From the Principal

Birth Of The Church

Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost - the birth of the Catholic Church. It is the day for opening doors. The Risen Jesus comes and stands in the midst of his disciples and bestows upon them the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is given to arouse the Easter faith in the disciples. The Church is born.

 

In today's troubled times we need leaders of hope. It has been gratifying reading and watching stories of heroism and hope subsequent to recent acts of terrorism in England. We pray for the guidance and wisdom of leaders throughout the world. May they be inspired by the Gospel example of Jesus and the early disciples as they instituted the birth of the Church

A Celebration Of Leadership

On a recent weekend I attended a celebration of the handover of the Loreto Province Leadership from Sr Margaret Mary Flynn ibvm to Sr Wendy Hildebrand ibvm. It was an important celebration attended by representatives from Loreto ministries throughout the province. Our position is unique amongst Loreto schools given we are co-educational and we are also a Jesuit Companion School.

 

 One of the attendees at the function, Tori Anderson, is a board member of Mary Ward International. She is also a former John XXIII College student (class of 1999). It is always fascinating to meet former students and learn of their interest and obvious passion for their alma mater. I had a similar conversation recently upon meeting two young teachers from St Paul's Primary School in Karratha. They were both keen for news of the College and their former teachers whom they mentioned with fondness. It is wonderful to learn of former students and their growth on leaving school. The development of men and women for others is certainly an aspiration of a John XXIII College education.

 

The changing face of education was very evident during my short visit to Karratha. I attended a Chinese class which was being conducted by a dynamic young teacher from Beijing. The students were learning via Skype with the Australian classroom teacher a facilitator and guide in the process and the expertise being provided from China. It was a sensible and creative solution to a language teacher shortage in the north west of our state and the students were fully engaged in the process. It is certainly a challenge of our current strategic visioning process to look beyond our traditional educational frontiers.

 

Together, let us seek justice.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Robert Henderson

Principal