Have you ever stepped on a Lego brick bare foot? For such a tiny thing this casually discarded piece of plastic can cause an unreasonable amount of pain. You definitely know you’ve engaged in stepping on one that’s for sure.
On its own, one brick while painful, doesn’t do much, except perhaps to act as a deterrent against stepping on another brick. The standard 2x4 or 2x8 piece can pack an excruciating punch as you plant your foot on one, but pick it up off the floor, put lots of them together in a coordinated way and what you can create seems like magic. You can build a house, a fire station or a skyscraper, a car or an aircraft carrier, even a copy of an Imperial Star Destroyer, which I’m reliably told is something from Star Wars. The Lego kit seems to retail for anything from $1300 to $1800, so maybe it’s not an option for Christmas.
The reality of Lego is that regardless of the kit, how you use the bricks and what you build, is up to you and whoever you wish to assist.
Building a young person can be like that, not that we build them out of Lego bricks, although the process of building young men can sometimes involve pain as many parents know. Young people are the sum of their experiences. That is what we are about here at Eddies - providing opportunities and experiences, the bricks that shape and build young people physically, creatively, academically, socially and spiritually…holistically.
How are those bricks put together? Well reasonably, it’s right to assume that young people are complex beings. Making an Eddies Man then, is a team effort - creation in action, a bit of assisted creation and a bit of self-creation. In the journey from Year 7 to Year 12, we prepare our young men for life beyond school and we all have our part to play as the Eddies Team. Each young man takes the many challenges and chances available, clicking them together like little bricks over his six-year journey, until every brick has been used and the final product emerges.
On Tuesday at our Awards Evening we acknowledged the Eddies Men who have grown their talents and achieved, academically, in sport and culture and in participation and service. Congratulations to all prize recipients. To use the words of our College song (second verse I believe) “In Culture, Sports and Learning, we will strive to achieve”. Well done to these students for taking the opportunity to shape the person they want to be.
The Eddies Team creates this place called Eddies, where creatively, physically, academically and spiritually our students have the chance to grow towards being all they can be. You can’t build anything from a single Lego brick. Like Lego though, when the many experiences and opportunities of every day, the achievements and contributions of us all in the Eddies Team come together, they can come together in so many ways. Each small interaction, each learning experience, each chance to be part of a bigger whole, accepted willingly and astutely, like little plastic bricks, when put in place and assembled, can create magic. They create belonging and community, and strong, kind and gentle, young Eddies Men.
Farewell Assembly
In a busy week, at the College, we farewelled the Senior cohort of 2021 on Thursday morning. Around 9:04am, after a breakfast with staff and a last Homeroom, Year 12 boys were tunnelled through the College grounds as part of their final journey as St Edmund’s students. Following a quick sojourn in the pool stands to make sure everyone was in alphabetical order, we welcomed our young men of Year 12 into the Hall for their last assembly and a final roll call, before external exams and tertiary education or apprenticeships and employment.
In a few weeks they will graduate, not so much from Eddies, because they will always be Eddies Men — they will graduate to the world. Their classes may have finished but their lessons will continue.
Congratulations to our Senior cohort for a wonderful year. I wish the young men of Year 12 all the best for these next few weeks and for the future.
Rookies Graduation
Speaking of graduations, today our 2021 Rookies became the 2022 Eddies Men of Year 7. Their journey begins with us in earnest and to these new students and their families, welcome to the Team.
Local Neighbourhood
There has been some concern and frustration expressed by our neighbours due to people parking across and obstructing driveways. I appreciate that there is traffic congestion in the local area at pick up and drop off time. However, I ask that parents and caregivers be mindful of the inconvenience to those in the local area caused by blocking access and please not park across driveways. Thank you for your cooperation.
Car Art Union Winner
Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Olsen who took delivery of the Mitsubishi ASX from Blue Ribbon Motors this week.
