From the Principal

A time for change

This week we congratulated our new Student Representative Council members as they led their first Secondary Assembly. It is always an exciting time as we usher in a new group of leaders and look for them to embark on the next year of life at John XXIII College. Last week we also welcomed our next cohort of Year 7 students to their College Orientation Day.

Part of the role of our student leaders is to help generate a positive culture within the College. They are not expected to be experts on leadership. Their best leadership will be through listening and providing a good example.

Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of a beautiful village in Pennsylvania, in the United States. The village was settled by Italian immigrants in the 1880s. In the 1950s a study was completed on heart disease in parts of the USA. It was a time when eating was quite unhealthy, and smoking was a part of society. Amazingly, there was no evidence of heart disease for people under 65 in the village which directly contradicted all the other research centres. The research group even travelled to Italy to ascertain if there was anything specific about the genetics of their Italian heritage which could explain the good health of the villagers.

The conclusion of the study was that there were non-medical factors which had contributed to the excellent physical health. There was a magnificent culture of family, friends and community in that village which helped create happy and healthy people. 

Our assembly heard from our new College Captains (Yvie and Ben), our Faith and Mission Captains (Ava and Nicholas), our Magis Captain (Daniel) and our Sustainability Captain (Airlie). Fittingly, we also had the first report from our new position of a Wellbeing Captain (Charlie). It is great that modern society has an enhanced emphasis on both physical and mental wellbeing. Congratulations to our new student leaders.

Heritage  Issue 49 - November 2022

Welcome to the November 2022 issue of Heritage. This issue is packed with exciting stories covering John XXIII College Alumni, students and staff. 

You can read about a myriad of achievements and offerings that shows the richness of the lives of the wonderful people of John XXIII College and remember how fortunate we are to be part of such a fantastic and unique community.

Robert Henderson

Principal