Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

Within the Catholic Church, we refer to the upcoming week as Holy Week. Holy Week leads to the most important feast in the Christian calendar, as without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have no basis to our Catholic faith. The Holy week traditions start this weekend with Palm Sunday and we have an opportunity to reflect on how we might get caught up in the frenzy of the crowd but then be quiet about our standards when the ‘activity disappears’. As Jesus spent Holy Thursday in His Last Supper with His friends, we can remember to gather with those around us in times of sorrow or fear. The death of Jesus on Good Friday is reflected in the daily sorrows and lows that we might face in everyday life. The hope of Easter Saturday ensures that we always have something to look forward to and the celebration of Easter Sunday guides us to the joy that is possible with faith in Christ. As we travel in the Passion of Jesus over the next week, we can take the opportunity to reflect on our own lives and how we might use sacrifice to help provide a better world.

Today at the College assembly I spoke with the students around the notion of respecting the dignity of each individual person. This acknowledgement of each person’s value lies in the fact that we are created in the image of God by God and each of us carries the love of God. How we recognise and support the dignity of each other is the challenge that we face in our contemporary society. The way that we speak to each other, make physical contact with each other and care for our environment, reflects the way that we value each other as a person of worth. I challenged the students to consider this and how we might build on a community that already prides itself on caring for the individual and being present to those around us. I encourage you as the primary educators of your children to speak with them about how they can ensure they value the individual dignity of those with whom they come into contact. 

As I stated last week, Catholic education, Diocese of Wollongong is interested in gaining feedback around its strategic direction. I sent a letter out this week inviting parents to provide this feedback.  This is a valuable way for parents, students and staff to reflect on what we do and how we do it. For those who may have missed this, a QR code to access this survey is printed later in this newsletter. 

Over the past week we have seen some extreme rainfall that has alerted me to a few issues with carparking. Whilst I realise this may not be an option for all parents, where possible, I would encourage students to use bus transport to and from school as this is a safer option by reducing traffic and congestion. Parents are reminded that drop off and pick up should occur in the parent carpark as driving up the main driveway can create issues with student pedestrians. If you choose to drop or collect your children on Spitfire Dr, please discuss with them safety concerns around crossing this busy road and encourage them to be ‘car aware’. Parents are also reminded that the carpark on the church side of the driveway is designed for Year 12 students to reduce congestion from their parking. Please avoid using the Year 12 carpark at drop off and pick up times.

Please remember that Year 7, 2022 enrolment applications are due to be returned to the College by this Thursday 1 April. If you are considering applying, or know someone who is, please ensure the applications arrive by this date.

As next week is a shortened week leading into the Easter holidays, this will be the final newsletter for this term. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all students, parents and staff for a successful term 1 and wish you all a very happy, holy and relaxing Easter break.

Mr Steve Lo Cascio