Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

This Sunday is celebrated within the church as Trinity Sunday. This is the point where there is a clear indication of the importance of the Holy Spirit and a recognition of the three persons in the one being that is God. In the early Australian church, the Irish connection following on from St Patrick, always represented the Holy Trinity in the form of a shamrock. The nature of this, having three distinct leaves within the one sprig, was an easy way to think of the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The final sentence of this week’s Gospel (Matthew 28 16 – 20) “And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time” names a simple and definite reality of our faith. The idea that God is with us always in the form of the spirit is a comforting and exciting prospect. After Jesus ascended into heaven, it would have been easy for the apostles to lose faith and feel abandoned. The gift of the Holy Spirit ensures that we have God with us at all times. 

Last Monday, I had the privilege of escorting six of our students (Maureen Abdelnour, Taylor and Matilda Faasoa, Eseta Malaesilia, Laura Alivio and Jaiden Valencia) and two teachers (Ms Dyball and Mr Follett) to the Mass celebrating 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. Each Catholic school in the Diocese sent representatives to this Mass however, Mount Carmel was requested to also supply singers and musicians. It was a very proud moment to hear the beautiful musical contribution that our staff and students made. Congratulations to these members of our community on representing us with pride and contributing so valuably to the Diocesan celebration.   

On Wednesday, Mr Teuma accompanied students to the National Sorry Day remembrance Mass held at Macquarie Fields. Each year we send representatives to attend this Mass and recognise the importance of joining in remembering the traditional custodians of this land and the impact that we have had on them and the land over the past 233 years. Thank you to Mr Teuma and our student representatives.

Over the last week or so, I have been wading through the many responses to the ‘Tell Them From Me’ surveys that parents, students and staff completed a few weeks ago. All included, we had around 900 responses and have been given valuable information regarding what we do well and what areas we might have for improvements. Overall, the responses were very positive but we still have work to do to ensure all members of our community feel welcome and valued. Please be assured that your responses have been read and will contribute to ongoing improvements but also know that you do not have to wait for a survey to provide feedback.

In two week’s time, (June 8) we will be holding our last Parents and Friend’s meeting for the term. As usual, this will be held in room I3 (at the front of the College) beginning at 7pm. The guest speaker at this meeting will be Mr Simon Huntly who is the College Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Coordinator. Once again, all parents are invited to join us for this meeting.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio
Principal