Our vision at Thomas Hassall Anglican College is to grow and nurture excellence in ‘Learning, Wisdom and Service’.
Now this is a noble goal that is not always visible in the way that it is outworked. It is true that we will always have a selection of students reaching starry heights in terms of their achievements be that in the academic or sport or the creative and performing arts. Often the kind of widespread service that the vision aspires to is harder to identify. However, over the course of this year there has been a huge momentum shift in the life of the College. This has largely been brought about by a group of teachers and students intentionally focusing on ‘service’. This has been expressed by students actively serving the College in things like: Special Events Support; assisting with lunches at the MRK; knitting Items for the homeless; sport coaching; collecting the drink cans to raise money for our Sister School, being a student leader at Abide (our Christian discipleship group); being part of Junior School Academic Support Team and of course being part of the Sparkle Team.
Now, this last group is one of our biggest. I am told by outsiders that it is a ‘corny name’, however, the kids really enjoy this time together. They work to clean gardens, wipe down benches, sweep the courtyard etc. The place is left in ‘sparkling condition’. The hard to get to areas are being cleaned up, but more than this, the kids are proud of what they have achieved. They are proud of the College grounds and their sense of optimism about the things that they do together is inspiring. I want to add that I am part of this team too. I have been doing this for years, but now I have a willing brigade of enthusiastic volunteers. Now many of these students are part of our formal Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Their work will count towards the service component of this Award, however, I have other students, too young for the Dukes course that are part of the various activities. We will have over 300 students that will be formally signed up to the Dukes Award in 2023. (We are one of the leading schools in this State). I am thrilled by the enthusiasm to be part of this scheme, however, I am more thrilled by the change in culture towards ‘serving others’.
It is hard to break through our culture of materialism and self-focus. The Me, myself and I, ‘world’ dominates our media and our institutions. When we see this culture being challenged by something that brings us together in COMMUNITY promoting the positive health and wellbeing of the community we need to shine a light on it and celebrate it with passion. Thank you to the parents who are supporting their child in serving in these ways. Thank you to the THAC community who will support other communities/ families and individuals who are in need across our community.