Week 2

6 February 2026 

Dear Parents/Carers

Returning our trolley

This week, I shared a message with the boys during assembly that might have seemed, at first glance, to be about grocery shopping. However, as Marist men, it was about the character we build and display when no one is watching.

I spoke to the students about returning their shopping trolley . The act of returning a trolley to its bay is the ultimate test for self-governance and respect for others. There is no law that says you must return it, and you won’t be fined or punished if you leave it rolling in the middle of a parking space. Most shopping centres even pay for someone to collect them for you. However, we all know the simple task of returning your trolley to the trolley bay is objectively the right thing to do, yet the only thing motivating you to do it is a sense of duty toward your fellow man.

Small Acts, Large Impact

In our Marist tradition, we are called to live with Simplicity and Service. When a person leaves a trolley behind, they are subtly declaring that their time is more valuable than the person who has to move it. It is an act that says “Someone else will deal with my mess.”

We see the direct parallel here at school every day during recess and lunch.

Our School, Our Home

Just as a stray trolley inconveniences a stranger, a discarded chip packet or drink bottle left on the ground at recess or lunch inconveniences our entire community. When a student leaves their rubbish on a bench, expecting our grounds staff or a peer to pick it up, they are failing “The Trolley Test.”

To be a “Good Christian and a Good Citizen” means acknowledging that:

• Presence Matters: We respect the physical spaces we are blessed to share.
• Humility is Key: No Marist man is “too big” or “too important” to bend down and pick up litter.
• Solidarity: We look after our common home so that those who come after us find it better than we left it.

The Challenge Ahead

I have challenged the boys to view every piece of rubbish as an opportunity to practice integrity. Character isn’t forged in grand gestures; it is built in the quiet moment when you choose to walk five extra meters to a bin, simply because it is the right thing to do.

Let’s encourage our young men to be the ones who return the trolley, empty the dishwasher at home (without being asked), take out the rubbish bin and value others’ time and energy as much as our own.

Respice Finem

Mr David Sullivan

Principal