Page 9 - The Gonzaga Record 2004
P. 9
E d ito rial
“Freedom includes responsibilities within the community. Cura personalis is not lim ited to the
relationship between teacher and student; it affects the curriculum and the entire life o f the institu
tion. All members o f the educational community are concerned with one another and learn from one
another. The personal relationships am ong students and also am ong adults - lay and Jesuit, adm in
istrators, teachers and auxiliary staff - evidence this same care. A personal concern extends also to
form er students, to parents and to the student within his or her own family. ” - (Characteristics of
Jesuit Education, Paragraph 44)
Glancing through these pages, the reader may be forgiven for thinking that nothing out of
the ordinary happened this year — no jubilee celebrations, no fires, no Young Scientist win
ners, or no Junior Cup finals, the kind of events that add extra spice to the ordinary school
year. But as this RECORD will show, even in an ordinary year so much happens, and not
just during the school term. Well before the school year began, the preparations for the
Sixth Year play had already got underway, Junior and Senior rugby teams were training
hard, and the administrative and auxiliary staff were ensuring that the school was ready to
welcome its pupils back after the holidays. Throughout the year the vigorous pace of
Gonzaga life continued, with all the usual activities — sports, chess, opera, choir, trips —
many of which are described and documented in this RECORD. Underlying all this activi
ty is the concept of cura personalis: “care of the entire person”, which advocates individu
alized attention to the needs of the other, distinct respect for his or her unique circum
stances and concerns, and an appropriate appreciation for his or her particular talents and
insights.
This vigorous pace continued all the way until May, which is when our frontispiece
photograph was taken. It shows a group of batsmen in waiting at the annual staff vs. 6th
years cricket match, held on the last day of classes. No longer wearing their school uni
forms, they sport their custom-designed graduation t-shirts instead. Classes having offi
cially ended, the students are spending one last day together as a year group. As the pho
tograph demonstrates, they are completely at ease in each others’ company and even
though the Leaving Cert is less than a month away, they have taken a day out of their study
schedule to engage in some friendly sporting rivalry with the staff.
In their six years of school they have had the chance to build up strong relationships
among themselves and with members of staff, and we can confidently expect these rela
tionships to last long after graduation day. Bonding experiences such as trips, retreats,
involvement in sports teams, fundraising activities, and community outreach have helped
the students develop lifelong friendships and solidarity not just with each other but also
with teachers and other members of staff. Graduation does not mark the end of a student’s
connection with Gonzaga College, but merely the beginning of a new phase in the rela
tionship. The involvement of past pupils in so many of the activities described in this
RECORD is evidence of many students’ lasting attachment to the school community. It is
hoped that this solidarity and participation in the community will be a model for the stu
dents’ later lives, and that they will remember the philosophy of cura personalis, with all its
enriching potential, in all their future relationships.
Page 7
“Freedom includes responsibilities within the community. Cura personalis is not lim ited to the
relationship between teacher and student; it affects the curriculum and the entire life o f the institu
tion. All members o f the educational community are concerned with one another and learn from one
another. The personal relationships am ong students and also am ong adults - lay and Jesuit, adm in
istrators, teachers and auxiliary staff - evidence this same care. A personal concern extends also to
form er students, to parents and to the student within his or her own family. ” - (Characteristics of
Jesuit Education, Paragraph 44)
Glancing through these pages, the reader may be forgiven for thinking that nothing out of
the ordinary happened this year — no jubilee celebrations, no fires, no Young Scientist win
ners, or no Junior Cup finals, the kind of events that add extra spice to the ordinary school
year. But as this RECORD will show, even in an ordinary year so much happens, and not
just during the school term. Well before the school year began, the preparations for the
Sixth Year play had already got underway, Junior and Senior rugby teams were training
hard, and the administrative and auxiliary staff were ensuring that the school was ready to
welcome its pupils back after the holidays. Throughout the year the vigorous pace of
Gonzaga life continued, with all the usual activities — sports, chess, opera, choir, trips —
many of which are described and documented in this RECORD. Underlying all this activi
ty is the concept of cura personalis: “care of the entire person”, which advocates individu
alized attention to the needs of the other, distinct respect for his or her unique circum
stances and concerns, and an appropriate appreciation for his or her particular talents and
insights.
This vigorous pace continued all the way until May, which is when our frontispiece
photograph was taken. It shows a group of batsmen in waiting at the annual staff vs. 6th
years cricket match, held on the last day of classes. No longer wearing their school uni
forms, they sport their custom-designed graduation t-shirts instead. Classes having offi
cially ended, the students are spending one last day together as a year group. As the pho
tograph demonstrates, they are completely at ease in each others’ company and even
though the Leaving Cert is less than a month away, they have taken a day out of their study
schedule to engage in some friendly sporting rivalry with the staff.
In their six years of school they have had the chance to build up strong relationships
among themselves and with members of staff, and we can confidently expect these rela
tionships to last long after graduation day. Bonding experiences such as trips, retreats,
involvement in sports teams, fundraising activities, and community outreach have helped
the students develop lifelong friendships and solidarity not just with each other but also
with teachers and other members of staff. Graduation does not mark the end of a student’s
connection with Gonzaga College, but merely the beginning of a new phase in the rela
tionship. The involvement of past pupils in so many of the activities described in this
RECORD is evidence of many students’ lasting attachment to the school community. It is
hoped that this solidarity and participation in the community will be a model for the stu
dents’ later lives, and that they will remember the philosophy of cura personalis, with all its
enriching potential, in all their future relationships.
Page 7
