From the Head of Secondary

"I get to......."

The other week on assembly, I spoke to the secondary school on the topic “I get to…”. This was placed in the context of being a member of the Calrossy Anglican School. I connected the idea that because I am a member of the Calrossy School community, I have access to a range of wonderful opportunities and that these opportunities are a privilege that comes with this association. These opportunities are opportunities that we should not take for granted and the majority of young people around the globe do not have the same access that we do to this type of faith and values based education, to such a high quality learning environment and to the cocurricular and extra-curricular programs that we enjoy at Calrossy. 

I talked about the mindset that we often have around what we often refer to as the things we ‘have to do’ and the perceived burden that accompanies these ‘chores’. For example, “I have to go to school” or “I have to go to sport” or “I have to do my homework” or “I have to wear my uniform”. 

Having spent some time over the holiday period reflecting on my own journey, and perhaps supported by a trip to Cambodia where we visited communities with very little, who have a joy and a gratefulness despite having so little, I have found myself challenging my own mindset. Perhaps I should be celebrating the “get to’” rather than the “have to”? So many in our world don’t have the means to access the opportunities that are available to us. I could refer to the Cambodian schools where the students wear their uniform immaculately and are proud to have a uniform that denotes belonging to a community, in many cases this is because so many children can’t afford to go to school let alone afford a school uniform. Perhaps we don’t need to go that far afield to find examples. We can see this in our own communities here in Australia. Perhaps we could take that view here and demonstrate the mindset that as a member of Calrossy “we get to” wear the uniform, denoting our inclusion and belonging to this community. 

I was able to include the many activities going on this term such as representing the school in HRIS Athletics, HRIS Cultural Festival, country shows, chess tournaments, the recent school musical, “Grease”, there are overseas trips, etc. that all come through belonging to Calrossy. For me and the staff employed here at Calrossy, we “get to” come to work and to work at a wonderful school, with wonderful students and families.

The point of my address was to support some reflective thought on what a privilege it is to be a part of the Calrossy community and our mindset is incredibly powerful in how we view our day to day. My challenge to all of us is to take a moment each week to reflect on our journey and perhaps to challenge ourselves to think, are there things in my life that I often refer to as “have to do” and how would a reset to these are things that “I get to do” might empower us to a more joyful life of gratitude? Perhaps it’s something to ponder…I know I am!

Cambodia Service Learning Trip

The Cambodia Service Learning Trip returned after an amazing 12 days in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Over the next few weeks the team will be sharing some highlights from their journey with students in the secondary school and the Calrossy Board. There will also be a report for an upcoming newsletter for which to look forward.

Eliot Sanger

Head of Secondary