FROM OUR CHAPLAIN
This week saw the end of our focus on the first character trait of being a loving human being.
The Year 11s and 12s started their Chapel Service on Wednesday with a roaring rendition of John Farnham’s “Your the Voice”, affirming the fact that they have a chance to turn the pages over to stop conflict with each other and in the world, because at the end of the day, we are all the child of a parent no matter where we come from.
We now move into Joy in the Penquite Campus and which was started at the Elphin Campus last week.
There again, Years 3 to 5, had a very engaging Connect where they discussed how even though we might enjoy balloons going into the air at social events, the balloons may also damage the environment, damage or kill the fish in the sea or even a ship’s motors if their remains fall into their engines somehow.
This led to a very deep discussion on how we can make decisions about how we express our joy. For example, if something we do gives us joy, but damages someone else, or the environment, should we do it? The answer is not the same for everyone, some would choose to do it anyway, while others said they wouldn’t if it damages another.
Then they had an experience of choosing their actions according to the “Ecological Decision Making Process” – Is it good for me, Is it good for others, Is it good for the greater good? We reflected on what was one thing they could do that day to increase their joy for the day (good for them), what was one thing they could do for their teachers that increase the joy in their day (good for others) and then the final reflection was what was one thing they could do to increase their joy for the greater good, and the examples we talked about were what would increase the joy in their schoolyard environment, for their parents and for the manufacturers of school lunch boxes.
It was a very deep spiritual learning of how joy can be increased in their lives to bring them more life satisfaction, the core of our 2023 Welling Priority.
Rev Grace
College Chaplain