Faith and Mission

Last week we had Year 11 and 12 students on Retreat at Beechworth and Blampied respectively. Students had valuable time out to reflect on their true selves and how they can become the best version of themselves. Our focus was a positive one of a God who wants us to have a future full of Hope. Students participated in a range of discussions and hands-on activities to explore their potential. On the Year Twelve Retreat as I walked around the various groups there was a tremendous buzz of interaction between the students and their teacher leaders. I must congratulate all students who attended and gave of themselves so honestly and openly. We hope that this feeling of community, friendship and support can sustain each other through this year and beyond. Thank you to Ms Auty and all the wonderful teachers who gave their time up to lead our small groups and organize this experience. Thank you also to Ms Luecke and Ms Cannon who ran the Year Eleven retreat with their amazing team of teachers.

Project Compassion: We have two more weeks of collecting for Project Compassion. I encourage you to talk about this with your daughters and see if you can put some of your loose change towards this great cause which helps so many struggling communities here and overseas. It is another practical way to live out our school theme for 2022, “Compassion : Moving to Action".

Building Bridges is on again next Monday and we will be going to Kilbreda, along with four other schools. Students enjoyed our first session tremendously and were shown around King David school where they learned much about the Jewish faith and traditions. Their students were wonderful and informative hosts.

St Kilda Mums: Thanks again to Ms Garofalo for organizing our Year 12 students to volunteer at St Kilda Mums. We went on Monday afternoon to sort clothes and goods and as usual our students were brilliant ambassadors for the school. 

We hope that over the next two weeks we can safely negotiate the rest of the term and celebrate through our Easter liturgy and Raffle. Take care and God bless you all.

Peter O’Neill, AP Faith and Mission

Building Bridges Program

By Nirasha Kumarapperuma  Year 11

The Building Bridges program allows people from different faiths and communities to connect, interact and understand each other's perspectives and beliefs. The schools that are involved in this program with Killester College are Mt. Hira College, Kilbreda College, King of David School, Mazenod College and Nazareth College. On Wednesday, the 9th of March, the Building Bridges group visited The King Of David Jewish School. 

We were first given a tour around the school. The school was beautiful. We were shown the Jewish scrolls which were written in Hebrew and read from right to left with no full stops or commas. On every classroom door, there was a ‘Mezuzah.’ The purpose of the Mezuzah is to bless everyone who enters through those doors as well as be a reminder of God’s presence. 

Their canteen consisted of Kosher foods, which is any food or beverage that Jewish dietary laws allow a person to eat. We also learnt that they are cautious about mixing dairy and meat products. Some Jewish people even have two kitchens or two dishwashers to prevent the mixture of these two foods. 

The school provided us with a delicious dinner. There were bagels made up of tomato and cheese and also tuna and lettuce. There were also jam biscuits called Hamantaschen which are triangular cookies that represent Haman’s favourite three-cornered hat which is associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim. Gluten-free snacks were also provided. We were then separated into smaller groups where we played ice-breaker activities and got to know our group members more personally. Overall, it was a very insightful, interesting and enjoyable day and cannot wait to see what the next few sessions will hold.