Principal's Message
Mothers’ Day High Tea
It was wonderful to celebrate Mothers’ Day with all the mums and their daughters who joined us for High Tea on Saturday, 11 May. After a moving liturgy prepared by Mr Shane Taylor and delivered by our students, we were treated to a delicious menu of savouries and sweets in a celebration of motherhood and womanhood. It was an opportunity for different families to come together for a catch-up as well a chance for mums and their daughters to spend some special time together. I’d like to acknowledge the work of Ms Brigitte McDonald and Ms Donna Kellett for their planning and organisation of the event.
KickArts
Congratulations to our student representatives at the annual combined KickArts Festival, which is a showcase of the amazing talent shared across the three wonderful secondary schools in our local area – Ave Maria College, St Bernard’s College, and of course, St Columba’s College. This is a student led and run event and members of our Year 12 Student Executive showed great leadership skills in working with the student leaders from the other Colleges to facilitate the event. Thanks to Arts Captain – Belinda Barichello, College Co-Captains – Faye Shee-Durnion and Lianna Scalise, Liturgy Captain – Katrina Tu and the Student Executive for all of their hard work. A special mention to Gabrielle Hanley-Leonard, Caitlin Hanley-Smith and Dominique Hanley-Smith who were awarded first prize in the dance category, and to Carla Vinci who won the People’s Choice Award. As always, thanks to our Performing Arts staff for their unwavering support and complete confidence in the abilities of our students and Tim Huf for his support of the Student Executive.
World Day of Vocations
Sunday, 12 May was the annual World Day of Vocations. This year’s message from Pope Francis really struck a chord with me. Essentially his message is one that encourages each of us to find our vocation, that thing which really drives us to be connected to what it is we choose to do, and to always do it with Grace, to the best of what we have to offer. An excerpt from his reflection is below:
“Two pairs of brothers – Simon and Andrew, and James and John – are going about their daily tasks as fishermen. In this demanding work, they had learned the laws of nature, yet at times, when the winds were adverse and waves shook their boats, they had to defy the elements. On some days, the catch of fish amply repaid their efforts, but on others, an entire night’s work was not sufficient to fill their nets, and they had to return to shore weary and disappointed.
Much of life is like that. Each of us tries to realise his or her deepest desires; we engage in activities that we hope will prove enriching, and we put out on a “sea” of possibilities in the hope of steering the right course, one that will satisfy our thirst for happiness. Sometimes we enjoy a good catch, while at others, we need courage to keep our boat from being tossed by the waves, or we are frustrated at seeing our nets come up empty.
God in fact desires that our lives not become banal and predictable, imprisoned by daily routine, or unresponsive before decisions that could give it meaning. The Lord does not want us to live from day to day, thinking that nothing is worth fighting for, slowly losing our desire to set out on new and exciting paths. If at times he makes us experience a “miraculous catch”, it is because he wants us to discover that each of us is called – in a variety of ways – to something grand, and that our lives should not grow entangled in the nets of an ennui that dulls the heart. Every vocation is a summons not to stand on the shore, nets in hand, but to follow Jesus on the path he has marked out for us, for our own happiness and for the good of those around us.”