Carabiner connection but space to climb
31 Jan 2022
First steps in new shoes and the vital link of a College carabiner have been the focus of the Chapel Service welcoming Year 9 boys.
With an opening prayer and warm welcome from the new College Chaplain, Rev. Cameron Pickering, the boys have gathered in the Assembly Hall for the first time – in place of the more confined Chapel space – under the Red Traffic Light setting.
Executive Principal Garth Wynne has also welcomed the new boys to College on Monday, highlighting the many “extraordinary” opportunities at the school over the next five years.
Mr Wynne has shared that he, too, has new shoes for a new year and while these may be uncomfortable and rub a bit to start with – or may even cause a few blisters – they soon become comfortable and a good fit.
At the special service, College has also given each Year 9 student a carabiner, a symbolic gift bearing the school’s name.
Mr Wynne has told the boys that the emblematic carabiner – usually part of a mountaineer’s kit – can “keep you safe if you use it well but allows you to climb the mountain or descend from the mountain at a speed that you wish”.
“We want you – more than anything else – to be safe and secure but we also want you to run freely to explore the heights that you can reach. We want you to descend safely when you feel that you might need to perhaps slow down or go backwards so that you can go forward.”
Most importantly, “we want you to be able to know that we are there”.
