Today marked one of the most significant occasions on our College calendar, being the celebration of Magdalene Feast Day. As this newsletter is being circulated, our day of community activities is drawing to a close, which commenced with a wonderful Eucharistic celebration, followed by an afternoon of activities, food and carnival rides, all in support of those in need within and beyond our College community. 

Prior to this morning’s Mass, I spoke to our student, staff and parent community about Saint Mary Magdalene as a ‘follower’ of Jesus. In our modern world, where following someone is often reduced to a click or tap on a personal device linked to social media, our concept of following is often flippant, dynamic and based on whims or fads. Mary Magdalene provided the perfect witness of an authentic follower of Jesus. She risked criticism and abuse in following Him throughout his ministry to the point where she was present at His crucifixion, present when He was taken down from the cross, and present when He was placed into a tomb. Her ultimate reward for such devotion was becoming the first person to witness him following His resurrection. Our intentions today were to recommit ourselves to follow in the footsteps of Mary Magdalene, so that we too can live out our College motto, ‘because I have seen the Lord”. 

A day like today is only possible following a great deal of work by a number of people. I extend my thanks to Fr Michael Williams for his ongoing support of the College and to Fr Josh Whicker who returned to the College today for the first time since becoming the first ex-Magdalene student to be ordained a Priest. I thank the many parents who made themselves available to join us for this morning’s Mass and the P&F who organised the sausage sizzle and logistics for the day. Finally, I particularly thank Mr Bubb, Mr O’Neil, Mr Sligar, Miss Slender, Mrs Phillips, Mrs Forner and Ms Corbett and all the teachers who have coordinated so many aspects of today's celebration and to the students who so enthusiastically involved themselves into the spirit of the day. 

Over the course of the year, as a College we have discussed the placement of our 20mins of Pastoral Care within each day’s timetable. Parents may be aware that this period of time is currently placed at the end of Period 1 each day. There has been an overwhelming sense that the value in this time may be enhanced by placing it before Period 1 at the start of the day so that students can better prepare themselves for the day ahead, in addition to offering a brief buffer between the busyness of preparing and travelling to school, and entering into their first lesson of the day, ready to learn. For these reasons, as of this coming Monday, students will commence their day in Pastoral Care at 8:15am before moving to Period 1 afterwards. I stress the importance of punctual attendance to ensure that this period of Pastoral Care is used effectively in order to prepare each student for the day ahead. 

Finally this week, I would like to thank the many parents and family members who attended one of our Parent/Teacher/Student Interview sessions that were held towards the end of last term. It is our hope that through your attendance, conversations took place at home that encouraged students to set clear, achievable and challenging goals for the semester ahead. 

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead, 

David Cloran