Principal's Report 

Happy St Patrick's Day 

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick,  is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional date of death of Saint Patrick (c. 385 – c. 461), the foremost Patron Saint of Ireland. 

This official Christian feast day, since the early 17th century, commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. 

For those of Irish Heritage, it is a great day for celebration and so we offer this prayer to all: 

St. Patrick’s Prayer 

May the Strength of God pilot us. 

May the Power of God preserve us. 

May the Wisdom of God instruct us. 

May the Hand of God protect us. 

May the Way of God direct us. 

May the Shield of God defend us. 

May the Host of God guard us 

Against the snares of the evil ones, 

Against temptations of the world. 

May Christ be with us! 

May Christ be before us! 

May Christ be in us, 

Christ be over all! 

May Thy Salvation, Lord, Always be ours, 

This day, O Lord, and evermore.  

Amen. 

Catholic Education Week  

12–19 March 2023 

Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their Catholic identity, the pivotal role they play within their local community and the strength of the sector. The theme is 'Forming lives of faith, hope and love in the light of Christ'. 

There are 335 Catholic primary and secondary schools across Melbourne, enrolling more than 150,000 students and employing approximately 17,000 staff. Catholic schools provide a high-quality education in a faith-centred environment. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.   

As part of the celebration of Catholic Education Week, The Creative Arts Exhibition will be held at the Catholic Leadership Centre, 576 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. The exhibition is open for visits by families and the wider community on Saturday 18 March from 12-4pm on the following link :  

https://www.trybooking.com/CFWJA 

Class of 2022 – Where are they now ? 

It was pleasing to see the breakdown during the week of the offers received by our Class of 2022 from a variety of Universities and TAFE institutions. There was a strong interest from our students in pathways into Health/Business and several students also elected to move into the workplace or took a gap year before deciding on their career path . I look forward to hearing of the successes of the class of 2022 at an alumni event to be held later this year.  I certainly encourage our class of 2023 to utilise the resources that are at their fingertips including Careers Advisor, Mr Bruce Topham, and our upcoming Careers Expo in Term 3 to help them discern their future pathway. 

Harmony Day Invitation – March 23rd  

On March 23 we will be celebrating Harmony Day under the theme “Where everyone belongs."  Harmony day is celebrated within the week that ​includes the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21. In our community, and in many communities around the world, we work hard to ensure that all members of our community  are treated with dignity and respect. This comes from our core belief that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, racism in any form will not be tolerated. The day will include an assembly at 10 a.m. which all parents are invited to and will feature a celebration of our Indigenous Culture. Students, Staff and Guests are all invited to attend in cultural costume. 

Primary Principals and Parish Priests Lunch  

On Friday 17 February the Parish Priests and Primary Principals connected to St John's Regional College celebrated the start of the school year with a luncheon in our Graduates' Restaurant. As a Regional College, St John’s is owned by the parishes of St Mary's, St Paul, Apostle, Resurrection, St Anthony’s and  St Kevin’s and, therefore, the educational and community partnerships between our schools is very important in the development of the young people in our local parishes. 

We look forward to working with our Primary schools and supporting their science and literacy programs throughout the year as well as providing access to our wonderful sporting facilities which will play host to the St Paul, Apostle North and St Paul, Apostle South Primary Schools' sports days on Friday March 31 and Tuesday April 4. Primary school parents of these two schools are welcome to attend these events at St John’s. 

Secondary Schools Invitational  

St John’s Regional College hosted the first Secondary Schools Invitational Football Tournament for the year on Wednesday 8 March. This  involved several schools from around Melbourne with both boys' and girls' teams competing on the day. Our partner in the St John’s Football Program, Dandenong City Soccer Club in conjunction with Football Technique Australia, hosted the tournament with assistance from our VET Sport and Recreation students. Our next Soccer Tournament will be the Paul Wade Cup played on May 8 for all of our local Catholic Primary Schools. 

Congratulations Aaron Bailey  

Well done to staff member Aaron Bailey who will be staging an exhibition of his work in Redcliff’s Victoria  from 5 – 29 April . Aaron was recognised last year in the National Teacher-Artist Prize 2022 competition where he made the finals shortlist. This year's exhibition is called Chapter 4 and can be seen in gallery “Workspace 3496.” 

In his own words, the Chapter 4 exhibition is an investigation of the relational space that is between an installation and its documentation, and between the words and conversations we use to process the norm. Four years in the making, Chapter 4 started as an installation that explored parley through 12 white linen flags installed in native vegetation in Northern Victoria. Now Chapter 4 is the bridge between the sculptural and the painting, the installation and the gallery.