Deputy Principal - Identity and Religious Life of the College

Refugee Week

This week is Refugee Week.  It provides an opportunity for all Australians to recognise the courage of refugees, to celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society, and to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees today.  The theme for this year is Celebrating the Year of Welcome.  During Mass to mark the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on 29 September last year, Pope Francis said that, “as Christians, we cannot be indifferent to the bleak isolation, contempt, and discrimination experienced by those who do not belong to 'our group'”, and added, “we cannot remain insensitive, our hearts deadened, before the misery of so many innocent people.  We must not fail to weep.  We must not fail to respond.”  At the end of Mass, he underlined the moral imperative to welcome and give hospitality to migrants and discarded people by inaugurating a twenty-foot tall bronze sculpture in St Peter’s Square. The sculpture by Canadian artist, Timothy Schmalz, depicts 140 migrants and refugees from different cultures and historical periods, including indigenous migrants, Jews fleeing from Nazi Germany, Poles escaping from communism, and Syrians and Africans fleeing from war, poverty, and famine.  The 140 figures in the sculpture correspond to the 140 sculptures in the colonnades of St Peter’s Square.  

Historically, Australia has extended a generous welcome to people fleeing war and persecution.  More recently, our response seems to be driven by fear, suspicion, and a disregard for the rights and dignity of others.  Last Friday night, twenty people of different faiths gathered in prayer to show solidarity for 120 refugees and people seeking asylum currently being held by the Australian Government in an apartment complex at Kangaroo Point that has been converted into a detention centre.  These people have already been in offshore detention for seven years and have been moved by the Government to Brisbane temporarily to receive medical treatment.  Despite the adverse consequences to their health, they continue to be held indefinitely with no fair process or certainty.  A Tamil family - Nades, Priya, and their two young daughters - have been in detention since March 2018.  Despite widespread community support for the family to remain in Australia, in August last year the Australian Government relocated them to a dormant detention centre on Christmas Island.  The cost to the Australian taxpayer of reopening and running the detention centre – for two adults and two young children - is $20,000 per day.  In the words of Pope Francis, “Loving our neighbour as ourselves means being firmly committed to building a more just world … Loving our neighbour means feeling compassion for the sufferings of our brothers and sisters, drawing close to them, touching their sores and sharing their stories ... This means being a neighbour to all those who are mistreated and abandoned on the streets of our world, soothing their wounds and bringing them to the nearest shelter, where their needs can be met.”  May we be ever mindful of our call to love our neighbour as ourselves, and to welcome all who seek safety in our land.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday 

Sunday 5 July is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday.  Ordinarily, this celebration would coincide with NAIDOC Week; however, as a result of the restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year NAIDOC Week will be held from 8 to 15 November.  The theme for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Sunday is Together in the Spirit.  It speaks not only to the challenges that we have faced as a nation in the past year – drought, bushfires, and pandemic – but the ever-present need for empathy, friendship, and love for one another.  This year, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday Mass will be live streamed from the St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide from 11.00am EST via the NATSICC website, http://www.natsicc.org.au/. 

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

Tomorrow, Friday 19 June, students are invited to dress down in support of the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.  To participate, students are required to donate winter clothing and other necessities including jumpers, tracksuit pants, scarfs, gloves, beanies, and blankets. These items need to be clean and free of holes and stains.  These donations can be left at the Picnic Rug prior to morning Home Room.  If students do not have winter items to give, they can contribute a gold coin donation to the Appeal.  The cash donations will be collected in Home Room.  The usual expectations for free dress days apply: no thin straps, bare shoulders or midriffs, leggings, short shorts, clothing with inappropriate or offensive text, images, etc.  In the interest of safety, students should wear appropriate footwear (eg enclosed shoes).  Students are permitted to wear free dress to and from school.

Domestic Violence Care Packs 

Thank you to students and families who have supported our collection of toiletries for women displaced by domestic violence.  As we require enough items to pack at least 30 bags, this collection will continue until the end of July.  Items required for each bag include toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, hairbrush, underwear (a range of sizes), shampoo, towel and washer, hand cleanser, sanitary pads, packets of nappies, and Coles or Woolworths shopping bags.  Currently, every three weeks, ten women are assisted by Stafford police.  Increasingly, support is also being provided to teenagers affected by domestic and cyber violence.

Variety Hair with Heart

Currently, four students have signed up to participate in Mount Alvernia’s Big Chop in support of Variety’s Hair with Heart.  Given the current restrictions on group gatherings, we have rescheduled for this to take place during assembly on Thursday 13 August.  The College has a Hair with Heart fundraising page: Hair with Heart Fundraising.  If you or your extended family and friends would like to support the students donating their hair for this worthy cause, please follow the link to make your donation.  Every little bit helps.  Hair with Heart is Variety’s national hair donation initiative.  Hair donations are made into specialised wigs for those who have lost their hair due to a medical condition.  Funds raised through the sale of the hair go to Variety’s grants and programs to give Aussie kids in need a fair go. 

Upcoming Days of Significance 

Saturday 20 June: World Refugee Day

Sunday 5 July: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday 

Richard Rogusz