It has been wonderful to see all of our students embrace winter uniform so well and be wearing their College blazers around the campus.
It has also been a very successful and settled NAPLAN period. Year 8 and 10 Mid Course exams are next week, so it is a time of studying, preparing, marking and report writing at present which is part of the natural rhythm of education. A little outside of the norm, was a recent visit to Unity Grammar for the College Captains, Vice Captains and I.
It was our pleasure to accept an invitation from Unity Grammar to attend their Multi Faith event on Wednesday evening of last week. We got to meet with Jewish students from Masada College in St Ives, Catholic students from St Patricks Marist College in Dundas, Islamic students from Amity College in Prestons, members of the hearing impaired community and staff and students from our hosts Unity Grammar in Austral. Guest speakers included Federal Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley, Ryan Epondulan from the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim relations, Jeremy Jones President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and Unity Grammar Year 11 student and NSW Women of the Year Finalist Daniya Syed. It was a great opportunity for our students to share in fellowship with students of different faith backgrounds. They gained an insight into the purpose of fasting in the Jewish and Islamic traditions and heard about the different customs and practices of the young people in these communities and schools. Discussions around topics such as kosher food, boys and girls playground areas, subject selection and social media were taking place in a friendly and inclusive environment.
Here is what our students had to say on the experience.
Sreya: The students at Unity Grammar were very hospitable and easy to talk to, which personally helped me understand a bit more of the lifestyles of the students in different communities and different faiths within our area. It was an amazing experience, and something I would suggest we continue attending and perhaps could even consider hosting in the future.
Tino: Attending Unity Grammar's Multi Faith Iftar was an amazing privilege, giving the fellow Captains and I an insightful opportunity to converse with fellow students who contain different religious backgrounds and customs which we do not often encounter.
Thomas: It was an incredibly fun and intriguing experience, in developing our understanding of a school so close to ours, and of a culture that despite its importance in modern Australia remains so different and unfamiliar to many. Of course the food was great too.’
Nashita: The Iftar event with Unity Grammar was very heart-warming and insightful as the students and staff were very welcoming and it was truly beautiful to see everyone unite as one, sharing and embracing bits of their faith and culture with us.
It was great to be able to represent Thomas Hassall Anglican College in this way. When farewelling some of our Year 12 host students, I wished them all the best for their HSC and they corrected me to instead say all the best for life. It was a timely reminder that there are indeed more important goals than the HSC and we should be encouraged ‘to set our eyes on things above, not on earthly things’ at it says in Colossians 3:2.