Harmony Week

This week we celebrated Harmony Week to recognise the cultural diversity of our nation, from our First Nations peoples to the millions of migrants who have come to call Australia home. To mark the occasion, each Homeroom started the week with prayer. The Cultural Committee distributed orange ribbons and prepared activities for students to complete in homeroom. This included students writing on an orange strip of paper what harmony means to them or what it means to belong to a community. The Cultural Committee will transform these paper strips into small garlands that each Homeroom will display in their classroom as a reminder of our commitment to harmony. Thank you to the Cultural Committee for their enthusiasm in leading these activities, ably led by Chiara Pezzetta our Cultural Captain with the support of Ms Willoughby.

The International Day of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Harmony Day, celebrated on the 21 March, is actually the Australian observation of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This day is observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed sixty-nine people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960. In 1979, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a programme of activities to be undertaken during the second half of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. On that occasion, the General Assembly decided that a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination, beginning on 21 March, would be organised annually in all States. Since then, the apartheid system in South Africa has been dismantled. Racist laws and practices have been abolished in many countries, and we have built an international framework for fighting racism, guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Convention is now nearing universal ratification, yet still, in all regions, too many individuals, communities and societies suffer from the injustice and stigma that racism brings.

Here in Australia, the 2022 Australian Reconciliation Barometer reported that 60% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people surveyed reported an experience of at least one form of racial prejudice in the previous 6 months. This was an increase of 8% since 2020 and 17% since 2018. Last weekend, we witnessed a group of neo-Nazis brazenly protest on the steps of the Victorian Parliament and make Nazi salutes. They gathered to support anti-Trans activists. Such examples of hate suggest to us that human rights, inclusion and peace, are not givens, even in this country. They are ideals that we need to strive for, to live out in our own lives and, sometimes, even defend. It requires of all of us, an attitude of respect. In our Christian tradition we would also recognise this as the love to which we are all called. As Jesus says to his disciples, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Let us pray:

Creator of all, make me a person of peace.

Where there is oppression, let me bring equality;

Where there is abuse, dignity;

Where there is fragmentation, unity;

Where there is exploitation, justice;

Where there is conflict, resolution;

Where there is discrimination, mutuality;

Where there is violence, vision;

Where there is powerlessness, power.

Grant that I may not so much

seek to compete as to collaborate;

to exclude as to include;

to dominate as to complement.

For it is in healing that we are healed;

it is in reconciling, that we are reconciled;

it is in our common bond, that we become whole.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

The Voice

“With our Franciscan tradition guiding us, we stand strong in our call for truth telling about our nation’s history and our support for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations people.”

Mount Alvernia College’s statement of support for The Voice

Pope Francis often speaks of the importance of dialogue. Dialogue creates a safe space for the exchange of ideas and experiences and for deep listening to others. The Uluru Statement from the Heart, published over five years ago, is an example of such dialogue. It is an invitation to the Australian people to walk with First Nations peoples for a better future through the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling about our history: https://ulurustatement.org/.

After many years of discernment and planning, the Prime Minster of Australia, Anthony Albanese, announced yesterday the question on which Australians will vote later this year: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-23/what-is-voice-to-parliament-referendum-what-will-i-be-voting-on/102136842.

Over the coming months, I will share with the Mount Alvernia College community the reasons for The Voice and the support offered by Franciscan communities in Australia, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the Archdiocese of Brisbane and Mercy Partners, the College’s Public Juridic Person. History is calling.

Project Compassion

Project Compassion is an annual Lenten appeal for Caritas Australia, the Catholic Church’s official international aid and development agency. The money raised through this appeal is used to develop long term development programs in partnership with some of the world’s most vulnerable communities for whom poverty and injustice is a daily reality. During Lent, each student is asked to consider what they can give up and to donate the money they save in going without to people in need. It is a small action that makes a world of difference, and indeed, a difference in our world. Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow for all future generations. All donations can be made through the Mount Alvernia College Project Compassion online portal: https://fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/o/mt-alvernia-college. The link will also be shared with students by email. For more information, visit the Caritas website: https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/.

Mufti Day, Thursday 30 March

To boost our fundraising totals for Project Compassion, next Thursday 30 March, we invite students to wear free dress (mufti) for a gold coin donation. Donations will be collected at the start of assembly on Thursday. The usual expectations for free dress days apply: no spaghetti straps, bare shoulders or midriffs, leggings, short shorts, clothing with inappropriate or offensive text and images, etc. In the interest of safety, students should wear enclosed shoes. As we are also doing the Ponytail Project Hair Chop on this day, students may wish to wear their hair in piggy tails. Students are permitted to wear free dress to and from school.

Ponytail Project, Thursday 30 March

At our assembly next week, Thursday 30 March, twelve students and Mrs Shelley Turner will participate in the Ponytail Project in support of the Cancer Council and people living with cancer. They will donate at least 20cm of their hair to Sustainable Salons that will be made into charitable wigs for those suffering from cancer or alopecia. One wig requires 20 ponytails and can cost thousands of dollars. Team Mount Alvernia have smashed their fundraising target of $2500 and their revised target of $5000. This is an amazing effort that places Mount Alvernia in second place on the Ponytail Project Leaderboard. You can donate to Team Mount Alvernia via the Ponytail Project website: https://www.ponytailproject.com.au/fundraisers/teammountalvernia. Thank you for your support.

Z Club Easter Competition

Students are invited to enter the Z Club Easter Competition by guessing how many Easter eggs are in the jar. Each guess costs a gold coin. Only one number (between 100 & 499) is permitted per person. The closest guess to the correct number wins the jar of eggs. If a tie breaker is required, the lower number will be declared the winner. Entries can be submitted to Z Club volunteers who will be walking around the campus during break times next week. All proceeds will support the Z Club’s birthing kit project: https://www.bkfa.org.au/.

FORMAL PHOTOS & VIDEO