From the Religious Education Coordinator

In our Church …… 

The Liturgical Year begins at the end of the secular year, in early December and begins with the season of Advent.

Advent means waiting or coming and the liturgical colour for Advent is violet, a royal purple that symbolises the Kingdom of God. Advent then is a period of waiting, of spiritual anticipation, preparation and longing for the coming of Christ and the Kingdom of God.  In this sense, Advent is a season of hope, faith joy and peace, reflected in the lighting of the three purple and one pink candle in the Advent Wreath.

In the business of today’s world we have become used to instant gratification: you can get an answer to a Google search in under one second, you can ask Google Home to add grocery items to you shopping list as you run out, you can express most things, express post, express checkout and express recharge your prepaid phone, and now you can ‘tap and go’ payments for everything you purchase!  It is no wonder then that the concept of waiting, preparing and anticipating has become foreign to many of us.  And yet, this is what belief in Jesus Christ and Kingdom of God is all about.  Waiting for the coming of the Saviour and working toward the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God is the preparation we undergo as we seek eternal life with God.

In this Advent season, let us slow down and celebrate the discipline of waiting: enjoy the long sunny but cool afternoons of early summer just relaxing with friends and family, read that book you’ve been meaning to read or see that movie that you promised yourself you would.

In the life of our new Year 12 Leaders….

Archbishop’s Student Leadership Forum 

On Friday 24 November, our College Co-captains, Monet Lobina and Sienna Duarte, and two House Liturgy Leaders, Melodie Brown and Kaia Wilkowska, represented the College at the 2023 Archbishop’s Student Leadership forum held at St Mary’s Cathedral Hall. They had the opportunity to workshop with Archbishop Anthony Fisher and other student leaders from Catholic schools in Sydney about faith-based ideas that they could potentially implement into their school community in 2024. Students engaged in conversations based on ways to promote community engagement, climate change, mental health, and developing the prayer life of students. 

Archbishop Anthony Fisher centred his keynote address on “Leaders as Missionaries of Joy”, which led to a discussion forum where students were able to voice their issues they see as important in society. The forum concluded with a Q & A session and a prayer service in the Cathedral where the student leaders received a blessed candle to bring back to the College. The forum was valuable because it provided the leaders with ways in which they can further enhance the faith formation of students within the College community.          

Marist Student Gathering 

In Week 7, the College and Social Justice Co-captains were invited to the Marist Youth Leaders Gathering held at The Hermitage in Mittagong for three days. Facilitated by the Marist Youth Ministry (MYM) Team, the gathering was an amazing experience where we connected with other leaders from over fifteen Marist schools all the way from Canberra and up to Newcastle. We took part in a range of activities that centred around learning about Marist leadership, which is modelled by St Marcellin Champagnat and Jean-Marie Chavoin. Being one of the two Marist sisters schools, it was very interesting learning about St Marcellin’s significant contribution to our own founder. 

Throughout these different activities, we were placed in small groups with other student leaders, allowing us to build new connections and learn what other schools’ leadership looks like. An activity, The Amazing Grace, pushed us to use our strengths and learn to work together as leaders. We were also given an Emmaus partner whom we bonded with and discovered more about ourselves and each other as leaders through many thought-provoking conversations. Ultimately, through collaborating with all the other leaders we were able to learn and take inspiration from the unique initiatives held across the schools.

On a Monday night, all the school’s principals travelled down to Mittagong and engaged in a lovely mass, followed by a formal dinner. It was a lovely celebration and a great way for Dr Ireland to recap on what we had been doing the past few days. During this dinner, we all received wooden crosses to keep throughout our HSC journey to guide us and remind us of our Marist connection and faith. 

Finally, we ended the camp with a lighthearted night of trivia and a talent show where we were able to bond as a group for one final night.

Overall the experience helped us build our skills as leaders and collaborate with one another to discover best methods and approaches to leadership within our own schools.

