Kia ora koutou katoa

 I have had the pleasure of showing some visitors around our school over the past few weeks.  Having talked to them about what our school stands for and enthusiastically sharing the merits of our students I am so pleased that I am always able to visit classrooms where they can see that in action in the everyday interaction between students and staff.  I am always proud that our Special Character is evident both in the way our students interact and in the support that they have for each other.

 Verdon College is very proudly a Catholic school and this requires us to enact the teaching of Jesus and our gospel values in our everyday lives. This often is not easy particularly when we are asked to put others before ourselves and to forgive others. As part of our ongoing discussion with students at assemblies, on how we can live our lives in a Catholic way and as effective Verdon College family members,  we have been exploring the idea that we can express our faith in the small things that we do each day in the service of others rather than ourselves.  I have also spoken with the students about how we need to persevere to express our talents and consider how we treat each other and recognise the talents in each other. It is an important matter to consider that however good we are in expressing our faith and values we could always be better.  As a school community we are focused on continual improvement in many areas and I believe that the continued development of our Catholic character should not be an exception to this focus on improvement.

 I would like to congratulate all students involved in our production ‘The Sound of Music’.  The Production is a great demonstration of what can be achieved with hard work and teamwork.  I would like to thank all of those volunteers and sponsors involved in making our Production possible. Without your assistance we would not be able to present this Production to the Verdon College community.

 Finally, I would ask that you pray for all those within our community that are struggling with serious illness at this time.  We ask for God's grace to be with them towards their full recovery.

God Bless

Jarlath Kelly