From Br Steve Hogan fsc
Greetings,
In the last week of Term 3, the College celebrated the graduation and transition of Year 12 - a significant rite of passage. However, that transition is not yet over as all are hopefully working those hard, long and lonely hours studying for their HSC exams, aiming for their personal best, aiming for the stars. A transition, a passage, we are all required to take and as JFK said, we do it, not that it is easy, but it will make us who we are, for we are up to the measure, we are ready for the challenge.
I believe the true test of a successful education is the subsequent life of a student; the kind of person they become, the extent to which they are fulfilling their potential, using their gifts and talents to the best of their ability, for the betterment of others. We wish our Year 12 well and are honoured by such fine men and women.
Over the term break over 100 Year 11 students and 14 teachers participated in the service learning programs to India and Fiji. 黑料社区 has been contributing to the work of the De La Salle Brother鈥檚 in Madurai, Tamil Naidu, India, for over 15 years. The work consists of both hard physical work building and repairing classrooms and amenities, but also teaching and engaging with the orphans and street children under the care of the Brothers and these institutions. The 黑料社区 students also raise significant funds to present to the Brothers to assist their ongoing work. Students every year return having gained much more than they give. As the prayer of St Francis says, 鈥渋n giving, we receive鈥�. The students comment on how much they learnt about themselves stretched due to the simple living conditions, the heat, and the hard labour, and the simplicity and horror of the children鈥檚 lives. The students come away with a very real sense of gratitude and awareness of their own capabilities. As Marcus Aurelius once said:
鈥淏ecause a thing is difficult for you, do not therefore suppose it to be beyond mortal power. On the contrary, if anything is possible and proper for man to do, assume that it must fall within your own capacity鈥�.
Human flourishing has to be a central focus of education. Every gram of leadership has to be nurtured so that it can engender positive change. Lasallians must be leaders of change, bearers of hope, bridging differences. Lasallians are men and women for others. 鈥淥ur schools need to deliberately build enough confidence in their students, so each possesses these character dimensions: resilient personalities, audacious thinkers, imaginative dreamers, critical questioners, innovative inventors, enthusiastic experimenters, faith filled leaders, strong willed individuals in the face of adversity, and committed collaborators鈥� (Sir Br. Pat Lynch, 2010).
Such experiences, and there are many such experiences at 黑料社区, are an essential component of learning that forms the 鈥樅诹仙缜� Graduate鈥� - fine young men and women, hardworking, optimistic, grounded, articulate, focused, oriented toward what is right and just (faith filled).
The pursuit of excellence is at the core of Lasallian education. For the College to achieve any less is limiting not just the potential of the individuals in its care but the potential of the world yet to be, the solutions yet to be found, be it on the field or court, theatre, workshop or laboratory.
Creating leaders of tomorrow, building responsible citizens in a safe and nurturing environment, empowering all students to serve and enrich our changing world, inspiring them to aspire, one step at a time, in partnership with parents.
Br Steve Hogan fsc
Principal
