Principal

At last Friday’s assemblies, I spoke to our young men about something they are all facing: challenges. Life isn't always easy. Sometimes it can feel like you're constantly fighting, that just as you solve one problem, another one appears. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder how you will make it through.

I shared a story about the mindset you should adopt when facing life’s challenges, and I wanted to share it with parents below.

There’s a story about a boy who felt this way. He told his father, a chef, that his life was miserable and he was tired of struggling.

 

In response, his father took him to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and put them on to boil. In the first, he placed potatoes. In the second, he placed eggs. And in the third, he placed ground coffee beans. He let them boil. Twenty minutes later, he turned off the heat.

 

He took out the potatoes and put them in a bowl. They had gone in hard and strong, but now they were soft and weak.

 

He took out the eggs. They had gone in fragile, with a thin shell protecting a liquid centre. But now, the inside was hard.

 

Finally, he ladled out the coffee. It had transformed the boiling water, creating something entirely new and aromatic.

 

His point was this: the potatoes, the eggs, and the coffee beans all faced the exact same adversity—the boiling water. But they each responded differently.

 

The potato went in strong but came out weak. The egg went in fragile but came out hardened. The coffee bean, however, was unique. It changed its environment and created something new.

 

So, I ask you the same question the father asked his son: “Which one are you?” Every day, you face challenges. It might be a difficult test, a disagreement with a friend, a tough practice for your sports team, or a problem at home. That’s your boiling water. How do you respond?

 

Do you let the pressure make you weak, like the potato? Do you let it make you hard and closed off, like the egg? Or do you, like the coffee bean, use the challenge to improve your situation? Do you learn from it? Do you grow from it? Do you make the world around you a little bit richer?

 

The things that happen to you are less important than what happens within you. My challenge to you today is this: 

 

When adversity knocks, be the coffee bean. Transform the challenge, learn from the pressure, and create something positive.

Pope Leo’s Message to Young People: “Study, Work, and Love According to the Example of Jesus"

Pope Leo XIV addressed the largest crowd of his pontificate in Rome’s outskirts on Saturday, 2 August 2025, telling an estimated 1 million young adults to “study, work, and love according to the example of Jesus” and to pray: “Stay with us, Lord.”

In his address, he went on to say: 

“….the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or, as we heard in the Gospel, on what we possess (cf. Lk 12:13-21). Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share (cf. Mt 10:8-10; Jn 6:1-13). Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough. We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the “things that are above” (Col 3:2), to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” (Col 3:12), forgiveness (cf. ibid., v. 13) and peace (cf. Jn 14:27), all in imitation of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). And in this way, we will grow in an ever deeper understanding of what it means that hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (cf. Rom 5:5).

These words inspired me over the weekend, and we will work hard to ensure that this clear message for the youth of the world is included in our new strategic plan. In the meantime, our young men are encouraged to use this special prayer written by the late Pope Francis.

Special Feast Day: Friday 8 August - St Mary of The Cross Mackillop

The Feast Day of Mary MacKillop is celebrated on 8 August, which is the anniversary of her death. This day is significant for reflecting on her legacy as a religious figure, educator, and social reformer.

For those wishing to pray for a loved one who is not in good health, you may consider a Novena. A novena is a prayer repeated for nine consecutive days or once a week for nine weeks. You begin with a statement of faith:

We believe in God’s everlasting love for all, and through faith and great confidence in that love, our petition will be granted. Therefore, in the desire to promote God’s greater honour and glory, we pray, through the intercession of St Mary of the Cross, for (insert intention).

 The statement of faith is followed by this prayer: 

Say 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory Be each day for 9 days.

Community News

• Congratulations to Mr Jordan Bottalico (Year 8 Coordinator) on the impending arrival of his second baby in January 2026.

   

• We welcome Ms Ella Heffron to the College as a temporary RE teacher. She will take over Ms Daoud-Aytee’s classes on 25 August after she leaves.

   

• Alessandro Piccin (Year 12) has been playing for NSW Schoolboy Football in Queensland, where NSW won the finals against Queensland, both teams being undefeated until that point. Alessandro has now been selected to play for the Australian Schoolboys Football team and joins the ranks of our country’s most elite athletes. Congratulations AP! Not just on your physical and sporting prowess, but for doing all of this in a spirit of humility and service.

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything! 

**except divide by zero