Principal News

Dear Marian Catholic College Community,

Welcome to Term 4, warmer days, busy schedules and long, light filled summer evenings! 

The focus of this week’s article will be to provide you with some brief updates or reminders regarding the remainder of the school year.

Firstly, the term has begun well and our HSC exams are progressing well. We had an unexpected visit from a snake on Monday and acted promptly  to ensure all of our students were safe and well, with HSC exams and regular classes continuing uninterrupted. Information guidelines around managing snakes at school were provided to all members of the community on Monday and can also be found in this newsletter.

Graduate arrangements have been sent out to families for the Year 12 Graduate Dinner on Friday November 13th and we look forward to reconnecting with parents and graduates at Mass and the dinner for one final time as a school.

This week, the Regional Director for Marist Schools Australia (MSA), Matthew Hutchison, along with the Leader of Mission and Life Formation, David Bobowski, visited us to provide details of the many different opportunities provided by MSA to support the formation of staff and students each year.

Marian is a school with a twin Marist and Mercy charism and history, and you will note many school features are informed by our Marist focus on presence, humility and reflection, along with the Mercy focus on practical care and equity for all. Our beautiful Water on the Rock feature in the Marian garden outside the library is a living reminder of our Marist spirituality.

We are very grateful to Louisa Reynolds (Acting Leader of Pastoral Care) and Will Lyons (Acting Leader of Curriculum) for the excellent work and support they have given to our students, families and staff, during the well-deserved long service leave taken by Patricia Star and John Seers. John and Trish return next week to the College and to their leader and teaching roles and both Louisa and Will resume their other responsibilities as Year 12 Pastoral Leader and HSIE & RE coordinator. Thank you also to Kathy Sparkes who took on additional duties in the HSIE faculty during this time.

Our staff directory on the website has been updated so all current school contacts are available. We advise parents that, in the first instance, a concern or inquiry about their child, would be made to classroom teachers, and only then year leaders (pastoral) or subject (KLA) coordinators around bigger concerns. If in doubt about who to contact, please ring or email our friendly office team.

You may be aware from a communication from the Executive Director of Catholic Education -Diocese of Wagga Wagga , that I am finishing up my term as Principal at Marian at the end of this year. I will take up a new position as the Director of School Improvement for all Catholic schools in the CEDWW system of schools. I have loved my time at Marian over the last four years and I will say more about this beautiful school and my time here in other communications at the end of this year.

I am incredibly pleased my new role will allow me to continue to have a close relationship with Marian and the Griffith parish and community. I would also like to confirm that recruitment processes for the new Principal are well underway. We will keep you updated as these are finalised. 

For now though, the focus of the school, myself and all staff remains on the education of our students: their faith, their learning and their emotional development and growth.  

I would like to finish with a Marian reflection for our whole community:

Mary, woman of listening, 

open our ears; 

grant us to know how to listen to the word of your Son Jesus

 among the thousands of words of this world; 

grant that we may listen to the reality in which we live, 

to every person we encounter, 

especially those who are poor, in need, in hardship. 

 (Pope Francis, 31 May 2013)

Dr Penny Ludicke

Principal