This coming week, on Tuesday 8th August, we celebrate the feast day of Australia’s first and only saint, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Known for her commitment to making education accessible to all children in Australia, St Mary MacKillop devoted a great deal of her life passionately advocating specifically for the education of underprivileged children and those from rural and remote areas. Founder of the Josephite Sisters, St Mary MacKillop passed away in 1909 at the age of 67. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. 

God of compassion, God of all people, 

we praise you for your servant, Mary MacKillop, 

who gave her life to serve you in the poor and oppressed.

As she is honoured in our world, 

may we continue to learn to share her vision.

Help us to recognise, as she did, that the poor of our time 

will hear the gospel in the way we serve them. 

Be with us as we strive to follow her 

and carry out our mission of service and care. 

Amen

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Pray for us

Earlier today, a large number of students and staff gathered in the College Chapel to celebrate Mass with Father Victor. This Mass marked the beginning of a newly introduced fortnightly opportunity for students to gather and celebrate the Eucharist alongside Fr Michael and Fr Victor. Despite the many demands on the time of our clergy, we are exceptionally grateful to them for prioritising this opportunity for our students and staff to come together on a regular basis. The next Friday Mass will be celebrated in two weeks time and all students have been invited to join us in the College Chapel at the start of lunch. 

As most within our community would be aware, students in Year 12 commenced their Trial HSC earlier this week. These exams mark the final assessment block prior to the actual HSC exams which commence early next term. As a College, we could not have been prouder of how well the students have approached this significant period of time and I remain confident that their diligence, determination and hard work will serve them well not just throughout the second half of this Trial period, but in the weeks ahead as they continue their HSC preparations. I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding work of our teachers and support staff who have prepared them so well, with many even giving up a significant amount of their recent holiday period to run extra classes to further prepare the students for these exams. 

A reminder to all parents that the Term 3 P&F meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th August in the College library from 7pm. All parents and carers are welcome to join us to share your ideas and meet with other members of our Magdalene community. 

Finally, a reminder that we will hold our first Staff Development Day for Term 3 this coming Friday 11th August. I thank the parents and carers who will be making alternate supervision arrangements on this day so that all staff can participate in worthwhile professional development activities. 

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead, 

David Cloran