The month of August recollects the amazing commitment of two women in the Catholic Church. On August 8th we celebrate the feast day of St. Mary Mackillop who is Australia’s first saint. St Mary dedicated her life to caring for the poor and destitute. In all the challenges she faced, and the crosses she endured, she never doubted the unceasing protection of ‘our good God’. It was Mary’s faith and her dedication to her God that captivated the imagination of a society as it struggled to establish itself in the world.
Prayer to St. Mary MacKillop
Ever generous God, You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop to live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and constant in bringing hope and encouragement especially to those who were disheartened, lonely and needy. With confidence in your generous providence and through the intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop we ask that you grant our request.
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The other women that captivates us during this month is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. Each year on August 15th we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary who is the true embodiment of faith. Mary’s faith enabled her to recognize the work of God in her people’s history and in her own life. Her openness to God allowed God to work through her so that salvation might come to all. Mary is a model and symbol of the Church. May we be more like the Mary, the mother of Jesus and St Mary Of the Cross Mackillop, opening our hearts to others and being cooperative in God’s plan of salvation.
Prayer for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Almighty and everlasting God,
You have taken up body and soul
into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,
that, ever intent upon heavenly things,
we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.
Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever.
Amen
It is during this time of the year that we recognise and acknowledge the men figures in our lives. Over the past years, we as a College have celebrated this time with the traditional Father’s Day Mass. In the last few years, we have included ‘Jersey Day’ as part of our celebration. Jersey Day is all about promoting awareness of The Organ and Tissue Authority and the DONATE LIFE network. Unfortunately, COVID-19 will prevent us celebrating this day with the fathers, grandfathers, uncles and significant male role models on site however, there will be a liturgy available on our website and we will encourage students to wear a jersey on Friday 4th September to promote The Organ and Tissue Authority and the DONATE LIFE network. A gold coin donation will help us support this most worthy cause.
I would like to wish all our fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, uncles, or significant male role figure a very happy Father’s Day. May this be a time for our sons and grandsons to express their love for those men in their lives that mean so much to them.
Have a blessed Father’s Day.
Y12 students have been focused on their HSC studies over the last two weeks of August as they engage in their final assessments (Trial HSC Examinations), before they graduate and commence their study program leading into the HSC examinations in early term 4. I pray that all the study undertaken over the period of their HSC course results in some pleasing and rewarding marks. Regards of the results, I would encourage all students to maintain their rigour and positive outlook as they prepare for these concluding examinations.
A rite of passage is a powerful social activity or ceremony that marks an evolution from one stage in life to another. One pertinent to St Dominic’s College is from being a member of the College, to being a graduate of the College. There is a need to emphasise the connections with our St Dominic’s community, our values, our beliefs, our faith and our traditions so that Y12 students understand this pivotal transition to adulthood. The Y12 Rite of Passage program assists the students in this transition and fosters a sense of belonging and identity in each young man. We are halfway through the program and look forward to the ongoing support the College provides as our sons in their formation as gentlemen.
The Parent/Student/Teacher interviews for Y7 – Y10 via Teams proved to be highly successful. The feedback from staff, parents and students has been encouraging and proves that ongoing communication between home and school is crucial in supporting the learning journey of our sons. Though the human interaction is something we prefer, the online interaction was informative and important in providing the appropriate feedback for students to know what they have to do to continue on their learning improvement journey.
During Week 7 the College will acknowledge National Literacy and Numeracy Week. Throughout the course of this week students will have the opportunity to engage in several literacy and numeracy activities such as quizzes, guessing competitions, spelling bee, Maths Olympiad, escape room activities and literacy and numeracy amazing race. These innovative activities will assist our students in their development for the love literacy and numeracy.
Congratulations to the 2020/21 College Prefects. During the first five weeks of Term 3, the Year 11 students have been contemplating whether or not they would be suitable to be a member of the next group of College leaders. Year 10, 11 and 12 students voted for the students they considered would lead the College during the next 12months. We were blessed with so many quality candidates who would have all successfully lead the College. I would like to publicly acknowledge and congratulate all the nominees who presented themselves for a leadership role.
However, only fourteen prefect positions were available, and it is with great pleasure that we announced these successful applicants to the College at a special Y11 assembly. Congratulations to Bayley Baragry, Flynn Cole, Noah Cutajar, Nicholas Hodge, Jirah Liddard, Harrison Moss, Lwandile Ndlovu, Andrew Nicotera, Jonah Apes, Patrick Rowan, Clay Saunders, Maksim Vujasim, Dylan Wilson and Jacob Zordoumis. These fine young men have the great responsibility to lead the student body in 2020/21.
On Friday 28th August, St Dominic’s College went international when we were part of the EREA Fitness Challenge via zoom. Four students Josh Debritt, Mitchell Heather, Brock Stapleton and Thomas Painter represented the College in this new and exciting initiative that connects us with national and international Edmund Rice schools. The event was organised by St Ignatius College, Townsville and included Edmund Rice College, Wollongong and Stella Marist College from Montevideo in Uruguay. Out team was exceptionally led by Mr James Bourke who also undertook the physical challenge. Special thanks to Mr MacKinnon and Mr Culican for organising our participation in this international forum.
Many great things are happening at the College and I encourage all families to visit our website to view the extraordinary work by the students.
Continue to stay safe and healthy throughout the term.
Dominus Mea
Let Your Light Shine
Mr M. Ronchetti
College Principal
