From the Principal

This Monday marked the celebration of the birthday of Mother Gonzaga Barry. It was on July 19 in 1875, after sailing all the way from Ireland, that Mother Gonzaga Barry and her nine companions stepped onto the Sandridge Pier in Port Melbourne and began their incredible ministry in Australia. With great faith and courage, under the leadership of Mother Gonzaga Barry, the Loreto Sisters arrived in Perth in 1897 and established a school in Adelaide Terrace before the Sisters opened Loreto Osborne in Claremont in 1901. As we know, John XXIII College formed in 1977 following the amalgamation of Loreto College and St Louis School for Boys and continues to maintain close Ignatian connections with Loreto and Jesuit schools throughout Australia. Our College's Mission expresses our Catholicity and our strong spiritual, historical and ongoing links with Loreto and Jesuit communities.

Mother Gonzaga Barry’s contribution to the education of young (and older) Australians should not be underestimated and continues to shape Australian schools today.  It was Mother Gonzaga who wrote: ‘Aim at something excellent; our life is largely influenced by what we aim at – our ideals often make our realities.’ (Eucalyptus Blossoms, Dec 1897). She ‘had high hopes and expectations for the contribution that Loreto educated students would make to society from the very first days of her foundation in Ballarat in 1875’ (Building a Nation) with many benefiting from her establishment of kindergartens, schools and tertiary institutes across Australia. We look forward to celebrating the one hundred and fifty years of her influence on Australian education during 2025.

God of Love,

We give thanks for the life and work of Mother Gonzaga Barry.

We give thanks for her faith, pioneering spirit, vision, leadership and integrity.

May the example of her life inspire us to `aim at something excellent’, with enthusiasm and determination to leave after us `something on which others may build’.

Coincidently, Year 12 students from Loreto House attended the inaugural Year 12 Principal’s Lunch this week. The lunch proved to be an excellent opportunity to hear from our most senior students. We shared lunch, and most importantly, discussed what makes our College so strong and what opportunities might be worth exploring in the future. I extend my thanks to those Year 12 students from Loreto House who so willingly embraced the conversations during our lunch.

Continuing the Loreto theme, College Chair of Council Dr Courtenay Harris and I will attend Loreto schools’ Chairs’ and Principals’ meetings at Loreto Normanhurst in Sydney this weekend. For those unaware, as well as being a Jesuit companion school, hence the College Leadership Team’s attendance at the Jesuit and Companion Schools Australia Conference during the holidays mentioned in last week’s Newsletter, our College is also part of the Loreto schools’ network.  Being both a Loreto ‘associated’ school and a Jesuit ‘companion’ school ensures our College remains firmly grounded in the Ignatian tradition which values deep discernment. Our Year 10 students and their parents have been demonstrating the importance of valuing discernment over recent weeks as they shape their Years 11 and 12 paths of study. I extend my thanks to the staff involved in supporting our Year 10 students and parents during their course counselling sessions this week. Particular thanks are extended to Assistant Deputy Principal Year 10, Kalo Bell, and her team of Year 10 Course Counsellors, Shani Andrews, Greg Moran, Janeen Murphy, Rita de Faria, Andrew Osnain, Luke Bostelman, Cameron Haines, James McLaughlin, Joel Wynn and Jane Hedley.

Finally, last week’s Primary Interhouse Cross-Country Carnival and today’s Secondary Interhouse Athletics Carnival showcased our students’ exceptional physical prowess and the real sense of camaraderie and joy that permeates our College community. The excitement of the competition, the passionate cheers of the crowd and the opportunity to proudly represent one’s House were all evident throughout both days. I extend my thanks to Steve Williams, Years 3 to 6 teachers, Sara Kononen and secondary Health and Physical Education staff for the extensive pre-planning and organisation that went into both carnivals, the staff and parent volunteers for their valuable contributions and to the student leaders for all of their efforts in fostering the passionate House spirit evident throughout both carnivals.

Daniel Mahon

Principal