From the Principal
Benvenuto - Welcome
Last Tuesday, we celebrated our opening school mass. Fr Peter joined us onsite for a lovely eucharistic celebration, prepared by our Religious Education leader, Elizabeth Holligan. Looking out into the congregation, I was struck by how rapidly we have grown as a college community. It was wonderful to have parents and parish members attend the mass.
The Catholic education Sandhurst Ltd theme for 2023 ‘Let the words we speak always be full of Grace’, is such a simple but powerful piece of scripture. The full scripture goes on to say ‘Let the words we speak always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone’. In the time this piece of scripture was written, salt was a preservative which stopped meat from spoiling. It was a very valuable thing which added flavour to the meat.
Paul, in his letter, was sharing a message through this metaphor with the people of Corinth. It was a message about how to interact with each other, that the words we speak should preserve the message of Jesus, they should add value to the conversation, be uplifting or helpful and reflect the image of Jesus in how we speak and act. It is so for us as we come into community as a whole college for the 2023 school year. We may ask ourselves - How might we add value to the conversations we have across the year? How might we ensure our words and actions are helpful and uplifting?
This year we are learning about the principles of gratitude, empathy and mindfulness and developing our emotional literacy through the Resilience Project. Each of these principles asks us to think about our words and actions in how we are demonstrating gratefulness, being empathetic, that is, having care and understanding for where others are coming from, and being mindful of the impact of our words and actions on ourselves and those around us. Our 2023 theme and the Resilience Project focus provide us with an opportunity to really think about how we can make a difference in the world. How we can create an environment among us which is full of grace?
Pope Francis often uses the word ‘dialogue,’ he says that when we speak our words have the power to break or connect communities. Pope Francis reflects on this scripture using the concept of ‘dialogue.’ He says “Dialogue is born from a respectful attitude toward the other person, from a conviction that the other person has something good to say. It supposes that we can make room in our heart for their point of view, their opinion and their proposals. Dialogue entails a warm reception, not condemnation.” (Pope Francis “On Heaven and Earth” 2013) Pope Francis is painting a picture for us about what it means to really listen to another’s point of view and how in doing so, we can come to new understandings, new ideas, new partnerships.
So, my invitation to you all throughout 2023 is to reflect on how you are entering into dialogue with others, how are you going into situations seeking to truly listen and understand the other. How are the words you are sharing in dialogue having positive impacts on yourself, those around you and the wider community, how will your words and actions be full of grace and seasoned with salt in 2023.
Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the sunshine.
- Susan Carroll, Principal
FEBRUARY
Lionel Animay; Blake Cavallaro; Jack Stammers; Flynn Strang; Kasey Daldy; Tylan Hunt; Cody McCann; Fatema Alatheiry; Jordan Watson; Jay Briant; Madison Reynolds-Smith; AJ Singh; Toby Hyland; Talia Rosegas; Bayden Shepherd; Adele Ahmet; Arabella Cocomazzo; Sukhreet Hayer; Liam Carboon; Finley Barnes; Milinderpreet Aulakh; Cooper Walker; Freya Thompson; Isaac Lahm; Gus Logan; Mehar Poonia; Molly Taylor; Aaliyah Andrew; Oliver Mathieson; William Kapazira; Kirby Maidment; Allegra O’Brien; Lacey Parr; Mitchell Tremellen; Max Ferrinda; Ava Rosella; Ryan Singh; Maddi Nolan; Chelsea Bissett; Nathan Calandro; Cierra Dickson; Lucca Sultana; Michael Valoia; Isla Bamford; Zeke Hawke; Eleina Mori; Lily Tremellen; Noah Wheaton; Udam Gill;Hannah Crawford; Joshua Fleming; Zac Henningsen; O’Brien Amelia; Aidan Shannon
Thanks to the following businesses for supporting St Anne's College:
Adornato's - for landscaping supplies
Intercontinental Spares - for the 40ft shipping container
ConX Hire - for the VMS display board
