A warm welcome to our new families and welcome back to those continuing the journey with us. It is a privilege to have you with us.
Stephen Covey, famed author of, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, suggests that whatever we do, to achieve what we want it is vital we start with the end in mind.
It makes sense, right? When you are building a house, you don’t just start. There are plans that are discussed, refined and approved. There are check points, more discussions and adjustments. All to ensure that what is delivered is the desired product.
But.
What about when it comes to us? What about our children or our students? Do we take the time to sit down and intentionally think about what we want the finished product to look like? What about making time for the checks, balances and adjustments?
Is the overall design of our character, habits, or behaviours intentional? Do we consider our desired furnishings, or the size of the footings required to support who we want to be? What about contemplating the hard work, extra builders or time frame required for the build?
But.
What happens when we don’t take the time have the end in mind? Rarely, if ever, are we happy with that product.
So.
At the start of 2023 it is our privilege to launch a work 3 years in the making. To start 2023, we have launched our new Behaviour Management System (more affectionally referred to as the System for Establishing Effective Habits and Disciplines for a Lifetime of Success). This system has been intentionally built on the idea of what we desire for our RCC graduates.
Over time and in consultation with students and staff we have determined that the successful RCC graduate is one who is faithful, joyful (not the happy kind, the deep enduring kind), a positive contributor and a lifelong learner. This is our ‘end in mind’ for those students who attend and graduate RCC.
We want RCC students to graduate with more than an ATAR that reflects and exceeds their potential, the apprenticeship in an area they love, or the University offer of their dreams. We want to invest in our students so that whilst these practical successes are achieved, their character has been intentionally formed so they can positively contribute to their world and withstand the storms that will come.
We are excited. We believe that students who possess the qualities of faithfulness, positivity, and joy and have the ability to learn for a lifetime will be successful and not just high school.
The Good Book reminds us that God disciplines the ones He loves (Hebrews 12). As parents we know this to be all too true. The effort to persistently and consistently encourage and admonish our kids to establish disciplines that lead to success can only happen if we love them, lots! In this context, where discipline is based on love for the betterment of the person, discipline becomes a blessing.
So it is at school too. We value and love each and every student. We believe they are worth the investment of our time and energy to help them grow to be the people they are created to be.
The new system focuses on positively encouraging students who display elements of these attributes in their school and community through merits, commendations and letters of recommendation. Where there is need, there is still room for discipline through censures, such as warnings, times and detentions.
We are committed to this ‘end’; to the RCC graduate. We are excited about a renewed system that will assist us, and our parents/guardians, in disciplining the ones we love to become the graduates who positively contribute to their world for a very long time.
God’s richest blessings for 2023!
Jonno
