College Prayer

Jesus Good Shepherd, teach us, through your Spirit, to walk your way of light,

to live your way of truth and in all things to act with love and compassion.

Help us to come to the Father by knowing you, loving you and serving you in each other.

May our school be a place of wonder, learning and peace, where the lessons of today

prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow.

May your Mother, Mary, guide our footsteps as she guided yours.

This prayer we make in faith.

Amen.

I thank you for your kind words and I am deeply humbled by what has been said today and thank you very for joining me, thanks for today’s assembly, particularly those who have put it all together. Thanks Matt, all of us are thinking if you and thanks Lora…

I cannot believe that I am standing here saying my farewell after being part of this school for the past 15 years! From the moment and I arrived in Griffith with my family, we have always been made welcome. We have loved being in this city, the life and vitality and energy in the town have made it an exciting part of our lives. I know that some of you weren’t even born when I took up this position in 2008…now, for those of you 15 and under I can understand that you may think time goes slowly but I can assure you and others here may agree, that time really does fly….especially if you’re having fun!

I am not going to give you a long perhaps dull coverage of my 45 years as a teacher, which commenced in 1978 and I am not going to mention too many details. Hopefully I will have a long and enjoyable retirement ahead of me to reflect on what I have done and who has played a part. I really wish to spend a little time talking about being at Marian, as it has honestly been the most enjoyable part of my career and many of you here today have shared the journey.

Marian Catholic College has certainly changed since 2008. There are now 100 staff and student enrolments have grown by well over 200! We barely fit in this hall. We all know the buildings have been updated and increased in number, our grounds totally altered and just about everything around the school has had some change in the past 15 years. We are all living the latest of these changes right now and soon…very soon…all will be finished…I promise!

How teachers teach, what is taught and how it’s done has changed dramatically over the years and I have to say, very proudly, that Marian Catholic College sits amongst the very best schools in country NSW for the quality of learning and teaching and ultimately the results that students are getting. Our standards, what we expect from each other has risen substantially and everyone has played a role. I believe what we have experienced is a significant cultural paradigm shift. Everything we do here and why we do it has changed. I am not responsible for it but to be part of what has happened during the “rise and rise” of Marian Catholic College, is something that I will always say is my happiest memory.

The quality of the staff and their professional dedication to the school and to Catholic Education is in my experience second to none. An authentic professional learning community has at its core, a distributed leadership where everyone buys in to agreed goals, we are relentless in pursuing them and together we honour the work that is done. We seek to reflect on what the data is saying and we are foremost focussed on student learning and well-being. All of this is visible at Marian Catholic College and I thank everyone for playing a part in it, none more so than the staff and students who have volunteered to lead at various times. I have shared the journey with many outstanding leaders, today and in the past, and the current leadership group, led by Mrs Segrave and Mr Herb are authentic leaders. It is satisfying that so many have embraced the challenges of leadership and made a success in working towards their own goals.

I also wish to say a special thanks to all support staff at Marian Catholic College. I have never experienced such a wonderful positive group of people. The pride they take in their job, with an ever-present smile and a willingness to do more than the necessities of their role, has made me feel grateful to work alongside them. Marian is truly blessed to have each and every one of you supporting our community.

I take with me great memories of the amazing college musicals and cabaret shows. The city of Griffith has benefitted from what MCC has put together, not once but many times. Quality entertainment and underneath this, talented staff and students working hard to put on first class shows, well beyond what anyone had seen before performed. It has been such a pity that two musicals had to be cancelled due to Covid and I sincerely hope that those at the college in the future have the desire to bring these performances back for everyone to enjoy.

The college, at its heart, is a catholic school and seeing us connect with the traditions of the Marists, the Mercy Sisters and the parish guarantees me that our formation in faith will always be strong and active. Alongside of this it gives me great joy to see our school have this beating heart of inclusivity. We warmly welcome everyone into our community, especially those with learning needs and faith or cultural differences. Firstly, in acknowledging our first nation people, the Wiradjuri and I take pride in seeing so many symbols of our indigenous heritage around the school.

Multiculturalism is very much alive and thriving here. We embrace those new to our college and we look after them. I cannot thank everyone more deeply for what each of you do to make this happen. It is the face of Christ we see in each other when we meet and the way we look to help and support everyone that has made me very grateful to be the leader at Marian. This experience has changed me and I am better person for being here, sharing daily life with all its challenges and successes with everyone in our community. I thank you for allowing me to grow and develop into the person I am. As Principal, you have made me even more aware of the importance of providing opportunities for everyone to grow to being the best they can, and in doing so, whether you understand it or not, you are fulfilling your commitment to living your best life. You make real, “The Way, The Truth and The Life”.

The Marian Catholic College parent and wider local community has many generational connections to the school and I hope that you feel the same pride that I have when you witness work taking place at the school and I thank you for your ongoing support. I personally thank all volunteer parents, be they are canteen helpers, College Parent Council members, businesses that have made donations to the school or supported our charities and musicals or those at a previous time, who attended our P& F.

I want to say thank you to my wife Kate. She is my rock. She has been beside me throughout every part of my career, you given me the honesty I often needed in advice and yes…I do listen to you deeply and yes…most of the times you are right!

Finally, I thank our students, past, present and those to come. Your enthusiasm for life be it in sport, community service or giving to others when needed has always made me smile and taught me more than you can imagine. A long time ago, a much younger man walked into a catholic school in Wagga Wagga with a song in his heart, a smile on his face and a spring in his step. That earlier version of myself, he was “home”, he realised that he loved his job, his life and coming to school each day. I still have that feeling and it has always been because of the students that I interact with, it is your youth and energy to live that has brought me inner joy and I thank you for what you have given me and as I walk out of Marian Catholic College Griffith today, I will always carry you and everyone else I have worked with, in my heart.

Thank you and God Bless.

Principal

Mr Le Brocque

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