Deputy Principal

National Apology to the Stolen Generations

During Assembly this week we paused to mark an important moment in Australia’s journey toward truth, healing, and reconciliation. On 13 February 2008, the Australian Parliament delivered the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, acknowledging the profound suffering and loss caused by past government policies that forcibly removed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. 

Each year, National Apology Day on 13 February provides an opportunity for all Australians to reflect on these injustices and the intergenerational trauma still felt today, and to reaffirm our shared commitment to reconciliation. 

As people of faith, this moment calls us to reflect on our Franciscan values and to stand in solidarity with First Nations peoples. St Francis’ example urges us to be instruments of peace where there is hurt, understanding where there is division, and hope where there is pain.

Entering Lent: Ash Wednesday Liturgy

Next week, we enter the season of Lent, a sacred time of reflection and renewal. Our College community will gather next Wednesday for our Ash Wednesday Liturgy to mark the beginning of Lent. The ashes placed on our foreheads remind us of our shared humanity, our need for grace, and our call to renewal. It is a moment in which we come together, as one Franciscan community, and set our intention for the season ahead: to walk gently, act justly, and love courageously.

Launching Project Compassion

Ash Wednesday also marked the official launch of Project Compassion. Project Compassion is an annual Lenten appeal for Caritas Australia, the Catholic Church’s official international aid and development agency. The money raised through this appeal is used to develop long term development programs in partnership with some of the world’s most vulnerable communities for whom poverty and injustice is a daily reality. During Lent, each student is asked to consider what they can give up and to donate the money they save in going without to people in need. It is a small action that makes a world of difference, and indeed, a difference in our world. 

All donations can be made through the Mount Alvernia College Project Compassion online portal using the QR code or link below: Caritas Australia - Mt Alvernia College

Going Meat-Free during Lent

Every Friday during Lent, La Cucina will once again offer a fully meat‑free menu. This practice draws on a long Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat as a form of simplicity and reflection.

As a Franciscan college, we also recognise the justice and ecological dimensions of this choice. For years, we’ve been reminded that going without meat even one day a week can help minimise our carbon footprint and lessen our impact on the planet, aligning with St Francis’ call to care for all creation.

 Abstaining from meat is also an act of solidarity with the global poor: many communities cannot afford a meat‑based diet and experience hunger when food is scarce, and they are often the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 

Alongside this, we encourage everyone to reduce food waste, another simple but powerful way to walk more gently on the earth. Through these small commitments, we hope to deepen our Lenten journey and live more consciously within our shared home.