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TERM 1 WEEK 8 20 March 2019
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL A personal message, shared with our students on Monday. The last few days have been like no other in New Zealand’s history. Evil has walked amongst us as a lone terrorist committed the most horrific murders of our fellow New Zealanders. We are all feeling raw… and different people are reacting in different ways to cope with the scale of what has happened, ranging from disbelief, anger, fear, looking for someone to blame, avoidance, to simply feeling numb and empty. All of these emotions are okay in the early stages of coming to terms with what has happened. Because we all handle things so differently, it is important that we are careful not to judge one another for the way in which we process such horrors. Consistent kindness and support is what is most important at this time. Atawhai (kindness) is one of our HEART values. There has never been a time when atawhai is more needed than this. And while this event has had a huge impact on us all as New Zealanders, the greatest impact by far has been on the Muslim community; in fact, it is very personal. Many have strong connections to those who were killed or wounded. On Saturday flowers were delivered to the three local mosques on behalf of the students and staff of Avondale College to show our care and support for our local community. The College’s flag was also lowered to half-mast at the same time. The shooter tried to impose his hateful view of world on us all, with the purpose of provoking further hatred and devision. I am delighted to see that so far his actions have resulted in exactly the opposite response. A huge outpouring of support from the New Zealand community for our fellow citizens and huge restraint and class shown by the New Zealand Muslim community has demonstrated the very best of what it means to be a New Zealander. On Saturday, like so many others, my wife and I went to the vigil at Aotea Square in the city to pay our respects, and all over the country other vigils took place in our major cities, with many more to follow. The reactions of New Zealanders so far has been inspiring, both in sharing their emotions and support but also in putting their money where their mouths are and donating funds to support the victims’ families. Over six million has been raised so far and the number continues to climb. I believe it is important we all give generously, according to our ability. Last year a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, USA, had a similar experience, being attacked by a terrorist who also killed worshippers in their holy place. The first people to demonstrate support were the members of the local mosque, who arrived in numbers to gather round the Jewish community in that city. And in a very short time the members of that mosque raised $200,000 to support the victims. Inspiring stuff. This morning I heard that this Pittsburgh synagogue wants to pass on that generosity to (as they put it) their Muslim brother and sisters, and are fundraising for the victims in New Zealand. They too have taken this very personally. I am aware that some of our students have seen some of the shooter’s video footage and I want to say the internet is full of hatred and dark material from bitter minorities who are seeking to have a voice. The gunman’s actions were designed for maximum global impact through social media. Please do not help him achieve his goals by viewing, downloading or sharing this horrible stuff. Stay away from the toxic exchanges and, especially, please be aware that saving videos such as this is illegal, unethical, and is everything he wanted to achieve. Despite the horrors of the last few days we are not powerless. There are many positive actions available to us that can make a real difference to what can happen next. Brent Lewis Principal FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SCHOOL ACTIVITIES PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.AVCOL.SCHOOL.NZ THIS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER IS AVAILABLE ON OUR SCHOOL INTRANET WELCOME.AVCOL.SCHOOL.NZ