This has been a year of “sight” for me …Conscientised, Hopeful, Ethical, Compassionate Engaged and Spiritual. 

I will start this editorial with a passage that the Principal used in a newsletter this year. A thought from Pope Francis addressing Youth in Cuba 2015:

“A Latin writer has said that people have two eyes: one of flesh and another of glass. With the eye of flesh, we see what is before us and with the eye of glass; we see what we dream of. It's nice, no? In the objectivity of life, the capacity of dreaming has to enter in. A young person who is not capable of dreaming is cloistered in himself; he's closed in on himself. Sure a person sometimes dreams of things that are never going to happen. But dream them. Seek the horizon. Open yourselves to great things."

This has been a year of “sight” for me … where I thought about getting another motorbike but I felt my eyes weren’t good enough and I thought I would be sorting out insurance claims instead of enjoying the wind … with me bumping and crashing into things! Well I went for improvements in sight with Laser treatment as a first step to cruising the highways. All went well with one eye doing distance and the other close-ups. My brain would sort it all out I was told … thank god that a brain was there even though it is an aging version. Nothing to do with the laser treatment but I ended up having a detached retina and lined up for surgery in May with all the “zimmer-frame crew” in public hospital. I had to lie on my side for a week and was only allowed up for ten minutes an hour, not allowed up a hill, not allowed to complain and not allowed to fly. My family wished that I had had my speech removed rather than sight! Age moves at a furious speed and life can pass us by unless we grab hold of it and our health is our integral passkey to what we tackle day to day. I look at sight as a metaphor of what we take for granted and also at the speed of the school year. I am allowed to fly now and December the 12th sees me at my third ACDC concert where the original band has changed so much. Lead singer died, guitarist suffering from dementia and drummer on home detention. Life does not stand still even for the rock-stars and this editorial will briefly cover a few of the changes I have seen this year in a place that is not just walls but also one with a growing history. Oh yeah and I still wear the glasses as I feel a bit naked without them … hides the wrinkles too!

Sister Enid from Middlepark Rest Home, which is located next door to St Thomas’, created a new business this year … one of knitting for babies. We asked at an assembly for volunteers to help her knit garments for babies and young children up to three years of age. Many items have been lovingly made and passed through my office. All items were given to the John Paul II Centre For Life in Bryndwr and Pregnancy Centre. This is a centre where women and their new born babies are cared for. Often the mothers have nothing to give to their children. “Can you help us out?” … was the catch-cry and people are still answering this call. If you wish to join the knitting group, contact Sister Enid on her email enid.lagan@xtra.co.nz Also being collected are good quality young children's clothes, toys, nappies and other nursery items. Unfortunately car seats cannot be accepted due to health & safety regulations. Here was a person who saw a need and met it head on.

On April the first … I couldn’t let the date go by without a Psychology study on teenagers looking after “supposed” fertilised eggs. Year 7 organised themselves into groups to look after six pre-hatched chickens for the day. Interest and plans were made as to how best continue with school work and keep the eggs warm One was even attached to his warm pie to keep them from having to hold it in their hand. Sadly, the study ended before the lunch time bell of the end of April Fools and they said goodbye to Trevor and Geoff etc … yes these chickens had been named. These young lads believed the story I had told and the funny thing was that I have been asked if they can have photos of the chickens when they hatched! They did not see the humour of their toils.

A favourite photo of mine from this year is of Maureen and John Gaffaney at the Prime Minister’s Excellence Awards in Wellington. The event was held at Te Papa, and St Thomas’ was invited to attend as a 2014 award recipient. What I see in this photo is dedication and commitment. I have been here at the College since 2005 but I always consider what has been before me and will come after me too. These two people compiled, toiled and created many magazines; wrote, directed and presented copious plays and have continued to develop minds in the classrooms. I see myself as part of that same picture that is St Thomas and commend the efforts of so many that have taught and continue to teach the St Thomas Man. I also met with Brother Bill Dowling in the last week of term and we discussed the new building development and also the stories of the chapel that is to come down. Change and development or “progress” it is called encompassed by compliance, liability and building codes. Bill told me stories about the chapel and when it was built in the late 60’s, holding weekday parish masses, healing services, funerals, baptisms and weddings. Bill thought that removing buildings proved that the original plans maybe weren’t perfect. By this time next year the school will be surrounded by fences circling many building sites. A new sports centre, Chapel and administration block demolished. Once my office is gone, after the clean-out, I hope to find those lost keys… tell you next year! Change is inevitable but “if these walls could talk” … yes the history that comes down with buildings – all those events, sadness and laughter, prize-givings, and dramatic performances. 2016 will see our growing numbers better catered for and the creation of buildings with more glass and less walls. What keep the buildings up are the relationships had between the teachers and the students.

This shot was great … just before the demolition with the statue of Edmund Rice seemingly being placed in the out-house! Finally, I move to the meaning of the 2015 Magazine Cover. This arose out of the student leaders’ camp where they took the school values and made them “real” and gave them a context with a person and identity that the boys could better understand what the school is about. As the boys leave the school they were presented with a set of values to live their life by … as a guide.

HOPEFUL - STC’s vision for our students is that they are people who are HOPEFUL that a better world is possible and that they can actively contribute to its realisation. Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation.

ETHICAL - STC’s vision for our students is that they are people who take ETHICAL stances in all their endeavours. Edmund Rice was born in Ireland at a time when Catholics faced oppression under Penal Laws enforced by the British authorities, though reforms started in 1778 when he was a teenager. He forged a successful career in business and, after a tragic accident which killed his wife and left his daughter disabled, devoted his life to the education, servicing the poor and national wellbeing.

COMPASSIONATE - STC’s vision for our students is that they are people who relate to others in a COMPASSIONATE way. Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), was a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionarywho lived most of her life in India. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. They run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; dispensaries and mobile clinics; children's and family counselling programmes; orphanages; and schools.

ENGAGED - STC’s vision for our students is that they are people who are ENGAGED in service and solidarity with others especially those on the margins. Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata VC was a corporal in the New Zealand Special Air Service, who became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand.

SPIRITUAL - STC’s vision for our students is that they are people who have a deep sense of the SPIRITUAL in their life. Mahatmas Gandhi was the primary leader of India's independence movement and also the architect of a form of resistance through mass non-violent civil disobedience; he became one of the major political and spiritual leaders of his time.

CONSCIENTISED - STC’s vision for our students is that they are people who are CONSCIENTISED to the reality of the world and the root causes of injustice. The 14th Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is known for his heartfelt advocacy for Tibetans worldwide and his lifelong interest in modern science.

I started with an analogy of sight and finished with the Values of The College as our vision for the young men that pass through our doors. Another year is over and recorded here in these pages … enjoy the memories.

Brendan Biggs