Principal
Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College Community,
Thank you
Thank you to everyone in our community for their support of each other during and after the storm last week. The impact of the storms is still being experienced by many people, particularly those in Mirboo North and nearby areas.
This event and subsequent consequences will have both immediate and long-term impacts. Therefore, I encourage you to contact us if there is any support we can provide.
JJAMM
Our two College Captains – Dinisty Francis and Jack Donohue – accompanied by Nicole Dudman and Scott Blencowe journeyed to Sydney last Friday and returned on Tuesday. The purpose of the trip was to join school student leaders from Australia and New Zealand from Josephite Schools.
All involved were energised by the experience and you can read about what they did and learned in this Newsletter.
I want to thank both Jack and Dinisty as well as Nicole Dudman and Scott Blencowe for participating. Whilst this was no doubt a wonderful experience, it did mean leaving family and having to catch up on work that still needs to be done.
Shrove Tuesday and Launch of Project Compassion
Last Tuesday Nicole Dudman and Scott Blencowe accompanied our Student Mission Team to Marist-Sion College in Warragul for the Project Compassion launch.
Thank you as well to Jo Knox, Ben Stein, and the Vocational Major Students who cooked pancakes for our school community on Tuesday. Money raised will go towards Project Compassion.
Rescheduling of Events
Whilst not significant in comparison to the impact on households and communities, the storms have caused the postponement of key events, specifically the Opening Mass and Badge Ceremony as well as the House Swimming Carnival.
Fortunately, we have been able to reschedule the Swimming Carnival to Monday, 26 February. It will be held at the Korumburra Pool. This is an important whole of College event and students are expected to attend and participate in the best way they can. Families are welcome to attend.
Concerning our Opening mass and Badge Ceremony, we are still considering options and will communicate soon about alternative arrangements.
2023 Dux's Speech at our Achievers Assembly
One of the great elements of our Achievers Assembly - which celebrates the success of our Senior Students in VCE, VET, and the Vocational Major (previously VCAL) - is that we have the opportunity to hear the thoughts of the Dux in the preceding year.
I feel that the thoughts of our graduates are essential to know and I am grateful to Gabrielle Perry, our 2023 Dux, for sharing the text of her speech, which is printed below. I encourage you to read it.
Staff News
Congratulations to Maydia Parry and partner Josh on the arrival of Maali Ihipera (Isabel) Parry born last Thursday 15 Feb.
Condolences
Finally, can I please ask that you keep in your prayers the family and friends of Bill Van Dillen who passed away recently. Bill is the husband of Una, father of six, father-in-law of 5 including staff member Jackie Van Dillen, grandfather of 15, and great-grandfather of 25- and he is very well known to ours and the wider community.
Eternal rest grant unto Bill, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
Sapientia Domini Docet Nos
John M Freeman
DUX Speech from Achievers Assembly - Gabrielle Perry
Good morning staff, students, and all guests present today.
I would like to begin by addressing my fellow peers, the class of 2023. Congratulations on all your achievements and thank you for making a testing year a little easier, in celebrating each others’ wins, while also showing up for each other when we reached our lowest.
Thank you also to the many incredible staff at this college; I have so much respect for the work you do to organise, educate, and inspire the next generations, especially my Y12 teachers; this year for me may have looked very different without your undeniable dedication, constant availability, and unwavering support. I must admit, I’ve always felt conflicted about receiving this award and giving this speech to those of you in front of me today. While I acknowledge achieving DUX of the college is a great honour, I also know I am by far not the only one who deserves to be recognised with this award. Too often success is measured by accolades or specific tests that spit out numbers, often lacking regard for different people and situations. However, I believe getting through the many challenges 13 years of school presents and moving forward on whatever path makes you happy, reflects success so much more. So to my cohort, no matter where you sit today, you all should be so overwhelmingly proud.
While I cannot guarantee the advice I am about to give will be applicable to you all, I know one thing for sure about VCE; it is vitally important that you figure out what works best for you as an individual, and trust that is enough. I say this as someone who wasted much energy, constantly worried I wasn’t doing enough or wouldn’t succeed if I wasn’t following the exact study habits of the person next to me. Someone who calculated my success by comparing my results to those around me. Someone with such an immense fear of disappointing others, I would make myself sick, worried of the comments being made about my performances. While it is valuable to lean on the people around you to achieve common goals, it is just as important to not depend on others to feel worthy. Remember, it is your journey, not anyone else’s.
Another thing I know for sure; you cannot keep performing optimally by working 24/7, so do not put that pressure on yourself. There is no denying I put my all into my VCE. I set near impossible goals for myself, and did everything in my power, through being proactive and using resources around me, to achieve them, and I encourage you to do the same. However, it must never come at the cost of neglecting your mental well-being or the things you love. I cannot stress enough how important balance is to maintaining a healthy, sustainable VCE experience. Those who know me know I am an avid sports fan, a music lover, and will try just about everything at least once, and I made it my mission for nothing to change this past year. Despite people worrying these things would distract from my Y12 studies, I played cricket in Darwin mid-year, trained with my old footy team, played my guitar endlessly, binged crappy reality TV, and of course, lost my voice while watching as the Matildas created history. My point is, all these things helped me breathe a little easier, and no doubt be in this position. The year flies by, but it is also a tiring one, so you need to be kind to yourself.
Coming here today, I also wanted to use this platform to continue to drive our school in the right direction. I truly believe our school has improved greatly across these last few years, and I thank those dedicated people who have helped make this possible, so I won’t say much; however, we still have a long way to go. I will never stop emphasising this; school should be, and needs to be, a safe space for everyone. I recognise that going to school in a conservative area with limited diversity can be an uncomfortable and sometimes lonely place. School is already challenging enough, without students having to worry about having their identity, something they cannot change, attacked in and out of the classroom through derogatory racial, queer phobic, misogynistic, and disability-related slurs. The reason I bring this up is not to criticise anyone, but simply to remind you that just because you don’t understand something, certainly doesn’t make it wrong or give you the right to put others down. Please, be respectful, educate yourself, and don’t be afraid to call something out, you never know, it may just save someone else’s life. To those of you familiar with the experiences above, I see you, we see you, and you are not alone. There is a much bigger world waiting for you, where you WILL find your people.
In saying that, I am beyond grateful that we have many people and programs in place at this college that play an instrumental role in making the school experience easier to navigate. I have experienced first-hand the ability of the music program to provide a space where kids can fully express themselves through the means of music, and the significant impact of our well-being leaders, through their willingness to have an empathetic, open ear and aim to better each and every students’ school experience. I have also seen spaces such as the library and youth groups create safe places where kids are given immense support and given the opportunity to find their community; so thank you for making a positive impact on so many.
Remember, be kind to yourself as you move through the difficulties of school, both personally and academically, and aim to play your part in leaving the school better than you found it.
Thank you for listening.