In this, the penultimate week of Term One, I can’t get over how quickly this term has flown.
It only seems like yesterday that we were welcoming the new Year Seven students into the school, celebrating our Opening School Mass and dreaming of the year ahead. It has been an amazing term with so many things happening in such a short time. I’m sure many in the community are looking forward to the Easter break to spend some time with family and to catch their breath after the whirlwind that has been Term One. I hope the holidays provide time for our boys to reflect on what has been a very positive term here at Salesian College Chadstone. I also hope they can all look back on the term with a sense of satisfaction and pride in what they have achieved, the work they have completed and the joy they have shared over the past nine weeks. We thank God for all the joys, hopes and struggles that the new year has presented and we pray that as a community we continue to celebrate our individual and collective successes, whilst working together through the tough times that come our way.
The frantic pace of Term One stayed with us right up until the end, with the past two weeks being as busy as any of the preceding seven. Music camps, Year Nine camps, Student Led Conferences and a Hall of Fame Dinner have kept all of us flat out. Once again I thank the staff who gave of their time to organize and supervise these events, especially the camps, as they take staff away from their families overnight.
The Student Led Conferences have been well received by all in the community. I would like to thank all in the community; including staff, students and parents, for their participation in these conversations as we strongly believe that the more responsibility boys take for their own learning, the better their learning outcomes will be. In particular, I thank Ms Ellul and her support staff for looking after the logistics of such an enterprise, and ensuring it ran effectively and smoothly.
Last Friday evening the College held its annual Hall of Fame Dinner here in the College Hall. It was a wonderful celebration of everything community. We recognized three new inductees into the Hall of Fame, and one Young Achiever, all of whom were worthy of a significant celebration in their own right. However, it was the community aspect of the evening which provided the greatest sense of joy for me, as we were lucky enough to have representatives from all aspects of our community in attendance. It was great to see past and present staff and students, and members of the Chadstone Salesian community both past and present, all joining together to celebrate the achievements of men of the Salesian College community. It was a superb night. Thanks to Ms Suzie McErvale, Miss Nikita Rodrigues, Mrs Michelle Collins, the Maintenance team, the Music team and the IT team for all their work in bringing together the night. I also congratulate Vincent Chieu for his performance on the keyboard, as he did a great job. It was a true Salesian celebration.
With the holidays comes Easter, the most significant week in the Christian calendar. The Easter celebration calls us to reflect on the Easter Mystery, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The events of Easter are central to our Christian faith and the basis of our mission as a Catholic College, of bringing our students to a deeper understanding and faith in Jesus as our God and savior. We hope all in the community have a reflective and holy Easter, and that we all enjoy the break from our normal routine. We hope our students and their families take the time to enjoy each other’s company and celebrate the holy week as it should be celebrated.
As stated previously we encourage all senior students to use the break from scheduled classes positively, by studying, revising, summarising or just catching up on work covered in Term One, as well as preparing for what will be a busy Term 2.
Rob Brennan
Principal