Issue 17, 20 October 2023

Welcome back for Term 4. I hope and trust that everyone had an enjoyable term break and is looking forward to the term ahead. There is always a lot happening in Term 4 and it is often a race to the end. This is a sign of a busy and thriving school community. This will undoubtedly be the case for our Year 12 students who will have their final day of formal schooling next Friday. While there is still lots of study to complete in preparation for their final examinations, may our prayers and thoughts be with them as they sprint towards the finish line.  We welcome Damian back from leave next week. I am sure he will be refreshed and ready to engage with the myriad of joys that is school life.  

We are currently mapping out how 2024 will look for our school. We would appreciate any anticipated changes in enrolments to be communicated to the front office as soon as possible. We also ask that an Application for Enrolment form be filled out for any new children starting in 2024 (both at the beginning of the year and mid-year intake). These can be requested via our website or collected from the front office at any time.

Tuesday 17 October was a day of prayer and fasting for those living in the Holy Land. As the impact of the events occurring are filtered out, it is hard to not feel this within our hearts and our communities, as we see thousands of people cut off from food, water, shelter, and families.  

We need to consider the call to open our hearts in a special way and pray for peace in the Holy Land and to bring tensions to an end. We are called to be peacemakers and people of hope, called to forgive, called to pray for others and to change ourselves.  

Students across the College joined together in home classes on Monday morning to pray for peace in Israel and the Gaza strip. 

The Season of Creation finished on October 4, the feast of St Francis of Assisi and this was also when Pope Francis released his document Laudate Deum. This document is a follow up of his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, and discusses the current climate crisis. He urges us to consider the call to tackle the current crisis, acknowledge that this is real, and that the damage caused by humans is irreversible. He reminds us that we all have a role to play and hopes that the COP28 summit will be a historic event for the sake of our future. Pope Francis also encourages us to live with a sense of hope for the creation that God has entrusted to us. 

Information was sent at the end of last term about the Made in the Image of God: Human Sexuality program, which is covered within Religious Education classes. Please see the information on the College website here for your child’s year level information letter.