From the Principal

Rites Of Passage

As the school year concludes, it has been fascinating to attend important ‘rite of passage’ events. This week our Year 6 students celebrated the end of their Primary schooling experience and our Year 9s experienced the culmination of their Rite Journey classes with a 15 km walk interspersed with challenges and activities. The specific ‘rite of passage’ activities are symbolic representations of the journey through school. As our students grow and mature we enable them to celebrate important milestones and reflect on what they have learned. They can also eagerly look forward to the exciting times ahead. Many thanks to all the teachers assisting with such important events and to all our parents for their wonderful support.

I also had the pleasure of also attending a Pre-Primary Liturgy last week. It was great to see our younger students experiencing the joy and anticipation of Christmas. Now that we have entered the season of Advent, I encourage families to attend local parishes to really embrace and appreciate the message of the coming of Jesus at Christmas.

 

The end of the school year is always tinged with some sadness as some students and families leave the College.

 

At our Presentation Night, we acknowledged and thanked some outstanding staff as they move into retirement. Congratulations to Mr Rod Downey, Mr Jim Fitzpatrick and Mr Andrew Locke all of whom have made outstanding contributions to the College as teachers. Thank you and well done also to Mrs Jan Watkins (Admin), Ms Dawn Suschodolski (Home Economics) and Mrs Lesley Patterson (Learning Enrichment) as they move into retirement.

 

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the following members of staff as their time at the College comes to an end.

 

Miss Georgette          Alliss                                     English

Ms Catherine             Fry-Walker                          Religious Education

Mrs Carmelina          Grassi                                    Languages

Mrs Julie                     Hawes                                   Accountant

Mrs Genna                  Haines                                  Pre Kindy Teacher

Mrs Lucy                      Hodge                                  Admin

Ms Jodi                        Johnson                              Education Assistant

Miss Jacqui                Keogh                                   Music

Mr Martin                    Kolka                                    ICT

Ms Tania                      Papalia                                 English

Miss Natasha             Prka                                      Education Assistant

Mr Chris                       Richards-Scully                Marketing

Miss Emma                 Scally                                   Home Economics

Mrs Amanda              Sutton                                  Education Assistant

Ms Robyn                    Tunney                                Education Assistant

Ms Sarah                      Ware                                    Vocational Educational Training

 

Thank you to all our families for an excellent school year. Best wishes to all members of the John XXIII College community for the Christmas vacation.

 

Together, let us seek justice.

 

Yours sincerely

Robert Henderson

Principal