Principal

Dear Members of the Academy community,

We are now midway through the season of Autumn with Winter beckoning around the corner.  However, I could not help thinking that, in many ways, it seems that we are in the season of Spring – the season of new life.  I say this because finally, after two years of lockdowns, restrictions and even seclusion, we are now opening up!

As I write on Wednesday 16 March, I am looking forward to welcoming parents back into the College tonight for the first time in twelve months.  One would not think that a Parent Information night would be the cause of such excitement!  The last time we had a full complement of parents onsite was for the Mothers’ Day Mass last year and I recall that there were so many families present that we had to move the venue from the Chapel to the Dillon Centre.  Tonight is the first of a number events where we welcome families and other guests back to the College.

Next week, two Talk and Tours are scheduled – the first for the 2022 year – with others to follow in close proximity.  It is gratifying to know that all forthcoming Talk and Tours are fully booked.

Congratulations, to our recently elected Class Captains, Vice Captains and Justice Captains in Years 7 to 11.  At the recent Term 1 Student Forum, a wonderful conversation took place between the class leaders and Mr Di Camillo and myself – the students were brimming with enthusiasm and were very eager to share their thoughts and ideas. The students are acknowledged on the Across Campus page.

Another important event in the College calendar is the end of term Autumn Soiree. This event is scheduled for Thursday 31 March.  This is always an evening of glorious music in the wonderful acoustics of the Ursula Frayne Memorial Chapel.

This week sees the celebration of two important feast days. The Feast of St Patrick on  Thursday 17 March and the Feast of St Joseph on Saturday 19 March - two great men of the church.  These men were decidedly different with their approach to life and their God.  Patrick was the missionary, travelling around and reaching out to people.  Joseph on the other hand, was the quiet man in the background who demonstrated a steadfast fidelity to his God through his ordinary day to day life.  It is surely encouraging for us to know that there are many ways of living out our commitment to our God.

Last year the Pope has proclaimed 2021 as the Year of St Joseph and in doing so he said “each of us can discover in St Joseph the person who goes unnoticed – a daily discreet and hidden presence”. May we be aware of the St Joseph’s in our midst and all they have to offer. 

A reminder, too, that we are in the season of Lent. Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our lives and to re-examine our relationships with others and with God. It encourages us to make a difference and to live more purposefully and fully.

Every blessing,

Sr Mary Moloney rsm

Principal

In the face of war I’m so small. Yet love is big

I can’t make the world be peaceful

I can’t stall tanks from roaring down roads

I can’t prevent children from having to hide in bunkers

I can’t convince the news to stop turning war into a video game

I can’t silence the sound of bombs tearing neighbourhoods apart

I can’t turn a guided missile into a bouquet of flowers

I can’t make a warmonger have an ounce of empathy 

I can’t convince ambassadors to quit playing truth or dare 

I can’t deflect a sniper’s bullet from turning a wife into a widow 

I can’t stave off a country being reduced to ash and rubble 

I can’t do any of that 

The only thing I can do is love the next person I encounter 

without any conditions or strings 

To love my neighbour so fearlessly that it starts a ripple 

that stretches from one horizon to the next

I can’t force peace on the world

but I can become a force of peace in the world 

Because sometimes all it takes is a single lit candle in the darkness to start a movement

“Lord, make me a candle of comfort in this world. Let me burn with peace”

~ John Roedel