Shining Lights 8/12/22, Week 9, Term 4
.... PEACE & GOODWILL
Wishing everyone in our Lumen Christi community a peaceful Christmas and rejuvenating holiday break.
During Advent I am receiving daily reflections from Common Grace, an ecumenical Christian organisation including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders, which has a focus on promoting truth telling and respectful relationships. A recent reflection emphasised the importance of communication, especially at Christmas time, in striving towards peace.
“Violence is learned behaviour - we’re born to connect in relationship. In fact, in ‘Parenting for a Peaceful World’ Robin Grille says psychologists can predict the peacefulness (or otherwise) of a society based upon the dominant child-rearing practices of the generation earlier. So, if enough of us can imagine a life without violence, and raise our children accordingly, we can help the Kingdom come.
This is non-trivial though. Peacemaking activist Shane Claiborne says: “Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither fight nor flight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice.” To raise a generation of children up to this task we’ll need lots of discipleship and the Holy Spirit.
The theories bout how to make peace are the same interpersonally and internationally – and they’re all about communication. This Christmas let’s make sure our kids know that Christmas is not just about toys and gifts, and it’s not even just about Jesus! It’s also about joining the Kingdom by learning how to communicate, how to resolve conflict, how to bring peace.
Let’s help our kids have conversations about making friends, about how to cope when we make a mistake, about finding forgiveness and fighting fairly. Let’s reimagine peace on earth by raising a generation of kids who can imagine living in the Christmas Kingdom.”
Our emphasis on Restorative Practices this year and the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan are two examples of how, as a College, we engage in meaningful dialogue; understanding that our students need us to both challenge and support them in a way that recognises their individual human dignity, as well as that of their peers.
The importance of the relationship between your home and our College cannot be understated - thank you for your support of your children, their friends, the staff, College events and for keeping open the lines of communication as we work together to build a more peaceful society.
Susy Lee is the prize-winning author of ‘Raising Kids Who Care: Practical conversations for exploring stuff that matters, together.’ After studying Psychology and Theology, she gained a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies. Teaching from Kindergarten to University, she’s also had state and national education and consultancy roles in Aid and Development.
.... A few thoughts on Gratitude
“Thank-you” is an interesting phrase.
It is often used without a second thought – a reflex response to getting something we want or expected. It may be easily glossed over easily when we receive it from others as we go about our busy lives. It also can cause great offence if it is not used, or if used in a non-sincere way. One of my often-used comments I use about my time at Lumen during my first two years is my amazement at the number of students that say ‘thank-you’ to their teachers at the end of every lesson. It is something that still fills me with gratitude every time I hear it, and is something I never gloss over nor take as a reflex remark.
I am mindful of this as we wind up the year and reflect on what has been another phase of great wins and losses, many challenges and joys, much learning and healing. So when I say thank-you, know that it comes from a place of deep sincerity and gratitude.
Thank-you to our wonderful students, for the energy, joy, enquiring minds, humour and sense of wonder you bring to our school every day
Thank-you to our amazing teaching staff, whose passion, dedication, expertise and wisdom ensure those enquiring minds are challenged, guided and nurtured.
Thank-you to our wonderful support staff, who every day make the impossible possible, bring clarity to the chaos and provide the warmth, care and compassion that holds our community together.
Finally, thank-you to you, our parents, grandparents, families and carers, who as the primary educators of our children entrust in us the privilege to share in the amazing talents, gifts and passions of our young people every day.
Wishing all our community a safe, happy and holy Christmas and a wonderful 2023.
God Bless.
.... Year 6 End of Year Celebration
Congratulations to our year six students who celebrated their graduation from Primary School yesterday. Their graduation was celebrated with an amazing assembly, liturgy and supper with games, food and cake.
The graduation of year six is one of those great occasions when we get to celebrate our young people – their achievements, their perseverance and their successes as they grow up. Parents, carers, family and friends of year six should be very proud of this great bunch of students, we look forward to seeing them continue to grow and achieve in secondary school.
Thank you to all of the parents, carers and friends that came along to celebrate alongside the students. Most of all thank you to their teacher Mrs Debbie Lewis for organising this event, Alicia Jenkins for the decorations and details, Eileen Rekord for the Liturgy, the Primary Staff for all the effort and support, our year 5 house captains for 2022 and 2023 who served with enthusiasm and humour, and all the other people that helped pull the event together.
