From the Principal 

Dear Parents/Carers, Students and Friends of St Virgil’s College,

Easter

As we approach the end of Lent and prepare for Easter, we are asked to be part of a process of reflecting on the ongoing story of our own life, in the context of remembering and reliving the story of Jesus in his last days. The days of Lent have been a time for self-reflection, the days ahead follow a familiar story: Palm Sunday and Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem; Holy Thursday and the Last Supper with the apostles – retold each time mass is celebrated; followed by his agony of self-doubt in the Garden of Gethsemane, his abandonment by the apostles and betrayal by Judas; on Good Friday his ‘trial’, carrying of the cross through the streets and execution on the cross; his entombment, and on Easter Sunday his inexplicable and incomprehensible Resurrection from death to life. 

Throughout Christian history, the best way to understand this has not merely been to know the facts of the story but to immerse oneself in them through the various liturgies and masses which cover these events every year at Easter; they bring each story to life again through prayer, ritual and re-enactment. From the young to the old, we can connect our own life story to that of Jesus and all the depth of his experiences during those days and what it reveals about the reality of our own existence by sharing in this ancient and living season and what it offers, particularly by involvement through your local parish. Attending some of the Easter ceremonies in a parish is a particularly powerful way of entering into this experience. If you are not connected to any particular parish, it is worth putting aside some time for what Easter is really about.

Open Day

Open Day at the Senior and Junior Schools were held recently with a significant number of prospective families coming through the doors. Open Day is not only a mechanism to increase enrolments, it is a celebration of who we are as a school community. The way in which we represent ourselves to the community says a lot about what we consider important. The values which we espouse must be evident to the staff, students, parents and those new to St Virgil’s. If we are not true to these values then we are not being true to ourselves, something which prospective parents pick up on relatively quickly. Hopefully these values were self-evident on the day and that prospective parents will choose St Virgil’s for these very reasons.

It is important to recognise the efforts of the staff and the students in making this year’s Open Day a success. The professionalism and enthusiasm of the teaching staff was evident and I would like to thank them for their efforts in preparing and organising the various displays and activities on the day. Many thanks also to Ms Shelley Medhurst – Marketing Manager and Mrs Lauren Langford – College Registrar for their organisation and oversight of the day, along with support from Mrs Josephine Messer for her assistance with the many and varied tasks that needed completing. As always, the students represented themselves, their families and the College in outstanding manner, especially those student leaders who took tours on the day.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Jon Franzin  

PRINCIPAL