Faith and Mission 

Founders Day

On Friday 19th May, we celebrated Founder’s Day Mass at the Mentone Campus.  Over two thousand students and staff gathered to honour our Founder, St John Baptist de La Salle and his great legacy.

Lasallian schools and works are present in over 80 countries across the world, and to highlight this international dimension we had many of the readings in prayers in languages other than English.  Cian Gill read the First Reading in French to honour the cultural and linguistic heritage of St John Baptist de La Salle. 

Fr Andrew Jekot proclaimed the Gospel in Polish and students read Prayers of the Faithful in Indonesian, Greek, Tagalog, Italian, Ukranian and Russian.  

Following Mass we recognised the Highest Fundraisers for Mission Action Day and drew the raffle.  Students were given on ticket for every $40 they raised; the more they raised, the more tickets they received.  We are grateful for the combined efforts that saw an amazing amount of over $88,000 raised for Lasallian schools in need, particularly in Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.

Results:

Highest Fundraisers:

Year 7 (Cross Campus):  James Dowling - $510 (Mentone)

Year 8 (Cross Campus): Angus Sustek - $300 (Mentone)

Year 9 (Cross Campus): Thomas McDonnell - $1,238 (Mentone)

Benilde: Nicholas Flockart - $420

Lasalle: Dylan Myers - $2,640

McCristal: Charlie Pewtress - $1,000

Solomon: Sam Harris - $650

Congratulations to the following raffle draw winners:

1st Prize: Beau Donnellon 9.3M – HP External Monitor

2nd Prize: James Penney 9.7M - $100 Westfield Voucher

3rd Prize: Charlie Pewtress TG22 - $50 Westfield Voucher

4th Prize - 10th Prize: (Viallage Cinema Double Pass and Canteen Voucher) Aydin Pettiona 8.9M, Lachie Majstorovic 7.4M, Gabriel Powell 7.3M, William McKean 8.1M, Tristan Carabella 7.1B, Sam Harris TG35, Dylan Myers TG16

Sorry Day (26 May) and National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June)

Sorry Day is marked by the colour purple: “The colour purple represents the Australian native hibiscus flower, which is symbolic for Stolen Generations peoples and represents their strength and resilience.”

To acknowledge Sorry Day at St Bede’s College, our College Captain Dylan Collins read the following statement on a cross-campus broadcast:

“Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. 

This year, National Reconciliation Week begins on the 27th of May, and the theme is Be a Voice for Generations. 

At St Bede’s we are lucky to learn about the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in some of our classes, but it is our duty to continue to build on what we learn to ensure we are taking the right steps in recognising the ongoing struggles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and ensuring they feel welcomed and included.”

Please note: St Bede’s College will defer our student observance for National Reconciliation Week until Term 3 when the students from the Balgo and Balnarring Immersion Programs have returned and can lead the various activities.

St Bede, the Venerable

On Thursday 25 May, we celebrated the Feast of our College Patron; St Bede, the Venerable.

St Bede was born in 672 or 673 in Jarrow, a town between England and Scotland and died in 735, also in Jarrow.  His mortal remains are buried at Buried at Durham Cathedral, England at the age of 7 years his parents sent him to a Benedictine monastery to be educated; he found study and writing among his favourite activities. At the age of 19 he became a deacon and was ordained a priest at the age of 30. 

The saint’s life revolved around the monastic rhythm of prayer, work, study and teaching. 

Saint Bede declared, “I was born on the lands of this monastery, and on reaching seven years of age, I was entrusted by my family first to the most reverend Abbot Benedict and later to Abbot Ceolfrid for my education.  I have spent all the remainder of my life in this monastery and devoted myself entirely to the study of the Scriptures. And while I have observed the regular discipline and sung the choir offices daily in church, my chief delight has always been in study, teaching, and writing.”

• St Bede wrote books about science, history and religion. As an author and scholar, his best-known work is Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) –  and was thereby called “father of English History”

In his final days, the story goes that he was too ill and weak to finish the translation on the Gospel of St John. His disciple scribe Wilbert said, “Dear master, there is yet one chapter to do, but it seems very hard for you to speak.”

“Nay, it is easy, take up thy pen and write quickly,” Saint Bede replied. The scribe wrote on. “And now, father, there is just one sentence more.” And Saint Bede finished the last line and breathed his last declaring, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.”

St Bede’s Key Achievements include:

• Writing scripture commentaries in English (not Latin) so people could understand the Bible 
• Popularising the dating system of BC and AD
• Working out the method for how Easter should be dated
  • Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full Moon that occurs on or just after the Spring equinox (in the Northern hemisphere, so Autumn here).
• Writing about the equinox and the reason for the leap year
• Teaching that the world was round, “not like a shield but like a ball”

Saint Bede’s life was extraordinary, not only for his scholarly writings, but especially for his sanctity that earned him the title the “Venerable.”  Saint Bede was gentle, affectionate and generous, a man filled with love for God and his fellow human beings, a man of faith and prayer.  In 1899, he was canonized as a Saint.

“It is a good thing to be curious and inquisitive.” (St Bede) 

It seems self-evident why our College was placed under the patronage of St Bede.  May we be inspired by his love of learning and teaching and be teachers and scholars who have a true dedication to learning and inquiry.

World Youth Day – The Local Experience 

@ St Bede’s College, Mentone Campus

Saturday 5th August, 2023 - 9:30am to 9:00pm

GO WITH HASTE TO SERVE!

Students in Year 10, 11 and 12, join us for a day of friendship, formation, fun and faith as we mark WYD23.

COST: $35 for all activities and catering

Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/world-youth-day-the-local-experience

Enquiries: Ria Greene, Deputy Principal Faith and Mission (rgg@stbedes.catholic.edu.au)

HOPE FOR THE EARTH 

HOPE FOR HUMANITY.

May 21-28, 2023

Laudato Si’ Week 2023 will be celebrated May 21-28 with the film “The Letter” to mark the eighth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on care for creation. This global celebration will unite Catholics to rejoice in the progress we have made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life, and show how the protagonists of “The Letter” are already doing so. If you would like to watch “The Letter”, please use this link: http://www.theletterfilm.org/watch/

Here at St Bede’s College, we encourage students, staff and families to unite in our mission to become more sustainable by following the 7 Laudato Si’ goals: 

Dear families and staff of St Bede’s College,

Jacob Brown and I, as ecological leaders of the school, have brought forth an important initiative that should help to reduce the pens we use from going to landfill. At locations across the Mentone Campus including the Library, Mr Lalor's office, and Mr McAlroy's office there will be a box to put in used pens that don't have any ink left. The boxes will then be collected every Friday to be taken to Officeworks as part of their initiative of recycling pens keeping them out of landfill. 

I hope that this initiative can succeed as we continue to make St Bede’s College more environmentally friendly and sustainable. 

We will bring one of these boxes to the Bentleigh East Campus library, to allow both campuses to work on being more sustainable.

Regards,

Sam Harris 

Ross Hunter & Kylie Zigouras

Ria Greene

Deputy Principal 

Faith and Mission