Principal's Welcome - Week 5, Term 2, 2021

Dear College families,
In our moving through life, we easily lose sight of the truth that great things actually begin with small things. Admiral William McRaven of the US Navy captured this truth in a speech to University graduates when he said:
"If you want to change the world start each day by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed."
In our busyness, we forget that the little things can make a huge difference in the way we think or feel. Success with the little things can help us get a new outlook on some aspect of life or can impart new hope and inspiration. This is a powerful truth that we want to impart to our young people who, in our fast-paced society with its enormous pressures can easily become overwhelmed with all that culture tells them they need to accomplish.
One way we can impart this truth is by together prioritising the little things like uniform and seeing these structures and procedures as part of a much bigger truth that we are endeavouring to impart. Teenagers, in particular, may see uniform rules as trivial and unnecessary and as adults who were once teenagers we can appreciate that for this season of life this may be their perspective. However, let's come alongside and offer a different perspective, one that encourages them to feel the success of getting the small things right. Because, as adults with the benefit of hindsight, we know that getting the little things right leads to growing confidence to tackle the big things that are in store for them.
Felicity Marlow
Principal