Catholic Education Tasmania -North: April 2017

Knowing this is Holy Week, leading into Easter and a pivotal Season in the Liturgical Calendar I wanted to write something profound, reflective and thought provoking.

I looked for the lazy option and did a search through my Google Drive for anything relating to Holy Week I could use again. A Newsletter I wrote one year ago came up in the search. I have shared an excerpt from it below:

March 24th 2016

"I have been grumpy for a while now! Maybe a few weeks, maybe even longer..... I have been finding small things increasingly annoying, almost looking for things to be annoyed about! On better days it sits and gnaws quietly in the shadows, on bad days it dominates my thoughts, constantly aware of it. It makes me less productive, less relational, less effective! I know that it is only short term, I know that at some point you come through the period, however, it still does not change the feeling and worry that comes with it.

You can feel the walls closing in, you know you can do better if you had more time, more resources, more, more, more... You have higher expectations of yourself than others do, so frustration comes when you achieve less than you know you can.

What gets you through, in the end, is hope! A hope that things will improve, that this is only short term and a belief that the hope is genuine, realistic and achievable. I write this, to be honest and to be vulnerable! We are vulnerable when we openly admit our flaws or feelings. Leadership is not being perfect! I really believe the first step towards solutions and improvement is to be vulnerable. The energy wasted on the pretending can then be devoted towards addressing what is needed.......'

As we enter the Easter Season of our Church, these emotions are present in the story of Jesus. Jesus is vulnerable and grappling with what awaits him. He is frustrated at times this week, angry with the Apostles when they doubt him, he feels let down! He has doubts! He is scared! He doesn't want to do what he knows he must!

As believers we have hope! Hope is the Resurrection story! Hope that there is something positive, something good awaiting us! The Resurrected Jesus is fundamental to our hope as believers.

Across this week there has been (within our Schools and within Catholic Education Tasmania ) news that can be despairing and sad. We must be dealers and believers in Hope! Without hope and this belief in hope, what is the point?

Thanks and Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for your support in this first Term in this new role.

Thanks for the work you do for our students and our school communities.

We must never forget we function to serve our students and serve the needs of our school communities.

We need to keep being dealers in Hope!!!