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Hospitality and faith in action
Belling In and Senior School Commissioning
In the much-loved tradition of the Belling In, our entire school gathered last Wednesday to form a 100-metre-long guard of honour to officially welcome our new K-12 students and staff.
Hand in hand, our Year 12 students guided our youngest students through a sea of high-fives, cheers and joyful faces, extending from the College gates on Harrington Street to the College Green. Following in their footsteps were our remaining new students and staff, as the sound of the convent bell rang in the background.
The Belling In ceremony marked the conclusion of our Senior School Commissioning Liturgy, where our Senior School Leaders and Pastoral Care Mentors were inducted into their leadership roles for 2025.
Head Prefect: Isobel Gray
Deputy Head Prefect / Environment and Sustainability Prefect: Kate Hynes
Deputy Head Prefect / Identity and Mission Prefect: Maggie Robinson
College House Prefect: Laura Hanstein
Manresa House Prefect: Bridie McInerney
Nagle House Prefect: Jessica Smith
Presentation House Prefect: Evie Christie-Johnston
Academic Prefect: Madeleine Ambrose
Arts and Culture Prefect: Lucy McKenna
Events and Communications Prefect: Sarah Wilson
Junior School Prefect: Mia Reid
Sports Prefect: Mackenzie Thomas
Wellbeing Prefect: Olivia Hunniford-Webb
Social Justice Prefect: Grace Marshall
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all families and friends of the College who joined us in the Nagle Centre to celebrate this significant event and offer their blessings to our students.
The Belling In festivities wrapped on the College Green, where students enjoyed icy poles – the perfect antidote to a warm summer's afternoon.
A big thank you to our fantastic Year 6 Leaders for expertly managing the crowds and ensuring all students and teachers received an icy treat. Well done!
Head to our website gallery here for more photos from the Belling In.
Embracing the season of Lent
This week, we begin the first week of Lent, the period of six weeks or 40 days leading up to Easter. Lent is traditionally a time for reflection and prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Shrove Tuesday
On Tuesday 4 March, we embraced the Catholic tradition of Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Day), which is the day before Lent begins. Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they are a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk and sugar before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent.
Across the College, students enjoyed the opportunity to feast and celebrate together while learning about the tradition and how we prepare for Lent and Easter. Many got creative as they experimented with a variety of different pancake toppings, from jam and cream to fresh blueberries.
To the delight of the Kinders, the day involved a hands-on component: making pancakes from scratch! With a little help from their teachers, they sifted the dry ingredients together, added in the wet ingredients and stirred the batter before it was ready for cooking.
Hearts of compassion
Pancake Day coincided with the launch of our efforts for the 2025 Caritas Project Compassion Lenten appeal. The theme for Project Compassion for 2025 is 'Unite Against Poverty this Lent.'
Today, our Junior School classes will receive their Project Compassion donation boxes, and in the spirit of almsgiving during Lent, students are encouraged to fill their boxes over the next few weeks.
All members of the College community can support Project Compassion 2025 by taking home a donation box or envelope, or by scanning the QR code above. For more information, please visit the Caritas Project Compassion website: caritas.org.au/project-compassion or contact your child's teacher. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
Ash Wednesday
Today, the College marked Ash Wednesday with Junior and Senior School Liturgies held in the Nagle Centre and Adrian Doyle Chapel. During the Liturgies students received blessed ashes (in the shape of a cross) on their foreheads.
This ancient practice reminds us of Jesus' love, his sacrifice on the cross for our sins and encourages us to be the best people we can be. The ash comes from burning the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.
Thank you to Mrs Margaret Rootes in the Junior School, and Father Bernard Perera for leading our Liturgies today.
Sustainability in focus
This term, we are excited to bring awareness of sustainability practices to both Senior and Junior School students, with a special focus on waste management and recycling. Our goal is to ensure everyone uses our rubbish bins correctly. By doing so, we can make a positive impact on our College and the wider community.
On Monday 24 February, our Prefect for Sustainability, Kate Hynes, worked with the Junior School to ensure everyone is clear about what goes in each bin. All Junior School classrooms now have four bins: rubbish, recycling, FOGO and a new bin for soft plastics recycling. It was great to see the enthusiastic response to taking on responsibility for waste sorting.
Students were also made aware that anything with food waste in it (such as yoghurt tubs) can contaminate recycling. All the food waste in the school, as well as packaging from Murphy's Café, gets made into compost which goes back onto the school garden, a fantastic initiative from Café Manager, Mr Phil Shanny.
We ask parents and carers to consider what waste they are buying and packing in lunch boxes, as reducing waste in the first place is better for the planet.
In addition, if there are used batteries or old pens and highlighters at home, they can also be given to your child to dispose of in recycling bins available in the Student Resource Centre (library).
In the Senior School, students are reminded that recycling and rubbish bins are available in all corridors, with FOGO and soft plastic recycling at the Café.
By working together, we can create a culture of environmental responsibility and encourage all students to play an active role in keeping our College clean and sustainable. Thank you for your cooperation.
Mrs Karen Walter
Sustainability Officer