From our Principal

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

Feast Day of St Augustine of Hippo

This week we celebrated the feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Augustine, one of our house patrons, was the Bishop of Hippo and Doctor of the Church. Accepted by many scholars to be the most important figure in the ancient Western Church, Saint Augustine was born in Tagaste, Numidiain North Africa. His mother was a Christian, but his father remained a Pagan until late in life. Augustine drifted through several philosophical systems before converting to Christianity at the age of thirty-one. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervour right up until his death.

St Augustine pray for us.

Child Safety Week – every child in every community needs a fair go

In the universal Church, this Sunday is recognised as Safeguarding Sunday. It is a reminder to the Church, parish and school of our inherent responsibility to ensure at all times we have the care and safety of all our young people at the forefront of our work. DOSCEL, our governing authority speaks in their commitment statement of providing a safe and nurturing culture for all children and young people in the Diocese of Sale through the lens of three core principles:

Upholding the primacy of the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
Empowering families, children, young people and staff to have a voice and raise concerns
Implementing rigorous risk-management and employment practices.

Here at St Peter’s College we commit to these three same principles. Our Child safety champions, Mrs Julie Banda and Mr Jeremy Wright lead and guide that work and our staff continuously align with the principles stated above.

Official Blessing and Opening of the St Martha building

Located on the Clyde North Campus and named after Saint Martha, the building houses our commercial cooking, music, dance and drama rooms. Martha is the patron saint of cooks, waiters and waitresses. Martha was chosen as the name for the building for her love, devotion and service to Jesus and will act as a constant reminder of our calling to draw closer to God through the loving embrace of Jesus and through the medium of food and the performing arts. This building was blessed this week in a special ceremony by Father Joseph Abutu and officially opened by Ms Cassandra Fernando MP the Federal Member for Holt and Mr Paul Velten – Director/Chief Executive Officer for the Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Ltd. This project was made possible through the generous support of the Australian Government under the Capital Grants Program to the tune of $2 million of the total cost of $7.4 million. Our deepest appreciation is extended to the Federal Government for their contribution.

It struck me this week as I reflected on what to capture in this piece how privileged we all are to be apart of this wonderful vibrant community. This was brought home in many and varied ways including the following.

School Production – Legally Blonde

Our first production within our very own Performing Arts (Geode) Centre was a runaway success. What talented students and staff we have! The theme of the musical was, in part, that you can do anything you put your mind to as long as you’re prepared to move outside your comfort zone and you’re not afraid of a little hard work. This was evidenced in the performers and backstage crew who worked tirelessly to produce a first rate production. My sincere thanks are extended to the many staff under the leadership and expertise of Performing Arts Leader – Mrs Nicole Lewis for their hard-work, dedication and professionalism in guiding our students throughout the journey.

SIS Athletics Champions

Congratulations are extended to our combined college Athletics team who outshone their opponent to bring home a swag of first places. This included:

u/13 Girls Pennant champions
u/13 Boys Pennant champions
u/14 Boys Pennant champions
Junior Overall Shield
Intermediate Overall Shield
Senior Overall Shield
Girls Overall Aggregate Shield

What an outstanding achievement. Congratulations to the team and my thanks to Sports Managers: Leigh Murphy and Gerard Brown, and the dedicated PE staff for their work with the team.

Finally…Happy Father’s Day

This Sunday we recognise the significant contribution fathers have made in shaping who we are. It is an important opportunity to reflect on the role our fathers, or those taking on fathering roles, play in our daily lives. Happy Father’s Day to all our dads and those that take on the role of father.

A Father’s Day Prayer

God our Father, we give you thanks and praise for fathers young and old.

We pray for young fathers, newly embracing their vocation: may they find courage and perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice.

We pray for our own fathers around the world whose children are lost or suffering; may they know that the god of compassion walks with them in their sorrow.

We pray for men who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice.

We remember fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our hearts and memories and continue to nourish us with their love.

Amen

Mr Chris Black

Principal