Principal's Report

Welcome to Term 1

Dear Parents, Students and Friends

Welcome to the 2017 school year. I trust that the break has rejuvenated and energised you, hopeful for a successful new year. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless our school and all those who contribute to fulfilling God’s promise of “The Way, The Truth and The Life.”

 A great deal of time and effort into ensuring that the first few days of 2017 go smoothly for students and staff, and I thank those involved for spending so much time getting the school “ship shape”. Our new Year 7 students are looking ready and eager to begin their journey through high school and I wish them every success at Marian. There are photos of their Community Day “We are Gifted” in this newsletter.

The 2016 HSC results were outstanding and for the fourth year in a row, Marian has shown strong academic growth.  Our HSC results demonstrate that our College provides an excellent education for our students. A more detailed analysis of our results are in Ms Scoble’s Assistant Principal’s column in this newsletter. Congratulations to all 2016 YR 12 HSC students and the College wishes each and every one of you future success as you venture into post school life!

On Wednesday Marian celebrated the 2016 HSC results at the Dux and High Achievers Assembly. Daniel Dunne was our worthy 2016 Dux with an ATAR of 96.95. Daniel and fellow student Emma Zanotto also were honoured by being on the BOSTES NSW All Rounders Achievers List. Both had received Band 6 results in 5 subjects. There were only 247 students in all Catholic Schools in NSW who received this award.

Unfortunately, Daniel wasn’t able to attend as his family had recently relocated to Perth. However,  he wrote a speech which was read by their Year 12 Coordinator, Mr Lawler.  There are “pearls” of wisdom in his words.

 Firstly I would like to send my sincerest apologies to you all for my absence today, with any luck by the time this is read I will have just arrived in Perth after 4 days of hard driving 

In keeping with this sincere tone I have decided to apply the world renowned school motto 'The Way, The truth, and The Life' to this speech. 

The Way comes through the work of my teachers. Without their continual support, guidance and commitment to helping not only me but all students, I would not be able to be in a position where I could look back at my achievements with great pride and satisfaction that I can now 

The Truth is that to be in this position is no easy feat- a fact I am sure my fellow students can agree. I can recall waking up every morning to diagrams of almost every part of the human body and the exact chemistry to produce sodium carbonate. In a way it was these little things that grew on me so much that in the end it was harder to take these notes down than it was to actually create this odd collection. The real truth however is that there comes a point in everyone's life where you begin to realise that schooling is an opportunity- a place where you want to be and want to learn in order to get to the right career, job or trade that you deserve. 

It is on that note that leads me finally to The Life. To be where I am now does not come without its fair share of hard work and sacrifice. To tell you the true extent of the countless hours I have spent at my desk calculating, drawing and drafting may deter rather than inspire and at times when assignments are due and exams are around the corner - this may be true!

Nevertheless the way I have always thought of the HSC is like training for a marathon - if you don't put the work in you won't finish the race, to train too much may lead to overtraining or 'burn out' before the race even begins. However a balance between studying and socialising every now and again is for me the true formula to success. It would be foolish to think that life is a playground where things  are handed to you. For me school was always the number one priority in my life. I would often set myself goals for each day and am certain I would have to be on my death bed to miss a day of school. In light of this I found that friends and family often offer social and support group that we all need to allow us to reach our goals, they were there to give me that break every once in a while from the grind of studying and more often that not inspired me and pushed me to achieve more and truely complete my take on the 'The Way, The Truth and The Life' 

Thank you for listening and good luck for the future years.

Congratulations to School Vice Captains, Megan Beecher and Jack Martin who were announced as 2017 Junior Citizens of the Year in their respective towns of Griffith and Leeton. Both were awarded this honour for “service to the community”.

Car Park and Drop-Off/Pick Up area All drop/off and parking is either through the new Macarthur St entrance or along Hickey Crescent. No students should be crossing Wakaden St,. Students have been briefed about about these requirements. The school day finishes at 3:25pm and parents should come after then to avoid queuing into Macarthur St causing traffic disruptions.

I have included a complete list of our 2017 Staff in this newsletter. Welcome to new staff, Mr Abdala, Ms Bibikova, Ms Foschi, Mr Marshall, Ms Ravanello, Ms McMahon, Ms Suidgeest, Ms Kumaran, Ms Frost , Mr Dal Nevo, Mr Rizzeri.

School Newsletters will now be released every two weeks instead of weekly. The thinking behind this is that Marian has Facebook and Twitter with regular updates on daily events to keep people informed.

Awaken

Have you ever seen the dawn? That moment when it is no longer dark, but not yet fully light. It is a moment when our vision sharpens and our senses slowly attune to the things before us - the arising movement and the emerging sounds. It is a twilight moment full of anticipation and expectancy in what lies ahead. The dawn is opening a door to a new day!

We celebrate our Marist Bicentenary with the same expectancy and hope of the awakening of a brand new day. A time to re­flect on what has been and look ahead to what is to come.

It is a moment of gratitude for the inspiring vision and life of Saint Marcellin and the early Marists.

It is a moment of giving thanks for each on one of us, for all Marists, and for our God who has journeyed with us.

It is a moment of discernment as we look to the future, one full of excitement and hope as we are led by the Holy Spirit in the particular way we make Jesus Christ known and loved.

We take up the invitation of Pope Francis to ‘Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a di­erent way of doing things, of acting, of living!’

So let us as Marists welcome every sunrise full of hope as we embrace all the opportunities the new day brings.

 ‘Arise, awake, and Christ will shine on you’ (Eph 5:14).

Anthony Clarke Director, Marist Formation Team