Term 2 has commenced with students returning to some normality. Over the course of the first two weeks, we have been able to celebrate, commemorate and acknowledge significant events within our calendar. Events that over the past two years have been either interrupted or cancelled.
As a College, we recently celebrated our Founders’, Blessed Edmund Rice and St Dominic Savio. This mass was the first time in two years we have been able to gather as a College and celebrate mass. As I reflected upon the mass, I realised that Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 had never celebrated a Founders’ Day Mass with the whole College. One must never underestimate the importance of these celebrations because it brings communities, like St Dominic’s, together, united in the formation of our young gentlemen.
The Easter period continues for six weeks after Easter Sunday. I encourage families to continue with the easter message of hope. Below is a short reflection of the readings from mass over this period.
Believing without witnessing
Over the past four weeks since Easter the Gospel readings on a Sunday described ways in which Christ presented himself to different witnesses and their encounter with Him. From the joyful nature of Mary of Magdalene and the disciples as they rejoiced in the resurrection of the Lord; to doubting Thomas who “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” And final to sharing a meal with the disciples after fishing all day. In all three Gospel readings we are challenged to follow Christ without requiring the evidence of touching the wounds. We are encouraged to find those moments that we encounter Jesus in our daily lives and how we respond to his call to be his disciples.
Faith in the Word of the Lord is central to these readings. How many times have we lacked faith? How many times have we doubted the Lord? How many times have we not forgiven those who have harmed us? Regardless of our response to these question, let always remember that Jesus is alive and we need to awaken our spirit so that we can experience his hope for a better world.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day during the month of May, we are reminded of the life of Mary, our heavenly mother, who was blessed to proclaim the message of Jesus and openly became a witness to the message through her own lives. Each day the College, stops at midday, to acknowledge the witness of Mary by reciting the Angelus.
Let us live Jesus in our hearts as we follow in the footsteps of Mary.
ANZAC Day
The College commemorated ANZAC Day as a community, to remind us that we do not celebrate ANZAC Day, as war is not a theatre that we should
celebrate, but rather we remember (commemorate) all those who have served, and currently serve, our country for the better good of all. We especially remember those who have paid the ultimate price of war. It is also a time to reflect upon the positive Australian values that are exemplified on ANZAC Day. Values such as self-giving, resilience, courage, generosity, love, care and mercy but to name a few. We have been dethroned with the responsibility of ensuring these values are maintained in our current society so that the lives of so many fine young men and women did not die in vain. As Christians, ANZAC is sacred because human life is sacred. Ever human is precious in God’s sight. The life and fate of each solider who died at Gallipoli and other wars matters to God. Lest we forget. I would like to thank Mr Rawding and our student leadership team who assisted the College in commemorating ANZAC Day. I pray that all the ordinary men of St Dominic’s can achieve extraordinary feats in their lives. May all our sons demonstrate the values that exemplifies the ANZAC’s throughout this term and the whole of the year.
Year 12 HSC Semester One Reports
Year 12 HSC Semester One Reports were emailed recently to all Year 12 families. These reports signify the half-way point of the HSC year. It is important that students reflect on their results and seek feedback from their teachers to support them improving over the second half of year. Thank you to parents who recently attended our Parent/Student/Teacher meetings as it is your support and encouragement that your sons also seek.
DSE Reports
The first term Diligent and Sustain Effort Reports were mailed out to families during the school holidays. These reports provide families the opportunity to review their son/s current academic and application progress. I will be reviewing these over the holidays, so I am hopeful that most students have performed to the best of their ability. These reports also provide a great opportunity for all students and parents/guardians to evaluate their term 1 goals. After reviewing the DSE Report, families are able to set revised achievable goals for Term 2 that will provide students with a greater sense of purpose and motivation to continue their learning journey. I encourage all parents to maintain communication with their son’s teachers if they have any concerns or if they wish to have updates of their son’s progress throughout the term.
