Education In Faith
From the Director of Catholic Identity
‘You are part of Australia and Australia is part of you. And the Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others.’
(St John Paul II)
On the 29 May our country celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum. It is also on this day that our nation begins their celebrations for National Reconciliation Week.
At Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College we began our celebrations on Friday 26 May which is National Sorry Day. It is on this day that we as a Josephite community stopped our pastoral period in the morning for a minute silence as we listened to the words of the Josephite apology to Indigenous peoples, written in 1999, it was a document and act which demonstrates the desire of the Sisters’ to advocate for the needs of all.
A link to this letter can be found HERE.
Our celebrations and actions continued throughout the week. Our social justice leaders called our students to stand up and speak out about the continual injustices faced by Indigenous Australians; focusing on calling for changes in Government policies to close the gap; our students raised awareness about the continual gap of access to education and healthcare experienced by many Indigenous Australian’s. Topics supported by students included employment rates, infant mortality rates and life expectancy rates.
The final day of Reconciliation week celebrated the 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking Mabo Decision. This decision acknowledged and supported Indigenous land rights. Our students gathered on the oval to commemorate the week and call for continued efforts to promote not just reconciliation but recognition of the First peoples of our nation in the Constitution.
The overall theme for the week was Let’s take the step. How are you as an individual taking the next step towards recognition? Sign a petition here: http://www.recognise.org.au/
Prayer for Guidance
Creator of all things,
Both seen and unseen.
Speak to us in your great wisdom.
Make us strong as we seek
Your help and guidance.
Teach us to love all people
Regardless of race or colour or belief.
May we listen with great care
To the heartbeat of this land
And to its people
Who cared for it so well
And for so long.
May the peace these people and their land
Have always enjoyed
Continue to be strengthened and preserved
By all who wish to come and be part of
This country and its ‘Ancient Dreaming’.
St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop…….Pray for us
St. Joseph…….Pray for us
Danielle Fairthorne
Director of Catholic Identity
Year 10 Retreat
On May 18, the Year 10 cohort engaged in a retreat in collaboration with Emmanuel College, St. Paul's Campus. With the theme of "Respectful relationships", the students enjoyed the first half of the day with Steve Angrisano, an evangelical singer from the United States of America. Engaging them in ice breaker games, songs and moral stories, Angrisano allowed the students to see how respectful relationships between people around us and God are very important to our everyday lives.
The second half of the day consisted of using the reflections from Steve and applying it into 'easy to understand' skits, drama performances or songs. The students showed excellent enthusiasm and communication skills within their groups and created some very impressive performances. The dynamic and energy of the day was amazing, and the students that participated should be congratulated on how they conducted themselves on the day.
Love Thy neighbour
On May 29 our Social Justice leaders joined 20 other schools and 8 organisations to reflect on the theme of Love Thy Neighbour. The event was hosted by the Office for Justice and Peace, Archdiocese of Melbourne. During the day the students reflected on the Catholic Social Teaching principles and networked with students across the city to brainstorm some great ideas for raising awareness about key issues in our society. Our students (and staff) even made it on stage to learn African drumming.
Our social justice leaders were very grateful for the time to reflect on their work and contributions to justice at MSJ.
Catholic Education Today
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