From the Principal

New beginnings

This week beautiful services were conducted at the College for Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. Prayer during Lent is where we are asked to stop and spend some time each day listening within and outside ourselves to God’s presence with us. We try to be honest with ourselves, to acknowledge areas of self where we have failed and think about where we want to improve the way we live.

Penance is often seen in the form of giving up something we enjoy during this period. Perhaps we can extend this element to include looking at the waste we have in our homes, schools and workplaces. Some questions we may like to pose include:

• Can I use less and recycle more?
• Can I reduce the amount of plastic I use and consider other ways of looking after the environment?

Almsgiving is often through giving money to charities to help people in need. Maybe we can also extend our hand of generosity to organisations that care for our earth.

Easter is the foundation of our Christian faith. We pray that the Lenten period enables reflection, growth and change in our lives.

Making the world less wobbly

Over the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of attending many parent meetings and gatherings of school leaders both within Western Australia and interstate. A world-renowned presenter at a recent Catholic Education WA forum, Michael Fullan, described a possible role of school leaders in making a ‘wobbly world less wobbly’.

I like the image. At times we can become overwhelmed with local and global issues rather than be people of faith, hope and optimism. Our school motto of ‘seek justice’ fits beautifully within our educational construct of providing an educational environment conducive to the development of young people good at learning and good at life.

I love listening to our young people speak. Invariably they are intelligent, considered and articulate. For most students there is a sense of pride in being engaged in the life of their school. I recently gained an insight into the spirit of the College when I met with 36 Alumni in Sydney. Anna Gingell (Alumni Development) and Kate Murphy (Foundation) organised the reunion to coincide with my meeting commitments in that city. Attendees included former students of John XXIII College, Loreto and St Louis. It was fascinating learning the stories of the past and being able to share a little of our current story. Feedback on the event was very positive and similar functions will be conducted in other states as a means of keeping our Alumni connected to each other and the College.

At last week’s Primary assembly, I had the pleasure of congratulating our Year 6 students as they embark upon their final year in Primary school. It was a lovely assembly and our young leaders were very impressive. It is an early time in their lives and they clearly share some of the attributes of our Alumni in having the capacity to make a positive contribution to the College and beyond.

Robert Henderson

Principal