“Nothing is precious except that part of you which is in other people, and that part of others which is in you. Up there, on high, everything is one.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
For many, school is a place of independent success. A place to achieve personal success in academic, sporting, and other fields. They go in one door in the morning and are quick to go out that same door at the end of the school day.
St Edmunds is a place of rich community spirit. A place to be around likeminded individuals, friends, and classmates, to forge bonds and to learn, to grow into young men.
Since my time in Year 4 I have experienced much that there is to offer at Eddies. Whether it be as a member of the St Edmunds Soccer Team, a participant on many school camps, sporting carnivals, school events, assemblies, musicals and performances, I have seen what it means to be an Eddies boy.
Over the years I have noticed how we can be influenced by the individual and by the community. How we can be better individuals for our community and how our community can help better us.
Every single person has individual goals. For some, it’s a mark on an assignment, a personal best, a good game on the weekend or even just to make a new friend. Every single person is different. They have their own strengths and their own goals.
Community should not override the individual. Individual goals are important to strive towards, they are healthy, and they help us develop as people. However, we should use our individual goals and achievements to better our community. It is a two-way street. We help our community and in turn we reap the benefits. We take on parts of others to help better ourselves and develop new interests, experiences and beliefs.
Recently, I attended one of the First XI cricket team’s final matches of the season. Towards the end of the innings, the First XI batsmen showed great individual skill and ability out on the pitch. The individual skill of each player made up the overall team. While it was this individuality of each player that was on show in the innings, it was the strong connection between these players that formed the team. Not once did I see a player obsessed by his own success and dismiss his teammates. There were pats on the back, cheers and compliments. This is just one example of the symbiotic relationship between individual and community.
I ask everyone, not just to help in the community where they can, but also to strive towards their individual goals. This balance of individual and community is what makes St Edmunds so special. It isn’t just about what an individual student can do, however the individual success of each student helps to enrich the school environment.
St Edmunds is the individuals and the community. It is the high achievers in the classroom, the players on the sporting field, actors and musicians on the stage, it is the legacy of every single boy, staff member and individual. They all add a part of themselves to Eddies, and I know when I leave at the end of the year, that I will hold part of Eddies inside of me. St Edmunds is a community; it is a home, and it is a way of life.
Edmund’s to the Fore.
Joshua Wink
Clancy House Captain