From the Head of Senior School

I enjoy the writings of Malcolm Gladwell, a Canadian journalist whose bestsellers ponder aspects of sociology and psychology in contemporary culture. His book Outliers reflects on why certain people are high achievers and become the best in their field, such as Bill Gates or the Beatles. Often, we refer to students as having natural talent or believe people who achieve great things were always destined to do so. Gladwell suggests this is not necessarily the case.

The people who reach the peak of achievement in sport or career have many and various factors playing in their favour. Yes, natural talent is involved, and a person’s intelligence, drive, initiative, and hard work matter. For example, the 10,000-hour rule claims success is to some extent about applying a skill correctly for many hours. But other circumstances also come into play, such as your birthdate, as this may determine the age group to which you are assigned, which influences the peers you develop alongside.

Gladwell concludes that what we do as a community, as a society, for each other, matters as much as what we do for ourselves. Understanding this can help us recognise young people with potential and support their particular pathways and journey to personal success.

The winter sport season is now underway for all our teams. We wish our students well as they represent the College in the various endeavours within our extensive co-curricular program. These activities play an important role in the Jesuit education philosophy to develop the whole person. We hope your participation and performance hones skills, develops team bonds, and shapes character.

Next week, 15‒21 May, is Catholic Education Week in South Australia. Catholic Education South Australia has more than 8,400 staff caring for over 51,000 students in 101 Catholic schools. Read HERE for details of the Catholic schools in SA. Saint Ignatius’ College is featured on p. 15.

A very special acknowledgement is made of all mothers on Mother’s Day! We encourage our students to show some appropriate sign of gratitude on Sunday.

Phil Donato
Head of Senior School