From the Principal

Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Staff and Friends of Mazenod College,

“God our Father, we pray for all members of our school communities. May the way we treat each other reflect the De Mazenod Charism, valuing community, living with daring zeal to always serve those most vulnerable.

We acknowledge the witness and dedication of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. We pray that St Eugene will always intercede for us as we dedicate our lives to serving others.

Bless our families and grant us wisdom as we acquire knowledge. May we always know who we are in the eyes of God and treat all in our community with the dignity they deserve” (De Mazenod Family Education Network prayer)

This week marks a little over the midway point in the term, but also the midway point of the season of Lent.

It is important throughout Lent to remind ourselves of the challenges set and accepted by us; to pray, to fast, and to give of ourselves to others, especially through programs such as Caritas and Project Compassion. As Pope Francis shared in his 2024 Lenten message, the three pillars of Lent, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, “…are not disparate acts but form a symbiotic movement of openness and self-emptying…”

The prayer shared above is attributed to the De Mazenod Family Education Network prayer. The De Mazenod Family Education Network is an Oblate organisation that brings together, the four Oblate schools across Australia – Iona and St Eugene Colleges in Brisbane, Mazenod College in Victoria and of course, us here, Mazenod College in WA.

I shared in the last newsletter that I was really fortunate to spend five days at the Student Leadership Conference in Melbourne. Present were the student leaders and staff from those Oblate schools in the East, whilst we were wonderfully represented by Lachlan Scanlan (College Captain), Wellington Chiwawa (College Vice Captain), Oscar Uetake (Prefect and Captain of Arts), Josh Mulcahy (Head Boarder) and Michael O’Shea (Captain of Sport).

It was great to be amongst the boys as they shared their insights about leadership and what they hoped to bring to our Mazenod College community this year. What was really heartening to hear was that the focus for our own leaders this year is, leaving a positive legacy for the rest of us to follow. They are thinking beyond this year, what they will build this year and then leave for us to enjoy, well beyond their time as students. A real spirit of leadership for others.

These leaders, along with our extended student leadership team, have made a great start to the year already and I think are taking this ‘others centred focus’ to the next level with their plans to recognize International Women’s Day this week.

I read a strong statement that resonated well with me as part of this year’s theme, “Inspire Inclusion” and this statement read;

“Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive”.

In the De Mazenod Family prayer shared above we pray that;

“May the way we treat each other reflect the De Mazenod Charism, valuing community…”

God bless.

Simon Harvey

Principal