From the Principal

During the week there have been many opportunities to celebrate the significant contribution that our graduating Class of 2024 has made to the College. Equally, our outgoing Year 12 students have seized the opportunity to acknowledge the College’s contribution to their own development. The graduating Class of 2024 is certainly ready for their next chapter, but also conscious of the importance of expressing gratitude to their teachers, which has been refreshing to witness during the last few weeks. 

At the time of writing, the finishing touches are being made in preparation for tonight’s Year 12 Valete and Supper, which we are all looking forward to. Yesterday, we celebrated the significant contribution our Year 12 students made to our College during their Day of Invitation Assembly. Please find an excerpt from my Address to the graduating Class of 2024.

'...Today is the opportunity to recognise each of you individually. We do this because each of you is important, each of you has contributed to the College and each of you is leaving a legacy.

What will it take to truly flourish as you live your lives beyond our College?

Firstly, and emphatically, I am confident that as you venture beyond our College, you will be strengthened by our Ignatian tradition which is so ingrained in all you do. As a College steeped in this tradition, we are of course passionate about the development of your conscience and character and as a community we are proud to acknowledge that development today. 

I was again privileged this year to be in the audience of the Atticus Finch Justice Award Finals to hear Year 10 students so eloquently and passionately explore this year’s theme, The Privilege of Choice.

During those speeches, I was reminded that the development of character does not originate from our Ignatian tradition of course. Aristotle, yes the same Aristotle who lived in 320 BC, spoke about what he called the golden mean. As the mathematicians will be aware, a mean is an average, but what Aristotle talked about was the desirable middle ground between two extremes, emphasising the importance of moderation, balance in life and the privilege of choice. 

Virtuous behaviours, he argued, explored the right proportion of conduct rather than succumbing to extremes. 

That’s what it takes to truly flourish in life, argued Aristotle.

For example, Aristotle would say that courage can be seen as a middle ground between recklessness or cowardice. Generosity, the middle ground between extravagance and stinginess. 

In Aristotle’s framework, good character is critical to human flourishing and he was a strong proponent of personal responsibility being fundamental to the development of character. It can be easy at times to externalise and blame others for misfortune, instead the privilege of choice can be very real.

According to Aristotle living a good life involves cultivating virtues such as courage, temperance, wisdom and justice. These are the virtues important to a flourishing life, he argued, courage, temperance, wisdom and justice.

The views of Aristotle have of course extended over time.

By way of example, after his American Presidency, Theodore Roosevelt delivered a brilliant speech at the University in Paris. 

In his speech he articulated a powerful vision of an education based not just on the acquisition of knowledge, but also on the cultivation of virtue and the importance of action. For Roosevelt, the role of education in this process was not only one of information, but one of human formation in character and wisdom. 

‘Education must contain much besides book learning in order to be really good’, he said, ‘for while there is a need for a sound body and even more for a sound mind….above mind and body stands character. Character includes things like self-restraint, self-mastery, common sense and the power of accepting individual responsibility.’ he said 

A powerful message on the principles of a quality education that still stands the test of time. A powerful message that you have also had the privilege of hearing during your time at our College. 

As well as the development of your conscience and character, education in our Ignatian tradition is also about the proper critique of culture. Just as we critique our own culture here at the College.

As Martin Luther King said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we fall silent about the things that matter’.

That has been the invitation to you here at the College and will continue to be as you move beyond the College into the big cities, and new cultures which I know many of you are excited to explore. Our great challenge, your great challenge continues to be the calling out of what limits human flourishing in any culture.

My hope and dream for you is that when you do call out those limitations to human flourishing, you do so well informed by the values you have had instilled in you here at our College.

I want to impress upon you all to always see yourselves as ambassadors of John XXIII and be kind and good to people you meet on your way. Dream big and be optimistic about whatever you are doing.

But what do you really want? 

This is a question that our Founder St Ignatius would have us continually ask of ourselves. What is it that we really want? In response, Ignatius would implore us to peel away our ambitions and fears and get in touch with the deepest desire in our hearts. Ignatius believed that when you get in touch with what the poet Hopkins called the ‘dearest freshness deep down things’ you’ll find God there to help answer the question.

That important question - What do you really want?

I recently read a book by Eddie Jaku titled The Happiest Man on Earth. I was particularly taken by the title, given Eddie Jaku was a holocaust survivor and had experienced so much loss and tragedy and pain in his life. Without going into all the details of his struggles today, suffice to say, if anyone had a right to be bitter and angry, Eddie Jaku did. Considering he had suffered so much loss then, how could he be the happiest man on earth?

He wrote his book at the age of 100, and even though Eddie has since passed, the happiest man on earth lived by and shared the following when he spoke publicly. I share these words with you in the hope that you also might consider them as you take on your new adventures.

‘Kindness is the greatest wealth of all. May you always have lots of love to share, lots of good health to spare and lots of good friends who care’. 

On behalf of the College, I bid you farewell. You will all remain in our hearts. God bless you Year 12 and thank you.'

Daniel Mahon

Principal