Dear young people, please don’t be observers of life – get involved. Jesus did not remain an observer, he immersed himself and I encourage you to immerse yourself in the reality of life, as Jesus did – Pope Francis, 2013.
The reality of life at La Salle College is observable every day and over the last few weeks I have been proud to watch our students in action as they participate in a wide range of learning activities, both within the classroom and beyond. Their perseverance, their ability to rise above the challenges that they face and their commitment to being the very best they can be has been highlighted through a number of events over the last few weeks.
At our College Assembly on Wednesday 3 March we gathered to celebrate and acknowledge students from the Class of 2020 who achieved academic excellence in each of our ATAR and Vocational Education pathways. It is important that we take time to recognise others because we must see ourselves as a College Community – the success of one person is shared by each and every one of us.
- When one person in our College achieves – we all stand taller.
- When one person in our College strives for their best and shares their gifts with us – we all benefit.
- When one person in our College gives of themselves in service to others or the wider community – we are all better off.
- When one person models the important lesson that hard work brings reward – we are all a little wiser and, hopefully all closer to following their example.
- When one person shines the light on the way for others – we all share in the light.
We acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our high achieving students from the Class of 2020:
Jordan Stacey, Qi Ren, Raymond Evans, Yasmin Fox-Mooney, Victoria Pavy, Jacob Jojo, Norman Luyt, Jye O’Leary, Mia Flitman, Emily Candy, Faith Adams, Elena Landrigan, Mia Lawson- Cross, Jade Mellowship and Ashlea Jordan. They are wonderful role models for all students at the College and demonstrate what can be achieved through self-regulation, commitment, resilience and strong levels of application.
Resilience has certainly been a characteristic demonstrated by our Year 7 students ( the Class of 2026) in the early weeks of commencing high school. As if commencing at a new school wasn’t hard enough, they also had to contend with a false start, wearing masks in their first week and then trying to determine who their new friends were without the mask. The transition to a new school or work environment is never easy but I am very proud of how our Year 7 students embraced these challenges and transitioned into College life.
The College’s transition program “I am Lasallian” aims to make students feel positively connected to their new school, their peers, other students in the school, and to their teachers. It also aims to include parents and guardians in the learning journey of their child.
One of the key elements of the program is the “I am Lasallian’ evening which was held on Thursday 11 March 2021. Year 7 students demonstrated some of their work associated with a problem-based learning challenge about sustainability and introduced their parents to their new friends and teachers.
Their ability to speak confidently about their early weeks, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them not only demonstrated their resilience but the relationships and connections that they have made in a very short period of time. I was so pleased to be able to acknowledge the wonderful work of our Year 7s, meet many parents and guardians and present our newly elected Year 7 student leaders to our community.
Welcoming new members to our community was a key role of all student leaders this week at the College Open Day. This day is an opportunity for our College to tell our wonderful story and showcase the many opportunities, both in and beyond the classrooms that are available to students. It is an opportunity to highlight the welcoming, supportive and nurturing environment and systems we have in place to ensure our students have the best experience, and are given the encouragement and support they need to thrive as individuals. Our student-led tours were the highlight on the day, not only enabling prospective parents to hear from our students leaders but to observe our wonderful students and staff engaging in their learning.
As we journey through the final weeks of Term 1, I would encourage all within our community to not simply be observers of the wonderful opportunities that we have in our College but to immerse yourself in these opportunities and live life to the fullest – everyday is a blessing.
God bless!
Ms Giovanna Fiume | Principal
