Principal

Dear Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College Community,

I often use the Newsletter to highlight the many learning opportunities at our College, both inside and outside the classroom, and to thank the staff and students involved. This edition will be no different!

Year 8 Camp

From Monday 16 February to Wednesday 18 February, our Year 8 students attended the Waratah Bay Beach Camp. The camp was a wonderful opportunity for students to build friendships, develop resilience and enjoy time together outside the classroom.

Thank you to Stephen Ross-Bryant and Jasmine Jones for their leadership and organisation of the camp. They were supported by Bekk Anthony, Ben Abbott, Dominic Beale, Bec Carmody, Hamish Duckmanton, Millie Ellen, Di Hancock, Tenielle Homan, Laura Kew, Sally Newton, Grace Ronchi, Rachel Rosse and Chris Spencer. We also thank Nic Dudman, who joined the group on Monday evening to lead a meaningful liturgy.

John Ryan visited the camp on Monday evening, and I had the opportunity to visit on Tuesday. It was clear that the experience was being thoroughly enjoyed by all involved.

Busy Week in Catholic Identity and Student Recognition

This week will be busy with:

• Nicole Dudman and Zac Cox accompanied our Year 12 Leaders to the launch of Caritas’ Lenten fundraising appeal – Project Compassion in Sale. The theme is Unite Against Poverty this Lent
• Celebrated the Ash Wednesday liturgy on Wednesday, 18 February, in the afternoon.
• Thursday, 19 February, we celebrated our Opening of College Mass for 2026. Mass commenced at 9.15 am with Fr Stanly Devasia celebrating. 
• At the conclusion of Mass, we held our Achievers' Assembly to recognise our top-performing VCE and VET students from 2025.  Recipients are listed in the Director of Learning, Pedagogy and Innovation section of this Newsletter.

Thank you to Nicole Dudman for her Leadership, supported by Scott Blencowe of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy and Opening School Mass. Thank you as well to Laura Higgins, Scott Blencowe, and Michelle Krohn for organising the Achievers’ Assembly. Additionally, thanks to Bekk Anthony, Ken Myors, Robert Damon, Boyd Robertson, Edson Letendre, Jayde Gray, Kara Schwennesen and Alison McIntyre.

Additionally, there were contributions from the Student Mission Team, the Administration Team, the Choir, which was supported by Beth Winterhalter and Meg Doherty, and many other staff who assisted.

Below is an edited extract of my speech.

Students, parents, family members and distinguished guests, particularly our high-achieving VCE and VET students of 2025,

Welcome to our Achievers Assembly, and along with the Opening Mass, which preceded this event, is our first whole-school gathering of the year and a very special one as we celebrate the 40th year of Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College this year.

Today we gather to honour excellence. We gather to recognise hard work, persistence and achievement. But we also gather to remember a story — because the achievements we celebrate today did not begin last year. They began forty years ago with a leap of faith.

The Journey to Opening Day

Today we remember not simply a moment in time, but a journey shaped by vision, perseverance, sacrifice and faith.

The opening of our College to students on 5 February 1986 did not happen by chance. It was the culmination of years of hope, hard work and courageous commitment by people who believed that Catholic young people in South Gippsland deserved access to a secondary education grounded in faith, learning and community.

For decades, Catholic families in this region faced a shared challenge. Strong parish primary schools existed, but secondary education often meant long travel, boarding away from home, or difficult compromises. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, it became clear that something had to change.

A Steering Committee was formed. Meetings were held. Submissions were written and rewritten. Conversations took place in parish halls and living rooms. There were setbacks, disagreements and real uncertainty about whether the dream would ever become reality.

But the community persisted.

They believed this was a just and necessary cause. They believed young people here deserved opportunity. They believed education could transform lives.

By mid-1985, the project was revived. Momentum returned. A decision was made to open at a temporary site while permanent buildings were still only in the planning stages. A Principal, Mr Ed Carmody, was appointed. Staff were recruited. A curriculum was designed. A name, a uniform and a motto were chosen.

And then families were asked to enrol their children in a school that did not yet exist.

Sixty-seven(six) students said yes.

Sixty-seven families took a leap of faith.

The Reality of the Beginning

The 1986 Yearbook recorded a line that makes me smile:

“Two days before school started, there were no classrooms.”

With days remaining, panic understandably set in. Where would students learn? Would the portable classrooms arrive in time?

At 9:30 am on Monday, 3 February, the first portable classroom finally arrived. Relief swept through the site. Over the next frantic hours, staff sourced desks, books, chalk, furniture and even paperclips. Phones rang constantly as parents asked, “What’s going on?”

Support came quickly and generously. Other Catholic schools donated resources. Volunteers cleaned and assembled furniture. Health and safety inspections were completed at the last possible moment.

And then, on Wednesday, 5 February 1986, students arrived.

Assembly was delayed while final access works were completed. But after years of waiting, another ten minutes meant very little.

What mattered was that the words could finally be spoken: Welcome to Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College.

It was modest in appearance. Temporary in buildings. But rich in purpose.

What opened that day was more than a school. It was a community built on trust, sacrifice and hope.

However, why does this matter today?

This year, we celebrate forty years of that leap of faith.

And that brings us to today.

Because this assembly is not only about remembering the past. It is about recognising what has grown from that beginning.

To our VCE and VET achievers of 2025 — those here and those unable to attend — thank you.

Your achievements were not attained by chance. You know that. We know that.

Your pathway has been shaped by hard work, persistence, seeking help when needed, and refusing to give up when things became difficult. Well done.

But today is not only about congratulating you. It is about understanding what your achievements represent.

You are living proof that the leap of faith taken in 1986 was worth it.

Forty years ago, families enrolled their children in a school with no classrooms. Today, we celebrate graduates achieving excellence in academic study, vocational pathways and life beyond school.

That is the power of vision, perseverance and community over time.

And now comes the challenge—especially for our current students.

This story is not just history. It is your inheritance.

The founders of this College did not build classrooms in time for the first day just so students could aim for average.

They did not take risks so that future generations could settle for “good enough.” They did not sacrifice so that opportunity would be taken for granted. They built this College to help young people flourish.

So, the real question today is not what did they achieve? The real question is:

What will we do with what they have given us?

Living the dream of this College does not require extraordinary talent. It requires ordinary faithfulness:

• Doing the right thing when it would be easier not to.
• Try your best when the work is challenging.
• Asking for help when you need it.

• Supporting others along the way.

   

Excellence is not reserved for a few. It is the result of daily choices. Every choice you make — in the classroom, on the sporting field, online, and in your relationships — either strengthens or weakens the vision that began forty years ago.

• You honour the founders of this College when you refuse to waste the opportunities they created.
• You honour them when you take your learning seriously.
• You honour them when you support others.
• You honour them when you strive to be the best version of yourself.

Forty Years On

Forty years ago, this College opened with hope.

Today, we celebrate achievement.

Tomorrow, the story continues — and it will be written by you.

May the courage, generosity and faith that opened the gates in 1986 continue to inspire us.

And may each of us, in our own way, ensure that this College remains a place where hope is not only remembered — but lived.

Thank you.

Sapientia Domini Docet Nos

John M Freeman