Catholic Identity & Mission

Champagnat Feast Day Mass

The Champagnat Feast Day Mass was held on Tuesday 3 June. Our students have really risen to meet the expectation of impeccable uniform and in turn, excellent behaviour in our Whole School Masses this year. Thank you to the families who have supported the College in making this goal achievable, all students were in full College uniform and they looked magnificent. 

The Mass was celebrated by Fr Brendan Hogan Parish Priest, St Joseph’s Catholic Church Warragul and St Ita’s Catholic Church Drouin, Fr Bernard Buckley – Vicar General and Parish Administrator – St John’s Catholic Church Trafalgar and assisted by Deacon Mark Kelly and supported by our Year 10 Youth Ministry students and Music Ministry students. We are really blessed to have the support of our Priests, as well as our guests, Sr Angela Bayliss, Br Tony Clark, Mr Paul Velton – Director of Catholic Education and Chief Executive Officer DOSCEL, Mrs Andrea Grant – Marist Schools Australia and Ms Fiona Dyball – Mission Coordinator Sisters of Our Lady of Sion.  

Confirmation Workshops

Our Year 10 Youth Ministry students presented the readings about Pentecost, words they brought to life for the Grade 6 students who they ran Confirmation Workshops for at St John the Baptist Primary School Koo Wee Rup. They really are young people who are living the Gospels and the feedback from the Primary Schools says it all. I have included it below. A big thank you to their teacher Mrs Claudia Williams for her planning, preparation and inspiration for the day. 

Hello team,  

I am writing to commend the outstanding efforts of the Year Ten Youth Ministry students during last Friday’s Confirmation Reflection Day. Their leadership, organisation, and engagement with the Year Six students were truly impressive and a testament to their maturity and commitment. 

The Year Tens took charge of the day’s activities with enthusiasm and care, creating a welcoming and reflective environment for the younger students. Their ability to lead the sessions so effectively not only enriched the experience for the Year Sixes but also demonstrated the strong values and skills they have developed through the Youth Ministry program. 

A heartfelt thank you also to St John’s for generously hosting the event. Their support helped make the day a success. 

Please pass on my sincere thanks and congratulations to the students and staff involved. It was a wonderful example of leadership and community in action. 

God Bless, the PIP's sacrament team.  

Music Ministry

Our Music Ministry class is really coming to life with Mr Joseph Bonnici leading the students in understanding and presenting liturgical music. A highlight for me from the Champagnat Feast Day Mass was Joseph’s presentation of the Sub Tuum as a call and response. The Sub Tuum is a latin prayer to music and is one of the oldest known Marian prayers – for this reason it is held especially sacred to the Marist community. Joseph adapted it musically to complement his students skills and evoked a beautiful response from the congregation. I will include the lyrics below. 

Year 12 Retreat

Another wonderful event this month has been the Year 12 Retreat, which was held on 8-9 June. We had extremely high attendance for this Retreat and the cohort of students were incredible in the way they showed up and participated in every aspect. They are quality young people who have a great deal to offer the world. I hope that they have shared some of their experiences with their families on their return and that their rosemary seeds may start to see the light of day.  

I would like to thank Director of Mission – Mr. James Mazzolini for all the work he did to ensure the Retreat was such a success and all of the staff who attended and participated in the retreat in the same spirit as the students. It was a rich experience for all of us, expertly led by the Passionist Retreat Team. 

As we draw to the end of what has been a very long term, may you all have a safe and restful holiday and return ready for all of the excitement of Term 3. We celebrate our community and pray for them in their absence, as their names remain encased in our Marist-Sion Heart in their absence. 

And May We Always Remember 

To pray for one another 

Mrs Jacinta Johnston

Deputy Principal: Catholic Identity and Mission