Catholic Identity

Launch of Project Compassion

On Tuesday 4th March, four RESA students, Willow Goode, Meg Ross, Katie Hall and Miley Culbert attended Mary Mackillop Catholic Regional College in Leongatha to learn about how far in the world Caritas reaches in its aid and help for others. Principal John Freeman proudly told us about Mary Mackillop College, before Sally from Caritas presented information about Caritas and the great work it does in the world. Bishop Greg led a liturgy to celebrate this launch, before we were able to celebrate Shrove Tuesday with other students from Catholic schools around the area. The VM Food Studies students made pancakes which were shared among those attending. We were also able to share our ideas and beliefs of hope. 

Year 12 Retreats

Our Year 12 students continued the tradition of starting their final year at school on retreats at Gelantipy and Glenaladale. These retreats are a great opportunity for students to come to a deeper understanding of themselves, family, the world and their spirituality as well as building a community of learning to help them encourage each other throughout the year. 

Year 7 Charism Day

The Year 7s spent the day exploring our school’s heritage, values and images in a day of discovery in February. They started the day in St Mary’s Cathedral to learn about the symbolism and function of the Church before learning about the stories of the Sisters of Sion, the Marist Brothers and many others who have left their footsteps at the school.

Commissioning of Our New Principal

A wonderful celebration of community was held at St Mary’s Cathedral as we gathered to welcome our new principal, Mr Brett Van Berkel, to Catholic College Sale. The Bishop was joined by representatives of the Marist Brothers, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, the board, and the school community to bless our new principal’s journey with us at Catholic College.

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Members of our Religious Education Service in Action Year 11 class travelled to Leongatha to join the Bishop and other schools from the Diocese to celebrate the launch of Project Compassion and Pancake Tuesday. This was followed by Ash Wednesday services held at school the next day. Students were reminded that Lent is an opportunity for self-reflection and giving to others.

Opening Mass

Our school’s Opening Mass was a great celebration of community. Our school captains maintained the traditions of signing the College Bible, originally brought to Australia by the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion in the 1890s. Fr Francis encouraged each one of our students to make a positive difference in the world by looking for commonality between people rather than focussing on division.

RE Learning

Students from Years 7-10 start each year looking at various aspects of the Catholic Faith. Year 7s explore questions they might have about coming to a Catholic school and the beliefs of the Church. Years 8 and 9 discover the history of the Church from the early days in Jerusalem through to the Church in Australia. Year 10s explore the beliefs of others and look at how a peaceful dialogue between different beliefs can lead to greater harmony in our world. Our senior students are studying VCE Texts and Traditions or participating in the Year 12 Seminar program.

Liturgical Choir

The Choir has had a great start to the year with two major Masses. Our Choir meets every Wednesday at lunchtime for rehearsals and this time continues into Period 5 for committed members of Years 9 and 10. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join in with our singers.

Game Changers

This program is run by the Marist Youth Ministry in Marist schools across Australia. It is an opportunity for Year 7 and 8 students to gather and discuss ideas over snacks at lunchtime. The year culminates in a one-day retreat with other schools from around the state.

Marist Connect

Our senior students are given leadership opportunities through Marist Connect. This is a gathering of school leaders from around the state. They get to learn more about what other schools are doing and how the Marist tradition brings them together with common values and vision.

Timor Leste

Eleven of our Year 11 students are preparing to head to Timor Leste in September. They will spend the coming months learning about the country, its people, the language and customs. Our students are looking forward to being able to learn more about Australia’s closest neighbour and bring their experience back to school.

Jeff Hobbs 

Director of Religious Education