2022 | Issue 6 | SJC Newsletter

Term 2 has started really well and I would like to thank the SJC community for your support with having our students prepared for a smooth start. Our uniform audit has been effective so far and when worn well there is no better school uniform around. Let’s continue to reinforce the blazers being worn to and from school with the ties done up and shirts tucked in as they leave the house in the morning.

John20:27-29
Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

In 2019 I had the privilege to go on the “Footsteps of Edmund Rice Pilgrimage” which took me to Kenya for nine days to see the current work of the Christian Brothers in and amongst the slums and then nine days in Ireland where the journey began for the Christian Brothers under the leadership of Edmund Rice. John’s Doubting Thomas scripture post-Easter resonates with me as sometimes we as people need to see to believe. This pilgrimage for me really opened my eyes to the poverty that dominates developing countries and the positive impact that education can have on such communities. I was able to see the places where Edmund Rice grew up, where he worked, and where he set up multiple schools around Ireland. Seeing these places helped me better understand the story of Edmund Rice and commit to the EREA ethos each and every day.

Believing for young people, however, is a notion that they often cannot find peace with. They live in a fast pace, ever-progressing world hinged on scientific theory and evidence. It is becoming harder and harder for them to believe in something that they cannot see. Edmund Rice Day allows us to further unpack the teachings of Jesus and Edmund Rice that aims to give them hope in their faith, and allow them to open themselves fully to the communion they share with God, even when they are sometimes blind to it. By fundraising $30 each or $50 per family they are taking a step towards helping others and believing they can make a difference. We look forward to a terrific Edmund Rice Day on 13 May.

We wish our Year 12s all the best this week as they embark on their Year 12 renewals which sees them head to leafy destinations around the state with minimal distractions. They will all have time to stop and reflect on their journeys thus far and look at who they are now and plan and discuss who they want to be in the future. The staff share personal reflections linked with the EREA touchstones and it is truly a special time for the Year 12s.

Finally, I would like to welcome the following teachers to our community for term 2. Michael Diamond, Andrew Read, Andrew Clements, Michael Pritchard and Julia Mitchell. We also welcome back Jason O’Connell from leave.

We welcome the following support staff to the College this term: Jodie Warrick - Events and Community Development, Roxy Curren – Ed Support, Noreen Pantazis – joining Canteen staff from 9 May.

We also offer a belated welcome to staff who joined us during term one: Crystal Priestly as a teacher, Todd White as a tutor and Oscar Irwin, Ethan Wright and Matthew O’Brien as part of our Education support team.

We also congratulate Laura Gordon who has been appointed as Head of the Learning Resource Centre and Luke Guy who has accepted the appointment as College Librarian.

Last week Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) announced their new governance and structure,  I ask families to make themselves familiar with the attached document.