From the Principal
In our Gospel this week comes from Mark:
A leper came up to Jesus and, kneeling in front of him, begged him: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said: “Of course I want to. Be made clean.” Mark 1, 40-45
Jesus, in touching the leper, gives us the example of treating all with dignity, respect and compassion. At its heart, this message is one that each of us is called to live; to ensure that all we encounter are treated with dignity and compassion. This call to witness the teachings of Jesus by following the example he sets for us, is as important now as it was in Jesus' time. The questions we need to ask ourselves are who are the lepers in our world? How are we called to reach out and touch those in need?
Our first whole College assembly saw us welcome back and congratulate the High Achievers of 2020, we were incredibly proud of all of the Year 12s of 2020 and it was wonderful to have them back at school to present them with their certificates and trophies of achievement. We also "clapped in" each Year 7 student who was presented to the whole College assembly and given their Killester badge. Covid restrictions prevented us from having parents attend the first assembly for the year however this welcoming of Year 7 students symbolically welcomes all members of each family to our community, we are so glad you have all joined us and we look forward to working together over the next 6 years.
The students and staff had the privilege of hearing from the College dux Cheska Yalung who achieved an ATAR of 99.6, at the assembly. An excerpt from Cheska's speech follows:
Now I’m going to speak about something I am terrified of and that is change. I hate change. It makes me uncomfortable, it makes me scared. And I’m not going to pretend that it gets any easier for me as I transition to university. But in a world such as ours, change is necessary. We need change to address the racial inequality worldwide, we need change for the sake of our environment, we need change in so many facets of life and I am sure you yourself is aware of this. This change isn’t going to happen instantaneously, it’s not. It needs action, it needs people, it needs someone like you.
You might be sitting there thinking, what’s this got to do with me? What can I do? How can I solve world hunger? You can start by changing that mindset that you are powerless, that you can’t do anything. You can start by living your life with purpose. Live for something bigger than yourself and make your mark for good. Change does not happen instantaneously. It takes time. It needs someone like yourself to create a spark and take a step into the right direction. And so I leave you with a quote from Roald Dahl, “Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.”
Much like the message from our Gospel this week, Cheska invites us all to think about how we can be the change we are needed to be in the world.
Our swimming sports on Friday was a joyful celebration as a whole school community, there will be more details and some photos in our next newsletter but I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Rebecca Roberts, the PE team and organisation team at the College for the very smooth running of the day. It was fabulous to see our young women simply enjoy a day together and to welcome the Year 7s to how we celebrate in different ways at Killester.
The start to the school year had been lovely and calm until news came through on Friday afternoon that we were to enter a short period of remote learning and teaching. Whilst our preference is of course to all be together in person, we are well versed with how to operate remotely and this short period of lockdown will hopefully just be a blip to the start of our year of Wonder.
Ms Sally Buick
Principal