The Globe - Gleeson College

Welcome to the last academic term of
the year! Where did 2012 go?
As I write this week our Year 12 students
are in the closing stages of formal lessons
for the year. Whilst this may seem a cause
to celebrate, it is in fact only a transiti on
into arguably the crunch ti me for many of
our students. Examinati ons commence for
most of our Year 12 students on Monday
29 October and conti nue unti l Friday
16 November. Many students will have
major assignments to complete in this
ti me as well. There will be celebrati ons
next week, including the Year 12 Farewell
Mass at St David’s Catholic Church (TTG)
on Monday evening. The true fi nal
celebrati on for our Year 12s though is the
Graduati on Ceremony at the Adelaide
Conventi on Centre on Wednesday 21
November.
It is esti mated that approximately
60% of Year 12 students experience
signifi cant stress at this ti me of the year.
It is important for parents to respond to
the needs of their child but it is always
a diffi cult task to get the balance right
between pushing too hard and not
showing enough interest. Ulti mately
what is most important is that you let
them know that you are there for them,
walking alongside them as they fi nish this
journey. We wish all of Year 12 students
the very best in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile students in younger year
levels conti nue their studies, building
towards their own fi nale for 2012. Year 11
students have exams in Week 7, followed
by Year 10s in Week 8. Year 9 students
have a Middle School Graduati on
ceremony on Tuesday 4 December and
then fi nish the term along with the Year
8s on Thursday 6 December.
A WORD FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
Litt er and Recycling at Gleeson
You may recall in a previous issue of
The Globe, Mr Lewis reported that
our student leaders had initi ated a
program of recycling at the College. This
initi ati ve involved removing most of the
bins around the College and setti ng up
recycling stati ons where students could
deposit their rubbish in appropriate bins
such as dry waste, organics, plasti cs, etc.
I am pleased to report that, aft er some
initi al teething problems, this program is
progressing extremely well.
Major cultural changes such as this one
usually take a long ti me and we, the staff ,
are usually quite criti cal of the state that
the yard is left in at ti mes. Some spots in
the yard are sti ll being left unti dy and it
seems that many students sti ll need to be
asked to pick up their rubbish. Recently
Mr Sochacki hosted visitors from two
nearby schools who wanted to see our
recycling initi ati ve fi rst hand. During their
visit they commented on just how clean
our College was. This was a pleasant
surprise!
Our students need to be congratulated
on the way they have embraced the
recycling program and even though
we sti ll have a way to go, we hope that
one day we can have a pristi ne College
environment where all rubbish is recycled
and students do not need to be asked to
pick up litt er. Congratulati ons again to the
Student Environmental Committ ee for
their wonderful idea.
The Second Vati can Council – 50 years on!
Last Thursday 11 October marked the
50th Anniversary of the opening session
of the Second Vati can Council or Vati can II
as it came to be known. In the lead up to
the council, Pope John XXIII talked about
“opening the windows of the Church
to let in some fresh air”. This was very
signifi cant at the ti me as the Church “had
been almost seen as a fortress, very much
concerned about its own internal stability
and integrity and engaging the world in
terms of missionary acti vity” (Peter A.
Huff , Xavier University).
Vati can II took 2 years to prepare and 3
years to execute. It started under Pope
John XXIII in 1962 and was completed
under Pope Paul VI in 1965. Amongst the
many changes that the council heralded
we note, the use of languages other than
Lati n to be used in the Mass, new positi ons
adopted concerning educati on, the
media and divine revelati on and, perhaps
most notably, the “Church’s willingness
to operate in the contemporary realm”
(Peter A. Huff , Xavier University).
Today the council is credited with
essenti ally shaping the modern Catholic
Church.
The following is a prayer used before
every session of the Second Vati can
Council, which sti ll serves well as a prayer
before meeti ngs:
We stand before you, Holy Spirit,
conscious of our sinfulness,
but aware that we gather in your name.
Come to us, remain with us,
and enlighten our hearts.
Give us light and strength to know your will,
to make it our own, and to live it in our lives.
Guide us by your wisdom, support us by your
power, for you are God, sharing the glory of
Father and Son.
You desire justi ce for all: enable us to uphold
the rights of others; do not allow us to be
misled by ignorance or corrupted
by fear or favour.
Unite us to yourself in the bond of love and
keep us faithful to all that is true.
As we gather in your name may we temper
justi ce with love, so that all our decisions
may be pleasing to you, and earn the reward
promised to good and faithful servants.
You live and reign with the Father and the
Son, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
I wish everyone a successful fi nale to the
year.
Mr J Corbo,
Acti ng Deputy Principal
YEAR 12 GRADUATION
PAYMENT REMINDER
Final day for payment of
Year 12 Graduati on ti ckets
is Friday 2 November.