Yr 12 (2024) Commitment Mass

At the commencement of Term 4 our new Year 12 (2024) Students gathered to celebrate Mass together as a Faith Community. Our Eucharistic Liturgy called on the commitment and servant leadership of students in the areas of academic learning; faith and care; sport; culture and the arts; commitment to your relationships with family members; your peers; the College community; and to God. We took the opportunity to reflect on the love God has for each one of us, along with the abiding love modelled by Mary, our College Patron. We were grateful for the presence of Fr Rafter and Seminarian John along with the College Leadership Team and Teachers of Year 12.

Students were presented with their Mater Dei Catholic College Badge, symbolising their role as the Year 12 class of 2024, who will now become the official student leaders of our College Community. Fr Rafter prayed a blessing over these badges before Mrs Thomas and Mr Lawrence distributed them to our students.

“May these badges be, in sign and symbol, a reminder which symbolises your leadership journey at Mater Dei Catholic College. We pray you will demonstrate servant leadership and commitment to the College values and ideals, supporting the College motto ‘Live God’s Message’. We ask God’s blessing and peaceful presence to be with you today and always. I bless these College badges, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Catholic Mission Fundraising - Socktober

On Tuesday, our community celebrated ‘Socktober’ raising funds for Catholic Mission and wearing crazing socks. Our new Year 12 (2024) Student Leaders hosted a cake and lolly stall showcasing their culinary talents and rallying students in their year group to get involved for a worthy cause. Thank you to all the students and families who supported these initiatives over the past week. In this edition of our Newsletter you will read about Yr 7 Religious Education and their focus on Catholic Mission Activities in classes.

To support our Socktober fundraising, you may like to encourage your child to sign up for personal, sponsored fundraising through Catholic Mission. Mater Dei Catholic College is already registered as a team and you are invited to donate through this link. Students under the age of 18 need to have parent/carer support with this process.

Through this fundraising portal, students and their families have the chance to choose the goals they want to kick and seek sponsorships from far and wide to contribute to the meaningful cause of global mission in action. All that’s required of parents/carers, is to help them sign up, kickstart their fundraising with a small gift if possible, and then share their page with your network.

Read more about Catholic Mission’s projects around the world

Together, we’re proud to be making a difference for children in need in Timor-Leste; learning about communities in Venilale this year and kicking goals to support children's health and wellbeing needs. Thank you for supporting in this valuable initiative of Catholic Mission!

Alpha Youth Workshops - Term 4

During Term 4, we are running the Alpha Youth Series of Workshops each Friday at Mater Dei. These youth-focused sessions are designed to engage students in conversations about life, faith and Jesus.

The new Alpha Youth Series has been totally reimagined for today’s youth culture. The short films have been filmed in Vancouver, London, Paris, Rome, Israel, and many other incredible locations, and are designed to explore timeless questions about culture, reality and God for a new generation. Each series offers compelling stories, images, questions, and discussion topics well spread throughout each episode to engage our young people, helping them think about how these issues relate to their lives as they discuss them with their friends and leaders.

Alpha Youth runs all across Australia, in schools, homes, youth ministries, parishes, and online. No two Alpha Youth Workshops will look exactly the same but they typically have the same three main elements; sharing a meal (table fellowship), viewing a short film and engaging in a discussion. We have had a strong attendance of students and staff at our first few Alpha’s for the term and welcome new participants every week!

All Souls Day 2 November 2023 - Community Prayer Gathering

We gathered in Homegroups and as a community on Thursday morning to commemorate the Feast Day of the Faithfully Departed known as All Souls Day. We pray for all those who have died, our loved ones, and those people around the world who we will never meet, through the mercy of God, will rest in peace.

“The Lord is my light and my help,

I am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living.”

O God of the living and the dead,

You hear the cry of those who live with grief and loss.

Be a comfort in our weakness and a light in our darkness.

Be our hope. Be our peace. Be our strength.

We ask this prayer in all the holy names of God.

We unite to strengthen our conviction that our loved ones and those who have died are resting now in God’s peaceful and loving presence. Let us affirm our belief and hope in the new life that God offers, by responding to each of these special intentions in the light of our faith.

Merciful Father,

On this day, we are called to remember those who have died,

particularly our loved ones, who live forever in our hearts.

We pray collectively for their joyful reunion with you, their loving creator.