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Deputy Principal

Faith and Mission - Mr Bobby Bracken 

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Bobby Bracken
Bobby Bracken

Celebrating Courage and Joy: Empowering One Another at Mt A

This week’s College assembly invited our community to reflect deeply on two of our guiding values - Courage and Joy - and to consider how these values call us to participate fully in College life. As we continue journeying through our Year of Courage, we challenged our students to look inward and ask what courageous participation looks like.

 

We asked them:

 

  • Do you have the courage to share joy?
  • The courage to join in?
  • To celebrate our achievements?
  • To uplift one another?

  • To contribute positively to the life of our community?

     

These questions are simple on the surface, yet they invite every student to step forward, not only for themselves, but for the young women standing beside them.

The Courage to Celebrate Joy

Our College Captains extended this reflection by posing a powerful guiding question: How can I have the courage to celebrate joy?

 

Celebrating joy is not passive. It asks something of us. It means stepping out of our comfort zone, being fully present, and actively supporting the achievements and gifts of others. It asks us to be advocates for each other, to encourage and celebrate every student at Mt A.

 

Courageous joy means choosing to lift others up.

 

The Captains highlighted simple yet meaningful ways students can empower one another each day:

 

  • Responding confidently during prayer, knowing that our voices strengthen our shared faith community.
  • Acknowledging every person who steps onto the stage, understanding that for some, simply standing there is an act of bravery.
  • Celebrating the success of others, such as clapping wholeheartedly and showing genuine happiness even when the achievement is not our own.
  • Encouraging students who perform, recognising the courage required to sing, speak, dance, act, or present in front of peers.

  • Choosing to participate - joining the moment rather than standing back, such as singing the College Song

     

These actions, small as they may seem, collectively create a culture of empowerment, one where our students champion one another’s excellence and build each other’s confidence.

 

At Mt A, we want our students to know that courage often shows itself in the smallest moments: in a smile of encouragement, in a round of applause, in the willingness to stand beside someone who needs support.

 

As we continue our Year of Courage, may we continue to bring joy, to advocate for each other, and to choose in big and small ways, to lift each other up.

Introducing College Litany

During the assembly, we also introduced our new College Litany to the community. This is a wonderful way to continue to enhance our Franciscan identity and sense of participation in our community gatherings.

 

A litany is a simple, rhythmic form of prayer made up of short response. It is a way for a community to pray together. Litanies have been part of Christian prayer for centuries because they draw people into unity through participation.

 

Our new College Litany reflects our Franciscan voice. This litany takes its final line from our own College Prayer, reminding us of the foundations from which our community is built.

 

From today forward, at the end of every prayer and liturgy, we will pray this simple litany together.

The Leader will say: St Francis, St Clare, and Elizabeth Hayes,
The response is: Watch over us.

Project Compassion

We are extremely grateful for the incredible response so far to our Project Compassion Campaign.

 

In exciting news, we have also been informed that next Wednesday, 4th March, all donations made on the Mt A online fundraising page will be matched by a generous supporter. So please consider donating online next Wednesday.

 

Mount Alvernia College Fundraising Page: Caritas Australia - Mt Alvernia College

Individual links to each House online fundraising page can be found here: