Principal's Message

Dear Families,

We are now in the season of Lent. The forty days of Lent are a time of preparation for the great feast of Easter, when we commemorate Christ’s rising from the dead. St. Paul and the early Christians called this the Good News – that by rising from the dead, Jesus Christ has conquered death for all of us as well. As Christians, this is our central belief. Because the Son of God was willing to die for us in order to rise again, we are called to live lives that reflect our gratitude for being saved. This year Ash Wednesday was displaced by the lockdown, so the distribution of ashes did not happen as usual. When we wear ashes on our foreheads we are participating in an ancient custom, which is a sign of our intention to try to be better people. The traditional observance of Lent involves abstinence (giving something up), prayer and almsgiving to those less fortunate than ourselves. As we move towards Easter, let’s all try to spare a moment to consider: “How will I prepare myself to be a better person this Lent?” 

This week our Year 7's have been on camp at Phillip Island Adventure Resort. I visited the camp on Wednesday evening and can report that the students were having a great time. Opinions varied as to the most popular activity – some liked the canoeing, some favoured the giant swing and the flying fox was also very popular. The spirit of co-operation and growing friendships was very evident. There will be a picture report on the camp in this newsletter.

The Year 9 camp was all set to go this week, but we were advised by the Outdoor Education Group that there is an outbreak of toxic blue-green algae in Lake Eildon. This meant that the program could not proceed, so we have postponed the year nine camp to the latter part of the year. We hope that holding the camp in the springtime should see better weather, better water quality and perhaps a lessening of the effects of the pandemic.

Our opening Mass and commissioning of student leaders has had to be held in two parts, and had to be re-scheduled again after the lockdown. The reality of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on how the College operates and on College events. This week we held the first of our opening Masses for Years 10, 11 and 12. At this Mass we commissioned our Senior Student Leaders – the House Captains, Justice Captains and College Captains and Vice-Captains. Leaders accept the responsibility of giving service to others. We are grateful to all these fine young men and women for their willingness to serve their peers by taking on the responsibilities of these roles. A full list and photos of all our new student leaders are included in this newsletter. Thank you again, and congratulations to all our new student leaders.