From the Principal

 A kindness to others

One of the joys of my role is the opportunity to have engaging interaction with wonderful students. This week one of our very fine Year 11 girls was describing the qualities of another young person at the College. She used a simple statement to describe the positive impact her classmate has on others:

‘People tend to listen to those who are kind.’

It is sometime said that the best way to gauge whether a school is authentically Catholic is by ‘listening to the way in which people speak to one other’. There are many current challenges facing the Catholic Church and gentle acts of kindness can have an immeasurable impact on others.

Simon and Garfunkel sang a famous song in the 1970s entitled ‘The Sounds of Silence’. I have a propensity ‘to fill silences’ when conducting interviews and meetings and I am working to try and correct that tendency. Maybe the silences are a way of ensuring that there is genuine listening. Say less, ask more and listen intently is a pretty good guide for all interactions.

I had the pleasure of joining our Year 4 students and their extended John XXIII College family at this week’s Primary School production of ‘Dogs’. The skill of Mrs Sasha Cattapan in writing a script that involves all students across both classes was complemented by the enthusiasm, talent and energy of our Year 4s. It was a night of lively entertainment. Thank you to the parents for the wonderful feedback and to Sasha Cattapan, Catherine Haydon and all staff assisting behind the scenes. On the same evening, our secondary music students were entertaining families at our annual Jazz Night at the Ellington.

It is great when our students find a niche to shine at the College. Our co-curricular opportunities are largely about enabling our students to hone their talents but more importantly about providing an opportunity for healthy and positive interaction with others.

We will be celebrating Father’s Day with Mass in our Chapel followed by tea/coffee on Friday 30 August at 7:30am.  All are welcome to attend - please RSVP via this link https://www.trybooking.com/523873

Wishing all families a lovely weekend and break for the annual Catholic Day holiday on Monday.

Robert Henderson

Principal