In Our Community…

GRANDPARENTS VISIT     

On Wednesday 22 October, our Year 7 students had the wonderful opportunity of inviting their Grandparents to the College for a Liturgy, musical performances and a beautiful morning tea. Our Liturgy celebrated grandparents and we were able to tell them how much they mean to us. 

Throughout the Liturgy there was a focus on Pope Francis’ initiation of The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly: “On July 24, the Church celebrated the third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Established by Pope Francis in January 2021, the day is celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July and shares the feasts of Mary’s parents and Jesus’ grandparents: Saints Joachim and Anne. This link to Jesus’ family tree encourages us to look at our family tree and the special link to our grandparents. The theme for this year’s World Day was “In old age they will still bear fruit” and highlights how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for Church communities. In his message for the second World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis said: “Old age is no time to give up and lower the sails, but a season of enduring fruitfulness: a new mission awaits us and bids us to look to the future. ‘The special sensibility that those of us who are elderly have for the concerns, thoughts and the affections that make us human should once again become the vocation of many. It would be a sign of our love for the younger generations’. I encourage you, dear grandparents and elderly persons, to take an active role.”

Our grandparents have blessed our families with the gift of life and are there to care and nurture their children and grandchildren with their many acts of goodness, kindness and love.

May each of us learn from their wisdom and example how to be good and holy people.

A huge thank you to all our Year 7 students who participated on the day.

Loving God, Bless all our grandparents, those with us here today, those who cannot 

be with us. May they be faithful to your call to share their wisdom and faith. 

May they have courage and confidence to hand on your gifts of experience and knowledge, of stories, songs and memories. May they continue to learn and grow with us day by day. 

Bless them with length of days and joy at the last. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

 STUDENT LEADER’S GATHERING

On the 19th of October 2024, the College Captains and Social Justice captains were invited to travel to Mittagong to attend the Student Leaders Gathering, run by the Marist Youth Ministry. We spent the duration of the camp with many student leaders from fourteen other Marist schools across New South Wales and Canberra. This camp was an incredible opportunity for us to be able to ignite our Marist faith and discover new ways in which we can shine as leaders by keeping these virtues central to our community.

Over the course of the three days, we engaged in various workshops in both small and large groups examining the Marist characteristics and how we, as Marist leaders, and the community as a whole can put them into practice. We investigated the characteristics of Simplicity, Love of Work, Presence, Family Spirit and living in the Way of Mary. These operate cohesively to form the foundation on which the missionary of the Marist families were built and are the basis on which we, as a Marist community, build our own teachings and actions. Throughout the time we spent away, we built many new relationships with countless other student leaders while also strengthening our own relationships with one another in utilising the ‘sisters’ aspect of the compass. 

As a group, we discussed the unique features of our school communities and shared initiatives and opportunities that we currently host at MSCW, whilst learning about those that take place across our fellow Marist schools. This gathering taught us about true leadership and service and the ways in which we can continue to serve our communities in the way of Mary. Our time at the Student Leaders Gathering provided us with an invaluable opportunity to share our gifts with one another and meet like-minded students from other Marist schools. We would like to express our gratitude to Ms Vu and Dr Ireland for making the trip out to Mittagong, where we enjoyed a mass and formal dinner with the Principals of our fellow Marist Schools. We are immensely grateful to have been provided with this experience and it is something that will resonate with us long into the future.

Aisling O’Connor, Hannah Khoury, Jasmine Comerford and Elena Battaglia

YEAR 8 REFLECTION DAY

On Friday, 18th October, Year 8 students attended their Year 8 Reflection Day at Holy Name of Mary in Hunters’ Hill. The Scriptural basis of the Reflection Day was Jesus’ question; ‘Did I not choose you?’ from John 6:67-70. Our response to this question focused on the value of LOVE. In particular, a type of love that each and everyone one of us deserve being chosen by God in His image and likeness. The day consisted of a variety of activities including Chat-A-Box discussion cards, reflective journaling and picture frame decorating with a focus on each students’ gifts as made in the image and likeness.

Thank you Year 8 for your participation on the day and to the following staff for leading a small group that enriched the day for our students; Mrs. Caroline Morizzi, Dr. Anne Ireland, Ms. Te’Annie Makdessi, Mr. Joshua Allen, Ms. Melissa Carson, Ms. Marissa Watson, Mr. Jack Newey, Ms. Mary-Anne Boutros, Ms. Veronica Barbagallo, Ms. Stephanie Dito, Ms. Leoni Hopkins and Ms. Tanya Guiness.

MARY’S HOUSE FUNDRAISER WALK

Mary’s House Services is a not-for-profit, grassroots organisation which supports women and their children escaping from domestic and family violence and abuse. Mary’s House Services was built by the community for the community, following a recognition of a gap in services within the local region. Mary’s House Services in entirely funded by the generosity of our community of donors.

Thanks to funding from the community, Mary’s House have been able to deliver over 14,000 safe nights’ accommodation at their refuge as well as establish a community program centre to assist women still living in the community.

On Sunday 27th October over 100 of our Marist Sisters’ College Community participated in the Mary’s House Walk, which is an initiative to supplement the fundraising efforts. A huge thank you to our Marist Sister’s community for raising $16000! This is an amazing effort for such a significant cause. The funds raised from this event will allow Mary’s House Services to provide more case management hours for women and their families seeking safety at the refuge and the provision of more programs to aid women still living in the community.

https://maryshousewinterappeal.raisely.com/ 

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