Dear Carmel Community,

You may have noticed a recent news story about three Scottish brothers who rowed from Lima, Peru to Cairns in North Queensland.  The unsupported row across the Pacific was to raise funds for clean water projects in Madagascar.  The journey spanned more than 14,000 kilometres and took Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan MacLean 139 days to complete.

What struck me about the story was the incredible resilience demonstrated by such a feat. The trio battled numerous storms, endured the harsh conditions of the open ocean, and went without simple comforts like showers, a bed, or even something stationary to lean on. One can only imagine the resilience required to complete such a feat.

As we approach the end of Term 3, we need to display resilience as well.  When our young people are tired and the workload is intense, they may struggle with the concept of ‘keeping on keeping on’. Much of life is about knuckling down and showing grit to keep going, no matter how we may be feeling. Yes, there will be days that we are tired and don’t feel like it (whatever ‘it’ may be) but we must endure and push through. 

The attitude of ‘I can do it’ and ‘I will be okay’ is not built through words alone, but through action. It grows in the hard times, in overcoming not succumbing.  This does not mean we shouldn't seek help and support – this too is an important component of resilience.  No doubt the Maclean brothers buoyed each other when times were tough.  It does mean that we are tough with ourselves and our mind.  As Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t - you’re right”.  There are only 10 school days to go – you can do it!

Congratulations

There have been several notable achievements in the last fortnight.  Last week's Arts Gala was a wonderful display of talent and team work, with Music, Dance, Art and Hospitality all combining to let their light shine. 

The Year 7 Connection Day was another great success, ably led by the student leaders.  Our STL teams are putting in wonderful effort, with all four teams in the hunt for overall wins. We have also had teams at basketball, cricket and Rugby 7s.

Our First Nations students represented the College and their culture with pride as they performed the Welcome Dance at the Brisbane Archdiocesan ATSI Graduation Liturgy at St Stephen’s Cathedral last week.  They then witnessed the graduation ceremony of our Yr 12 First Nations students alongside the 172 other students from across the Brisbane Archdiocese.

Attendance

Please ensure that all student absences are noted via the Parent Portal.  We are striving to achieve zero percent unexplained absences, and your support through timely notifications is essential to help us reach this goal. We are currently working through some system issues that may result in absences being ‘missing’ or incorrectly recorded. A big help would be ensuring that notifications are submitted promptly via the portal.

Have a wonderful last two weeks of term.

God bless

Mr Stephen Adair

Principal