All Souls

Each week I have the pleasure of attending our weekly student Mass led by College Chaplain Fr Suresh. As outlined in our EREA Learning Statement; Liberating Spiritualities, the practice of exploring meaning and purpose in one’s life and being open to experiences which are founded in contemplation, justice and the common good helps our young men to grow in understanding of themselves and their relatedness to God, others, Earth, and creation. For many of our students this may have been the first time they have experienced the Catholic Mass in our Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. I thank Mrs Bridget Jenkins – Director of Identity, along with our Pastoral Care Teachers, Heads of House and College Leadership Team for their support and example given to our young men in this important celebration in the faith life of our College.

This week our student Mass reflected on the feast of All Souls (November 2) where we remember the faithfully departed. The question of what happens to us when we die has haunted people since the dawn of time, as too the question that asks, what is this life all about? At our core we are spiritual beings. Our DNA is divine. We live our lives, struggling with the reality of being human as we grapple with false constructs of who we are. Jesus calls us to live our lives in such a manner that we can become closer to the people God calls us to be. That is, who I really am, without the fabricated constructs that defend my ego and get in the way of really living and being in relationship with God.

There is an old saying that goes along the line of, “The greatest tragedy is not that one day we will die, but that we have never lived.” To live as a Christian involves getting to the core of who we really are and discovering Christ in our ‘true self’—The Christ of relationships, forgiveness, humility, and justice.

EREA Principal’s Gathering

Today, St Virgil’s College hosted EREA Principal’s from Western Australia, South Australia, and Canberra. The day commenced with an acknowledgement of country and prayer in the Chapel and led by our College Captain and Student Leaders. This was followed by a tour of our facilities and a brief presentation from the College Leadership Team about the plans for senior secondary education at Austin Ferry and development of the Early Years program at the Junior School. I thank our College community for the warm welcome they afforded our visitors and thank especially our young men who talked so fondly of their school and the pride they have in being a Virgilian.

Staffing Update

I am pleased to announce the following appointments for 2023.

Jessica Hutchinson has been appointed to the position of Humanities/English Teacher. Ms Hutchison has a Master of Teaching (Secondary), Bachelor of Arts (History and Linguistics) and a Diploma of Languages (Japanese) and has been teaching at the College since the beginning of this year.

Kayden Hine has been successful in his application for the position of Science/Mathematics Teacher. Mr Hine has a Bachelor of Education (Maths & Science) with a major in Chemistry and is well known to the boys having been employed as a Maths and Science Teacher this year.

Thomas Grice has too been successful and appoint the position as Science/Mathematics Teacher. Mr Grice has a Master of Teaching (Secondary) and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Physics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics and has taught at St Virgil’s College this year across multiple year levels.

On behalf of the College community I congratulate Ms Hutchinson, Mr Hine and Mr Grice on their appointments and wish them well as they commence these positions in 2023.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Jon Franzin

PRINCIPAL

Upcoming Dates and Reminders