Faith, Justice and Formation

Year 11 Senior Retreat

Information for parents about the Senior Retreat is now available in the Parent Lounge. If you have not done so already, please go to the Parent Lounge to view the information and give permission for your son to attend.

The religious and spiritual formation of our young men is at the core of the College's existence as a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice Tradition. The Senior Retreat will take place in November this year. The Retreat Program is central to our responsibility to educate the whole person. It provides students with a chance to think about and reflect on their various relationships, as well as focusing on where they are headed as young men in the future. It is a chance for spiritual development and for the cohort to focus on coming together as a united group. Retreats are an opportunity to concentrate on many areas that may not always get due consideration in our everyday lives. The Senior Retreat is the culmination of the College’s Formation Program that boys participate in from Year 5 through to Year 12 and an important rite of passage as they begin their Senior Year and become the leaders of the College for 2024.

Induction of Extraordinary Ministers of Communion

At assembly last Friday we introduced to the College the young men from Year 11 who have heard the call to service in the church by volunteering to become Ministers of Communion for their Year 12 year. It reminds us of the responsibility that we all must be ministers of the Gospel in the church, a responsibility that comes to us through our baptism. While the priesthood holds very special responsibilities in our church through ordained ministry, we all have a responsibility to be Christ for others. Assisting at the Mass by helping the priest to administer the body of Christ to those with whom we share our faith is a sacred privilege as well as a responsibility. Sharing the Blessed Sacrament with our brothers and sisters in faith is an important acknowledgement of faith from one believer to another. We congratulate our new Eucharistic Ministers and pray that they will be blessed in this ministry.

Adam Leslie

Acting Director of Identity 

Social Justice Service: Head to Heart Program Term 3 Holiday break - 2023

During the Term 3 school holidays I participated in the Head to Heart Program along with 12 other volunteers from my cohort as part of our Social Justice Service. Head to Heart is a social justice and leadership training program run by Edmund Rice Camps. They partner with schools to facilitate an overnight program for their senior students who act as 'big- buddies' to participants. The participants are young foster children who need respite and something outside of poverty and hardship. During the program I participated in, there were two boys and four girls with ages ranging from 6 to 13. We had to complete a training session before the program to learn about the challenges the children may be facing and how to act and respond in certain situations.

Before starting the program, I was nervous because I had never done something like this before and didn't know what to expect. When the kids arrived, we participated in activities to get to know each other. It amazed all of us just how quickly the kids trusted us and always had a smile on their face knowing that they came from places where feeling loved and appreciated is difficult. We participated in many different activities throughout the day that helped everyone work as a team and develop their creative thinking and communication skills. One of the favourite activities was a dancing game called 'Crocodile' which allowed leaders and the kids to come out of their comfort zones and have a good time to forget about the hardship and struggles of their domestic lives.

The student leaders and I had reflection sessions throughout the day coordinated by the leaders from Edmund Rice Camps. This allowed us to reflect on the situations these children are faced with and the types of leaders we want to be.

Overall, it was a very eye-opening and rewarding experience that I would recommend to anyone doing Social Justice Service. Thank you to Mrs Chander, Mr Bottalico, and all the leaders from Edmund Rice Camps who made this experience possible.

Jonathan Lepessiotis

Year 11 Student