From the Principal
Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Staff and Friends of Mazenod College,
“Taken into heaven, Mary shows us the way to God, the way to heaven, the way to life” (Pope John Paul II)
Feast of the Assumption
August 15 is an incredibly important day on the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. It is recognised globally as a celebration of our Holy Mother Mary’s assumption from her earthly presence into heaven. We were very excited on this occasion yesterday, that a special part of our Feast of the Assumption Mass, was dedicated to the Commissioning ceremony of Fr Michael Twigg OMI as our Rector at Mazenod College. It is terrific to officially welcome Fr Michael and it was fantastic to have our Oblate Provincial, Fr Christian Fini OMI, who celebrated the Mass and presided over the Commissioning of Fr Michael.
Mazenod Mission Day
As has been tradition here at Mazenod, we followed our Mass with the launch of the Mazenod Mission Day activities and commenced with a group sharing of the “Hail Mary” prayer. The sharing of the “Hail Mary” together, was another great indication of the respect that our young men and our College hold for our faith and identity.
The rest of the MMD activities were also highlighted by enthusiasm for giving to those less fortunate. One could always argue that the key motivation might be the foods and treats on offer, or the games and test of skill, but I felt a genuine intent and spirit of giving that was clearly evident in the interactions I had with the students.
As I mentioned last year, we are acutely aware of the economic pressures facing our families in the present day, but this didn’t seem to inhibit the spirit of generosity and giving. We thank our students, staff, our parents, families and friends for this generosity and consideration of the poor and less fortunate.
Catholic Performing Arts Festival and the Angelico Arts Exhibition
Term Three in any year is a big and busy time for our Arts staff with the Catholic Performing Arts Festival and the Angelico Arts Exhibition all occurring simultaneously. The Festival itself has 14 sections of varied and diverse forms, the focus for our own students being the areas of instrumental, band and ensemble music, solo, duet and choral singing. The Arts Exhibition is a wonderful display of the artistic talents of Catholic students in WA and the creative means students use to express themselves. I was privileged to be in the audience at the performances of our concert bands on Tuesday night and was thoroughly entertained by both the musical talents of our students and the boys who introduced the items.
We were delighted earlier this week when it was announced that our very own Peter L (Year 9) is a recipient of an award for Catholic secondary students, which was recognised at the official opening of the 31st Annual Angelico Exhibition on Tuesday night at the Forrest Centre in Perth. Congratulations Peter.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our very talented students and our equally talented Performing and Visual Arts staff for their tireless energy in bringing their creative gifts to life.
At a time of the year, where seasons and climate often dictate our physical and mental state of well-being, we must remind ourselves of the joy and goodness that lies in all our hearts and how truly blessed we are to share it with those around us.
I thank you all for transmitting goodness in our community.
God bless.
“Leave nothing undared for the Kingdom of God” (St Eugene De Mazenod)
Simon Harvey
Principal