Principal's Report
Happy Mother’s Day
I trust all our mothers were very well looked after last Sunday.
A Prayer for Mothers
O Loving Lord,
You have created mothers in love and blessed them with children.
As they work tirelessly to support their families may they be showered with your blessings.
Give mothers strength to exercise compassion as they live each day under your care.
May we, support mothers by their fervour of spirit and devotion to prayer.
Amen
Adapted from a prayer written by Bishop Kevin Manning, Parramatta Diocese
Positive Thinking.
You might not be a fan of Reggae Music but Bob Marley had a point when he sang, “You just can’t live that negative way. Make way for the positive day.”
Here’s a little story about a donkey and at the end you will understand why the story is titled, “The Wise Donkey”.
“One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried miserably for hours as the farmer tried to work out what to do. Finally, the farmer decided that the donkey was old and the well had to be filled in anyway; it just wasn’t worth the effort to retrieve the old donkey. The farmer invited his neighbours to come over and help him. Each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. When the donkey realised what was happening, it cried horribly, then, to everyone’s amazement it quietened down. When the farmer looked into the well, he was astonished to see the donkey shake each shovel of dirt off its back and take a step upwards. This sequence continued until the donkey began to appear. Before long, it stepped over the edge of the well and trotted off.”
Author unknown.
And the moral?
Well, use each of your problems as stepping stones. We will never get out of our “deepest wells” by doing nothing. We need to shake off the negatives and “Make way for a positive day”. Additionally, acting in a positive way does not mean that we ignore life’s less pleasant situations but that we approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. What a wise donkey!
So, how do we teach our children to be wise and positive in the decisions and choices they will have to make?
Ron Disney gives good advice when he says, “It is not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”
St. Paul, when he wrote to his church at Philippi, suggested some great values: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent or worthy of praise, think of these things.” Phil, 4: 8.
As Christians, we believe in a positive outcome in life by our faith in a loving God. Through prayer, Christians believe that we can make use of what Jesus called, “the Kingdom of God within you.” Luke 17:21.
When we are tempted to give in and say we can’t do something, St. Paul has this encouragement, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” Phil. 4: 8.
As a Kildare Education Ministries Catholic secondary school in the Brigidine tradition we envision an inclusive Catholic Learning community where all people are valued, where all creation is sacred, where the pursuit of personal excellence is paramount, and where our core values of wonder, courage, justice, hope, compassion and hospitality are our hallmarks.
By continually referring to these values in conjunction with our Catholic gospel values we give our students the guideposts they need when they are faced with tough choices and need to be positive in the way that they respond.
The Pastoral Care and Wellbeing team is working very hard this year to encourage everyone to think this way as we implement the School Wide Positive Behaviour Supports (SWPBS) program; the main aim of this program is to teach students what positive behaviour and thinking look like in practice on a-day-to day basis in our College.
By making this a whole school approach we can do things much better for the students entrusted to our care. There have been some good signs already that we are making progress and I encourage everyone to keep stepping up like the wise donkey did.
God bless.
Michael Delaney
Principal