Acting Principal

Switching Off while staying switched on

I always find holiday time in the role of someone who sits on the College Leadership Team quite difficult. Holidays are a time of rest and relaxation and managing my time effectively over a holiday break is something that I am still challenged by.  

Answering emails and keeping up with work is not the challenge. It is figuring out how to rejuvenate myself while still parenting my own children. In the first week of the holiday break, I was fortunate enough to go camping with my family and four other families, all of whom have been my friends since high school. This is time for me, for the most part, to switch off from work. However, having holidays as a parent, you can never fully switch off as there are always your children who need to be parented.  

While our children are becoming self-sufficient and they will tell you that everything is okay, we still need to keep a watchful eye on them. I am discovering the joys of having an 18-year-old son, who is now an adult and doing all things that adulthood includes. However, he still needs to be parented as he has his HSC exams starting tomorrow. Whilst he says he can manage his time, my wife and I, in our wisdom, know that we must still guide him through this stage and set clear boundaries, even though he thinks he knows better. 

Holidays for my two teenage daughters involved camping and going out with friends. My 15-year-old daughter has been getting around using public transport for a few years now, but slowly her boundaries are extending, and she now goes to the beach with friends. She wanted to go out every day, but once again, we set clear boundaries with her, so she knows that spending time with family is equally important. When it comes to our 13-year-old daughter, we are experiencing having to allow her to navigate public transport by herself to shopping centres to meet up with her friends. While it is nerve wracking allowing her to do this (yes, we do have Life360 on our phones), it is necessary for her and for us to allow her to grow up within acceptable negotiated boundaries.  

As I said, trying to switch off and have a holiday while parenting is not easy. My wife and I are blessed to have three beautiful children. While they test us, they also need to always respect our boundaries. Parenting is not about being a friend, it is about being a parent. Parents need to always be on, but I am open to change and negotiation at an appropriate age level. There will be highs and lows however, if our children know that we will always be there for them and love them unconditionally, then we are on the right track. While as parents we can never switch off, we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Staff News 

We welcome back Mrs Fotini El-Kazzi and Mrs Iannie Liu from Parental leave.

We also welcome the following staff who commenced with the College this week:

• Mr Tom Hogan in the role of Assistant Head of Science (replacing Ms Hawkins)

   

• Ms Danielle Touma as Science Teacher for Term 4 (replacing Ms Benham)

   

• We congratulate Mrs Jasmine Porter on the arrival of her fourth child during the holidays.  

In Memoriam 

We keep in our prayers Alex Magri (Year 11) on the loss of his grandmother at the end of last term.  

Adrian Byrne 

Acting Principal