Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022)

As an Aussie, I don’t want to write this fortnight’s reflection without making reference to Shane Warne. In fact, on the evening that I am writing this, Warnie’s wonderful memorial service is playing on television in the background. The memorial service is an amazing testimony to the fact that an everyday school-kid from Melbourne could become a worldwide sporting star.

It isn’t just that he was an extraordinary Aussie cricketer that triggers me to write about Shane Warne. There’s an element of his life that resonates beautifully with our College’s core values, and that’s what I will here explore.

As the memorial service continues, the friends, family, team-mates and past rivals are describing Warnie. There is story after story of his skills, achievements, generosity and humour. The person they are describing is a gifted sportsman with a remarkable natural ability, but the details are revealing much more than that. Those who knew him up close are describing Shane Warne as a dedicated dad at home, and a competitive, passionately focussed team-member on field.

Throughout the tributes, many are speaking of Shane’s genuine kindness for people less fortunate. They are also describing Warnie as a bit of a wild man. He was a character with a lot of character, and sure, Warnie was brash and carefree, but he was also focussed, competitive, dedicated and passionate. And those traits are what we at Melton Christian College have seen in our best students over the years.

Those students who have gained the most out of Melton Christian College over its thirty-something years are those who have been focussed, dedicated, passionate and constructively competitive.

You see, it is not all about talent. Two school friends can sit through the same lessons, graduate from the same year-levels, be coached by the same teachers, and yet have vastly different results. The difference is rarely attributable to talent or natural ability. The vast difference that we sometimes see in students’ outcomes is almost always attributable to students’ levels of focus, dedication, passion and constructive competitiveness.

So, parents and teachers, let’s learn a lesson from Warnie, and join our efforts to make a difference in the lives of our learners. Let’s do all we can for the kids we love, to spur them on to be focussed on their schooling, constructively competitive about their achievements, dedicated to improving their scores, and passionate about learning.

David Gleeson, Principal