Message from the Director of Schools

Dear Colleagues,

St Carlo Acutis - Major Relic

Our Diocese welcomed the first-class major pilgrim relic of St Carlo Acutis on Friday 26th June. This is part of an Australia wide pilgrimage in the lead up to the Eucharistic Congress in 2028. Australia is the 25th country to host the major pilgrim relic.

McCarthy Catholic College was the first school to host the relic in Australia on Monday 29th November. Monsignor Anthony Figueiredo from the Diocese of Assisi (the official custodian of St Carlo’s relics) presented to the students on St Carlo Acutis’ life and his impact on our world. I was privileged to attend the presentation with Year 7 students at McCarthy. It was an incredibly moving and prayerful experience. 

NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC Week will be celebrated next week and the theme for 2026 is 50 Years of Deadly. Many of our schools are celebrating NAIDOC Week this week or next term.  I am hoping to attend many of these celebrations in schools.

On Monday, I attended St Edward’s, South Tamworth celebration and it was wonderful to see so many parents, families and community members present. Fr Roel, Parish Priest, gave a beautiful blessing for all the community. Alison Hatton, Principal, spoke about the wonderful work of the staff, in particular, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Team of Sally, Amanda, Jarrod and Brittany, and how students are given such great opportunities to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture including language and connection to land and waterways. The team put together a fantastic presentation that went through 50 years of NAIDOC Week and has all the themes over the 50 years. St Edwards’ has generously shared this and I include it here for your information canva and pdf. 

End of Term 2

Thank you for your amazing work this term. I recognise the tiredness you could well be feeling after such a long term in winter and a reporting term. I am sure the decision to make Term 2 the longest of the year wasn’t made by an educator! Your passion and dedication is so appreciated as we work together to support our young people to realise a hope-filled future. I hope you have a wonderful break.

Regina