This week’s second reading (James 2: 1-5) has a very simple yet clear message that needs no explanation. It states that we are not to make distinctions between classes of people. Jesus’ message throughout His parables and actions, consistently encourages us to consider the dignity of each person and treat them with the value of a person created in the image of God. With this as a focus, we can help to be bearers of Christ’s love.

Over the past week, a series of events occurred which highlight the numerous opportunities for excellence that we offer to our students. I am proud of the work that our staff contribute and the high standard to which our students participate.

On Tuesday evening, our Creative Arts, Society and Culture and Extension II English Major Works night was held. This evening enabled guests to see the visual artworks and major works that will be presented by our students for their HSC. As always, the standard is extremely high and there was something of interest for everyone. The works reflected the high expectations of the staff and the efforts of our students. Congratulations to the students and thank you to Ms Cortes and the CAPAL, HSIE and English staff for the evening and the support of the students.

On Wednesday, we held our SRC induction day where our 12 Year 11, 2025 SRC students had an opportunity to work together and develop individual and teamwork skills for leadership. This day culminated in the students presenting speeches on leadership and will help to determine the main roles and portfolios for next year. The final positions will be announced on Monday and included in next week’s newsletter.

On Thursday we had three events that showcased the various talents of our students. In the morning, we held our Academic Assembly for Year 7 – 10 based on their Semester 1 results. This assembly enabled us to recognise those students who excelled in their achievements and/or their level of effort in their academic pursuits. Overall, there were in excess of 90 certificates distributed to students who had taken up the challenge to ‘get off the couch and into the game’. We were fortunate to have around 70 parents and family members join us in celebration. Thank you for all those who joined us and congratulations to our achievers.

During the day, two of our students participated in the Year 10 MISA Public Speaking competition. Our entrants, Patrick Arthur and Cassandra Tuyor represented us with distinction and were very competitive amongst the 22 speakers from Christian schools across the Macarthur. It was fantastic to hear that Patrick secured second place with his insightful speech on the relevance of history in our ever-changing society. Congratulations to Patrick and Cassandra.

In the evening, I travelled to Wollongong to attend the Bishop’s Excellence Awards. These awards are given each year to one student from each secondary school within the diocese. This student is an all-rounder who represents the faith, service and academic effort that we hope each of our graduates will aim for. This year, our award recipient was Sabina Celiz. Sabina was acknowledged for her continued support of faith development and social justice. She was a worthy recipient of this award and I congratulate her on behalf of the College.

Thank you to the 40 or so fathers and grandfathers who joined us for our Father’s Day breakfast on Monday. This was a special event and moving liturgy. Thanks to Ms Borg, Ms Nguyen and Ms Meharg for the liturgy and to Mr Daniels, Mrs Trimarchi and the Hospitality students and staff for the lovely breakfast.

We have been advised that our canteen renovations will begin by the end of week 9 (approx. two weeks). Whilst this canteen will be a significant internal refurbishment, it is anticipated that it will only take around four weeks (two of which will be the holidays). This will mean there will be a reduced offering from the canteen during this time and we will relocate it temporarily across the passageway into the old science building. They will serve the students from a window. We will advise more details around this in the coming weeks.

As announced last week, we have begun posting to our Facebook account from this week and hope it will grow quickly. Please follow our link. It would be great if you could pass this on and like our posts so they can increase as a form of communication with parents.