This week’s gospel retells the story of the blind man who Jesus cured. The man is then questioned by the pharisees who do not believe him and suggest that Jesus’ healing powers cannot come from God. As the gospel continues, the pharisees argue with each other and eventually they send the man away and refuse to believe him. There are, as always, many themes that run through the gospel, however, there are two that I would like to highlight. The first is the idea that Jesus is the source of opening our eyes to the world and giving sight to the blind. The idea that when we allow Him to pass on His miracle of awareness, so that we might see the beauty of the world around us is an ever-occurring theme. The second, is the way that the pharisees take the negative approach and condemn Jesus for His healing, yet even they are divided. It is not unusual for people to have differing opinions even on things that might appear straight forward. We need to be able to step back and look at the context of an event but also be aware of our own thoughts and feelings before making a decision. In this way, we might again allow the light of Christ to shine on our attitudes and behaviours.

Last week, every Principal and Assistant Principal from our diocese gathered for the launch of the diocesan strategic plan. This plan is called Lighting The Way 2023 plus (LTW 2023+) and is designed to give a clear direction for catholic education in Wollongong diocese. Our School Improvement Plan (SIP) has been aligned to the diocesan plan so that we are working in conjunction with our head office and our local schools. As you would be aware from previous newsletters, our SIP goals are arranged around three themes. These are:

• to promote connectedness and a sense of belonging within our community
• to ensure we have an ethos directed at high expectations and a commitment to excellence, and
• working with staff in building their capacity to improve student faith, learning and wellbeing.

Below is a link to the diocesan strategic plan (LTW2023+) which I encourage you to look at and discuss.

Next week our students and staff will be involved in the Year 7 camp, the audience for Q&A, Harmony Day, Yr 11 Hospitality Barista course, Yr 11 & 12 Studies of Religion 2 excursion, and soon after, the Yr 8 Encounter Day and the start of interviews for Yr 7, 2024. This is a normal week in the running of a secondary school and is an indication that we have put most of the COVID restrictions behind us. I would, however, encourage students to remain vigilant regarding hygiene and safe practices.

Enrolment packages were distributed on the information night and can still be collected from the College office. These are due to be returned to the College by 2pm April 6 (the last day of Term 1).

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio