Dear parents,
Earlier in the footy season, the Smith's attended a match in Melbourne between our team North Melbourne (just don't go there) and the Fremantle Dockers. As has become customary, North did pretty well in the first part of the game and then started to fall away badly, along with the language of a young man and fellow-supporter who was seated next to Mrs Smith. His frustrations boiled over into an expletive-riddled tirade until, after about 15 minutes, calm was restored, obviously not by our team doing better, but by his near-constant scrolling and messaging on his phone. Less swearing; more Angry Birds.
One of the takeaways from this episode was the sense of falling out with my fellow spectator. It is a tenuous compact, for sure, but we have to occupy the near-same space for about three hours and the way we use that time and space counts. Things began ok, but all of a sudden, we didn't seem to share the same values, expectations around conduct or unified voice of support for our team.
The virtue of the month of June is fidelity; being faithful to promises and commitments. I'd like to thank teachers for their ongoing work with students to grow character and virtue. The commitment in the classroom is a little more robust than sitting in the outer of Marvel Stadium. Nonetheless, being united in values, conduct and how we speak is central to the SMMC mission. In this, Saint Mary MacKillop is the pattern, encouraging kindness and upbuilding conversation, while discouraging gossip and harsh criticism. As our heavenly patroness once said, but always exemplified, "Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you all your life."
As always, thank you for your support.
Warm regards,
Ian Smith
Principal
