From the Principal

Calming the storm

With winter really upon us, last week’s Gospel message of Jesus calming the storm is particularly pertinent. For the fishermen disciples to be afraid, it must have been a very dramatic and dangerous storm.

At times we can feel like we are being overwhelmed by various troubles in our daily lives.

Jesus’ response of ‘do not be afraid’ is the most repeated phrase of the Bible. Our faith should be one of hope rather than fear.

 A calmness under pressure and a sense of perspective is required of leaders in all domains. Former President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, famously remarked at his Inauguration, that ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself’.

In our current COVID world, a sense of calm and perspective is vital. Fortunately, many of our leaders have based decision making on the best health advice that is available and have sought to keep Australians safe and informed. Invariably mistakes have been made but most people appreciate the difficulties of decision making in times of uncertainty. Similarly, our College decision making with respect to COVID restrictions is based on the advice we receive from Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA). In turn, CEWA liaises with other educational jurisdictions and health authorities.

When I interview prospective students, I generally conclude with:

 ‘JTC is a good school but we are not perfect.’

It is through making mistakes that we improve. We will continue to calmly learn and grow as a school community inspired by the Gospel example of Jesus and the inspiration of our Founders. 

Robert Henderson

Principal