They need help in resisting the seductions of a media culture that tells them that life's purpose is maximising their pleasure.Even those teens who are working toward worthwhile near-term goals (getting into university, attaining a good job) need a larger vision that will help to sustain them in the face of life's inevitable disappointments and sufferings. Many people achieve their dreams and find themselves asking, "is this all there is?"

By holding up the three universally affirmed life goals - maturity of character, loving relationships, and making a difference, we can offer our children a framework for living that can bring lasting fulfilment. For most of us, this won't be the whole framework, we might add a relationship with God in this life and the next, but the three life goals represent something that all world views can embrace, and all schools can teach.

US Civil Rights Demonstrations
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the US riots, at a time of deep fracture and division as protests continue following the death of George Floyd on Monday 25 May.

During a Mass last Sunday, 31 May, celebrating Pentecost, when Christians believe the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus' apostles, Pope Francis called on the faithful to be bringers of unity at a time when the world seems rife with division. In his homily, he drew from the gospels to explain the differences among the twelve apostles. They "were from different backgrounds and social contexts", and all of them "had different ideas and sensibilities", the Pope said.

"We, too, have our differences, for example: of opinions, choices, sensibilities", Francis observed on Sunday, "but the temptation is always to fiercely defend our ideas, believing them to be good for everybody and agreeing only with those who think as we do. This is a bad temptation that brings division."

According to the Pontiff, "so much more" unites people than beliefs or morality. "Our principle of unity is the Holy Spirit. He reminds us that first of all we are God's beloved children; all equal, in this respect, and all different," he said.

Rostrevor College is so richly blessed by having students and families from many different cultures and faith backgrounds and we must continue to acknowledge and celebrate this. As an inclusive community (one of our EREA Touchstones), we must always be mindful of the values of respect and empathy at this time.

We pray that the senseless violence and destruction will stop and peace and order will be restored.

Frank Ranaldo
Deputy Principal - Dean of Students (R-12)

Glen Stuart Road and Kintyre Road Pick Up and Drop Off
For the safety of all road users, but most importantly for the safety of our students, it is important that parents and others responsible for picking up or dropping off boys, take note of the Drop Off and Pick Up zones, No Parking zones and use of the 'Emu' Crossing.

Please note the following:

Junior Years

* The Rostrevor College Stepping Stones car park must only be used by families who utilise this service for their children.

* Rostrevor College parents are asked not to park in this location at any time during the day.

* We have received reports of some parents stopping in the middle of Kintyre Road and calling for their son to cross, sometimes negotiating oncoming traffic. This practice is not only illegal but extremely dangerous.

Middle and Senior Years

* Middle and Senior Years families are to avoid using Kintyre Road for drop off or pick-up.

* Parents must not drive on to the campus for drop off or pick up. The roadway joining Gate 1 (Glen Stuart Road) and Gate 10 (Heather Avenue) is for student use only.

* Please note that the solid yellow line by the curb on Glen Stuart Road alongside our Memorial Ovals signifies no standing/parking. We have received numerous complaints from Adelaide Metro as buses are blocked from turning onto Glen Stuart Road from Morialta Road due to the congestion by the roundabout. Please refer to the image here.

Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Pentecost is part of a cycle of life that has five moments: Good Friday, Easter, The Forty Days, Ascension, and Pentecost.We understand Pentecost only when it is seen as the culmination of the other four moments.It works like this: on Good Friday, life is lost; on Easter, new life is received; during the Forty Days, the disciples adjust to a new presence of Jesus; at the Ascension, the disciples let go of the Jesus they once had; and at Pentecost, they receive a new spirit for the life they are now living.

And that is the cycle too within our own lives.  We need, constantly, to accept our deaths, receive the new life that is then given us, grieve our losses, let go of the old, and then receive the spirit for the actual life we are living.  Pentecost is an ongoing, lifelong mystery.  We suffer many losses; loss of youth, loss of health, loss of loved ones, loss of wholeness, and the loss of countless things that are precious to us.  Yet, we are never dead.  We are always given new life.  But if we are trying to live that new life with our former spirit, we will find ourselves deeply out of sorts.  We need Pentecost, daily, in our lives.  It harmonises our life with its proper spirit.

Fr Ronald Rolheiser OMI is president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.  His books are popular throughout the English-speaking world, and his weekly column is carried by more than seventy newspapers worldwide.

Ric Sachse
APRIM