From the Principal

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Semester 2, albeit a late one. Hopefully the break from school provided families with enjoyment and refreshment. The term has begun well, with staff undertaking mandatory professional development. Our Junior School students are now thoroughly enjoying their new play areas with even more to come. And we are now planning the Middle School recreation areas for development this semester. 

There is an air of excitement as we anticipate the upcoming College productions for both the Middle Years and the Junior School. I have no doubt we are in for a great treat as we enjoy the artistic excellence of these musicals on display through Aladdin JR and later, in Seussical JR. I congratulate everyone concerned with producing these Performing Arts events. There is no doubt students will remember their performances for a lifetime, even as we celebrate the warmth, dedication and generosity of our community that underpins these productions.

Our Visual Arts faculty is also busy with planning an evening display of student art across the College. This event is planned for the evening of Friday 6 October, at which we anticipate an introductory welcome, art displays, food and music. Please note the date in your diaries and invite friends and family.

All the aforementioned events are a sample of great things in store for students during the next few months.

Oxley has an important set of values that includes a focus on whatever is true, good and beautiful. Apart from Christian folk being urged to hold such values and pursue these qualities (Philippians 4: 8), there is a real sense in which they are crucial for successful community. Following on from my last editorial about other pervasive attitudes towards freedom and truth in society, I am often amazed at how openly these other attitudes are postured before us, and their implications that are never revealed or discussed. Issues like human freedom and truth raise the big questions about life and obligations to self and others.

As Paul Kelly says, in a postmodern, post-Christian era where individual autonomy is elevated and worshipped as the ultimate human right in political liberalism, there is no effective resistance. It is just embedded in this brand of liberalism. So, the argument goes: I am a piece of property that I own, and I can use and dispose of my property as I see fit. My life is a project of my own creation. And therefore, there is no moral obligation outside of self, there is no reason to act for the common good and the only truth that matters is personal. Indeed, in a recent Public Interest Over Truth article about a current trial in Australia, the defense Barrister’s opening statement quoted a court finding elsewhere that journalists are rightly protected, even when knowingly publishing false statements. He said, they have a far more important role in society than reporting truth, in that free speech and public interest rise well above truth. Again, there is no moral obligation towards others. Rather, we now categorise those moral and religious questions of truth, goodness, and beauty as medical, legal or political decisions. The trend towards such amoral autonomy is not seen as tragic, it is welcomed. 

A society that believes human autonomy is the ultimate right and value, has misunderstood the basis for living successfully in community. It is part of an ideological march driven by convenience, indifference, manipulation, and politics that deny any sense of the sacred in human life. 

But a society that understands that life is a gift and is lived in gratitude for that gift, will have a pursuit other than individual happiness. We did not create our own individual life; it was given to us, and it holds by implication the obligation to gift it to others.

Warm regards,

Dr Douglas Peck