Principal
NAIDOC WEEK REFLECTION
I would like to share with you a reflection by Miriam-Rose Unqunmerr-Baumann, - Aboriginal educator, artist and 2021 Senior Australian of the Year - as we celebrated NAIDOC Week during the second week of the school holidays (3 - 10 July).
"My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today recognise and experience in this quietness, the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God’s presence.
When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I can simply be in God’s presence. My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator. Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait. We do not try to hurry things up. We let them follow their natural course – like the seasons. We watch the moon in each of its phases. We wait for the rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth.
When twilight comes, we prepare for the night. At dawn we rise with the sun. We watch the bush foods and wait for them to ripen before we gather them. We wait for our young people as they grow, stage by stage through their initiation ceremonies. When a relation dies, we wait a long time with the sorrow. We own our grief and allow it to heal slowly.
We wait for the right time for our ceremonies and our meetings. The right people must be present. Everything must be done in the proper way. Careful preparations must be made. We don’t mind waiting, because we want things to be done with care.
We don’t like to hurry. There is nothing more important than what we are attending to. There is nothing more urgent that we must hurry away for.
We wait on God, too. His time is the right time. We wait for him to make his word clear to us. We don’t worry. We know that in time and in the spirit of dadirri (that deep listening and quiet stillness) his way will be clear.
We are river people. We cannot hurry the river. We have to move with its current and understand its ways.
We hope that the people of Australia will wait. Not so much waiting for us – to catch up – but waiting with us, as we find our pace in this world.
If you stay closely united, you are like a tree, standing in the middle of a bushfire sweeping through the timber. The leaves are scorched and the tough bark is scarred and burnt; but inside the tree the sap is still flowing, and under the ground the roots are still strong. Like that tree, you have endured the flames, and you still have the power to be reborn.
Our culture is different. We are asking our fellow Australians to take time to know us; to be still and to listen to us."
Catholic School Parents Australia: Children’s Wellbeing and Learning Survey
Welcome to Catholic School Parents Australia's Children’s Wellbeing and Learning Survey. The aim of this survey is to gather parent/carer opinions on the wellbeing and learning of their children. By completing this survey, you will be helping Catholic School Parents Australia to report to government on the existing and emerging concerns of parents in relation to the wellbeing and learning of their children. Please note that your opinions will be kept confidential and please avoid any reference to your child’s name or the name of the school attended by them. Survey outcomes will be made available through the Catholic parent body in your state or territory. This survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. CSPA acknowledges funding received from the Australian Government to assist the completion of this work. The survey is scheduled to go live on 25 July and it will be accessed through a link on the CSPA ENGAGE website - https://engage.cspa.catholic.edu.au/
Senior Years and Middle Years Hubs – 2023
You will have received communication recently about a change at St Bede’s College in relation to the establishment of Middle Years Hubs at each of the Bentleigh East and Mentone Campuses and a Senior Years Hub at the Mentone Campus. My thanks and appreciation to the many people involved in looking at the different options and then the logistics for St Bede’s College that will arise from the changes that are to be introduced at VCE level. If you have any questions in relation to this change, please contact me on principal@stbedes.catholic.edu.au. We look forward to welcoming all Year 10 St Bede’s students to the Mentone Campus and the establishment and development of our two Middle Years Hubs.
Per Vias Rectas
Deb Frizza
Principal