IONA 2

The College opening school mass, celebrated on Thursday, 20 February by Fr John Hannon, was a special celebration of all that we have to be grateful for as a community.  We gathered together in prayer asking for God’s Grace to guide our year and be present in our lives as we navigate the 2020 academic year. It was a pleasure to welcome so many of the Sisters of Charity to our celebration, as we continue to give thanks for their lives of service and sacrifice, role modelling even into their retirement, what it means to love the Gospel and serve the poor.  I would like to once again acknowledge the work of Mr Shane Taylor for his preparation and planning of the opening mass and especially for his inclusive leadership, allowing so many students to play a significant role in the liturgy. Thanks again to Fr John for his time with us, and for the way he works to connect our everyday life to the sacred, helping us to see God in the midst of our ordinary, everyday lives.

I would like to congratulate all of our students for their exemplary and respectful behaviour during the mass, creating the sacred space we value when we come together in prayer.  In fact, their behaviour has been typical of what we have experienced from the start of the school year. It has been a joy to wander the school and observe classes that are engaged and settled with a clear focus on learning.

Thank you to all of the families who attended our House Welcomes, as we acknowledged in a special way, the start of the year for our Year 7, Year 12 and new students from other year levels.  It was a pleasure to share a meal with you all at the commencement of the year. Many of the Year 7 families shared stories of how well their daughter had settled into life at St Columba’s College and are thrilled with the enjoyment they are seeing on their faces after full and busy days.

It certainly has been a busy start to the year with the High Achievers’ Assembly on Tuesday, 11 February, providing us the opportunity to welcome back our 2019 VCE and VCAL Achievers and acknowledge their successes.  Our College Dux, Clare W, spoke beautifully and eloquently about the special relationships that sustained her throughout Year 12, and for one so young, spoke words of wisdom about how best to navigate Year 12 for success.  As part of my address to all the students, I recalled aspects of Mary Aikenhead’s journey, the choices that defined her life and her acceptance of God’s stirring in her heart. Whatever pathway our St Columba’s girls choose to take following Year 12, we hope that over their six years at the College, they come to understand, that as a woman formed in the tradition of the Sisters of Charity, they know what is expected of them as they move forward from St Columba’s College – to live fulfilling and satisfying lives, and in doing so, continue to animate the legacy of that tenacious, courageous, compassionate, inclusive, innovative, creative and loving woman Mary Aikenhead.  And, that in whatever endeavours they choose to pursue, they will always look for ways to bring the compassionate face of Christ to others.

Pottery has a very long history in human civilization. It also has a long history as a metaphor for human life and shows up frequently in scripture, beginning of course with Genesis where “God formed man from the dust of the ground” to Paul the apostle who referred to our bodies as “jars of clay” in II Corinthians.

If you’ve ever watched a potter working on a wheel, it’s really fascinating watching them make this thing of beauty rise up out of a lump of clay; it looks so easy and effortless.

But if you’ve ever tried to use a potter’s wheel, you would know that it’s not as easy as it looks. And as good as they are, even master potters don’t always get the result they want.

That’s exactly what the prophet Jeremiah saw, when God told him to go to the potter’s workshop and watch. God used the scene as an analogy to explain something to Jeremiah, and to set up an object lesson for the people of Israel. It was intended as a lesson about how God deals with nations and groups of people but it could also be extended to us as individuals too. The lesson here was about being responsive to the shaping, moulding hand of God upon us and the need on occasion to change course – to fold the clay back down upon itself, and start fresh with a new shape, a new purpose, a new plan.

Now this is fine for unfired clay! But what about after it’s been fired in the kiln?

What about after it’s had its shape and purpose for a long time, maybe for years?

Once a pot – or a nation, or a church, or a person – has had its form and purpose set for years – what happens if it breaks then?

There’s a practice that originated many years ago in Japan called kintsugi, which translates to mean ‘Golden Joinery’. As its name suggests, the procedure has more to do with fixing pottery than creating it. In Kintsugi, broken pottery is repaired with a resin that’s been mixed with gold or silver powder. Once the object has been cleaned and dried, its cracks are highlighted by thin veins of metal running throughout its form.

It acknowledges the history of the brokenness, but through the intricate gold veining that now works through the pottery, the vessel regains its original purpose, but in a way, better, and more beautiful, than the potter’s original idea or intention.

I think the kingdom of God could be called the Kintsugi Kingdom. It’s populated with broken people, still bearing the signs of our brokenness but made whole, beautiful and wonderful and healed by God. A kingdom where no matter where you are in your journey of faith- beginning, middle, or end, and no matter what happens to us, we are never past the point of God’s touch, God’s renewing, His regenerating or His repurposing.

God is the potter, and we are the clay. And while God may remould and reshape us at various times, in ways we might never have anticipated or expected, it’s clear that God never gives up on us clay vessels, even long after we’ve been fired and aged and brittle. Out of our brokenness comes new hope, new life, new possibilities. (I couldn’t think of a better way to enter into the Season of Lent in the next couple of weeks). We are kintsugi vessels in God’s kintsugi kingdom.

