‘PAC Assemble!’
It certainly has been a busy and productive term. Currently, our Year 8 students are enjoying a range of activities including camping at Scotts Creek, Adelaide Week, EduKart and EduCook, while the second of our Year 9 Wambana programs is rapidly coming to an end. I have been pleased with the way our students have diligently applied themselves to study regimes in preparation for exams, whilst maintaining their commitment to a host of co-curricular activities. Educational programs such as these complement the teaching and learning students engage in everyday and supports our strong sense of community and teamwork.
During my recent address at assembly, I focused on ‘team’ and what can be achieved when we all work together. I have included the details for you to read below.
Right from an early age, I loved sci – fi movies. Of course, I grew up in the era of Star Wars and was completely taken with the characters, the spacecrafts and fighters, the weapons and without doubt, the special effects. I was captivated by the struggle between good and evil and secretly hoped that I might in fact be one of the long lost jedi. I spent all of my pocket money collecting Star Wars figures. I had Luke Skywalker’s X-wing fighter and Han Solos’ blaster and I still have lots of memorabilia from the initial trilogy.
So, when the Avenger movies made their way to the big screen, I was first in line to see them. In 2019, during the first term holidays, it was hard to avoid the hype that surrounded the last of the Avengers movies titled Endgame. Within the first few weeks, the movie recorded more than 1 billion dollars at the box office and broke all sorts of records. I am fairly confident that a few people in ANZAC Hall have seen it too!
When you think about the characters in the Avenger movies, each one comes with their own unique powers and talents. For example:
- The Hulk, through a massive dose of gamma radiation has incredible superhuman strength and healing powers and who doesn’t love that fact that he turns green when he’s angry!
- Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, survived being frozen, is a skilled military leader and has a virtually indestructible Vibranium shield.
- In his arc-reactor powered armour, with high tech systems and powerful gadgets, billionaire Tony Stark is the invincible Iron Man!
- While Thor is the master of thunder and lightning, is resistant to injury and wields an enchanted hammer!
And there are so many more characters that we could talk about, but I think you have the idea.
So, what makes the Avengers so popular? For me, it’s actually not the talents of each individual character but what they can achieve as a team. It's only when they work together that they can truly overcome the powers of evil and restore harmony to the world.
"Avengers assemble!" is the rallying cry for the Marvel Comics superhero team!
When the avengers are about to face a monumental battle, Captain America will use the rallying cry as an opportunity to not only bring the team physically together as they enter battle but also as a galvanising and motivating chorus. Each one of you have your own passions, interests and individual talents and there is much we can learn if we take the time to get to know each other and celebrate our differences. Like Captain America facing the mighty Thanos and his colossal army, we can often feel like the task ahead is completely overwhelming and impossible to achieve.
Throughout your schooling, our aim is to support you to develop the skills that will help you turn any disappointments that may lie ahead into opportunities. Every setback is an opportunity for a comeback. It is amazing how the world changes for the better when you view difficulties as opportunities for your own growth and character development. There is no doubt, life is a series of messy challenges. Finding opportunities in those challenges will determine how you will travel through your life.
But we don’t have to face life’s challenges or conquer the obstacles in front of us on our own.
Instead, I want you to think about what we can achieve as a team when we all work together. Now, I am not expecting to hear "Avengers assemble!" anytime soon when I walk through the Red Centre or travel the corridors, but we shouldn’t underestimate the power of helping others, a kind word when someone looks down or offering support when you can tell a friend is having a rough day. We shouldn’t underestimate the significant difference we can make when we all do our part.
As individual students and staff we can achieve a lot, but as a school, we can achieve so much more!
Greg Atterton
Deputy Headmaster/Head of Secondary School