To the family and friends of St Edmund’s College,
It is of great interest that last Sunday’s Gospel story describing Jesus’ miracle of allowing the blind man to see (Mark 10:46-52) immediately follows the previous week’s Gospel story of Jesus having to explain to his apostles the nature of servant leadership as they clearly did not understand the nature of his mission or the nature of his leadership (Mark 10: 35-45). Just as Jesus led Bartimaeus from blindness to sight (and at the same time deepening his faith and insight), Jesus endeavoured to lead the apostles out of their metaphorical blindness into an understanding of what it truly means to serve others in the mission of Christ.
We can probably find some reflection of ourselves in both Gospel stories. At times we are well aware of our blindness and wait desperately by the roadside for the right person or circumstances to come along and give us the heart to rise up, open our eyes and live the journey of faith. At other times, we need to be reminded of our blindness and be set on the right path with others shining the light for us through their intervention and guidance.
This theme of blindness has been foremost in my thoughts and words in the last week as I have been involved in many pastoral discussions with some of our Heads of House, some students and their parents. The last few weeks have seen some individual students in the College act in blindness.
Some students have not discerned or understood the consequences of their actions and acted in a blind manner, only realising the gravity of their actions immediately following their action. These young men are good people who have made an error of judgement, and as such we always ensure that we are judging the action, not the person. Only in the pastoral process following the event do these students have their blindness removed, their sight restored and are set on the right path. Sometimes this is an easy and quick process, at other times this is a more complex process depending on the individual and his circumstances. But at all times we must make an effort to allow these students to walk the right path once their blindness has been removed and their eyes opened.
At times some students are in full and clear comprehension of the consequences of their actions, but are blind to what they can do to overcome their path to these actions. This comes from the very disturbing and concerning fact that many boys and young men are not comfortable with or capable of talking about their difficult experiences either privately or publicly. A very simple conversation with a parent or a teacher could have very easily avoided these students taking the wrong path or thinking they were on the path by themselves. In this case their blindness is the failure to communicate and be willing to discuss a problem or concern before it becomes worse and think that they are alone in their situation.
The older our students become, the more they become trapped in the confines of a socialisation process that tells them it is unmanly to cry, to hurt, to talk personally or to express the myriad other emotions we all experience as a result of living fully as human beings. As a school for boys, we must continue to commit ourselves to develop strategies and mechanisms in our pastoral care and academic care processes for our students to be able to share concerns and express emotions in a safe environment both at school and at home. It is so important for our young men to overcome their blindness and be given the light of Christ to be able to walk the right path, make the right decisions and restore relationships when their decisions may not be the right ones.
May the Lord Jesus place His hands on our eyes
that we may begin to catch sight
of the things that are not seen
more than the things that are seen.
May He open our eyes
that they will alight on the things to come
more than on the things of this age.
May He unveil the vision of our heart
that it may contemplate God in spirit.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ
to whom belongs glory and power for ever.
Amen.
Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us.
Live Jesus in Our Hearts, forever.
Recognition of Service
At this week’s College Assembly we acknowledged and celebrated many members of staff who have made a significant commitment of service to St Edmund’s College. I thank the following members of staff for their dedication to serving our College community and ensuring that our young men experience the very best of all facets of their time here at the College. These members of staff serve as a symbol of continuity and College memory – they are part of the stories and traditions of the College and we celebrate their contributions.
10 Years
Nathan Rutter, Colin Rogers and Marty O’Rourke
Over 10 Years
Anna Blore, Xiao Wang, Margaret Thomas, Leigh Southwell, Jason Moore, Nathan Metcalfe, Jacob Knowles, Pam Knight, Linda James and Tracey Brown
15 Years
Michelle Taylor and Maree Ford
Over 15 Years
Julia Roche, Paula Moeller, Ed Mickleburgh, Pat Langtry, Leanne Gair, Tyson Flynn, John Doyle, John Bell and Susana Afeaki
Over 20 Years
Fred Zarb, Arlene Gray and Norman Foskett
Over 25 Years
Tony Di Fronzo
Over 30 Years
Ian Harvey
Over 35 Years
Carlo Sorrentino
Old Boys Mass
Last Saturday we hosted a number of our former students for the Old Boys Mass in the Chapel. We were blessed to have Old Boy Bishop Pat Power (Retired) celebrate Mass and were also joined by a number of College Old Boys especially from the early days of St Edmund’s College, including a founding student from Year 4, 1954. Mass included a touching homily by Bishop Power, a reflection on the last 64 years of Eddies, and a blessing of badges and music from Old Boy Kieran Sloan. I thank Michael Monagle (Direction of Mission and Identity), Bridget Cusack (Junior School Mission and Identity) and Germaine Muller (Community Development and Marketing Manager) for organising such a memorable and moving first Old Boys Mass. We look forward to this event becoming larger in the years to come as we celebrate the Eddies community and what it is to be an Eddies Boy. Next year the Old Boys Mass will be held on the morning of the Rugby Union Heritage Round.
Second-Hand Uniforms
I would like to establish a second-hand uniform facility for parents to have another option for the purchasing of the College uniform (only the new uniform, not the old uniform). Now that we have some of our Year 6, Year 10 and Year 12 students coming to the end of their time in the new College uniform, I would ask parents to give careful consideration to donate these uniforms back to the College. I also extend this invitation to parents of students in other years who have grown out of the new College uniform.
If you would like to participate in this program and be of assistance to other parents, I would ask that you please ensure that shirts, trousers, shorts, jumpers and blazers are in good condition and cleaned prior to being donated to the College. We will store these items and make them available to other parents at a reduced cost. Please note that the College is not in a position to repair donated items or to have them cleaned. It is important that items are in good condition and cleaned prior to being donated back to the College.
These items can be left at Reception during the December/January holidays (in our office holiday hours) or left at either Reception or Student Services when school commences in 2019. Please note that second-hand uniform items are not to be left at the Uniform Shop nor can second-hand items be purchased from the Uniform Shop. We will advise you when the second-hand uniform service is up and running in terms of location and process.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Ethan Stamatis (Year 9, Rice House) on being awarded the National Premier League U/18 Player of the Year at the recent Capital Football Awards.
Christus Lux Mea
Joe Zavone (College Principal)