I agonized a bit before last week’s Assembly.  I watched an interview on TV a few weeks ago in which the dad of a young man, who had made the awful decision to take his own life, spoke about the events leading up to that and the aftermath.  It was a tough but important interview.  The interview on TV came about through an article written by Scott Pape (‘The Barefoot Investor’).  I’m sure some of you will have come across this article already.  I read this to the students who were at Assembly.  Can I encourage every parent to read it, again, with your child?  This young man, Mac, was groomed online and extorted.  Despite the tremendous parenting he received through this and being ‘wrapped’ in support from his community, the shame of his actions led him to take his own life. 

A really awful and needless tragedy.  While tossing up whether reading the article to our students might be a bit too much, I decided to do so after discussions, on a different but related matter with Bundaberg Police, who indicated that they deal with issues similar to the one described, every week.  This is not uncommon.   There is lots to unpack from this incident and learn from.  The point I emphasised, again, with our young people was to THINK, before hitting ‘Send’.  Nothing is private and everything on the net lasts forever.

The Hardest Thing I've Written

Gratefulness is such an important virtue.  As we come towards the end of another very busy term, I am so grateful to the Shalom staff who support the learning of our students so well.  On top of the daily efforts in classrooms, are so many ‘extras’ that staff take on to give our students great experiences.  I will undoubtedly be missing some but here a few from the last month or so..

• Wednesday afternoon sports
• RL & Netball teams competing in State comps
• Science & Maths challenges & excursions
• Showcase last weekend
• Drama Excursions
• Subject based overnight excursions
• Interschool Debating
• Rowing – mornings, afternoons & weekends
• Dance competitions
• Performing Arts opportunities
• University Tours
• Oztag
• Bill Turner Cup competition

All of the many staff who are involved in these activities do so out of the goodness of their hearts and because they like young people.  They give up their time after school, at nights, on weekends without getting paid for that time.  I hope that both students and parents, who benefit from these activities, are mindful just to say ‘thank you’.  That level of generosity and commitment should never be taken for granted.  It certainly does not happen in every school.

Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
mcmahond@shalomcollege.com