29 September 2023
The following is an extract from the Address delivered Mr Carter at Senior School Muster:
Welcome, colleagues and boys, to the final Muster of Term 3. What a very busy term it has been for staff and students alike, and what a joy it is to see on stage today such a celebration of the multiplicity of activities that make our community strong and lovely.
The presentations today have ranged from the History Society’s continued deep-dive into our rich heritage, a re-affirmation of the importance of protecting vulnerable children through Puddle Jumpers, a run-down of recent sporting glories, recognition of SPSC students’ nationally-benchmarked technical innovation through Subs in Schools and – perhaps most importantly of all – a reminder about the significance of our service programs, which sit at the heart of our School values. Thank you to all the presenters.
To riff off Father Theo’s theme, this is my way of encouraging you to engage with these opportunities, given that most communities do not have many – if any – of these things. To be part of this community, then, represents a rare opportunity to live a rich and varied childhood.
With the holidays coming up, alongside some significant milestones for our senior learners – I’m thinking about the Blue & White and valedictory celebrations in particular – could I also encourage you to take special care of one another in social spaces and at parties over the break? I would ask you to consider especially our School value of respect. Please remember to have – and to show - respect for yourselves, for each other, for your families and your friends and, importantly, for the young women in your lives.
Without wanting to get dark and dreary on this beautiful day, we remain ever-conscious that harm in teenage peer-groups is usually perpetrated by someone that is meant to be a friend – someone who is known.
So, as Stewart read to us earlier from St Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians, let us continue to wear “love as a breastplate” and “build each other up.” If this isn’t a mark of respect, I don’t know what is. I wish you a safe, respectful, loving and joyful holidays.
Nick Carter
Deputy Headmaster (Acting)