Mission and Identity 

• SPX Winter Appeal 
• Reconciliation Assembly

SPX Winter Appeal - Supporting St Vincent de Paul and Jesuit Refugee Services

Next week marks the start of our annual SPX Winter Appeal, with the College collecting goods for St Vincent de Paul, Brookvale and Jesuit Refugee Services, Parramatta. In this difficult time, those in need have found themselves pushed further into the fringes of society, with many volunteer organisations not able to cater for those who are less fortunate. Students are encourage to consider the plight of those around us, and to act by giving to the poor in handfuls.

Driven by Year 9, the appeal will run from Monday, 30 May until Thursday, 17 June (Week 8, Day 4). Year 9 Student volunteers will be collecting goods during homeroom. We are in need of the following items:

Thank you in anticipation for your generosity.

Mr Ryan Balboa - Social Justice Coordinator

Reconciliation Assembly

To mark Reconciliation Week, at our Monday morning Assembly, 5 Blue provided an insightful prayer into the dates that mark this significant occasion.  27 May 1967 was the date of the National Referendum to count Indigenous Australians in the Census figures, while 3 June 1992 marked the day that the High Court of Australia recognised the claims of Indigenous Australians over the Murray Islands, led by Eddie Mabo. Hence Reconciliation Week is from 27 May until 3 June.

Our Reconciliation ceremony held in the Junior School Playground was about education – it is in understanding the culture of Indigenous Australians that we will begin to appreciate the need for amicable relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. A country united is far better for all, than a country divided along cultural lines. It is for this reason we invited guests to help us in our education so that we all become ambassadors for Reconciliation.

Yuin Man Uncle Leslie and his nephew provided for us a chance to better understand the inextricable connection that exists between Indigenous Australians and the land. Ideas such as connection to family and each other highlighted the presentation. We were all invited to join in the ceremony as embers were lit using sticks and friction to create the fire that would smoke the ground upon which the ceremony would take place.

A representation of students wearing our Reconciliation jerseys were smoked before a ceremony that taught the need for persistence and patience when hunting was performed by members of our Junior School sporting teams. The remainder of the community joined in to assist. It is hoped that the short time spent together provided a glimpse into Aboriginal Spirituality for the young men of St Pius X College so that in the coming years they continue to be true ambassadors for reconciliation.

Mr Nathan Mulheron - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity