In this week’s Gospel (Mark 10:35-45) we read the phrase; “Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant”. As part of the Christian tradition, servant leadership is a well-known concept. It does not mean that decisions are avoided or delegated, but that decisions are made with the interests of others, rather than our own, at the centre of our thinking. It also means that our actions should be directed at caring for all. Our new SRC takes over their roles of leadership from the start of this week. Our Year 11 students also move into the role of leadership of the student body. This Gospel encourages us to consider how we act and behave but also what we expect of those in leadership. Constant review of our style and decisions is important and forms the basis of how we act. 

As stated in the last few newsletters in Term 3, we will now only be publishing our newsletter each fortnight. We hope to be increasing our presence on social media with regular posts being uploaded on Facebook and Instagram. I encourage anyone interested in our community to follow our pages to get regular updates of what is occurring at the College.

At the start of this term, we took possession of our new Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) at the front of the College. This COLA has already been widely utilised by students during break times and as an assembly point for buses at the end of each day. This has opened the centre of the College to light and space and will become a valuable gathering point moving forward. We have also taken possession of our refurbished A block which will be used as a Religious Education general classroom space. We hope to have access to our lower J block within the next few days as final painting and furniture relocation occurs. 

Our HSC students have begun their final exams and to this point the feedback has been quite positive. The process has been smooth, and I thank our departing Year 12 students for their cooperation and for the hard work that they have contributed in the lead up to the exams. As our first result of note, Liam Tannoury has had his English Extension major work nominated for possible inclusion into the Young Writers Showcase 24. This is a major achievement and a recognition of a very high standard of quality work submitted for this year’s HSC. Congratulations to Liam and to Mrs Murphy, who assisted Liam in the development of his project.

This weekend and the start of next week, two of our student leaders will be travelling to Mittagong for the Marist Student Leader’s gathering. They will be joined by student leaders from Marist schools across the state and will be discussing what leadership means in a Marist setting. We wish our representatives all the best for this meeting.

At the start of this term, we welcomed Ms Samantha Giles as our substantive Assistant Principal. Ms Giles joins us from St Mary’s Star of the Sea and brings with her a wealth of experience and passion. We also welcome back the return of Ms Jemma Rodoreda and Ms Alex Hanna who return from Parental Leave. At the same time, we have two staff, Ms Clare Murphy and Mr Clinton Rodoreda who will be taking time off during term 4. We wish them a profitable break. We also would like to congratulate Miss Rebecca Toogood on her new appointment as the Education Officer - Improvement, Learning and Wellbeing working in the Wellbeing and Support team at CEODoW commencing Monday 21 October 2024. You will be missed by the MCCC team.