PRINCIPAL

SACRED HEART DAY

Today we celebrate Sacred Heart Day, commencing with Mass in the morning. It was lovely to have Sr Marie Therese Ryder RNDM, Sr Shelley Barlow RNDM, Sr Veronica Martin RNDM, Sr Margaret Spain RNDM and especially Sr Margaret McInerney RNDM here to join us for our special day. Sr Margaret was a past Principal of the College for 11 years from 1973 to 1977 and then again from 1979 to 1984. More recently, she has just returned to Australia after working for 20 years in the missions in Kenya and now resides in Melbourne. One of her special missions in Kenya was working to provide opportunities for children with disabilities. In the 90s, the College named the previous gymnasium complex in honour of Sr Margaret and the McInerney Learning Centre now continues this legacy.

HeARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

Congratulations to our extremely gifted students who showcased their talents last weekend. My congratulations and thanks are also extended to Mrs Shannon Sodano, Director of the Arts; Mr Mark Martino, Head of Music; and all the teachers, tutors and support staff for their work in The Arts Learning Area. These staff worked tirelessly to ensure that both the HeARTS Festival on Friday and Music Festival on Sunday were a huge success. 

We had approximately 200 students performing, with everything from busking in the English courtyard to our very own cinema with work from our Media students on screen. There was also the Art Exhibition and the interactive colouring in columns. A highlight of the HeARTS Festival had to be The Little Mermaid musical which delighted and enthralled all guests, especially our youngest patrons! 

The Music Festival on Sunday displaying all music and vocal students' talents was outstanding. The performances were of an extraordinary level. We certainly have many very able musicians and vocalists and I was delighted to see that their performances were to a full auditorium. Invited guests, Sr Marie Therese Ryder RNDM and Sr Margaret McInerney RNDM, were astounded at the level of competence and artistry of all participating students. Students who were presented with a trophy at the Best Of Concert are listed in this Newsletter.

I look forward to seeing these annual events grow and develop in the years to come.

ACC NO LIMITS INTEGRATED AFL CARNIVAL

I would also like to congratulate all the students who access the Mary MacKillop Centre who participated in and won the ACC No Limits Integrated AFL Carnival last Friday. The students enjoyed making new friends, practising their skills and taking part in three very close games. The students had to "pull out all the stops" to make it to the final - winning the nail biting Grand Final against Lumen Christi College by 1 point. The students have proudly displayed their trophy in the Koort Centre and are rightly thrilled with their achievement.

END OF TERM 2 

We said farewell on Monday to the following staff who are either leaving us for a short while or at the end of a contract. I thank them all for their service to the College and wish them well for the future. 

• Mrs Rachel Poulter (Parental Leave) - English Learning Area 
• MrsEdelDunne - Mathematics Learning Area
• Ms Maighread Ni Dheasuna - Science Learning Area
• Miss Emma Gyurity - Mary MacKillop Centre
• Ms Jodee Walton - Health Centre

In the new semester we welcome back Mr John Edmondsonin Science; Mr Martin Ruane in Mathematics; Ms Cate Mills and Mrs Marcella Guerrero in the Mary MacKillop Centre and Ms Nicole Ruile in the Health Centre. We also welcome Mrs Lynda Ellison to the English Department and, as mentioned in last week’s Newsletter, Ms Sasha Wells as our new Aboriginal Liaison Officer.   

I wish all in our community a safe and restful break. I hope everyone has an opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends and I look forward to everyone’s return, full of energy and enthusiasm for the new semester. 

God Bless.

Mr Leo Di Gregorio

Principal