Assembly – Term 2

Our first day back assembly was a wonderful opportunity for our community to gather and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our Domremy students and to solemnly reflect on some important events.

Pope Francis

We began the assembly with a beautiful prayer service that allowed us as a community to reflect on the life and significant contributions of Pope Francis to the Catholic Church. 

With sorrow and thankfulness, we join the Church and the world in mourning the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, on Easter Monday — a day enveloped by the light of the Resurrection. A shepherd with a heart for the lost, a voice for the marginalised, and a tireless advocate for a missionary Church, Pope Francis dedicated his life to making the love of Christ known to all.

As we grieve, we also rejoice in the hope of Easter and give thanks for the witness of his life, his courage, and his call to be a Church on mission. And in this moment of transition, we entrust him to the loving arms of the Father and pray for the College of Cardinals as they prepare to discern his successor.

Prayer in Memory of Pope Francis
Loving God,
Today we remember with sorrow and gratitude
your servant Pope Francis,
who returned to You after a life poured out in love and service. 

Even in his final days, he brought hope to the world—
blessing us on Easter Sunday,
speaking words of peace, freedom, and compassion.

We thank You for his courage, humility,
and tireless work for justice, unity, and care for the poor.
May his example guide our hearts,
and may his spirit of mercy live on in our words and actions.Welcome him into the light of Your presence,
and comfort Your Church as we journey forward in faith.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Anzac Day Service 

Mrs Watson and a range of students from Year 7 – 12 led our community in a deeply moving Anzac Day Service. We were reminded that Anzac Day is a time when we honour the courageous soldiers of World War I and all who have served in past and present conflicts. We pay tribute to every Australian who sacrificed their life in war or on operational duties.

We remember those who gave everything in conflicts from Gallipoli and North Africa to France, Belgium, Greece, Crete, the skies of Europe, the jungles of Singapore and Papua New Guinea, and the harsh environments of Korea, Vietnam, and peacekeeping missions. We also remember those lost at sea and in the air, defending our nation and its values.

The spirit of the ANZACs, with its qualities of courage, mateship and sacrifice, continues to shape our national identity. They fought for the freedom of mankind, and we remember their bravery, compassion, and comradeship with pride.

Not only do we honour the memory of those Australians who have fallen in battle but we also share the sorrow of those who have mourned them and of all who have been the victims of armed conflict. On this day we remember with sympathy those Australians who have suffered as prisoners of war, and those who have had their lives forever changed by conflict.May we and future generations prove worthy of their sacrifice.

International Women’s Day Guest speaker – Jessie Stephens

We were very lucky to have Jessie Stephens join our assembly.  Jessie Stephens is a best-selling author of two novels, executive editor at Mamamia, Australia’s largest independent women’s media group and co-host of the podcasts – Mamamia Out Loud and Cancelled. She has been a regular guest on The Project and ABC radio and television.

She reflected on various things she would tell her High School self and, one of the most important things she highlighted for the girls, was a mantra that she has recently adopted that she has found really helpful – “excellence over perfection”. 

She highlighted that “Perfection doesn’t exist. There is no perfect speech or perfect essay or perfect artwork. Sometimes when you’re procrastinating and you find yourself resisting starting an assignment, it might be because you’ve put really high expectations on yourself … Let go of perfection. It’s boring anyway. Try for excellence, because excellence makes room for mistakes and you are going to make a lot of them. And there is something you are excellent at. Every single one of you. It’s your job to try as many things as you can and work out what it is”.

We are most grateful for Jessie’s time and insights that she generously shared with our community. 

Public Speaking & Debating 

Elodie Atherton, our Public Speaking and Debating Prefect, provided the community with an update on public speaking and debating. We were very impressed with our Year 7 student Mataali who presented her grand final speech to the assembly. We were so proud of the sophisticated and well thought out speech Mataali had composed and delivered.

Launch of Domremy Day 

All students are encouraged to be part of Domremy Day! Domremy Day is a vibrant celebration of our school spirit and, most importantly, our faith, as we honour the Feast Day of our patron saint, St. Joan of Arc. It’s a time to reflect on her courage, resilience, and unwavering commitment to God— holding the values that continue to inspire our school community today. We begin the day united in prayer with a beautiful Mass, grounding us in the faith that connects us all. It’s a day filled with excitement, bringing our community together to honour our traditions and have fun! The late morning and early afternoon celebrations consist of fun rides, delicious food stalls, a DJ, and so much more that brings joy and excitement to everyone. Following these festivities, we’ll enjoy the much-anticipated Talent Show.

The theme for 2025 is … Childhood Throwback. We are looking forward to a wonderful day at the end of Week 5. 

Sports Update 

Congratulations to all the girls who made the basketball, touch football and waterpolo teams. We had some great success stories in all 3 sports, particularly in Waterpolo where our girls won the gold medal for both junior and intermediate teams, and went on to play Sydney Championships where they finished in first place. 

Our touch football teams also all ended up with a silver medal – they were some hard fought finals and all 3 teams worked hard to get there, but unfortunately, it wasn’t our year.

This term, we look forward to our soccer and netball teams going out, and we also have our athletics carnival – so are you ready to find out what our theme this year will be? … WILD WEST RODEO

Our assembly finished with a reflective address by Mrs McGahan which summarised all the aspects of our assembly and challenged all members of our community to continue to purse their own personal excellence in all that they do.

It looks like a truly wonderful Term ahead.