Faith Formation and Mission

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all”. Romans 12:16 - 18

Dearest Marian Community,

What an eventful Term 1 we have had so far! With only two weeks left, we can already see that 2023 is shaping up to be an enormously successful year. Over the past few weeks, we have had a variety of experiences and expressions of faith and service at Marian Catholic College. The start of Project Compassion, the success of St Patrick's Feast Day and Fr Cyprian visiting our classes to name a few. With Harmony Day celebrations  and our Easter Liturgy approaching, I am sure that we can see how blessed we are with the opportunities Term 1 has provided our community.

In my last newsletter article, I began to enlighten you on the importance of Project Compassion. To date, our College community needs a little more motivation  in bringing to life our College-wide mission project. In total, we have raised slightly over $300 in over two weeks of collection. We only have two weeks left of the College term to collect our remaining donations, so if you have not yet donated, this is your chance to contribute and show compassion for communities in need. A gold coin donation will go a very long way. I would like to give a special mention to 11.4 Homeroom and their contributions to Project Compassion. To date they have raised $170 as a Homeroom which is quite amazing to see such a generous contribution. Our hope is that other Homerooms use 11.4 as an example and push each other to achieve the same successes.

Our Harmony Day celebration is next week, Friday 31st of March. This year we are back in the full swing of the event and have many new performances and food stalls. Our diversity is our strength in creating a place where we all belong and it is great to see all cultures starting to come to life within preparations. 

This year, the food stalls we have on offer are:

• Year 12 - Aussie BBQ - Cupcakes
• Italian cultural group - Pizza and Gelato
• Indian cultural group - Indian sweets and butter chicken with rice
• South Pacific Islands -  A taste around the Islands

This year we are inviting all students to dress in items of clothing that represent their country or cultural heritage. Whether it is something traditional or an item from your favourite sporting team (from your culture) or something orange. Please note, you cannot wear your sports uniform as your casual clothing. Unfortunately we had a number of students who did this for St Patrick’s day and used it as an excuse not to donate towards those who live on the fringes of society. It is the expectation that if you join in the celebrations and wear casual clothes, that you provide a gold coin donation. If you decide to wear your sports uniform and it is NOT your sports/PE day, it is expected that you bring in a gold coin donation for wearing it. All donations made will contribute to our Mission initiative Project Compassion and the Year 12 fundraiser - Autism Awareness Support Group. 

As of Monday, posters will be sent out with prices of the cultural stalls. We recommend all students bring cash and coins to purchase tickets at the food stalls. A lot of work has gone into this celebration, so let's embrace the Marian Spirit and Live the Marian Way.

I personally want to thank everyone for all your work and support in contributing to our MCC Harmony Day celebrations for 2023. Without your enthusiasm, events like this  just aren't possible.

An immense thankyou to the following:

• Evelina and Mel Blanco
• Wendy/Francine//Michael/Toni/Rose and the team of T.A's
• Renae Savage and the Year 12 Leadership Team
• Sanita Lole
• Rajwinder Kaoor
• Kenta Arai
• Albert Alexander/Michelle Swan/Taryn Field
• Matthew Segrave
• Lora Segrave

For all their work in organising the cultural groups, stalls and performances. Without you, we don't have a Harmony Day.

On Wednesday next week, we will be  trialling a new initiative at our College. We are going to be offering Morning Mass on Wednesday to any student who wishes to attend. Mass will start at 8:40am and will run for  the duration of the Homeroom period. Fr Cyprian will celebrate the mass and administer communion. We are hoping that this will become something we offer every Tuesday and Wednesday morning as part of offering encounters with faith. 

Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own! - Donald Duck

Yours in Faith,

Mr Abdala

Leader of Faith Formation and Mission