From the Principal

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of Mazenod College,

“Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another” 

- Henri Nouwen

I send my wishes to you all as I write this Principal Report from the northwest town of Tom Price. I arrived in this lovely town earlier yesterday (Thursday 15 June) having previously visited Kununurra, Broome and Port Hedland on the Mazenod and St Brigid’s Combined Boarding Road trip. At the time of publication of this newsletter, we would also have visited Karratha before returning home on the weekend.

The trip has been a wonderful experience to catch up with, and in my case, meet for the first time, some of our current parents of Cebula boarders, as well as meeting some of those parents in these northwest towns, interested in sending their boys to Mazenod in the future.

What has captured my attention in each of these occasions, is the common theme that our current parents continue to share. Our parents have acknowledged that yes, it is tough to send your son so many miles from home to board, but they feel that this is in their best interests and will create a foundation for their young son’s life that they may not have from their home town – and they are delighted with the supportive, caring and wonderfully holistic approach that a Mazenod education provides.

I have been so proud to hear the compliments from so many of our parents this week, and in previous weeks from many of our parents that I have interacted with, who speak so highly of what our College provides for their son.

What also struck me, was how far reaching the wonderful Mazenod reputation extends. Whilst we have enjoyed the company of those who have come to the sessions especially to gain some information, we have also bumped into people in the street who have an association with Mazenod and the Oblates.

One such gentleman was in Kununurra, who was on a work contract visit in the area, escorting American mining executives on a tour of the region. When he saw our crest, he came in and introduced himself. He was in the Class of 1978 from Mazenod College in Mulgrave, Victoria and we found ourselves conversing in a township on the diagonally opposite part of the country!! Phil has such fond memories of his time at the College and values the education and guidance he received under the tutelage of the likes of Fr John Sherman OMI, Fr Kevin Devine OMI, our very own Fr Bill Ousley OMI and so many others.

The wonderful tradition of a Mazenod College, with its foundations in the Oblate tradition, has impacted, and continues to impact so many of us, across our College community and the wider Oblate family across the world.

God bless.

“Be grateful for all the good the Lord helps us to accomplish” 

- St Eugene de Mazenod

Simon Harvey

Principal