St Catherine's School

Schools are very active and busy places. This is both part of their ‘charm' as well as a great necessity as we educate students through the vital years of childhood and youth.

Our interactions with our St Catherine's parents and community are an indispensable and necessary part of all we do.

I am very happy to work with parents and others in our shared journey. The outcomes are always worthwhile and often most rewarding in a personal sense.

For example, at the end of 2009 I was introduced to two books by different parents. I had some sketchy knowledge of one but not the other. Both have proved to be extremely interesting and just as important; timely for me and also for our School planning.

The first book The Element - How finding your passion changes everything by Ken Robinson looks at how every individual has the potential to be creative and involved. This theme is largely presented by using personal experience and reflective wisdom as well as many individual stories. Ken Robinson explains the term ‘Element' in the following way:

I use the term the Element to describe the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together. I believe it is essential that each of us find his or her Element, not simply because it will make us more fulfilled but because, as the world evolves, the very future of our communities and institutions will depend on it.

The world is changing faster than ever in our history. Our best hope for the future is to develop a new paradigm of human capacity to meet a new era of human existence. We need to evolve a new appreciation of the importance of nurturing human talent along with an understanding of how talent expresses itself differently in every individual. We need to create environments - in our schools, in our workplaces, and in our public offices - where every person is inspired to grow creatively. We need to make sure that all people have the chance to do what they should be doing, to discover the Element in themselves and in their own way.

In a world replete with "How to..." books, this one is both uplifting and practical in the opportunities it describes and the challenges offered.

The second book The Third Choice by Mark Durie is in some ways a much more difficult subject to contemplate. The author is examining one of our century's most difficult challenges by looking at the basic foundations of Islam to find conciliation between ideas that shape various aspects of behaviour. The aim of this book is to explain, educate and to assist the reader's understanding of a great and powerful thought system. He is looking beyond superficial rejection and all the consequences that follow towards a greater knowledge and thus understanding of freedom and peace.

For Thought

We can't float through life. We can't be incidental or accidental. We must fix our gaze on a guiding star as soon as one comes upon the horizon, and once we have attached ourselves to that star we must keep our eyes on it and our hands on the plow.

Ossie Davis

We judge the song of the bird not by its musical quality nor even by its creativeness, but by its effect on the human spirit.

Len Eiserer