With Sunday being Mother’s Day we celebrate all mothers, past and present. Given that there are many different family structures, we also celebrate all individuals who have acted as significant maternal figures in our lives.

Our Prayer in this Newsletter is a reflection aimed at mothers and maternal figures. See below.

NAPLAN

In recent weeks students in Years 7 and 9 have sat practice online tests and have been given a number of reminders about the upcoming NAPLAN schedule. It is critical that all student laptops are updated and charged in the upcoming days.

While NAPLAN is not a test that students can prepare for in the same way as an end of Year exam, we encourage students to do their absolute best. Results are used as a diagnostic tool and can help determine the types of school and class priorities which the College can develop in the coming years.

I thank our Leader of Teaching and Learning, Stephanie Phillips for all of her hard work and preparation in the lead up to the tests.

We wish our Year 7 and 9 students all the very best!

COVID-19 UPDATE

Please note the letter sent out to the community yesterday (Thursday 6^th May) regarding the latest COVID-19 restrictions. While it is extremely troubling that outbreaks are still happening, we do need to ensure the safety of all community members.

While the College does have planned a number of community events in the coming weeks and months – we will of course be driven by NSW Health and CEO directives and common sense. As always, continue to check all updates on Compass.

PARENTS AND FRIENDS’ MEETING

Thank you to all parents/carers who attended Tuesday’s 7pm Zoom meeting. Updates on the Hall, Finances, Uniform-related items and upcoming College events were all shared. I thank the P & F Executive for their ongoing work and I look forward to seeing more parents/carers at future meetings. Meetings happen at Tuesday 7pm on the third week of each term.

PRAYER REFLECTION

The following reflection is offered by Catholic Education Wollongong

As we move into the 6th Week of Easter we are again provided with the opportunity to stop and reflect on our humanity and the way we live our lives. 

This weekend’s reading from John’s Gospel, continues to point out a way of living (John 15: 9-17). A way that can help us during the many moments in our lives. This scripture sets us up for life in ways to be the face of Jesus to others and see Christ in them. This is the recipe for the how and why of ‘love’. Jesus always speaks of his relationship with his Father, which is one of love and reminds us of how much he loves us and that we “did not choose him, he chose us.” And Jesus urges us to keep his commandments and to love one another.  

What a beautiful reading on a day which is celebrated in Australia on the 9th May, Mother’s Day. On this day where families celebrate the awesome gift, which is motherhood, we are inspired by the messages from John’s Gospel. Pope Francis has reflected upon this passage from John’s Gospel and tells us that Christ’s love is real and that it is “fulfilled in everyday life, in attitudes, in deeds.”  He continues that “this love cannot be reserved for exceptional moments but must be constant in our lives” (2021 Faith Circles, Diocese of Wollongong). God’s love, lived out through Jesus Christ and Mary, gives us a model of motherhood and we celebrate this love, revealed by our own mothers, and those women who are like mothers in our lives. Not just on 9th May 2021, but every day.  

Many of us form part of a lineage of women who have loved, served, and taught in countless ways which is never taken lightly. Every lesson from them has influenced and shaped our lives. This Sunday we focus on the vocation of motherhood and wish all those women who have taught us about love and to love, a Happy Mother’s Day.  Mothers are special. They're human. And in their humanity, there is a divinity that is unmistakable.