Principal
Principal’s Newsletter Article 20241129
Dear Mary MacKillop, Catholic Regional College Community,
This is our second last Newsletter for the year, and we are all preparing for Christmas and the associated festivities. However, during these hectic days of buying presents, preparing meals, and all busyness we can sometimes forget the true meaning of Christmas. So below I offer some thoughts of Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, and others on the “Rich meaning of Christmas”:
What does Christmas mean? Christmas is like a perfectly cut diamond twirling in the sun, giving off an array of sparkles. Here are just some of its meanings:
A four-year-old child woke up one night frightened, convinced that all kinds of spooks and monsters were in her room. In terror, she fled to her parents’ bedroom. Her mother took her back to her room and, after soothing her fears, assured her that it was safe there: “You don’t need to be afraid. After I leave, you won’t be alone in the room. God will be here with you!” “I know that God will be here,” the child protested, “but I need someone in this room who has some skin.” The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John 1, 14
God is not found in monasteries, but in our homes. Wherever you find husband and wife, that’s where you find God; wherever children and petty cares and cooking and arguments and reconciliation are, that’s where God is too. The God I’m telling about, the domestic one, not the monastic one, that’s the real God. Nikos Kazantzakis
Every year of life waxes and wanes. Every stage of life comes and goes. Every facet of life is born and then dies. Every good moment is doomed to become only a memory. Every perfect period of living slips through our fingers and disappears. Every hope dims and every possibility turns eventually to dry clay. Until Christmas comes again. Then we are called at the deepest, most subconscious, least cognizant level to begin to live again. Christmas brings us all back to the crib of life to start over again: aware of what has gone before, conscious that nothing can last, but full of hope that this time, finally, we can learn what it takes to live well, grow to full stature of soul and spirit, and get it right. Joan Chittister
At Christmas, through his grace-filled birth, God says to the world: “I am there. I am with you. I am your life. … Do not be afraid to be happy. For ever since I wept, joy is the standard of living that is really more suitable than the anxiety and grief of those who think they have no hope. … This reality, this incomparable wonder of my almighty love, I have sheltered safely in the cold stable of your world. I am there. I no longer go away from this world. Even if you do not see me. I am there. It is Christmas. Light the candles! They have more right to exist than all the darkness. It is Christmas. Christmas lasts forever.” Karl Rahner
The incarnation does not mean that God saves us from the pains of this life. It means that God-is-with-us. For the Christian, just as for everyone else, there will be cold, lonely seasons, seasons of sickness, seasons of frustration, and a season within which we will die. Christmas does not give us a ladder to climb out of the human condition. It gives us a drill that lets us burrow into heart of everything that is and, there, find it shimmering with divinity. Avery Dulles
Please also find below a link to Bishop Greg Bennet’s Advent Message to the Diocese of Sale.
VCE Results
Please note that VCE Results will be available to students on the morning of Thursday, 12 December and all Year 12s are invited to attend a morning tea which will be held in the cafeteria space in the Senior School Building commencing at 10.30 am until 11.30 am to celebrate and if they wish to obtain any further career advice.
.
Year 10 and Year 11 Formals
On the evenings of Thursday, 28 November, and Friday 29 November we held the Year 10 Year 11 Formals. Both were enjoyable evenings with a very high level of attendance by students. Also, speaking to parents on the evenings I know they were very appreciative of this opportunity being available to their children.
The success of the evenings was due to a number of factors, including the support of the staff who attended. Thanks to all who assisted, including those who attended and supervised, the Maintenance Team for assisting in the set-up, students who formed part of the organising committee, administration staff, and anyone else who assisted. Specifically, I want to thank Melinda Stephan and Kate Dwyer for all their work, particularly for clearly setting the tone for the events. Finally thank you to Nia Robinson for all her work in organising everything from the DJ and decorations to ordering food and registration of students.
Year 7 2025 Orientation Day
On Tuesday, 3 December, we will welcome 111 Year 7 students for 2025 to the College. Many of the students have siblings at the College and every class had several students whose parents attended Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College. Therefore, thank you to all those families continuing their longstanding family connections.
Additionally, about a third of the students are the eldest child, and so I thank those families for trusting us to educate their children during the next six years of their lives.
Thank you to Claire Cassidy and Jessica Stein for all their work in organising the day and thank you to all the staff and senior students who are working with students on the day.
Rock on the Lawn
Thanks in advance to Beth Winterhalter and all her team for the organisation of the Rock on the Lawn Event this Thursday, 5 December from 5.00 pm until 7.00 pm. I encourage you to attend a great evening of entertainment and celebration of student and staff talent.
End of Year
Our last day of classes will be on Tuesday, 10 December 2024. The day will be one of celebration. Parents and friends are welcome to attend the Mass, which will be followed by End of Year Awards Presentation Assembly.
Sapientia Domini Docet Nos
John M Freeman