Principal

Dear Members of the Academy Community,

It has been a long and very busy term!  This week’s College Assembly provided the opportunity for the College to gather together, reflect on the term and celebrate the many achievements and highlights of the past 11 weeks.  

At the Assembly I was also able to share with staff and students the new name for the newly renovated College Undercroft.  Earlier in the term, the College community had been asked to think of an appropriate  name for the upgraded  Undercroft and to state their reasons for their choice.  Many entries flooded in and there were a number of excellent contributions and thoughtful suggestions.

However, the successful submission was that of Ruby Gauci, 8 Green who read her submission at our end of term Assembly:

"The Undercroft will now be called the Kirrip Hub.  Kirrip is a first nations word meaning “Friend” in our local Woi-wurrung language of the Wurundjeri People.  I chose this name because it represents friendship and a place to gather with our school community.  Also, this word has meaning within our local Wurundjeri community where our school is built".

A number of staff and students suggested indigenous names, and a number used the word “hub” which they described as “a comforting and relaxing outdoor space” and others spoke of “yarning circles” – a place to talk, share, discuss, educate and have a yarn together, a place to build respectful relationships and a space to enrich students’ learning experiences. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been using yarning circles for thousands of years.  And the undercroft certainly has some yarning circles.  Thus we believe the Kirrip Hub is a very fitting name.

At the Assembly I was also able to inform the students that the College had been remembered in the Will of one of our Alumnae, and that her generous bequest, which she stipulated was to be used for students, will be allocated for the purchase of new lockers, chairs and tables for students.   

As I write to you and, as was also raised at our Assembly, we live in a troubled world with war and the threat of war, and other expressions of disquiet, fear and animosity seem all pervading - we often wonder what can we, on the other side of the world, do to support those who are suffering so much?  In recognition of this our Co-Captains, Leah Freeman and Sinitta McCarthy have organised a “Perform for Peace “ evening on Thursday, 18 July, the first week back in Term 3.  This event is highlighted later in the newsletter, but it would be wonderful if we could raise a significant amount of money to send to Caritas.   As well as a number of musical performances, we will hear from Moira Kelly, well known to many of us in Victoria, who founded the  Creating Hope Foundation that works to support displaced children and women from overseas.  Moira will reflect a little on her work  “ Theres ’s no saying no to Hope”…

I wish all families safe and happy holidays and look forward to the return of renewed and refreshed teachers and students  ready for all that term 3 will bring.  And we know, of course, that Term 3 will bring Mercy Day – the most important day of the year for the Academy community.

Thank you to all parents for your ongoing  support.

Sr Mary Moloney rsm

Principal