Sienna Duarte and Mia Bartram, College Co-captain and Social Justice Co-captain

Ms Jenny Vu, Youth Ministry Coordinator

 In our Community…. 

Marist Sony Camp Formation Day

In preparation for the Marist Sony Camp, our Year 11 students with Ms. Negrine, attended their second Formation Day at St. Joseph’s in Hunters Hill.

“Last Friday on 24 November, we had the opportunity to spend the day at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Marist Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp. The program is a unique respite program that sees high school students volunteer to take on the responsibility of caring for children with a disability, allowing their families to have a valuable weekend off. We were joined by students from Loreto Normanhurst and St Joseph’s College who, guided by their faith, shared a passion for positively impacting the lives of others. The purpose of the day was to connect with our fellow student volunteers and step into the shoes of the campers. 

We started the day with icebreaker activities. This included feeding each other yoghurt and brushing each other’s teeth. Whilst it was awkward at first, we all came to understand how important the activities were in showing how different people have different needs and how to approach situations in a way that is comfortable for them. Following this, we took the time to familiarise ourselves with different challenges we may face and received folders containing the information about our individual campers. 

At the end of the day, we spent time wrapping Christmas gifts for our campers and listened to the experience of a past camper’s mother, Theresa. Theresa’s speech emphasised the importance of immersing yourself in the world of the campers with her main message being to ‘let go of the rope and get in the water’. She showed us the importance of acceptance, kindness and basic human dignity emphasising that we need to be guided by kindness and faith. Her speech inspired us all to look at people in a new, brighter light and to continually strive for a kinder, accepting community. 

Overall, the day opened our eyes to many new ideas and experiences and I’m sure we all walked out of it looking at the world in a slightly different way.”

Jade Dunleavy and Gabrielle Foster, Year 11 Students

Thank you to our Year 11 students and Ms. Negrine for their engagement with the activities on this day in  preparation for the Marist Sony Camp.

Ms Samantha Ison, Assistant Religious Education Coordinator

In our Curriculum 

Year 11 Curriculum 

Our Year 11 cohort have begun their first topics of the HSC course in Studies of Religion II, Studies of Religion I and Studies in Catholic Thought. 

In Studies of Religion II, our students have completed their study on Religion in Australia Post-1945 which will be assessed in Assessment Task 1 which was a Source Analysis Task. Currently, our students are studying their topic on Religious Depth Study on Christianity. The focus of this study is the contribution of significant people, ideas, practices and ethical teachings to an understanding of Christianity as a living religious tradition that links directly with the life of adherents. Specifically, students have been learning about Pope Francis, Baptism and Environmental Ethics. The particular focus is on the ways in which Christianity, as an integrated belief system, provides a distinctive answer to the enduring questions of human existence. 

Similarly, our Studies of Religion I, our students are currently completing their topic on Religion and Belief in Australia Post-1945. The focus of this study is religious expression in Australia’s multicultural and multi faith society since 1945. The study includes an appreciation of Aboriginal spiritualities and their contribution to an understanding of religious beliefs and religious expression in Australia today. 

In Studies of Catholic Thought, students are currently studying their first HSC topic on Virtue, Vice and Salvation. In this topic, students investigate the challenge of evil and suffering in the world. Students consider where God is in both ‘the good’ and ‘the evil’. Students also explore the works of St Paul and other theologians and encyclicals, which developed a Christian framework for understanding what is good, how to be good and the gift of grace. Through this topic, students will analyse how Scripture and other relevant Church documents, with the integration of faith and reason continue to guide the Church, and explain the contributions of the Catholic tradition to the understanding of what is good, true and beautiful in society, using a range of examples.

Thank you Year 11 for your efforts! Thank you to our teaching team for their continued commitment and dedicated to Year 11:

• Ms Caroline Morizzi
• Ms Irena Jajcevic
• Ms Jenny Vu
• Ms Leoni Hopkins
• Ms Katie Ellis
• Ms Angela Bowland

Ms Samantha Ison, Assistant Religious Education Coordinator

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #1, #2