A warm welcome to the 2024 school year. The year has certainly started well, with a positive and energised feel as students go about reconnecting with the people and place they know, while extending a warm welcome to the students, whānau, and staff new to our community.

Despite today's world being completely foreign to the days of our founding fathers, the heart of our community today remains as it was some 113 years ago.

• St Bede’s remains proudly Catholic and Marist
• St Bede’s is still built on people.
• St Bede’s is still built on community

Here we educate for a purpose, not a mark. Simply, this means, first and foremost, we are interested in your sons as people and their formation as young men of faith. I have no doubt they will get a world-class education and the marks I referred to will come if they put their best foot forward and make the most of those core components I just mentioned. Work with us by encouraging your sons to open their hearts and minds to learning and to practice their faith, draw on the skills of our people, and make the most of everything this community has to offer.

This year sees the establishment of the Centre of Faith and Leadership. People have asked me if this is a new building or where it is located. The answer is simple: it starts the moment you step into the driveway and finishes at the back fence. In other words, the centre is in all we do, across all we do, and much more than bricks and mortar.

It is a whole school approach to ministry as we look for new and relevant ways to walk alongside our young men on their respective faith journeys. It was great to have old boy Matt Ioane pop in this week to speak with our Year 13 students for a leadership seminar focusing on personal leadership, values-based living, and the challenges and learnings life can bring. These seminars form part of the Leadership strand of the centre, with the other strands being Encounter, Service and Social Justice, and Liturgical. We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months about what is happening in these areas.

As we enter into the season of Lent, it's an opportune time for reflection, renewal, and spiritual growth. Lent offers us a chance to pause, reevaluate our priorities, and deepen our connection with our faith and each other.

During this time, let us embrace, as a community, the spirit of sacrifice and selflessness, remembering the importance of compassion, kindness, and empathy towards others. Let us commit to acts of service, charity, and reconciliation in our everyday lives, reaching out to those in need and fostering a sense of unity within our community. During the Lenten period, our student leaders and staff will be running a number of initiatives and events where we can live out our school motto, Fide et Opere - by faith and by work.

Thank you once again for trusting us with the care and education of your sons.