Welcome to Week Six of Term One. It is set to be a good week as we look forward to a long weekend and the short week that follows. Things are going along positively as we settle into the routine of the year. The extreme heat conditions appear to be behind us, making for far better learning conditions for the boys as we look forward to finishing the term off on a good note.
The business that comes with the start of every new school year, with all the necessary interruptions to the learning program is always difficult to navigate, however, in spite of this there is a very productive vibe around the College. The long weekend comes at the perfect time to have a little break, catch up on any bits of work we have let slip and just generally recharge the batteries. With this in mind, I hope all in the community will be able to use the long weekend to take a deep breath, have a rest and ready themselves for the final three weeks of term.
The Year 12 students appear to be well and truly immersed in their studies, busily completing class work, homework and the dreaded SACs. We hope they are preparing themselves well for these, as I know the staff will be doing everything in their power to prepare the students as best they can.
During the past week there have been a number of activities that have added to the breadth of education our students are offered here at Salesian. Our Year 9 students headed off on their camps this week to three different venues around Victoria. Weather reports suggest that they will all have beautiful conditions and the boys should have a wonderful time. I’m sure there will be a few tired Year 9 boys going into the weekend, but at least they will have three days to recover. Last Friday evening, the Swimming Squad competed at the ACC Swimming Carnival, and despite not having the success in the water they hoped, the boys were very competitive and all appeared to enjoy representing the College. Congratulations to all the boys and the staff involved.
The Catholic community is well into the season of Lent, the forty days stretching from Ash Wednesday through to Holy Thursday evening. This time is very important in the Catholic calendar; it is a time of reflection and renewal. Lent is a time to reflect on our relationship with God and a time to renew this relationship through a heightened awareness of the spiritual aspect of our lives. It is a time where we acknowledge our human imperfections and look to ways of becoming a better person and improving our relationship with others.
Traditionally, Catholics, in an attempt to meet these challenges, practised some form of fasting, abstinence or simply giving up something we enjoy up during this time. This was a means of focussing our attentions on the deficiencies in our lives and to give thought to the best way improve on these things. In recent times for many of us this has meant giving up lollies, alcohol or some other vice in our lives. Whilst this is a positive thing for ourselves and it does test us, we are encouraged to do more, to go one step further to ensure our action helps others. We are asked to take our ‘suffering’ and use it to benefit others. A way of doing this is to take the time or money we save by abstaining from our pleasures and give that to someone in need. It is when we take this step that we are truly strengthening our relationship with God and others.
I wish everyone in the community all the best for the week and hope they enjoy the long weekend break. God bless.
Rob Brennan
Principal