From the Principal
Gratitude Philip Grutzner Principal
The job of the Principal at any school is not easily captured in a descriptor. It is a position of enormous privilege to guide a community, from the ELC with its curious kindergarten children, to the Junior School students bursting with energy, the Middle School pupils moving through their early teen years and the Senior School young adults a mere step away from the world beyond school. From my 10 fulfilling years as Carey’s Principal, an event I often reflect on is the three-day whole-school conference in 2014. This was a moment where the School’s staff considered the foundation of wellbeing. It was during this conference that I, together with all staff, completed a character strength test. It came as no surprise to me that gratitude was my primary strength. As I write my final Torch article and take the opportunity to contemplate 10 years at Carey, I return to this concept of gratitude. American sociologist Dr Brene Brown asserts that ‘privilege without gratitude is entitlement’. Such a statement should be a truism, but this is a concept that needs constant reflection, particularly given our position at Carey. The reality is that Carey students are privileged, living in Australia with families who value and can afford the education offered at our great school. My common practice through the 10 years in my position has been to make sure I am mindfully grateful. When I took on the role as Principal, which required us to return to Melbourne 2 | Torch
from Adelaide, Yasmine and I felt grateful to find ourselves in a community that readily embraced our children. There were some who politely questioned the potential conflict that might exist for a Principal whose two daughters were to attend the same school. However, we never found this to be an issue and will remain forever thankful that we had the opportunity to be part of the Carey community. Over the course of seven years, Yasmine and I watched as our daughters Emily and Isabella flourished, finding lifelong friendships and becoming immersed in that unique sense of what it is to have lived a Carey education. I am appreciative that I too was welcomed as Principal, and on many occasions stepped into the shoes of the student when I had the opportunity to
‘I had the opportunity to immerse myself within this culture, and to further enhance it together with the community as the Carey story progressed.’
