Principal's Message

Being Fully Committed

Today marks the end of the formal WACE Examinations. As always, we pray that our Senior students have done well and importantly, we trust that they gain rewards commensurate with their effort. Our Year 11 students are currently completing the last of their Semester 2 examinations and, after a holiday break, will turn their sights to the opportunities for leadership that accompanies the busy nature of their final year of studies at Trinity College. Similarly, in the coming weeks our Year 8, 9 and 10 boys will commence examinations that seek to validate class work and other assessments completed throughout the year. They also provide invaluable experience and practice in preparing for and sitting formal examination conditions that will be part of their journey through school.

With exams and results come the inevitable questions about goal setting, future career pathways and the need to fully understand and genuinely assess the commitment required to find success in academic studies. All boys are encouraged to think about how committed they are to their studies and to being the best they can be. All boys are encouraged to set realistic, but aspirational life goals (both short and long term) and to commit wholeheartedly to such goals. Learning from such commitment and being resilient to the inevitable bumps in the road is an important life lesson and a vital part in the formation of our young men.

There is an important difference between being interested in a life goal and being committed to a life goal. Often, we have goals that we may be interested in and will happily do what is convenient if those actions happen to point us in the general direction of our aim. But if we are only interested in such a goal, rather than fully committed to a goal, we will often opt out when the going gets tough or when desired results are not immediate. We can tend to believe our own excuses and develop our own personal narratives about why we can’t put ourselves through the necessary hard work and hardship to find some worthwhile gain. If we are not truly committed, we can become victims of the reality we create to excuse ourselves from fully committing to the future prize. All too often we can lose our drive and with that our goals and dreams can be cast aside and disappear.

In recent weeks, at a variety of significant College events, I have had the pleasure of speaking with and celebrating some of our most recent graduates who have certainly displayed total commitment and helped illustrate a Spirit of Excellence in areas of their Academic studies, Music, Sport and Service. In very different contexts, they have shared the value and reward that comes at the end of the well-worn path of hard work and commitment. Aristotle once said; “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Of course, this notion is certainly not new. Through our own parents or grandparents, we have surely heard phrases such as ‘If you are going to do a job, do it right’; or ‘Near enough is not good enough if it can be done better’. Somewhat old-fashioned values and sentiments that are still very relevant today. 

In forming good young men, it is important that we instil in them a deep understanding of the intrinsic importance of fully committing to something they value. We pray that all boys commit to their end of year exams and to the hard work that precedes any worthwhile goal!

Live Jesus in our hearts.