Principal's Message

Welcome to Term 2.  I hope that you had an enjoyable Easter and took the opportunity to reflect on the message of hope that the resurrection of Jesus gives us all. This has been especially meaningful for our College community in the last week, with the sad loss of Emily Goldthorpe. The depth of our loss has been captured in Fr Bernie’s homily and the tribute to Emily, included in this newsletter. As we begin this new term, we hold Sharon and Tony Goldthorpe, their children Caitlin, Tim, Grace and Dominic and all our College families who have experienced grief and loss over the holidays, in our hearts and prayers.

Athletics Carnival

On the last day of Term 1, Mr Nathan Irvine ran a very successful Athletics Carnival at Jubilee Park. Thank you to all who assisted and came along to support our students. We had a number of records broken. Congratulations to individual students who excelled on the day and to all our students who contributed to the success of the day by earning points for their House. Kennedy House was overall winner.

Staff Professional Development Day Monday 20 April

Last year, the College made a commitment to the implementation of a Coaching Program to support both staff and students. Coaching is a joint enterprise in which one person supports another to develop their understanding and practice in an area defined.

The Staff Training Day on Monday was led by Mr Sam Paterson, an International Coach Federation accredited “Professional Certified Coach”, who has worked with a breadth of organisations, including multi billion international corporations, businesses and teams of all sizes.  The day focused on strengthening staff understanding and skills in this area. There was also an opportunity for some staff to attend a presentation on “Thriving at Work” and to take time to reflect on their own learning goals for 2015.

Industrial Action SUSPENDED next Tuesday 28 April

Parents are advised that the Industrial Action scheduled for next Tuesday, 28 April has been suspended. All classes at Mater Dei will be as normal on Tuesday. 

The Centenary of ANZAC

We encourage our students and families to commemorate the Centenary of ANZAC by attending the Dawn Service and the ANZAC March on Saturday. During the past weeks, the ANZAC story has been all around us on television and in the print media. This year is particularly meaningful and many Australians, including secondary school students, have travelled to Gallipoli to be present at the Dawn Service there.

What Australians endured on Gallipoli and the Western Front, in the mud of Flanders and the deserts of Sinai–Palestine, was almost beyond description. It can never be fully comprehended by those who did not fight in these campaigns or witness them firsthand. As well as participating in the Dawn Service and ANZAC Day March on Saturday, our College community will hold an ANZAC Liturgy on Monday to remember and to give thanks for the sacrifices made by servicemen and women 100 years ago.

"They shall grow not old, 

as we that are left grow old; 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."  Lest We Forget

Founder’s Day Mass

Next Thursday our community will gather to honour our founders and we invite parent/carers to join us for this special occasion in the life of the College. Details are included in this newsletter.

Please keep all who are suffering from grief and loss in your prayers. May God give them strength and courage.

Best wishes and God bless,

Mrs Val Thomas

Principal

No Right Turn Out of Mater Dei Carpark

In the interest of the safety of our students, we have teamed up with Mater Dei Primary School to improve afternoon traffic flow around the College. The combination of the two parent pick up points, people exiting the College carpark and the buses moving along Plunkett Drive and through the bus stop at times leads to seemingly chaotic traffic. As such, all people exiting both the Primary School parent pick up and the College carpark are now required to turn left, proceed down to the College turning circle (near the Hall carpark) to head back up Plunkett Drive. We thank you for your co-operation in our efforts to keep our students safe.

Save the Date

The College will be closed on

 Friday 5 June for Staff Spirituality Day.