Principal

Dear members of the Academy Community,

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down.

Without the rain there would be no rainbow”

Gilbert K Chesterton 

Amidst all the rain, Year 12 students have experienced their final days – their last week of official schooling. I am sure they, like us, find it very hard to believe that the year has gone by so quickly. 

There have been 3 formal celebrations for our Year 12 students – their Mass on Thursday night, a Graduation Assembly on Friday, followed by a morning tea with their parents and staff. 

The Farewell Mass provided an opportunity to thank the Year 12 students for their contribution to the College over the past 6 years. At the Graduation Mass it has become a tradition that students are thrice blessed receiving a blessing from all present, the Irish Blessing in recognition of our Irish Heritage and a Mercy blessing. 

Mercy Blessing

May you meet mercy each day;

In the light of your own heart,

At the hands of your loved ones,

 In the eyes of the stranger and the needy.

And if by chance you do not at first meet it,

Then search your heart for it,

Listen patiently for word of it,

And it will tap you on the shoulder,

A quiet surprise, a small gesture, the tender look,

Given and received in the encounters of your day.

Poems & Prayers of Mercy by Mary Wickham rsm

On behalf of the College I extend our best wishes to our Year 12 students and wish them well as they conclude their schooling and enter into the examination period. I encourage them to keep working steadily over the weeks ahead. The end is in sight!

I would particularly like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of the Year 12 teachers this year. They have worked tirelessly to support the students and their professionalism, expertise, and care are much appreciated. Special thanks to Ms Jodie Muller, Year 12 Wellbeing Leader, for her encouragement of the students and her dedication and hard work.

Education is not just about preparing young people for the future. It is about giving them the skills, confidence, and heart to shape the future. It is not just about giving them knowledge, but about encouraging them to be all that they can be—to reach their full potential—to enable them to be people who will make a difference in a world that desperately needs honest, strong, compassionate leaders. 

Our Vision and Mission Statement also includes the six Mercy values that we hold dear.   I believe that as we farewell our Year 12s, they will leave the Academy with a deep appreciation of these six key Mercy values and imbued with this understanding, they will, in their own way, make the world a better place. 

Senior Student Leadership Team 2023

As the Year 12 students move to completing their time with us, the focus moves to the new Senior Student Leadership Team.  This team was formally announced at the Graduation Assembly last Friday.  We were very pleased with both the number of students who had the courage to put their names forward for leadership and with the calibre of the applicants.  Once again we know that there will be strong student leadership in 2023 and that the College will be in good hands.  Please join me in congratulating our 2023 Leadership Team:

Year 7 2023

In the midst of farewells, there are also welcomes.  Last week we welcomed to the College our newest students – the Year 7 students of 2023 who participated in an Assessment Morning.  Hopefully, this is the beginning of a very happy and enriching 6 years of education at the Academy of Mary Immaculate.  As we farewell our Year 12 students, we acknowledge that the cycle continues, having now met last week, the students who will form the Year 12 Cohort of 2028!

Mercy Leadership Day

Our choir, AMICCI, were privileged to be chosen to sing at the Mercy Leadership Mass last Friday 7th October 2022.  This was a gathering of Staff Senior Leadership teams from Mercy schools across Australia.

Every blessing,

Sr Mary Moloney

Principal