Director of Mission
I would like to acknowledge that our thoughts and prayers are with the Bordignon Family in their time of loss.
The Bordigonon family have been a part of the Marian community for many years, we are grateful for the support and contributions they have made during this time. May Stella rest in peace.
MCC Community of Care
I will never stop expressing the belief that Marian is a community of ‘Care’. This week held some shining examples of this in our stewardship programs. Our water bottle recycling initiatie has seen some outstanding steps towards success and I strongly believe the war on waste is slowly turning in our favour, finally. This year we trialled some new water baskets to encourage further use.
As you can see in the images the new simple laundry baskets proofed a success and students and staff have started to form the habit of recycling in our school.
This was pleasing enough and I was extremely grateful and pleased when I found out that other members of the community had noticed the improvement in the program and took initiative to contribute and make it even stronger!
Thanks to the mighty Marian Maintenance staff who designed and created brand new recycling bins in abundance for the whole school. They replaced the temporary washing baskets and placed the new durable bins all around the College on Thursday and this will definitely take the program to a whole new level.
They would not pose for a photo but I managed to snap them working away and doing their part for the Marian Vision and Mission. Thank you to everyone who is doing their part to make the Marian environment a better place for our students
Staff Living the Marian Way
As part of our Annual Improvement Plan Marian has been working on staff formation as part of the bigger picture creation of Catholic Identity in our Diocese. Retreats and specific Professional Development made available, plays a dynamic role in this goal. What has become a positive and welcomed habit for Marian teachers is the participation in the Marist Footsteps Program run in Mittagong throughout the year. Footsteps is a 3-day residential program for staff who have been in Marist schools and ministries for two years or more. It explores Marist charism, identity, pedagogy and spirituality. Footsteps provides opportunities for those involved in Marist ministries to recognise and deepen an appreciation of their own personal call in life, spirituality and their own faith journey. This understanding is enriched through gaining a greater appreciation of the Marist story and charism of St Marcellin Champagnat. In 2019 alone we have been fortunate enough for four teachers who have accepted the opportunity to enhance their spiritual growth with positive outcomes. They have all come back with outstanding positivity and we would like to thank Tony Abou-Nasr, Gabriel Abdala, Lisa Davis and Donna Polimeni for continuing the Marist spirit at Marian with enthusiasm through this opportunity.
Tony Abou-Nasr and Gabriel Abdala at the recent ‘Footsteps Retreat’.
Plenary Council Submission
On Wednesday the 6th of April Marian Catholic College completed their submission for the Plenary Council. This was the climax to over 12 months worth of work with staff and students. In summary Marian submitted a collective response on behalf of the school that comprised of:
158 Responses, one of which was our new College Mural expressing different aspects of our faith, 153 under the age of 20 and 4 above. This did not include personal submissions made after listening and dialogues sessions operated at the school for students and staff. The responses were made up of 68 females and 91 males. I conclude this chapter of MCC with an insert of my submitted response- This experience has shown me how easy it is for us to stop listening and demonstrate that stereotypical 'we know best' attitude. God is asking us to change, grow and be fully alive in our faith journey. In order to do this we must shed the deadwood from our branches but listen to the environment in which we are trying to grow! The youth are our future and the College full submission will clearly demonstrate that they are willing to tell us how we can make them feel that they are being heard and belong in our faith. It is clear through this exercise that they are screaming at us, with what they are not saying. So God has given us an opportunity, an ark in the form of a plenary council, a chance to rebirth our faith in today's society. He is asking us to breathe life back into a religion and to lay a stone on the pathway of trust and redemption in its followers. God is asking us how we can continue to pass on our traditions, not cemented in the mistakes of the past but alive and living in tomorrow’s youth.
Project Compassion
Project Compassion commenced last week on the 6th of April and will run for 6 weeks. Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Millions of Australians come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Our goal this year is $3000 which will make a significant contribution to the needs of remote communities we are intending to aid.
You can also help at home with your children and ask them to take the below Project Compassion Water Challenge:
MCC Student Water CHallenge
FIRSTLY, SAVE WATER!
Students can save up to 5 litres of water every day by making some simple changes to their routine:
· Take shorter showers
· Don’t leave the tap running when you clean your teeth
· Use the half-flush on your toilet
That wraps up the newsletter for this week and in our next edition I will be starting a section where I will be highlighting great acts of Missionary Discipleship from staff and students in the Marian Moments segment.
Have a great weekend and as always do not hesitate to get in touch for feedback, suggestions or queries.
Regards
Heath Neville
Director of Mission
Marian Catholic College