There are few statements that speak to the heart and convey an eternal truth like that of Aristotle who reminds us that ‘humans are social beings’. Our relationships have an enormous impact on who we are and they continue to influence us on so many levels throughout our lives. Our Catholic faith also reflects this truth in providing us with one clear vision and command, “to love one another as Christ has loved us.” This vision and direction points to the essence of our human relationships and love becomes the measure, the value and the connection of our faith. The Catholic mystery of God’s self in the Trinity of persons highlights how relationships are core to life itself and how Christ continues to call each of us into a loving relationship to change and transform us into the best version of ourselves. It is this best version of ourselves that we share with one another through our relationships.
We see these positive, faith filled relationships alive here at the College. Our Walkathon was a real example of the positive relationships that is shared as we worked together to raise much needed funds for those in need in various Marist projects around the world. Some $36,000 has been promised and I thank all our students and families for this response and encourage us now to bring our sponsorship into school.
Later that evening we also held our annual Winter Sleep Out with over 100 students from Years 9 to 12 braving the cold to sleep outdoors in solidarity with the thousands of homeless persons across Australia. Much needed food was raised to share with various organisations in our local community. This event also highlighted the leadership of our Year 12 Social Justice students: Claudia Sobral; Peter Litsas; Anton Sheridan and Ashley Doueihi who provided an outstanding program for all involved. A special thanks to Mr Moussa and Mrs Ledesma for also braving the cold and sleeping out.
On Monday teachers took time to work with representatives from NESA to build capacity in their understanding and application of determining grades and developing adjustments to Stage 6 assessment. This professional learning provided time for our teachers to work with each other in the various subject areas in creating new assessment which reflects the new Syllabi developed by NESA ensuring all students ability to access and demonstrate their learning and to experience success. I would like to thank and acknowledge the wonderful morning tea provided by our P&F and to Chrishani Cogger our President for her work and organisation of it. The P&F have provided this morning tea for staff each year on this day and it was a beautiful assortment of foods and treats, thank you!
I would like to recognise and congratulate our Drama and VET teacher Ms Renee Lyons who has been awarded the Rotary Teacher Excellence in Vocational Education award. Ms Lyons makes an enormous contribution to our Entertainment VET course here at the College and this work extends to other aspects such as our College Musical and various assemblies. We also congratulate Sophia Mandziy of Year 7 who has been selected to receive a Minister’s Award for Excellence through the Community Languages School in her study of Ukrainian. She will be awarded on Monday at the University of NSW.
As we move towards celebrating with our grandfathers and fathers this weekend, as a College we will celebrate with them on Thursday morning with a liturgy and breakfast. The relationship we have with our fathers is an important and central one and we remember all our dads and granddads especially those who are now at rest with God and those who may be experiencing illness or hardships at this time. We thank our P&F, for their support in catering for this wonderful event and for Chrishani Cogger our President for her preparations and organisation. I thank all our granddads and dads in being with their child here at the College on this day.
Let us thank God our Father for those who have fathered us in life…
One night a father heard his child prayer:
God, please make me the kind of person that my daddy is.
Later that night, the father prayed:
Heavenly Father,
Please make me into the man my child thinks I am.
May I be a reflection of you.
Amen
Mary our Good Mother, Pray for us
Mr Jason Scanlon
Acting Principal