Director of Mission

“Be still, and know that I am God” Psalms 46-10.

This scripture was pointed out to me this week as a reference and reminder of our call to find our peace. Acknowledge the need to find that space in our busy days to have a break from the pressure of medial things. Also interpreted as a call to action. The necessity to snap out of what we are fearing and focus on the awe of God and the gifts he has gave us.

Lions Youth of the Year

A moment that made me ‘snap out’ of the norm and just ‘be still’ was witnessing in awe the magnificent performances of our students at the Lions Youth of the Year Competition. Five students on Tuesday night represented Marian proudly and walked away very successful. Jayden Skirving, Pria Cerato, Karinbir Singh, Lilly Harris and Analiesa Belfiore were asked to submit a lengthy application that outlined their contributions to the community, explained their character traits and also knowledge on current events. They were all interviewed on the night before conducting two impromptu speeches on different topics. Then finishing it off with a five minute prepared speech. They all did an amazing job and the judges explained that it was incredibly tough to adjudicate. In the end, they announced that Jayden Skirving was the overall winner which is calculated by all of the above contributions. Pria Cerato with her powerful speech and incredible display of competence and confidence with the impromptu deservedly took away the achievement of public speaker of the night.

The preparation for this event was not ideal and it must be noted that all of the students who participated were extremely busy with assessments etc. I am glad that they found the time to ‘be still’ and effectively complete the challenge of this competition together. The feedback on the night for all the competitors was overwhelmingly positive. I would like to thank them all for participating and the local Lyons Club for holding such an important and prestigious event.

Jayden Skirivng as overall winner will now proceed to the next round and I will keep you posted on his progress.

Student Leadership Formation Evening

I was extremely fortunate to present with our Assistant Principal, Mrs Segrave this week to our current student leadership group. The students kindly attended the session after school and were fantastic in their receptive participation.

Mrs Segrave and I were able to discuss a number of elements to leadership with the group including the exploration of the meaning of leadership, inspiration to lead, building a leadership brand and finding a vision to lead to.

It was a great oppportunity to further explain our Vision and Mission with the students and how they can lead the other students in making our school a vibrant faith filled community through the elements of faith, care, service, stewardship and learning.

The feedback so far was positive and hopefully we will be supporting our new leaders with their ‘mission’ throughout the year.

BEE Kind

I also wanted to take a moment to remind you all of the fundraising initiative that is taking place this term. BEE Kind is the drive to acknowledge through stewardship the hardships that our native flora and fauna have been through in our recent natural climate disasters. It has been a great start following on from the work of Sue Hone and the C.A.T team with our successful Pancake Day launch. Each homeroom is sponsoring a Bee Hive or Koala this term and I urge you to support this as much as you can as we strive to teach each of our students the importance of Care, Service and Stewarship through this cause. Every bit counts and I know you help us make this count a lot.

So remember to take a moment this weekend and ‘Be Still’ to see and remind yourself of all the good that is happening around us. This week I have endeavored to give you a brief snapshot of a few activities happening around our College. There will be more in our next edition and as always I appreciate any feedback or suggestions. I would also appreciate any further areas you may feel necessary to highlight in our community.

Have a great weekend.

Kind regards

Heath Neville

Director of Mission

Marian Catholic College