Week 8
12 June 2026
Dear Parents/Carers
Close enough is good enough
As educators, we often see a common mindset emerge in young men: the belief that a “close enough is good enough” approach to life will be enough. Whether it is rushing through an assignment, leaving chores half-done, or presenting themselves with an indifferent attitude, settling for the bare minimum can be a tempting trap for boys. While it may save them time in the short term, this habit quietly erodes their potential. When “good enough” becomes the standard, it stifles excellence, breeds complacency and prevents them from discovering what they are truly capable of achieving.
The danger of this mindset is that it follows them far beyond the classroom. How a young man approaches his schoolwork and personal presentation reflects how he will eventually approach his career, relationships and responsibilities as an adult. By encouraging our boys to slow down, take pride in the details and understand that true presentation reflects self-respect, we help them build a foundation of integrity and resilience. I am grateful for the support we receive from our parents and continue to partner with us in challenging them to trade the convenience of “close enough” for the lasting reward of what can be achieved by giving their best.
The Resilience Project
All of our staff regularly undertake professional development to ensure we continue to offer the best possible holistic education for our students. One opportunity all staff participated in recently was a presentation from the Resilience Project. We use this program as the basis of a number of our wellbeing initiatives. The project has three main areas of focus when it comes to student wellbeing:
- Gratitude
- Empathy
- Mindfulness
Our staff worked through tools and strategies that we in turn pass on to our students for use in their daily lives. Like all wellbeing practices, they are somewhat of a choose your own adventure in terms of how they are actually used. But regardless, we still believe it’s important to deliver a broad range of skills and strategies to our boys who then take them away and be selective in their use based on what suits their own personal needs.
We also heard a snippet of a podcast called “The Imperfects”. It is created and hosted by members of the Resilience Project team. We had our attention drawn to one episode in particular, a discussion with Maggie Dent. Maggie is a highly regarded Australian parenting author, educator and speaker, with a background in teaching, counselling and palliative care. She is widely recognised for her no-nonsense, no-guilt approach to raising resilient children and supporting families.
Being a parent of a number of boys, Maggie leans into her own experiences raising them in the world today. It can be listened to on most podcast providers (Apple, Spotify, etc) and for free via YouTube (Link to YouTube video). As a teacher with in excess of 20 years of experience in boys’ education and a parent of a teenage son myself, the information shared reinforces so many things we as parents know about our boys, but also prompted reflection and direction (or redirection) to improve how we support our sons to grow and become quality human beings.
Teachers of boys and parents (of boys and girls) will benefit from Maggie’s wisdom, sense of humour and tips for raising our boys. It is quite a long podcast (1 hour 20 minutes), so I’d encourage you to play it in the car on the way to work or on weekends. Maggie’s sense of humour and stories capture perfectly the challenges and possibilities (and untapped potential) of educating and raising boys.
Respice Finem
Mr David Sullivan
Principal
