23 February 2022
There is a path in the Senior School that is not a path.
There is no bitumen nor concrete to withstand the footsteps of a thousand boys’ shuffling on a daily basis. And yet, there is a path, worn through the lawn. This dusty beaten track is forged not by the boys’ defiance but by their common sense. “But, Sir, to get from here to there, why would I not take the shortest route?” “Yeah, Sir, to get from here to there, why would I walk around the long and winding way?” Thank you to our prefect team for preparing an entertaining video for Muster, which presented the student perspective on this perfectly.
The prominent theme in the Senior School this week is about the trails we blaze in life.
On Thursday, we welcomed five accomplished business leaders to the School – as part of the newly-created CEO-in-Residence program – all of whom have a place in the SPSC network as current or past parents or Old Scholars. Through interviews and workshops, in which the leaders shared their own career and leadership journeys, the overall experience was nothing short of inspiring. It was as if all the education that we want our children to learn – and all the right messaging and modelling – was packed into one school day. Mellissa Larkin inspired through her advice ‘to think about what success means to you’. And in this, whilst the students appreciated there are millions of different routes to take – there is also a great deal of consistency in the lessons learnt on the way to success in business and life.
“You can become more than you ever imagined”
“Take a step back to credit how far you have come”
“Use time as productively as possible”
“Make your work fit the life you want to live”
“I have never got to a point where I think I have made it”
I would like to sincerely thank Ron Beevor, Mellissa Larkin, James Sarah, Adrian Tembel and Thomas Walker for giving up a morning of their time to inspire some of our young aspirational leaders of the future.
From young to slightly older, old scholar, Aidan Murphy (FRR 2020) broke the Under 20 national 200m record last weekend, with a time of 20.41 seconds. If you have not run a 200m recently, please take my word for it, that this is fast. In fact, it means Aidan was flying! Along our theme of ‘the path ahead…’, I encouraged the boys in our online muster this week to consider what it had taken Aidan to achieve such an impressive feat. What sacrifices? What commitment? What personal qualities? And I asked the boys to reflect on where this may lead him; to the Olympics? Maybe! (Aidan – if you happen to be reading this – and I know you would be the only 19-year-old doing so – please know that we are continuing to follow and support your journey!)
In a similar vein, I would like to shine a spotlight on Maulik Singhal (HWK) for the presentation to his peers in the Year 10 muster. Maulik spoke about his experience volunteering for the Smith Family student2student program. He boldly and bravely shared, “the world is a big place, and I strongly believe that the act of making a difference starts with a single person.” Maulik is an example of a young man clearly paving his own path through his school years and lighting his own way in the world. With some years of hindsight that we have as parents, it is exciting to think where a young man – who is prepared to stand apart from (and in front of) his peer group at such a young age to discuss his passion and drive to serve others – might end up. (A reminder to direct your sons to our Service Learning Coordinator, Ms Antonia Mackay for character-building and life-enhancing service-learning opportunities).
All students are invited, daily, to be courageously themselves, collaborative in getting ahead and committed to take advantage of every opportunity. Please discuss with your son what his path has looked like up to this point in his life, what it may look like in the years ahead, and where it might lead.
In your support and partnership,
Marcus Blackburn
Deputy Headmaster/ Head of Senior School