From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the end of Week 5, our college continues to be a vibrant hub of creativity, learning, play and community spirit. This week, we celebrated Arts and Technologies Week, a time to honour the intersection of imagination and innovation. We acknowledge our fabulous team of creators and innovators, staff and special guests who showed us throughout the week the power of interdisciplinary and design thinking. This synergy culminated wonderfully today in our Flare Workshop with the Senior Technologies students. 

Flare is a fast-paced one-day student workshop packed with listening, learning, and doing – it focuses on the capabilities of curiosity and creativity and culminating in teams of students delivering an Elevator Pitch to their peers in an exciting mini-showcase experience. How fabulous that our students can have these experiences at school!

We also thank our parents and carers for their time last week in our Parent Teacher Student Conferences. We do hope that these opportunities to connect with the academic staff were valuable to you and that the tangible feedback that you received from your daughter’s teachers has been useful and applicable. Please do not hesitate to continue to reach out to your daughter’s teachers should there be something that you ever wish to clarify or discuss. At Mount Alvernia College, we are committed to a ‘no surprises’ learning experience and will always make contact should we encounter any concerns in relation to your daughter’s progress or application – equally, please also feel free to reach us if there are things that we should be aware of, to best support her. This is true partnership. I extend my thanks also, to our magnificent teaching staff for the very big days of interviewing they undertook, and the preparation leading into them. 

This Sunday 25th, marks our much-anticipated College Open Day, where we expect well over 2,000 registered guests – thanks to the word of mouth and wonderful billboards and radio commercials currently running. Our campus is looking stunning, having been pampered by our wonderful maintenance team - and we have so much to showcase. From state-of-the-art facilities to the creative works of our students now on full display thanks to the wonderful efforts of Skubi Testa and the Arts Team, the hospitality that has been prepared, the display boards that have been lovingly adorned and the demonstrations ready to be unleashed - it's a testament to the dedication and passion that define our community. We thank the dozens and dozens of student volunteer tour guides, our Parent Partnership Panel, and our academic staff, for giving their time on Sunday to share our MtA world, an environment we should be truly proud of.

This week, staff, and students were privileged to hear from Brooke Prentis, Aboriginal Christian Leader and Theologian, in the lead-up to National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week. As a Catholic School in the Franciscan tradition, we are deeply invested in a reconciliation process of truth-telling, healing, and justice. Thank you to all those students in our community who will join with me, Mr Rogusz, Ms Licina, and other members of our community at the National Sorry Day Ceremony next Monday at Teralba Park.

In a poetic and spiritual synergy, we are also approaching Laudato Si’ Week, which runs from May 24 to 31. This year’s theme is “Raising Hope,” marking the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical on caring for our common home. It invites us to reflect on our shared responsibility to protect the environment and to act for a sustainable future. In a delightful turn of events, our San Damiano breezeway "bee situation" occurred in the days leading up to International Day of the Bee on the 20 May - it was a reminder of the importance of all creatures in our ecosystem and the need to protect them. *Please note all safety mitigation procedures have been in place for this area!*

As we continue our journey of faith and learning, let us be inspired by the words of our late Pope Francis: “Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.” 

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend ahead and a joy-filled Sunday if you are joining us!

Peace and all good,

Samantha Jensen

Principal