From the Assistant Principal: Faith & Identity

By Felicity Knobel

Mother’s Day Liturgy 

Our Mother’s Day liturgy was an occasion to celebrate all women in our world, ably led by our student-run Liturgy team and Mr Jarrod Ryan. On Friday 1 May, we gathered in our much-loved Chapel as a Catholic community. Each year, we celebrate the role of the strong and confident women in our world and the role models that they are in the lives of the students in our care. These women are showing our students how to be valiant women and are assisting in educating them to be the women who will go on and do much in our world. We give thanks to all women in our Loreto community.  

Principal Commissioning

Pentecost Sunday which was celebrated in the Catholic Church on Sunday 24 May, is the visitation of the Holy Spirit to the supporters and disciples of Jesus. How timely that on Friday 22 May we welcomed Bishop Mark Freeman and Fr Justin Driscoll to our community to celebrate the Eucharist and commission Mrs Shaw as leader of our Catholic community.  

Our Catholic community is encapsulating the Pentecost. We are all called to be disciples of Jesus, to bring good news, to include people from the margins and to ultimately answer the question, “Who is my neighbour?”. Our founder Mary Ward and Mother Gonzaga Barry were inspired by the works of Jesus and led with him as their example. The Loreto values that we hold so dear, were not “made up” by Mary Ward, they were interpreted in her faith in Jesus.   

Sr Sandra Perrett CJ in our commissioning ceremony said: 

“When we lead at Loreto, we lead together with our values. Our values of Freedom, Justice, Verity, Sincerity and Felicity are at the very heart of who we are as people of Loreto. For us, it is not something just spoken about, it is something that we live out in our day to day lives and ultimately, what we bring to the world.”  

Year 7 Reflection Day 

At a Catholic school, it is our privilege to offer a reflection day experience to all in our community. Reflection days can be a transformative experience, giving people an opportunity to reconnect or indeed connect with their God. It is a time to be challenged, to build relationships, to participate and to create long-lasting memories. Importantly, it is time to enjoy and to have fun as a year group. 

On Friday 29 May our Year 7 students participated in workshops about leadership at Loreto and how to be a friend that is inclusive and looks to include people. We also welcomed Jack Yang who is a Tai Chi teacher. Ms Mary O’Driscoll worked with Ms Goodman in teaching our students the Queen of Loreto song. Our students worked alongside Ms Helena Spencer and Ms Alessandra Bourke-Finn to create an art installation that reflected our value of Felicity.