The following address was made by the Principal, Mr Mark Tannock, at the College's 'Human Excellence' Assembly on 5 August, 2026. 

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today at our Human Excellence Assembly. 

Yesterday, two Year 9 students, James and Patrick, interviewed me for a podcast assessment task they are completing as part of their Religious Education course this year. 

During the interview, they asked me two questions. These questions relate directly to what we mean when we speak about human excellence at Riverview. So, I wanted to share them with you today. 

The first question they asked me was this: how can students at Saint Ignatius' College Riverview practically live out the Four Cs of Jesuit education? 

Those Four Cs, of course, are competence, commitment, compassion and conscience. They were coined by a former Superior General of the Jesuits, and they give us a language for articulating the kind of people we are called by God to become, not just in the classroom, but in every part of our lives. Now and in the future. 

For me Competence is about developing what you are good at: identifying the gifts God has given you and then choosing to cultivate them. 

We do this not for vain glory or self-promotion, but because our gifts are to be used for the greater glory of God and in service of others. 

So, I ask you today: what are the gifts God has given you? What are the things that are distinctive to you? And how will you cultivate them in the future so that you can share them generously with others? 

The second of the Four Cs is conscience. This is that small, still voice inside each of us that offers a moral compass in ethical decision-making. Our conscience asks us what is right - especially when the choice before us is difficult. 

We are all bestowed with the gift of conscience, but conscience must also be formed and developed. To live out this value, you must be willing to consider what the right decision is when you are faced with ethical dilemmas. You must listen to your conscience. 

Often, deep down, you know what the right thing is. The challenge is to have the courage to pursue it. 

The third of the Four Cs is compassion. 

Riverview has a well-deserved reputation for its superb Ignatian Service program, which all boys from Year 5 through to Year 12 are required to undertake during their time as students at our Jesuit school. It is our response to the Church's 'preferential option for the poor'. 

However, compassion cannot only be directed towards those who have the greatest call on our gifts. Compassion must also begin in the everyday: with the friends around you who need your help, with your teachers who deserve your respect, and especially with your family. 

To be a truly compassionate man, you need to be known as such by those who know you best. 

And so, I ask you to consider today: to what extent do others know you as a compassionate person? 

The fourth and final of the Four Cs is commitment. 

For me, this is about being a man of integrity: someone whose word is his bond, someone who does what he says and says what he means. 

Integrity is such an essential and invaluable quality for you to possess in your life. It means being someone who can be relied upon, who will finish the task, who may learn from his mistakes, but who does not waver in his commitment to others and to God. 

The second question James and Patrick asked me for their podcast was: what does a healthy masculinity look like? 

This is a terrific question in our current context, because we hear a great deal about toxic masculinity and the dangers of things like the manosphere. 

For me, a positive masculinity begins with gratitude for the gift of masculinity that God has given us. That gift is a good thing, just as the gift of femininity is a good thing for girls and women. 

We have a natural and inherently good orientation to be heroic in our lives. I encourage this in each of you. Pursue those greater things you were born for. In our Christian worldview, heroism means following the path of Jesus to the Cross and sacrificing yourself for others. 

The gift of masculinity brings with it certain obligations. It asks us to consider the type of men we want to be. 

For me, healthy masculinity is, perhaps counter-intuitively, about the capacity for gentleness. A truly strong man has the capacity to be gentle with those in his life. 

A truly masculine man is a gentle man. 

I hope that through your life you become known as a gentle man: a man for and with others, who is loved and who is capable of loving. 

I hope, too, that you develop the capacity to form deep and abiding relationships with others, and that those relationships are marked by forgiveness and by commitment. 

Our masculinity, boys, is a wonderful gift from God. 

Thanks to James and Patrick – I hope you do well in your assessment task.