Today saw a return to Mass for us here at the college which was a special occasion given we have been unable to celebrate it together for several months. Our college Mass happens once a week during term times and Father Wayne preaches the same gospel and homily as the parish hears on Sunday services. The advantage for us is that we are able to gather together as a college family as a witness for Christ where students and teachers worship alongside each other.
I am often asked about the issues that can arise around teaching adolescents through a faith lens, and indeed there are plenty. Adolescence is a time where children leave behind the ideas of their whanau and caregivers and begin to question and interpret their faith for themselves. For some this means experimenting with different ideas and understandings, for some this means a temporary or lasting rejection of faith and for others this means a re -framing of the faith in their own minds so that they are able to make sense of the world around them.
Regardless of where they are in their faith journey, our lived values of Family, Integrity, Respect and Excellence are the cornerstones of our school; as is our focus on social justice. Our mission is to walk beside them on their path, allowing them to work through their own ideas and sharing our tradition with them.
As we reflect on the week that has been I give thanks for the opportunities we have as a community of faith to reach out to our teens and develop our fine young people.
May God bless you.
Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen
