From the Principal

A Welcoming Community

 At our assembly last week I welcomed students and staff commencing at John XXIII College for the first time this term. In reinforcing the welcome of our new community members, I related the following story:

‘I was unable to attend our Cross Country event last week because I was travelling to Sydney to attend a weekend meeting of Principals. On the flight I watched an interesting documentary on the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing from 2013. It traced the lives of survivors from a terrorist explosion that took the lives of three people. Coincidentally on the flight home I watched a movie version of the same event. What impressed me during the documentary was the strength and commitment of the families directly involved in assisting their loved ones with the recuperation from very severe injuries. The love of a young couple was very evident as they both faced the long and arduous process of healing the physical wounds and also dealing with the incredible emotional trauma of such a horrific event. The documentary highlighted the incredibly brave public face of the victims but also the inevitable anger, frustration and sadness of those involved. The phrase ‘Boston Strong’ was coined as a sign of the resolve and commitment of the people.

What was particularly apparent was that the recovery process was assisted through the ongoing support, care and consideration shown to others.”

One way of gauging the authenticity of a Catholic school is ‘to listen to the way people speak to each other’.

It is always valuable of students, staff and the wider College community to reflect on that issue from time to time.

Catholic School Funding

Adjustments to Catholic school funding has received a lot of publicity in the past week. I have had a number of conversations with leaders within our Catholic school system and I have been reassured that the impact will be less in Western Australian schools than in other states. When I have more precise details available I will certainly share news with our wider community.

Mother's Day

We were delighted to have a large number of Mums attend our Primary School Mass this week. Best wishes to all our mothers for their special day.

Together, let us seek justice.

Yours sincerely

Robert Henderson

Principal