Head of College - Mr Richard Ford
Congratulations to all teams who played in a Grand Final last weekend on their determination and teamwork. It was wonderful to see many families and friends supporting students, and my thanks go to Mr McClintock, all MICs and Coaches for your support of the Winter sports program. The 1st Hockey, Under 16 Gold Netball and Under 12 Red Football all had wins and to be congratulated on their achievements.
Today, after a week of special events for Year 12, the Senior School sent Year 12 off with words of encouragement and thanks. Tomorrow evening, as holidays commence, we will celebrate further with parents and friends at a Valedictory Dinner.
I wish all families well for a restful, productive and safe fortnight ahead of Term 4. Thirty-seven students head to Japan on the weekend, and we look forward to sharing about this experience, particularly the time we have at our Japanese sister school.
Below are my words to Year 12 at their final assembly this afternoon:
It is a privilege to share some final thoughts with you, Year 12, at this your final assembly. As you prepare to set sail and leave the shores on which you have spent your high school years, with no certainty as to which way the winds will blow in the years ahead, what sails will you put up and manoeuvre each day, to get you to your destination over the years ahead?
The College has prepared you for the journey that lies before you with four College values, each of which we believe you can safely rely on to use in different ways at different times to journey through both the calmer days and the cyclones that inevitably are before you.
In drawing your attention this afternoon to our four College values, I want to briefly unfurl each value one final time, but instead of focusing on what the value might look like for you here at school, let’s focus on what these values could mean for you in the future.
Firstly, respect. As you set out on the journey that lies ahead, I want to challenge you to commit to respecting people, particularly those who are less powerful than you.
It is pretty common to respect your peers. It is more or less accepted that you need to respect people who are more powerful than you. It is far more radical and yet also transformative, for communities and for our world, to respect people who have little power, who are lowly, who are all too often forgotten.
In the years ahead, many of you will advance to become leaders of all manner of industry. Your parent’s gift of an education at the College has prepared you well for this.
No matter your role or status in the decades ahead, remember that each person you come across in life is precious; they have been wonderfully and beautifully made by God, as you have, and are worthy of respect and kindness.
Some people who appear to be strong will stand up for themselves, but truly strong people respect and show kindness to the poorest and weakest in communities and in our world at large.
Secondly, courage. Throughout life, do what is right and hold people to what is right. This won’t be easy. It is even likely to be lonely at times. But stand for what is right, even if it means standing alone.
Sadly, studies have found that when people see things that are clearly wrong going on in our world, only 1 in 5 people intervene. I hope you will be that 1 who steps in and steps up.
Be the person who calls out poor behaviour when most other people are looking the other way. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” May this day never come for any of you.
Year 12, as you encounter all manner of foul play and piracy on the high seas onto which you now venture, be courageous, do what is right and hold people to what is right.
Thirdly, compassion. Most people in life are doing the best they can and yet we often assume the worst of the people around us rather than the best.
Most people are not trying to let us down, disappoint us or frustrate us and yet, only 50% of people are likely to give their friends, their colleagues and their family members, the benefit of the doubt.
Year 12, you are about to set sail into seas where you will find a blame culture is all too common, where the default for many is to look for fault in others and to dwell on how they’ll make others pay for those faults.
While there is a place for accountability, for boundaries and for honest conversations, these can all exist without assuming people in your life suck on purpose just to annoy you.
To think this way will inevitably suck a whole lot of joy out of your life. You will live a life of resentment of others and of constant judgement. So be compassionate. Assume the best of people while still maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Finally, truth. Year 12, be people who tell the truth and seek the truth.
When it comes to truth, I’m quite fond of Mark Twain’s observation. Twain said, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” How wonderfully liberating is that! If you tell the truth, you will also be trusted. And how wonderful this will be for relationships throughout your life!
Tell the truth and seek the truth. Seek the truth rather than follow the flotilla of party boats who seek only happiness. For if you seek happiness too much, it inevitably goes far away. We are simply not wired to be constantly content. We are wired to have a relationship with God and with others.
So, keep asking questions about God, this world, your purpose and your destination.
As you set sail today, my hope and prayer for you is that your destination would be homeward bound, homeward bound to Heaven.
And on the journey ahead, I will be praying that you may know the loving embrace of your Heavenly Father who made you, loves you, and who will journey with you as you leave the shores of this College today.
As you set sail, I also want to remind you of the African proverb that says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’
Year 12, set sail together, chart your course and be people of respect, courage, compassion and truth.
Thank you to every staff member here today for the way you have supported the Class of 2025 to be equipped for the journey ahead of them.
Thank you to every parent here today for partnering with the College in your child’s education.
Thank you to every Year 12 student here today for the ways in which you have influenced this College community for good.
Work hard and support each other over the coming months, knowing that a rising tide always lifts all boats, and so be a part of that rising tide.
And as staff will sing to you shortly,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Mr Richard Ford
Head of College
