Message from 

the Principal

“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world”. 

-  John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society (1989)

The iconic film ‘Dead Poets Society’ was one that had a powerful impact upon many young teachers, including myself as I was beginning my career in education during the 1980’s. Mr Keating, a passionate and inspiring teacher empowered his pupils to love learning and implored them to embrace their passions and follow their own paths in life. Keating’s contagious enthusiasm and deep belief in the power of literature and language inspired his students to think independently, awakening within them a whole new world of possibilities. Such is the power of language. 

Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harass, to humiliate and to humble. 

Our choice of words used with family and peers can have significant impact. No doubt we have all experienced times where we have been inspired or hurt by the words of others. The power of language necessitates that we endeavour to choose our words wisely so that we can be constructive and positive contributors to the lives of those around us.

The political debate witnessed in recent times in the United States provides us with many powerful examples of how language can be used to both divide and unite. 

President Trump continues to use language that sparks controversy and highlights the nation’s racial divides. His words have empowered white Supremacists, demeaned Latinos, insulted women and most recently provoked xenophobia against Asian Americans, who during the pandemic have experienced an increase of racial attacks against them. Trump’s deliberate choice of language during the Black Lives Matter protests has generated greater civil unrest and social division.

As Barack Obama stated during his recent address at the US Democratic National Convention, “Trump has shown no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends.” 

In his inauguration speech Obama’s language appealed to the goodness that lies within his countrymen and called for “a new, less selfish, less timid politics that reflects the core decency of the American people.”

Throughout his Presidency Obama referred to themes such as hope over fear and unity of purpose over conflict and discord. These themes have been acutely absent under the Republican leadership and this failure of leadership poses a real threat to the democratic freedoms of the citizens of the United States. 

Obama’s farewell speech from the Presidency ominously foreshadowed some of the challenges that lay ahead when he urged all Americans to unite to protect the nation's democracy, which he said was being threatened by outside forces and forces within.

The Democratic nominee Joe Biden used words last week that spoke of hope and a new dawn for the country saying, “that history would be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight as love and hope and light joined in the battle for the soul of the nation.”

Language has the power to give people hope and inspire a desire for a better and unified community. One of the most powerful and enduring statements in the English language and one of the most important expressions of freedom and liberty is the Gettysburg Address delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863. He was in Gettysburg to dedicate a national military cemetery to the Union soldiers who fell at the Battle of Gettysburg, a pivotal engagement of the American Civil War, fought four months earlier. The speech is stunning for its brevity; just 272 words, 10 sentences and delivered in just over two minutes, it stands as one of the most influential pieces of oratory in American history. Few have said more with less. Lincoln delivered the speech mid-point in the conflict between the North and South when it was not clear who would emerge victorious from the Civil War that threatened to destroy the country.

Lincoln was not in Gettysburg to celebrate the Union’s victory in the battle but rather to honour all those who lost their lives fighting to defend the ideals of their nation. Lincoln tied the current struggle of the Civil War to the days of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, speaking of the principles that the nation was conceived in - liberty and the proposition that all men are created equal. Moreover, he tied both the abolition of slavery – a new birth of freedom – and the maintenance of representative government. 

Referring to the Declaration of Independence, this address turned on the idea of equality, rather than the separate causes for which each side fought, into the nation’s primary focus.

Ironically during his address Lincoln speculates “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” 

The world has not forgotten the oration of the sixteenth President at Gettysburg nor the impact of his carefully chosen words. 

Student Congratulations

National Latin Exam

Results from the National Latin Exam this year have been outstanding once again, with three gold and two silver awards to students in Year 10 and Year 12.

Gold Medals for results over 92% have been awarded to Sophie Mahlo and Will Englund in Year 10, with Eliza Ward and Ellenor Crawford achieving Silver Medals with scores over 87%.

In Year 12, Luc Nelson was awarded a Gold Medal for a score of 87%, with the average score at this level being 65%.

The Year 9 elective class performed very well, with Nicholas De Bruyn achieving a perfect score! 

Special awards went to students achieving over 90%: these were Gordon Suthers, Bradley Kildey, Eleanor Matheson-Clarke and Ollie Wong. Well done!

Dr Andrew Parry 

Principal