In this week’s Gospel, Luke (15: 1-32) gives us three stories of loss. The first is the shepherd who loses one of his sheep, the second is a woman who loses a valuable coin and the third is a father who loses the presence of his son (the prodigal son). In each story, the main character rejoices and celebrates when that which was lost is again restored to them. We will often focus on the third story, that of the prodigal son, when we hear this gospel. That is perhaps because this story is more about a relationship of love between two people which has been broken. This relationship is restored albeit in a different way, when the son returns to his father’s home. One of the main points in this reading is the fact that when the son returns home, his father does not wait for him to arrive and then chastise him, rather, the father “ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly”. The father not only forgave the son, but it is apparent that he would always be welcome there. Our relationship with God may sometimes reflect the fact that we are lost and may need the time to decide to return home and it is exciting to know that we will always be welcomed back into God’s loving arms.

On Wednesday evening we held our final Year 12 Parent/Teacher/Student evening for 2022. Whilst the attendance at these events can always be stronger, the commitment of the staff was shown through their willingness to be available and take the opportunity to feedback areas where students may be able to improve in the short time between now and the higher School Certificate exams. This feedback is vital in giving our students every possibility of achieving excellence in whatever form that may take. Thank you to the staff who gave up their evening and to the students and parents who were able to attend.

As an indication that we are starting to return to pre-COVID activities, over the last week, as well as students attending the LIVE event, we also had representatives attend the St Gregory’s feast day, the launch of the Bishop’s Social Justice statement and staff at the National Catholic Education Commission Conference. We will also be sending representatives to the launch of Catholic Mission month next week. It is lovely to see we are able to return to some of our local connections and give students opportunities to represent the College.

Next Wednesday, we will host another of our Year 7 Parent Literacy Engagement evenings. These evenings are a recognition that parents play a vital and valuable part in the achievement of their children and any way that we are able to support this will be beneficial. It is also partly a response to survey results from earlier in the year where parents requested more opportunities to engage in the community and come into the College. Thank you to Mrs Murphy and Mrs Hutchen for your organisation and delivery of this evening.

Finally, next week our Year 11 students will begin their Preliminary Course final examinations. These are an opportunity for them to experience the format of exams similar to those conditions they will face in the HSC. Whilst some students will be anxious about these, in the past, students have said they benefitted greatly from the skills they built, and this made the HSC that little bit easier. I generally do not wish students luck as this does not play a factor for those who are well prepared, but I do extend to them all our best wishes.

Ite in Veritate