In the stormy, wild, misty ocean of life Notre Dame St. Peter’s School strives to be a lighthouse to everyone in the community – a warm, guiding light shining brightly in the dark. Lighthouses have been around for centuries – long before the modern world of electricity. Each lighthouse had a lighthouse keeper, who was responsible for making sure the fires are burning bright enough to be seen from far away on the ocean. If the lighthouse was off it could mean terrible things for ships nearby at night, as their guiding light would be gone, and they wouldn’t know where land was – which could lead to them crashing into rocks, cliffs or onto land, as their only guide was their paper maps and tools, and of course, the burning brightness from lighthouses when they got closer to land. A lighthouse keeper has a very big responsibility – comparable to each member of staff here at our school. If the lighthouse keeper ensures the lighthouse can be seen it can give others hope and keep them safe. Lighthouses have more than one purpose. They serve as a guide, to show where land can be found. They serve as a warning to ships on the perilous ocean, to prevent the captains from steering the ships onto the land. They represent a beacon of HOPE – after being on the stormy seas for a long time the captain knows that there is land ahead, and that they are not lost at stormy sea. As a lighthouse symbolises hope, it is a light in the dark when we feel like the dark, treacherous waters of life is swallowing us. It shows us that there is more than the storm and the dark that we find ourselves in. And it guides us to safe harbours where we can find land and stability again. Notre Dame St. Peter’s School is a beacon in the dark for all our learners and the community who might find themselves in life’s dark or stormy moments, guiding them home.