2024 Newsletter Term 3: week 4

Dear parents,

A couple of weeks ago I went for a haircut at one of the barber shops that have proliferated in recent years. All seemed like business as usual, until I was charged the fee at the seniors rate. Once I had recovered from a momentary out-of-body experience where consciousness fell into ultra slow motion, I paid the account and went on my way to contemplate what had just happened.

The barber hadn't asked if I was a "senior". Do I look like a senior? Feeling rather put out I suddenly realised that I am a senior, innately qualified to pay less for a haircut than I was only weeks earlier. Change happens when we least expect it.

Change is baked into life. Like the chocolate sauce submerged in a lava cake, you don't know exactly when it's going to happen, but a pleasant surprise is imminent. And not because you're guessing, but because you have diligently followed a chosen method.

Like principals, students move through life stages of varying degrees of difficulty. Parents can feel like they are the only ones with problematic youngsters, but, in truth, every family has challenges with children, difficulties that seem perilous and insurmountable, where selecting the recipe for success can be as slippery as the Falls Creek toboggan range. SMMC staff are determined to help and support students and their families throughout and beyond these stages. It is one of the real joys of teaching to work with persevering students who finally flourish.

Last Thursday's method for the Solemnity of St Mary MacKillop was Mass, art competition, music, vocations talks, BBQ and cupcakes. I was delighted to see students entering into each activity in just the right way so as to get the most out of it. Mass was one of the most beautiful I have attended at SMMC.  Like the extra $8 in my pocket after the haircut, rich experiences help to soften the blow of gruelling change.

Warm regards,

Ian Smith

Principal