Mother’s Day Mass
The annual Mother’s Day Mass was celebrated on Wednesday 4th May. Our Mother’s Day mass has become an integral part of the College. I would like to thank all mothers, grandmothers, aunties or any significant women in our son’s lives who were part of this celebration. This year we connected the mass to the Cancer Councils ‘World’s Biggest Morning Tea’. Thank you to Mr Hall and Tench House for hosting our Mother’s Day mass and morning tea. Thanks to Mr Hall for his words of inspiration regarding mothers and the importance of mothers in the lives of all our sons.
Relay for Life Returns
After a few years in hibernation due to the pandemic, it was great to see the return of this worthy event. It was pleasing to see so many teachers, young men and their families supporting the cause especially as the conditions were a little uncomfortable and dirty. Special thanks to Mr Cummins and Mr Bourke for the organisation of the event and allowing families remember those who have passed away as a result of cancer but also remind us of those who are survivors.
New Staff Members
Welcome to two new staff members, Ms Daisy Beattie and Mrs Donna Woodward. Ms Beattie is replacing Mr Lewis in the Visual Arts Department while Mrs Woodard is replacing Mrs Torpy during her leave.
New Leadership Responsibilities
Commencing from Term 2, some teachers will be taking on new responsibilities for the remainder of 2022. Ms Knowles will be the Acting Creative Arts Coordinator; Mr Mackinnon will be coordinating Year 7 as their Pastoral Coordinator while Ms Cook will be the Acting PDHPE Coordinator. On behalf of the College, I congratulate and thank these leaders for supporting the College in these significant roles.
2023 Year 7 Interviews
Interviews will be conducted in Week 5. It is amazing that we are only a quarter of the way through 2022 and we are preparing to welcome our prospective 2023 students. If you are a current family and have not enrolled your younger son for 2023 please do so as soon as possible as there are limited spaces left for Year 7 2023.
Sport
Congratulations to our inaugural PDSSSC Premiers. Though it was an interrupted season for our cricket teams, the Basketball competition was able to be
completed with St Dominic’s winning 4 of the five finals.
The EREA Open Football Tournament in Brisbane was an amazing experience. The team were outstanding in their preparation training every Thursday morning before school for the month leading into the tournament. During the tournament, it was obvious that this training assisted them in getting the right combinations, team work and team spirit that is required if you are to be successful. All the players played a significant role from the first to the last match. I managed to attend two of the three days. It was obvious from the first game that everyone, from coaches to players, were determined to improve on last year’s result (losing in the final). The team demonstrated all the attributes of sportsmanship, determination, team spirit, and College spirit throughout the tournament and were deserving winners. Congratulations to all the players and a special thanks to Mr Hall, Mr D’Souza and Mr Meek for their time and effort in supporting the team.
Events
The month of April, though short, had numerous activities and co-curricula events such as:
- Tench House show support for Project Compassion
- Founders’ Week Celebrations
- Mothers’ Day Mass
- ANZAC Day Assembly
- CoCurricula Assembly
- Relay for Life
- Year 9 Engineering Skills
- NSW CCC Swimming Champions
It is so pleasing to see how both staff and students engage in such a variety of activities. Congratulations to everyone for their involvement and contribution to these events.
So, as I concluded Term 1, I remind students to reflect on the questions I posed at the Opening College Mass and again during the Co-Curricula Assembly. How does your scorecard look when responding to the following:
- Have you been an agent of change?
- How have you advocated for peace and justice in your daily life?
- How did you participate in service and solidarity for those on the margin?
- Have you genuinely worked towards a sustainable future? Did your rubbish go in the bin?
- How have you reflected on your term and have your prayed for justice and peace?
We are all encouraged to review and reflect on our commitment to the College theme, Live Life with Hope, by responding to these questions openly and honestly. I will continually ask these questions of our community over the course of the year, and I hope that we as a community can live life with hope.
May we all continue to live life with hope.
Dominus Lux Mea
Mr Michael Ronchetti
St Dominic’s College Principal
