Dear members of the Whitefriars College Family,
One of my favourite reflections or prayers is one titled A creed to live by. The last line of this reflection says…
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you’re going.
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
Life is so incredibly busy that we often forget to stop, take a breath and savour all the wonderful blessings we have in our lives. We move quickly from one activity/initiative/task to the next without taking time to pause and to celebrate what we have achieved. At Whitefriars over the last couple of weeks I have been reminded of the life-giving power of stopping, reflecting and most of all taking the time to celebrate all that is great about the Whitefriars community.
One of these moments of pause occurred at our recent Year 12 celebration day. This year, our celebration day committee of staff and students decided the best way to mark the last day of school before exams was for our graduating class to come together with their parents and teachers to acknowledge all those who have walked with them on their journey. Being a new initiative, there was a little uncertainty about how the morning would be proceed. I can say without equivocation that the success of this event exceeded everyone’s expectations. The prevailing feelings in the Science and Technologies function space that morning, among the 400 or so people in the room, were ones of gratitude, celebration and community. The feedback I received at our celebration breakfast was overwhelmingly positive with many boys and their parents suggesting that this event provided a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the last six years and to give thanks for the many opportunities, successes and challenges experienced, as well as for the many people who supported our young men along the way.
I would like to thank the planning committee led by Claire Allemand, Director – Senior Years, along with Melinda Coulson, Administrative Assistant – Senior Years, for their vision and dedication in providing our young men with such a memorable and meaningful event on their last day of school.
Last week, we celebrated the annual Whitefriars College Visual Arts Exhibition. To stage this exhibition our Visual Arts Learning Area led by Roslyn Leach, and supported by our Visual Arts staff and Visual Arts Captain Leon Papadopoulos, transformed our College’s Functions Room into a beautiful exhibition space which displayed our students work with the dignity that their hard work and talent deserved.
It was inspiring and a little overwhelming to view the incredible pieces created by our talented students across Visual Arts subject areas including Visual Communication and Design, Studio Art, Product Design and Media. It was such a blessing to take time to wander through this gallery space to admire each piece and the skill and dedication it took to create these amazing works of art and design. Equally, it was a gift to speak with the creators of these amazing works and to hear the stories and the struggles behind the development of the pieces themselves. Each piece of art and design was an expression of the personality and creativity of each student and clearly demonstrated the incredible growth in knowledge, skill and artistic maturity these students had developed throughout the year. This is a great credit to the Visual Arts and Design teachers who challenge our young men everyday to produce work of the highest standards.
As we move towards the end of this year, may we all take time to stop and reflect on the important things in life and not allow life to slip through our fingers. I leave you with A Creed to Live by.
Mr Mark Murphy
Principal
A Creed To Live By
Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.
Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give love, the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly, and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Don’t dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you’re going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
