From the Principal
HAPPY NEW YEAR
All members of our College with Chinese descendants and links were wished a Happy New Lunar Year at the conclusion of the Term 1 Assembly on 17 February. The Year of the Horse was welcomed and all those Monicans who have national, cultural or any relevant association with China were invited to stand as they were applauded as our College’s New Year gift to them.
New years are great times to reflect on what opportunities await us. At school level it is a matter of new classes, subjects, classmates, teachers, students, and the chance to start anew and/or build on strengths. It is a fine time for goal setting.
New year is generally associated with celebrations, particularly on the eve of this first day of the year. For me, it is special as this was the day our father passed away suddenly whilst on holiday in Anglesea in 1978. I also recount with different emotions the many happy new year barbeques my Italian father-in-law prepared for the family. He was a great lover of Australia, and his backyard barbeques were enjoyed by our family on an annual basis for many years.
People sometimes decide to make New Year pledges, and these vary, of course. For the adult it might be a diet or greater management of ‘vices’, whilst the teenager might make healthy choices for their resolution. Young children generally give resolutions a miss!
New Year celebrations are very often community events. They are large and festive, organised with good times in mind, attractions, food and drinks stalls, amusements galore, and often the sound and shine of fireworks light up the sky. Quite frequently there is the countdown to midnight event – ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR… and thereafter there is hugging and kissing, shaking of hands and happy cheering, all according to the event and the situation naturally.
New years are international though the actual dates do differ. For the people of Australia, it is 1 January as is the date for the majority of nations. Whenever and however though, the time of a new year dawning is joyous and jolly.
May Monicans see this time of the year as their new year in a school setting. February is the month for serious resolutions about work productivity, effort making, perseverance, readiness to leave the holiday spirit as a memory and internalise the academic demands as a priority. We ought not forget the past but instead learn from it and set our new course accordingly.
‘Auld Lang Syne’ is the traditional song of farewell to the year concluded. Mariah Carey sings a great version. From the past it is immediately into the present of a new year. Let us together make 2026 a very special one for the community of St Monica’s College, Epping.
Mr Brian Hanley OAM
Principal