Facing the man in the mirror

Four trunks sit at the base of the Oak in the Senior School. These trunks have come to represent a place at the heart of the school where we can store a hope, wish or ambition. They are a daily visible reminder of something that might help us grow.

As part of the Legacy Project, the boys have explored different uses for the trunks. At times, the trunks have held fast a goal to be aimed for across the semester. Last year, the boys in Year 12 used them as a place to keep safe a significant memento of their time at School, to be removed at the Beating of the Bounds.

In Term 3 this year, the leaders elected to change the thinking. Each student wrote on a piece of paper something that they wanted to let go of – usually a limiting pattern or belief. On the final day of the term, School Vice-Captain Oli Barden addressed the boys and asked them about who they wanted to be, and to be honest with ‘the man in the mirror’. Following Oli’s address, the boys were invited to burn the paper that contained their limiting belief. This turned out to be a powerful symbolic act.

Dr Ray Swann
Head of Senior School