FROM DIRECTOR OF WATERFORD, ANTHONY BANBOUKJIAN
Prayer for the Week
As we continue on our Lenten journey this week let us pray:
Loving and Merciful God,
The tiny sacrifices that we make during this Lenten period remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Help us to live our lives according to the path that Jesus taught us.
Let your love shine out from within us and guide our lives in this sacred journey toward the Easter joy you offer.
We ask you this, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
St Mary of the Cross: Pray for Us
Blessed Edmund Rice: Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever
Social justice in action
It never ceases to amaze me that our boys can be so generous, always looking for ways to help others. Social justice is alive and flourishing at the Junior School. Over the past few weeks a number of boys have really stood out for their actions in raising money for Project Compassion and The World’s Greatest Shave, raising thousands of dollars between them.
- Cruz Clarkin (5 Gold) decided the best way for him to raise Project Compassion funds was to challenge himself by running 10kms. On Sunday 18 March he completed the challenge and managed to raise $454.40. We are all very proud of this achievement as he had never run more than 5 kms before. An incredible effort!
- Aidan Lee (5 Gold), James Finegan (5 Gold), Ben Pignatelli (5 Green), Zoltahn Szabo (5 Green), Jack Johnson (5 Green), and Tristan Lee (6 Green) – raised $524 between them as a group selling all sorts of goodies at Coogee over the weekend. The highlight of the morning was a $100 cookie bought by Sam Burgess.
- Jude Timbs (5 Red) and Noah Gaussen (5 White) also raised money for Project Compassion. The boys, with the help of Noah’s younger brother Leo raised $180. They held a Lemonade Stand on Oxford Street Paddington where they also sold homemade cookies, cupcakes and brownies! The Parish Priest Father Paul popped down to say hello. He donated and congratulated them for their fantastic effort.
- Hugo Hamilton (5 White) and James Dodsworth (5 Red) who raised $153 as a pair at The Spot Festival and Archie Godby who raised $100 individually.
- Since we last gave you an update our super fundraiser Fox Stapleton (5 White) was at it again. This time he baked 74 COOKIES to sell on Bondi Road over the weekend. He sold them all for a $74 windfall for Project Compassion.
- Hugo Hamilton (5 White) & Max Edwards (5 Red) decided to join the fundraising movement and door knocked the Vaucluse area, offering to do odd jobs. While they did not receive any job offers, a number of generous households donated to their cause and they raised $155 for Project Compassion. Well done on a wonderful initiative.
- World’s Greatest Shave participants – Patrick Carey (5 Blue), Rudy Bickers (5 White), Sebastian Ari (5 White) & Charles Beckett (5 Red) all shaved for a cause last week.
- Oliver Farrugia (5 Red) was involved over the weekend raising $1849.
Confirmation
The tradition for Confirmation has always been to receive the sacrament in the person’s parish of worship. The 2018 Confirmation programme offered at Waverley Junior School is for students who are members of St Charles Borromeo Parish, Mary Immaculate Church, Waverley. This is for students who live within the parish boundaries and identify as members of this parish. For enrolment forms and further information, please contact Mr Davis (Senior College) and Mr Ghattas (Junior School).
Enrolment forms need to be filled in and returned to school before Friday 13th April (Term 1 Week 11).
Please note the following dates regarding Confirmation:
- Parent Evening – Term Two, Week 1- 2nd May at St Charles’ School Hall at 7pm
- Commitment Mass – Term Two, Week 2- Thursday 10th May at 6.30pm for all participants
- Confirmation Mass – Sunday 17th June, 12.30pm, St Mary’s Cathedral
Parent and son evening with author Will Kostakis
On Wednesday, April 4, from 6.30pm to 8pm the Senior College Library is hosting an entertaining and informative evening with Australian Author, Will Kostakis.
Will Kostakis is an award winner author who has published numerous novels and stories, and has an enviable list of achievements to his name. He will inspire and inform us on how to get boys to read and ways to develop good writing skills and habits.
A light supper will be served. Please rsvp by email or phone to William Roberts, Head of Library.
Email: wroberts@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Phone: 9369 0671
Summer sport
Last Saturday saw the conclusion of the first half of summer sports program. The same teams will compete in Term 4 for the second half of the competition. It is always great to see every boy at The Junior School participating in our sports program. The comments re the boys at training and the games have been overwhelmingly positive. Bring on the winter season.
Lessons learned from sport
Sport isn’t just about winning or losing. For our sports coaches, the focus is on teaching young boys fundamental skills, both sports-related and life lessons. As parents, you can reinforce the following eight life lessons every boy learns from sport.
1. It’s okay to make mistakes
Mistakes will occur on the training field and on game day. That’s okay. Life is about making mistakes then learning from them. Parents and coaches can challenge players to evaluate their actions and then provide guidance on how to learn from them. The same applies to failure. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail… You can’t be paralysed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself.” In life, as in sport, you will never succeed if you are always worried about losing.
2. Be a leader and a follower
Boys have the opportunity to take on leadership roles in youth sports. This helps them develop confidence in their ability to make decisions and positively influence others. Equally, sport teaches boys how to be followers by taking instruction from the coach or captain, respectfully questioning authority, and learning to be patient with others.
3. Set and achieve your goals
Sport is a great setting to learn how to set goals and determine what constitutes success or failure. For a lot of coaches, youth sport isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about setting achievable goals that can be reached through factors within the boy’s control.
4. Win with humility, lose with grace
There is almost always a right and wrong way to win. Good sportsmanship is something that all coaches and parents should teach. This doesn’t just apply to winning, but also learning how to lose gracefully. In the short-term losing can hurt, but it’s important that we teach our boys to lose with dignity.
5. Know your strengths and weaknesses
A good coach helps players to identify their strengths and weaknesses so that they can contribute well to the team. Knowing their best traits can help boys work out what to do later in life. Likewise, knowing their weaknesses will guide them to know when to ask for help from others.
6. Learn to handle stress and emotions
Sport is frustrating no matter what age you are. For boys, this frustration can be magnified by the hormonal changes taking place in their body. To add to this, sports can be stressful. This is an opportunity for players to learn how to deal with the nerves and stress they feel from a young age. This will benefit boys later in life.
7. Life isn’t always fair
It’s a tough lesson to learn when you’re young but one that every boy learns at some stage. Injuries happen, referees make mistakes and winning is not guaranteed. Sulking about it won’t change anything. Players have to learn to deal with setbacks and move on.
9. Develop good time-management
Most boys have a lot of things to keep them busy — sport, school, friends, homework, maybe even a part-time job. The best way to handle everything is to prioritise their time and stick to a schedule. Good time-management is something that you can help your son develop when he is young, so that it benefits him as a young adult.
