Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

The main theme that runs through the readings from this Sunday are around death and the raising to new life. In the gospel (John 11: 1- 45), Jesus meets Mary and Martha after their brother Lazarus has died. After an encounter with the sisters, Jesus enters the tomb and commands Lazarus to rise from the dead. This is a lead up to the Easter experience that we are soon to have over the next few weeks. The main difference between now and Easter however, is that Jesus raises Lazarus back to a life that will again cease at some point in the future. The resurrection that will happen on Easter Sunday is to a new life that will last forever. Lazarus’ raising shows the power of Jesus and whilst this is an unfathomable miracle for our minds, it pales into insignificance compared to the miracle that will occur on Easter Sunday. Jesus’ resurrection under His own authority breaks the power of death that existed prior to Holy Week. As we come to the final stages of Lent, we might reflect on the gift that Jesus gave us of a message of hope and eternal life.

This week our college celebrated several Harmony Week events. These events included playing cultural music during breaks, along with a student concert, and ‘picnics’ during the junior year meeting timeslots. Harmony week is designed to encourage students to celebrate diversity and to see the richness in encountering people who have a different ancestry and history. The idea of celebrating this in a sense of welcome is a fundamental basis of Catholicism (especially given that the word ‘catholic’ is defined by the Oxford dictionary as ‘including a wide variety of things; all-embracing’). Congratulations to all the students who entered into this week with a mindset of inclusion and gratitude for difference.

Also this week, our Year 7 students attended their camp and our Year 8’s experienced their encounter day. Both of these activities are designed to enable students to develop links with each other and to hopefully encourage a greater sense of connectedness and belonging to their peers and the College as a whole. I would like to congratulate and thank the staff for their tireless work in preparing for these things and carrying them out. There is a great deal of extra work in ensuring these are a success and our staff go above and beyond to ensure you children receive something special. Congratulations and thanks.

This week I began our interviews for Year 7, 2024. Once again, I have been energised by the feedback of parents and students who wish to join our community. Their limited experiences with us still recognise that there is something special about Mount Carmel and this is a credit to our students, parents and staff who make our community what it is. Please continue to discuss with your children what it means to be attending Mount Carmel and how they might positively contribute to who we are and what we do. A reminder that 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