Assistant Principal - Religious Identity & Mission 

Fantastic Year 7 & 8 Pathways Camp 

Our Year 7–8 students recently returned from an incredible Pathways Camp at Murrayfield on North Bruny Island. Over three days, students explored culture, sustainability, science and conservation while learning from local experts and spending time on Country. 

Highlights included visiting a muttonbird rookery, learning about Aboriginal fire practices and traditional knowledge, meeting scientists from the University of Melbourne, exploring an ancient Aboriginal stone tool quarry, and taking part in conservation activities. Students also enjoyed snorkelling, fishing, beach campfires and sharing a cultural feast of muttonbird and abalone. 

The camp provided a unique opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of Aboriginal culture, environmental stewardship, and the interconnectedness of people, place and community. We were incredibly proud of the curiosity, respect and enthusiasm our students demonstrated throughout the experience. 

Treaty Day Match — Community Invitation 

On Friday 7 August, St Virgil’s College will host our 6th Annual Treaty Day Football Match, a significant event in our school calendar that brings together students, staff, families and the wider community. 

The match commemorates the anniversary of the meeting between Tasmanian Aboriginal resistance leader Mannalargenna and Colonial representative George Augustus Robinson in 1831. This moment in Tasmania’s history provides an opportunity to reflect on themes of truth-telling, reconciliation, justice and understanding. 

The event will begin with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony on the Main Oval, acknowledging the muwinina people and the palawa pakana peoples of today. This will be followed by the Treaty Day Match, an invitational AFL game between students from Years 9 and 10. Players will wear the St Virgil’s Reconciliation Football Jumpers, designed by students during Reconciliation Week in 2021. 

We warmly invite parents, carers and members of our community to join us for this important occasion and to support the students participating in the match. 

Date: Friday 7 August 

Time: 12:20 pm – 1:30 pm 

Location: St Virgil’s College Main Oval 

We hope you can join us as we come together to learn, reflect and celebrate our ongoing commitment to reconciliation. 

NAIDOC Assembly 

This week, our College community gathered for a student-led NAIDOC Week Prayer Assembly, led by our First Nations students. Through prayer, storytelling and reflection, students shared the significance of this year's theme, '50 Years of Deadly', celebrating the strength, culture and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Together, we gave thanks for the world's oldest continuing cultures and reflected on our shared responsibility to walk the path of reconciliation with truth, hope and respect. 

We thank our First Nations students for leading our community in this meaningful and inspiring celebration. 

The Gift of Ordinary Time 

As we come to the end of another busy school term, many families are looking forward to a chance to slow down, reconnect and simply enjoy some unhurried time together. 

In the Christian calendar, we are currently in a season known as Ordinary Time. Far from meaning "unimportant", Ordinary Time refers to the weeks between the major celebrations of Christmas and Easter. It is a season that reminds us that much of life — and much of our growth — happens in the everyday moments. 

One writer who reflects beautifully on this idea is Richard Rohr, a Franciscan friar and spiritual teacher. Rohr suggests that true rest is more than taking a break or catching up on sleep. It is letting go of the pressure to always achieve, produce or keep up, and learning to be present to the people and moments in front of us. 

As the holidays begin, perhaps there is wisdom in embracing the spirit of Ordinary Time: slowing down, savouring the ordinary, and remembering that some of life's most important moments are found not in what we achieve, but in the time we spend together. 

I wish all our students and families a restful, joyful and safe break.