News

End of Term Gratitude
This final newsletter for Term 1 provides an opportunity to reflect on the journey and give thanks for the many good things that have happened throughout the term.  I congratulate students on their commitment to school life, which has been evident in application to learning experiences, school events and class activities. 

I have seen many examples of staff, students and parents prepared to ‘step up’ commencing to realise their own potential and then indeed the potential of our community. Such journey starts small, but with confidence and support of those around us I am confident that we will see our potential to make a significant impact on those around us in a variety of ways. 

Such impact has been expressed significantly through student, staff and parent efforts in relation to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion Campaign.  The school’s commitment to fundraising has been one rich expression of our community’s desire to "Love your neighbour” and assist those in need. 

The groundwork established in Term 1 will provide a very good foundation for students to build upon in Term 2.  I trust students will find time this week to thank staff members for their work throughout the term.

Holy Week
As we immerse ourselves in Holy Week we remember the Lord’s last supper, his betrayal, suffering and death on the cross and then his glorious resurrection to new life.

Father Dean in our Parish Bulletin reminds us also:
“But we do much more than call to mind past events. For us, just like God’s People of Israel, to remember and commemorate is to bridge the gap between the past and the present. Each year when they remembered and celebrated the Passover and called to mind their salvation from slavery in Egypt, they had the sense that the same powerful and loving God, the God of their ancestors, was still present with them and saving them still. Memory for them had the power of bringing the past into the present.

It’s the same for us. God’s salvation won by the death and resurrection of Jesus, cannot be contained to one period of time and to one group of people, but is for all peoples of all time. As we remember, through Word and Sacrament, we enter into the transcendent realm of God’s faithful love. As we remember Jesus through the journey of his passion, death and resurrection, Jesus is really present amongst us now, saving us now. This is the meaning of his words at the Last Supper, “Do this in Memory of Me.” We are saved from the slavery of self centredness and sin; we are renewed in our relationship with God, with others and within ourselves.”

I encourage you to celebrate all the Holy Week and Easter Ceremonies with the hope that you experience deeply the saving presence of Christ amongst us in the daily; the ordinary, the extraordinary, the challenges and the successes.

Volunteers – Thank You
It is also timely to reflect on the many people; students, staff, parents, and friends of Tenison Woods College, who have offered their time and talents to our community this term.  Canteen helpers, parents who listen to reading and support class activities, those who offer their talents to committees and officiate at school events all provide testimony to the generosity so rich in our community. I sincerely thank such people for their commitment to creating community through their service to our school.

Parents making a difference – Wellbeing and Resilience
I am delighted to see the impact with parents who are participating in the Wellbeing and Resilience Courses offered by our community. Whether the topics have been ETR, mindsets, balancing thinking, cultivating gratitude, active constructive responding or some of the other engaging areas, parents have found significant application to their own personal and professional life journey and particularly their role as parents. 

I congratulate our first graduates, who completed the five session course last week:

• Stacey Bradley
• Susan Button
• Joyce Cesario
• Julie Considine
• Susie McCullough
• Janine Norman
• Renee Szopory

I thank the parents for their commitment and I look forward to them playing a significant role in our implementation across the school community in the ensuing year.

I also thank our facilitators, Jennie Sanderson, Tania Sigley, Mairead Mackle and Liza Couzens, who are offering their time, talent and passion to the training.

Our free parent ResilienceWerks courses are offered as a result of our partnership with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and our aspiration to implement the PERMA+ model across our College community. The project will complement our current strong commitment to wellbeing and resilience through the variety of programs offered to students, families and staff, by giving us a common language and frame of reference through which to view the associated issues across our school community.

End of Term – Holy Thursday
I remind families that there will be an early school closure to conclude the term, Thursday 13 April, Holy Thursday. As with past practices, Junior School will conclude at 2:15pm and Middle and Senior School at 2:20pm. 

Inaugural Japanese Trip
A group of Tenison Woods College senior school students, staff members and parents will jet off to Japan on Saturday 15 April for the first of what I hope will be many ventures to the country. I wish the delegation all the best during their time away and look forward to hearing all the details upon their return at the end of the school holidays.

ANZAC Day – ‘Lest we forget’
We look with anticipation to the ANZAC Day commemorations. I believe ANZAC Day not only offers us an opportunity to acknowledge those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who fought and died at Gallipoli in 1915, but is also a day of remembrance for all soldiers who have died while fighting for their country as well as their families whose lives have been significantly transformed by the supreme sacrifice. Furthermore ANZAC Day invites us as a community to acknowledge the commitment of our contemporary armed forces and their families; a day to say thank you with deep appreciation.

I encourage families to become involved in the commemorations on 25 April this year, Tuesday, in the second week of our school holidays.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We shall remember them.   
 

God Bless,

David Mezinec | Principal

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