Catholic Identity & Mission News

Welcome to a new school year! While the summer break is a treat, it’s great to be back into the routine and rigour of school life. This year at St Peter’s, we will be inspired by our College annual theme – ‘Let all that you do be done in love’ (1 Cor. 16:14). As I have unpacked with staff and students, this quote from St Paul is not referring to being in romantic love, but rather to be motivated by the Gospel value of love. St Paul had earlier elaborated on what this Gospel-inspired love looks like: it’s patient, kind, forgiving, unselfish, outward facing and never ending. Complementing our Mission as a Catholic school and the ROCKS that guide us every day, this annual theme is sure to make an impact this year.

2026 also marks the first year of a new Staff Leadership Position at the College - ‘Faith and Mission Leader’. I am delighted to be joined in our Catholic Identity and Mission space by Mr Tishan Lokuge, our inaugural appointee to this position. Having worked at the College for four years, including for a time serving as Science Coach, Tishan has extensive experience in youth ministry, liturgy and outreach. Together, we have many plans to increase student voice, experiences and growth in our core business of Mission at St Peter’s College. Watch this space for more details throughout the year! 

A very encouraging sign for our work is the continued success of our campus Liturgy Teams which convened for the first time on each campus over the past week. It was great to welcome returning students and quite a few new recruits! Not only will these students support the liturgical life of the College by serving as altar servers and mass helpers but we’re intending to have a further meeting once per term to allow the opportunity for 'think tanks’ so that students can share ideas, feedback and suggestions about liturgies and mission opportunities at the College. 

Finally, the College was delighted to join with St Agatha’s Parish in celebrating their Feast Day on Sunday, February 8. Represented by Mr David Hansen (Acting-Principal), Mr Lokuge and me, we attended 10.45am mass presided by Bishop Greg Bennet and Fr Antony Rebelo. Our College banner stood proudly on the altar and was then carried by Teresa Scotto di Perta (Year 8 – Cranbourne Campus) in the statue procession at the end of mass. Parishioners provided a magnificent selection of food for lunch and Parish groups entertained the huge crowd with storytelling and performances. We are very grateful for the support of our Parish communities, and it was a great privilege to be able to share this annual celebration with St Agatha’s parish. At the time, we were preparing for our own big start of year celebrations, our Opening School Masses, but more on those in the next newsletter! 

Ms Fiona McKenna

Deputy Principal – Catholic Identity & Mission