Dear Parents/Carers,                                                                        

As I outlined in our previous newsletter, the workflow at St Paul’s can sometimes reflect frenetic activity! Last week, whilst teaching Year 5 one of the students disclosed to me that he was having the NAPLAN Mathematics assessment the following day and he was worried as he believed Maths was not his strong point. This eleven year old, in the midst of the chaos of school life, reminded me that we are not true to our values if St Paul’s is not a listening place first. Instead of focusing on being organised and engrossed in “active time”, that is, time organised, time controlled by bells, timetables, appointments and work, we need to be receptive to times where time is received, is enjoyed and is celebrated. Indirectly, a child reminded me to stand against this syndrome of noise and unreflective activity and show I cared about him as a person who is becoming anxious about this frenetic experience. I asked the child in question to find me on the playground when he arrived at school the next morning so that he could share with me where his “well” was at. I needed to ensure that he had time to rest awhile “in the midday heat of the many involvements.” Had he had his quiet time, if not, I would ensure he had it so that we could reflect quietly together in some relaxed form about his day and where NAPLAN existed in the scheme of what it means to be truly human.

This experience exemplifies how stress is becoming such a serious factor in the deterioration of mental health. It is time to consider what we are doing about this challenge to the integrity of peoples’ lives this is causing through compulsive activity. After this experience, I felt a christian calling back to developing a sense of waiting, listening and pondering, something that the Lenten experience calls us to. If we, as a Catholic school, are not serious about the roots of contemplation and the Word, we become sowers who sow seeds in vain among the thorn bushes of a conveyor belt of noise and fatigue. Thank you to the child who reminded me of this, we don’t worship NAPLAN, but we do worship our loving Father when we serve the children and each other, which sometimes calls each of us to stop and be still to keep things in perspective, keeping “the main game the main game!”

In light of the above very true story, I leave you with the following extract from Isaiah 50:4;

“Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple and the Lord Yahweh has opened my ear.”

Go Gently,         

Michael Reardon
Principal