonder, and this was one of those times.

Fostering that sense of wonder in all students is so important when striving for deep understanding. It is of course expected to a certain extent that, as children age, the world becomes more familiar, so their experience of wonder can be less obvious. Greater effort can be required to see how extraordinary the world is, as familiarity can dull one’s sense of mystery and wonder. 

When considering St Francis of Assisi and his calling of creatures, no matter how small, by the name of ‘brother’ or ‘sister’, Pope Francis writes 

‘such a conviction cannot be written off as naive romanticism, for it affects the choices which determine our behaviour. If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs.’ (Laudato Si’ ##10,11)

Perhaps our challenge as a community is to be continually mindful of being open to awe and wonder and there are no better proponents of this understanding than children, or as Pope Francis writes, 

‘…That is why it is no longer enough to speak only of the integrity of ecosystems. We have to dare to speak of the integrity of human life, of the need to promote and unify all the great values. Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the environment.’ (Laudato Si’ ##224-226)

Finally, I commend our students for their engagement in the leadership process currently underway in the Secondary School. It takes real courage to lean into the challenge of being called to leadership and the number of those courageous enough to accept this challenge is heartening. Thank you also to those able to attend this morning’s Fathers’ Day Mass and we also look forward to our Spring Soiree tonight, featuring the last official musical ensemble performances from our Year 12 students.

Daniel Mahon

Principal