Principal's Report
On Wednesday of last week, students and staff of the College gathered for our annual Ash Wednesday liturgy, which marked the beginning of the season of Lent. During the liturgy, each member of our community was marked with a cross on their forehead as the minister said “turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel”. These words call us to not only reflect upon our actions and behaviours, but to turn towards Jesus as a model of how to live our lives. Lent can provide an opportunity for us to break old habits and establish new ones so that Lent’s observances can have both a positive and lasting impact on our lives, and not just for the next forty days.
On the day before Ash Wednesday, known as Shrove Tuesday, I was delighted to be joined by two of our Year 10 leaders, Ella Presti and Lachlan Campbell, along with our Youth Ministry Coordinator, Miss Sarah Neasy, at the launch of Project Compassion which was held at John Therry Catholic College in Rosemeadow. At the launch, Bishop Brian Mascord encouraged all present to consider the role that prayer, fasting and almsgiving will play throughout their Lenten journey, and highlighted how our involvement in Project Compassion can have such a real, tangible impact on the lives of those who are less fortunate.
Earlier this week, the Magdalene P&F met in the College library for our 2024 AGM. As part of the evening, an election took place to appoint the 2024 P&F Executive. I thank the following parents who were elected into each respective position.
President - Mr David Cornett
Vice President - Mrs Sunny Abbey
Secretary - Mrs Carly Cosmo
Treasurer - Mr Craig Harley
The next P&F Meeting will be held on Tuesday 21st May at 7pm in the College library. All parents and carers are more than welcome to join us.
Yesterday saw the return of a number of students from last year’s Year 12 cohort for our High Achievers Assembly. This gave us the opportunity to acknowledge a number of standout individual and group achievements from last year’s HSC, including the acknowledgement of 7 students with an ATAR above 90, including the College Dux, Spencer Goldfinch with an ATAR of 96.00. Among a range of other notable achievements, we celebrated the recipients of 33 Band 6 results (marks of 90 and above), and acknowledged the fact that 35% of all HSC results fell in Bands 5 & 6 (marks above 80) which was up from 31% in 2022 and 25% in 2021). I once again congratulate all students from the Class of 2023 on these achievements.
A reminder that this year's Open Afternoon for prospective families of Year 7 students in 2025 will be held on Monday 4th March. Tours of the College will commence from 3:45pm followed by a presentation in the Alan McManus Hall at 6pm, with more opportunities for tours being available afterwards until 7:45pm. All families looking to enrol a student into Year 7 next year are welcome to attend, however, please register via this link in advance. Enrolment applications are now open via the online portal accessible via the College website.
I thank and congratulate Year 12 students and the staff who accompanied them on their Senior Retreat last week. These three days have such a significant impact on developing the unity among the cohort as they prepare for the challenges that await them over the next three terms. I particularly thank Mr O’Neil, Mr Sligar, Mrs Tacconne and Mrs Hayden who worked tirelessly to ensure that this opportunity was provided for the students.
Wishing you all the best for the week ahead,
David Cloran
Principal