Thanks be to God.

Last year, after much deliberation with students, staff and parents, the College moved towards an Academic Uniform and a Sports Uniform. Thank you for ensuring that your daughters were wearing the blue socks at the commencement of this new year.

As part of the review of the College uniform, new items were introduced including items that students were asking for, such as a new shirt, leggings and cuffed track pants. The new uniform arrangements now provide a greater choice for students in terms of what they wish to wear. In providing this choice, the College asks that students wear the items appropriately and that they adhere to the grooming requirements.

The challenge for the girls appears to be these grooming requirements and wearing the Sports Uniform on days when they should be wearing the Academic Uniform. We would ask for your support in ensuring girls are complying with the expectations in this document. With the new Uniform Infringement Process in place in 2020, students who are making poor choices in relation to this, will find that there are more serious consequences moving forward.

A reminder that the 2020 Uniform and Grooming Requirements document can be found on PAM – Student Wellbeing – Policies.

As one way of building ‘Connected Communities’ which promote positive relationships and partnerships that support the learning and wellbeing of your daughter, we are eager to meet informally with our parents over coffee. We hope this will be a great opportunity to share what is happening at the College and hear your feedback. By now, all parents will have received our invitation to join us on Tuesday 3 March at 8.00am. Please RSVP using the link on the invitation.

On Monday 17 February, we held our first PAM information night. Many thanks to the parents who attended. The aims of this evening were to support parents to navigate PAM easily and effectively and to encourage an increased use of PAM. A reminder that the video tutorial, used on the evening, has been made available to all parents via PAM under School Links.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding the use of PAM as a means of supporting and monitoring your daughter’s learning and wellbeing, please do not hesitate to contact the College.

This year St Columba’s College will be submitting their second entry into the Birdman Rally; in 2019 the College was one of only two schools who took part in the competition. Our craft for 2020 Fidelis et Fortis II is currently under construction.

The Birdman Rally team are busily raising money in the lead up to this year’s Moomba Festival. The amount they raise will add extra points to their final score on the day. All proceeds will go to the Sisters of Charity Foundation who provide support to others through their Community Grants, Tertiary Scholarships and Asylum Seekers Housing Programs.

So if you have not had the opportunity to donate, please visit our fundraising page here.

Construction is well underway for our craft, and with that a pilot is needed to make our craft soar across the Yarra River. This year teachers Ms Madison Foley, Ms Sofie Scollo and Ms Camille King volunteered to pilot the craft. The Birdman Rally team asked students to vote for who the pilot should be and the final results were:

• Ms Foley- 132
• Ms King – 375
• Ms Scollo – 123

Congratulations Ms King – we look forward to seeing you jump into the Yarra River on Fidelis et Fortis II in support of our charity, The Sisters of Charity Foundation.

Annika S (DLYJ2) recently attended the State Rowing Championships in NSW and is to be congratulated for achieving a bronze medal in the doubles event. She will be participating in the National Rowing Championships in March.

Well done Annika and best of luck in March.

Last weekend, Kiara E, took out Gold in the Taekwando (Poomse) competition in Perth.

She won gold for senior individual 18-30 Years division. Gold for the Senior Teams division and was awarded a trophy for best senior 18-30 female athlete.

She was the youngest of her competitors, at only 17 years old.

Kiara will now go on to represent Australia at the World’s in Denmark in May.

Congratulations Kiara and good luck for the competition in May.

It’s been a busy start to the 2020 year in the Visual Arts Domain. At the end of 2019, the College introduced a new Art Acquisition Program to celebrate and acknowledge the artistic talents of our students. The Program aims to promote excellence in the Art learning area and to beautify the College with original artworks of our students. The artworks are selected by various leadership personnel and the Art Domain. Students whose work was selected, were acknowledged at the Awards Assembly for Years 7-11 in December and at the High Achievers Assembly in February this year for our Year 12 students.

Congratulations to the following students on having their artwork acquired:

• Alannah G (Head of Students Award)
• Marie I        (Head of Learning Award)
• Chloe T           (Head of Faith and Mission Award
• Madison O (Deputy Principal’s Award)
• Madison P        (Visual Arts Domain Award)
• Faye Shee D (Principal’s Award)

Another feature of our Domain has been the introduction of VCD (Visual Communication Design) led by Mr Scott Wisemen. Effective communication is one of the most vital skills we need and this subject will teach our students how to convey ideas and information clearly and concisely. Of course, with a new subject, comes a newly refurbished classroom. The VCD/Media/Design room has been given a new look including light muted colours, clean lines and a decluttered space. Our aim was to create an educational environment which is calming for our students.

