Catholic Identity & Mission News
Recently, Catholic Education Week reminded us of our Jubilee call to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, while our new pope, Pope Leo, called for Catholics, and non-Catholics, to be people of dialogue, charity, unity and to ‘build bridges’. What a happy coincidence then that being ‘bridge builders’ is exactly what is asked of us via the theme of National Reconciliation Week 2025, as this year’s theme is ‘Bridging Now to Next’.
Our College Social Justice and Liturgy Captains hosted the whole school pastoral lesson on Tuesday, May 27 as we connected these themes of Catholic Education Week and Reconciliation Week. Sharleen, Michelle, Clara and Anthony did a fantastic job hosting the lesson via pre-recorded videos which provided information and instructions for students to complete activities connected to these themes.
Firstly, we collected the ‘hopes’ of students, and staff as they were asked to answer the following prompts:
I hope for myself…
and will achieve this by…
I hope for my family and / or for my friends…
and I could support them by…
I hope for our world…
and I will work to make this happen by…
Filling in their responses on House coloured slips, these were collated and will soon be placed in our Cranbourne Chapel, a sacred space for our College.
We then turned our focus to National Reconciliation Week and our call to be good Indigenous allies. As the official launch materials state: ‘Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples…. Bridging Now to Next urges us to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us. At a time when Australia faces uncertainty in its reconciliation journey, this theme calls on all Australians to step forward together.’
As St Peter’s prepares to become a FIRE Carrier School (The FIRE stands for Friends Igniting Reconciliation [through] Education), we took the important step in this pastoral lesson to seek feedback from students about what they already see at the College in terms of how we currently promote awareness of Aboriginal perspectives and reconciliation at our school, and further to this, what they would like to see or be a part of moving forward. This student voice will be vital in our continued planning and implementation of the program and early indications are that they have provided a wealth of initiatives to work towards.
Catholic Education week also featured many other fun events such as the Cranbourne Campus Social Justice Club’s ‘Build a burger’ stall, Clyde North Social Justice’s annual ‘Golden Ticket’ treasure hunt, pancakes (!), music concerts, special prayers and reflections and much more. The Social Justice teams also supported the Dreamtime Footy events on each campus on Monday, May 26 with BBQ’s for players and officials, and again raised the profile of being good Indigenous allies especially on National Sorry Day. My thanks to all staff and students for getting behind our Catholic Education Week and National Reconciliation Week events, and especially to Sharleen, Michelle, Clara and Anthony, pictured below, who did such a fantastic job hosting the Pastoral lesson and to Mr Brad Pulley for his brilliant AV expertise and support.
While the last fortnight has been one of many celebrations, we have also been rocked by the tragic accident that befell Angela Santiago (Year 8 CLN) and her family as they travelled in India. We send our love and prayers to Angela and her mother Sandra, as they grieve their beloved father and husband, Dass, and sister and daughter, Tash. We are heartbroken for their loss and will continue to support them in any way we can at such a difficult and sad time. Please keep Angela and her family in your thoughts and prayers.
Grant Dass and Tash Eternal Rest, O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Ms Fiona McKenna
Deputy Principal – Catholic Identity & Mission