Throughout the year our students achieve amazing success across many dimensions of life at SPSC. This is what makes us an exceptional community of learners.
One of the ways we acknowledge the impact our students have on the school community is the awarding of colours. This year we have awarded House Colours to students in the Year 11 cohort who have had an impact on our School. These students have acted in a way not to draw attention to themselves rather to have a positive impact on our community. This is no doubt a goal all students should strive to fulfil in their short time at school.
To act with humility is a trait our world needs to encourage. In a world where social media is the vehicle by which people share their lives, it is easy to get caught up in things that we cannot influence and potentially share things that we should not share.
In Australia we celebrate acts of humility through the Australian of the Year Awards. Recently, I was fortunate to attend the awarding of the South Australian nominees for these awards. What struck me was the amazing works and impact these individuals are having on the community.
Each of these nominees told a story, and the stories demonstrate a willingness to go above and beyond in the interest of others. Of particular note was Rachael Zaltron OAM who is the founder of Backpacks 4 SA Kids. Rachael was asked what she hoped to achieve and she said clearly, ‘if we had put 10 backpacks together I would have achieved my goal’. Yet Backpack 4 SA Kids has now provided over 86,000 backpacks for young people.
Rachael never dreamt of winning the nomination of Australian Local Hero when she started out on the journey in 2012. Nor did she ever expect to be nominated. She went out to make a difference, leading with humility and focusing on humanity.
At SPSC one of our core values is service. This year we have seen many students participate in activities that have an impact on others in our community. They do this not for the recognition but to serve and help others. Through these actions they have made a positive impact on the community and we look forward to further developing our service learning programs in 2024 to provide more opportunities for more boys to have an impact.
Timothy Jarvis AM quoted Christine Todd Whitmann on receiving the award for South Australia’s nomination for Australian of the Year, ‘Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room.’
May our young people realise that they too can be like the mosquito and through serving with humility make a difference to humanity.
SACE Stage 2 and IB Exams
This week has seen the SACE Exams begin for our Stage 2 students and the conclusion of the IB Diploma Exams. These exams are a culmination of the learning that has occurred throughout the year and measures the students’ knowledge, understanding and skill. We wish them every success as they complete these exams and look forward to celebrating their achievements when the results are released in December (SACE) and IB in January.
David Nolan
Deputy Headmaster/Head of Senior School