Next stop Textiles! Ms Michelle Grant continues to inspire our students with her love for the Visual Arts -particularly Textiles – but by middle of 2019, it was obvious that this very popular subject had outgrown the classroom. Swapping over to A105, has given us the opportunity to create a unique studio that offers dedicated spaces for various techniques such as sewing and dyeing fabric. It is now a safe and supportive environment where the girls are challenged and empowered to be the best artist they can be.

A very big thank you must go out to our Leadership and Maintenance teams who continue to support the Arts and value the worth of an Arts Education.

To celebrate Library Lover’s Day (which you might also know as Valentine’s Day) – and until the end of the month – Sophia Library is playing matchmaker! Students are able to come into the library and have a Blind Date with a Book. A carefully-selected collection of books are looking for readers…all students need to do is take a chance on a book based only on a description. They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (even though we all do), so this is the perfect chance for students to avoid that and see where it takes them. The “blind dates” have been incredibly popular – we hope many matches are being made!

On Wednesday Morning Chloe T, Ella C, Kate B & Jorjia P attended the 2020 SCSA Sport Leaders Breakfast at MSAC, with special guest speaker Melissa Tapper (Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist and Olympian Table Tennis Player).

The girls not only had the opportunity to hear from Melissa Tapper, they also had the chance to rally against her. It was a wonderful morning for all who were involved.

Each year the college adopts a theme, this year it’s compassion. The student exec has spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on what this means for the students at STC, here’s an excerpt of what we shared with the students and staff on our first day of the year during our college assembly Compassion means care and consideration for others and what they might be going through. It’s when you recognise the suffering of others and feel that overpowering sense of motivation to help them. Showing compassion to a person by listening to their concerns, displaying empathy and providing a sense of care opens said person up to the experience of the relieving and comforting environment that compassion can bring. In order to be a compassionate person to others, you must first know how to be compassionate to yourself. This idea is all about self-love and the importance of individual well being. Having the ability to forgive herself for past mistakes is important. By learning to love yourself, only then can you begin to love others.

Compassion has many faces. Some are fierce – they fight for justice and equality for all. Some are tender – they show compassion through daily kindness and friendly smiles. And some are of those whom we least expect. This is evident in our faith, particularly in ‘The Good Samaritan’ parable. This is the story in which a suffering man receives help from a Samaritan. However, during this time, Samaritans were not regarded highly and were in fact, a rejected group in society. This story is a perfect example of how any and every person is capable of compassion. Sometimes it is difficult to show compassion, overcoming preconceived notions and judgement. However, compassion is about understanding and having the strength to support others, no matter who they are. We challenge you this year to engage in this chain reaction of compassion. Let’s change the subliminal fear of approaching others and break boundaries to form pivotal connections. Just a small act of compassion may inspire and ignite compassion in those around you. In doing this, you will be prompting others to “pay it forward”, which is the slogan the student executive developed as a representation and reminder of our theme of compassion and its importance.

2020 Private Dance lessons have commenced.

Thank you to all families who have offered support and committed to the 2020 Dance program.

We look forward to a year of exciting, vibrant and colourful performances.

Special welcome to the St Bernard’s students who have joined our ranks.

LHD is still accepting new students and applications forms can be collected from Miss Linda in Performing Arts.

Do you have a daughter currently in Grade 5 and wish to enrol her at St Columba’s College? If so, please take note of the following enrolment dates for Year 7 2022:

• Applications for Enrolment close Friday 21 August 2020
• Offers of Enrolment will be mailed out Friday 15 October 2020
• Offers of Enrolment to be accepted/declined by Friday 6 November 2020

Applications are open for Year 7 2022. An Application for Enrolment form can be downloaded from the College website or collected from Reception.

This fortnight’s Careers Newsletter includes information on the following topics:

• Year 12 VTAC interviews
• Hotel Management Career Expo
• Charles Sturt University – new Doctor of Medicine course
• Charles Sturt University – Explore Days
• Australian Defence Force – Careers Expo
• UNSW Arts & Law United Nations Workshop
• Train to become a flight attendant
• Career e-magazines – science, engineering, maths, cyber security, economics etc.
• Careers With STEM – new Careers With Science e-mag and interesting STEM    articles
• Fun STEM quizzes
• STEM careers that don’t involve university study
• University Scholarships for high achievers
• Student – career quiz
• Fashion design at RMIT
• Criminology – mind map and courses
•  Applying for medicine, oral health or dentistry? You may need to sit the UCAT (yr 12 students)
• The Melbourne US & UK University expo
• ACN Nursing and Health Expo
• VCE and Careers Expo
• Dates for your diary
• Future of work predictor – online program
• Dream jobs? Teenagers’ career aspirations and the future of work
• University – early entry programs (yr 12 students)
• Study arts or education at Australian Catholic University
• Apprenticeship/traineeship websites and articles
• Apply for universities now! (yr 12 students)
• Art and design short courses at RMIT
• Medicine at Monash University

Access the full newsletter here.

Here’s a great find from the St Columba’s College archives.