Psalm 150
Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
~~~~~~~~~~~
What are you most memorable sounds?
Would it be the sound of the first cry of your first born?
Or maybe the sound of the words “I do”?
The sound of the waves crashing on a sun-drenched beach?
The crack of the leather ball on a willow bat … drawing you to watch summertime fun?
The roar of 90,000+ fans in a crowd, as a football grand final is won?
Your gathered church, belting our one of their gospel hymn favourites?
The laughter of family and friends, enjoying company, conversation and reminiscing?
The poignancy of sorrow at the news of a loved one’s passing?
These may all be in your list. They are some of the ones on mine. I added another one to my list this week – the sounds of happiness of students returning to school, to a new Primary classroom building, to rebuilt playgrounds and re-joining each other in their daily activities. It was a beautiful sound, and it went on for ages – that was part of it’s beauty. There was laughter, shouts of joy, discovery, intensity, relaxation, emotion, anticipation. It’s in my memory bank; it has been a blessing to share my experience with so many mums, dads and colleagues as we have bumped into each other during the last few days.
As we were reminded during our staff devotion on Monday morning, it is the relationships between the people that make the school. This is what the sounds I so deeply enjoyed hearing were all about – deepening and expanding relationships. Our surroundings will add blessing to these interactions but they don’t define us. The vision and the direction setting of those who planned for our new “front door” for the College deserve high praise and our first week’s experience of the (almost) finished product have been exciting and given us a sense of how we will be able to enhance community through the wise and thoughtful stewardship of this new facility.
Please join us for the official opening – formalities will begin around 3.30pm and last about half an hour; fuller details will be emailed to the College community in about a week’s time.
~~~~~~~~~~~
One of the signs of a healthy work environment is the ways in which staff are able to see leadership opportunities and explore whether it is for them. The most significant leadership mentor I worked under was Roderick West, who was both the Principal of the secondary school I attended and my second boss in my teaching career. I am one of 32 of his former students and staff to have been appointed Principal of a school in Australia. As a Christian leader, he also saw 44 of his former students and staff become ordained clergy in a multiplicity of different church denominations. When any of us moved on to where we believed we had been called to, he celebrated what God had in store for us in equal measure with what we’d done during our time with him.
…
educating 4 life, too 
Leave a comment