Leader of Faith, Formation and Mission

“The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” 

Job 33:4

Dearest Marian Community,

We have reached the conclusion of another College term, 2022 is certainly passing us by swiftly. This end brings to a close to another busy term that was full with various service opportunities for both students and staff to immerse themselves with their faith and spirituality. 

The I-Care Kits was our main focus this term as one of our College service projects. By the end of collections, we have been able to put together over 40 kits that we go to those in most need within our community. I cannot be any prouder of our College community and the generosity shown to all those in need. This is a true representation of living a life inspired by the Holy Spirit and bringing to life within our community the Lord's commandment for us to "live a life of love" (Ephesians 5:2). An immense thank you to all who contributed to making our service project for Term 2 an enormous success.

Youth Mass

In Week 6, we finally had the opportunity to host our first Youth Mass for 2022. This was a combined effort by Year 9 and Year 10 students. It was great to see so many young people and staff attend. Our hope is that this becomes a regular series of events for all young people. Attending Mass every Sunday is a demonstration of appreciation and connection to our faith. Our next term Youth Mass will be a combination of our Year 7 and 8 Students. We hope that we get a larger number of attendances. 

Through the means of service and showing compassion within our College, we were fortunate to participate in other events such as The Biggest Morning Tea and Carevan, which has further allowed those within our College to have a deeper connection to the way we embrace and live our faith. This brings into action our College motto, “The Way, The Truth and The Life''. In Week 8, all College staff experienced their annual Spirituality Day and immersed themselves with the College theme for Evangelisation and Religious Education for 2022 which was Live the Marian Way. This allowed us to grow in awareness of our responsibilities towards creation and its members, especially the voices that are unseen and unheard.

Spirituality Day 2022

The Spirituality Day 2022, allowed staff to experience a journey of reflection with our Sisters of Mercy and Marist Schools Australia representatives. Within our society there are many voices of people who are unseen and unheard. Bringing awareness to such people, really helps us understand that there is so much more we can do to help people within this demographic. 

Marist Schools Australia state within their theme:

In this year of our Sesquicentenary it is a time for celebrating our Marist mission of making Jesus Christ known and loved among the young, especially the most neglected. Let us be encouraged to live this mission courageously through our actions and the witness of our lives. Human dignity is the heartbeat of the Gospel, Catholic Social Teaching and our Marist story: “Love one another as Jesus Christ has loved you…May it be said of the Little Brothers of Mary as of the first Christians: ‘See how they love one another” (Marcellin Champagnat). Let our prayer be that everyone, especially the least, lost, and invisible are ‘known and loved’ as we strive to uphold, restore and defend the dignity for all.

NAIDOC Assembly

Friday week 9, saw our school hold our annual NAIDOC assembly. Due to the renovations, the assembly was hosted across all Homerooms. 

The theme set this year by the NAIDOC committee is:

“We have a proud history of getting up, standing up, and showing up.

From the frontier wars and our earliest resistance fighters to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities fighting for change today—we continue to show up.

Now is our time. We cannot afford to lose momentum for change.

We all must continue to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! for systemic change and keep rallying around our mob, our Elders, our communities.

Whether it’s seeking proper environmental, cultural and heritage protections, Constitutional change, a comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties, or calling out racism—we must do it together.

It must be a genuine commitment by all of us to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms.

It’s also time to celebrate the many who have driven and led change in our communities over generations—they have been the heroes and champions of change, of equal rights and even basic human rights.

Getting Up, Standing Up, and Showing Up can take many forms.

We need to move beyond just acknowledgement, good intentions, empty words and promises, and hollow commitments. Enough is enough.

The relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non‑Indigenous Australians needs to be based on justice, equity, and the proper recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights.

Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! with us to amplify our voices and narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome.

Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”

NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country.

The theme Get Up!, Stand Up!, Show Up! attempts a call for systemic change across our nation.  It’s also time to celebrate those with our Indigenous culture who have driven and led change in our communities many generations. Getting Up, Standing Up, and Showing Up can take many forms. In line with the theme, we are challenged to move beyond just acknowledgment and  good intentions. We need to come together and recognise the rights of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome. 

I believe that Kobe in our assembly said it best, 

“I believe that it only takes one person to make a difference and start change. That person doesn’t have to be me, it can be any one of us. It requires three things … Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”

Marian, I thank you for everything that you have done for the first semester of our College year. I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday and return to school refreshed, re-energised, ready to take on the adventures of Term 3.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you”

John 15:12

Yours in Faith

Mr Abdala

Leader of Faith, Formation and Mission