As the month of October, the month of the Holy Rosary, comes to a close, we give thanks to Mary, Mother of God for the blessings of our community, particularly for the children and young people, from Mary Bailey House, to Year 12. May we continue to see them thrive and grow in faith, love, compassion and justice.
I have just finished reading this year’s Man Booker Prize for Fiction – Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. Each year I try to read my way through the short-listed nominations. Each year I am reminded of the pleasure and power of reading great fiction. Lincoln in the Bardo is a mix of fact and fantasy as it tells the ‘real’ story of Abraham Lincoln’s grief at the death of his 11 year old son, Willie, from typhoid. Saunders uses snippets from historical documents of the time (a time of great national grief as it is set in the period of the American Civil War), to enhance a wonderful work of the imagination. The ‘bardo’ in the title is a transitional realm in Tibetan Buddhist belief – a space between the end of physical life and whatever may be the next stage. Saunders populates the bardo with a host of fictional ‘spirits’ trapped like Willie in the bardo, and we learn their stories. I highly recommend this imaginate and compassionate tale of an individual’s heartfelt story, and of a nation’s collective grief.
The power of fiction to reveal truth is ironic. We don’t read a novel to learn about facts. That’s the point of non-fiction and media texts. Yet the best fiction can reveal truths about the human condition, and about times and places other than our own. This unusual introduction to the Principal’s Updates today is a plea for us all to value the power and beauty of literature in our children’s education. While we rightly value STEM subjects, this will never be at the expense of the ‘A’ that makes up STEAM – the arts generally, and in this case literature specifically. As parents you have great scope to nourish the love of books and reading. Children are never too old to be read to. Books as gifts show that they are prized possessions. Listening to children as they read to you is precious time spent. At Del Monte, I always await the pleasure of Maria Thompson’s latest lists of recommended new children’s books – and then somehow they make an appearance at Speech Day later in the year. On the 6-12 campus, students are fostered to achieve a developing sophistication of choice through the wide-reading Accendo program. By the time that they are studying English at the highest levels, they are reading challenging, quality literature.
The arts and STEM need to be seen as complementary and integrated pursuits. Professor Genevieve Bell’s 2017 Boyer Lecture series is called Fast, Smart and Connected: What is it to be Human, and Australian, in a Digital World? She suggests that ‘our privileging of Stem at the expense of the rest of the disciplines is short-sighted at best, and detrimental at worst’. Progress in our digital futures is about more than developments in technology. It involves getting past the ‘easy seduction of killer robots’, and investing time and responsibility in conversations about the ethics, morality and values of the digital technologies. She argues that ‘we might want to embody our own values in the data-driven digital world around us. For (her) those values include things like fairness, equity, social justice and civic society’. These values are certainly ones that align with a Santa Sabina education.
We have welcomed Dominican Sisters from the Solomon Islands this past week. They have had the opportunity to catch up with students from this year’s, as well as previous years’ Solomons’ Islands Immersion. The warmth and joy that they exude, and the genuine connections that the students have with these Sisters was very evident. The Sisters are in Australia to participate (along with the Sisters of Eastern Australia) in the Eighth General Chapter of the Congregation where a new Congregational Leader will be chosen. Sister Judy Lawson OP – current Prioress and former Principal of the College – will be stepping down at the end of this year after many, many years of service. Once the new Prioress is announced, we will communicate the news with you in Veritas Voice.
Progress with the Siena Centre is a little mixed. While the amphitheatre is complete, you will have noticed that the fence is yet to be taken down. There are some compliance issues that have been recognised by the builders, and that need to be rectified before final certification. Meanwhile Stage 2 is well on the way to being ready for the beginning of the new school year. At our Donor thank you event on Saturday 21 October, we acknowledged the generosity of a wide cross-section of our community in helping fund both building works and scholarships. With the development of the College Foundation, we hope to strengthen the culture of philanthropy in the community, to ensure that we are responsible stewards of this beautiful heritage environment well into the College’s future.
There have been some outstanding student achievements over the last two weeks. Both Nicolette Donofrio & Renee Lewis have made selection to the national Athletic championships in Adelaide in December. Tess McFadden has been selected into the Sydney Metro Water Polo Team. Congratulations to Nicolette, Renee and Tess, and best wishes for the next stage of your competitions.
The film of the Northern Territory Music Concert, ‘On the Northern Track’, made by Bob Connolly and Sophie Raymond, will be shown to students at the next College Assembly, and will be available for parents to see at different College events. It is a spectacular visual and musical story, that celebrates the power of music and community.
And while we read much about uniform changes in Australia generally, and whether or not girls should have the option to wear shorts or slacks, I thought you might enjoy a historical view that indicates how old this debate is, and how timely it is with our new uniform options. The first image is from the late 1980s with what was seen as a trailblazing achievement – the ‘unisex’ uniform. The second image is from 1990 with girls ‘in shorts’ still able to engage in serious scientific inquiry.
Dr Maree Herrett
‘I have studied in the Book of Life – Love teaches you everything’ (St Dominic)
