Religious Education Coordinator – Ian Anderson

Holy Week

We are coming close to the end of the term, and with that, the holiday of Easter. For some of us, this has been a long season. While the solemn forty days of fasting has helped us to prepare, we look forward to fifty days of feasting. As Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time to mourn and a time to dance”. I hope that all of you celebrate Easter with joy. 

I warmly invite you all to join OLM in our Easter celebrations. St Aloysius Church has Holy Thursday Mass at 7.30pm on 2 April. A number of our senior students will have their feet washed, a representation of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. This Mass ends with an opportunity for Eucharistic adoration, praying with Jesus as he asked of his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Good Friday will be held on 3 April. At 10.00am, our students will be putting on a production of the Stations of the Cross at St Aloysius Church, Cronulla. Our students have been working hard to practice the actions, music and readings. This is a great opportunity to partake in the many devotions that will help us unite our own sufferings with the suffering of Christ.

Mercy Action Group

Mercy Action Group is a student led, student centred Mercy initiative held here at Our Lady of Mercy College. It is held in the Chapel on every second Tuesday. MAG seeks to provide activities and initiatives to connect students with the wider community through action such as making cards, knitting for Winter appeal and other such activities. MAG is available to all students across the school from Year 7 to Year 12. This is a great way to earn Mercy Excellence Hours and to contribute to the wider Cronulla Community. We hope to see all students making MAG a priority next term. If you have questions about MAG, come and speak to Mr Bailey or Mr Anderson.

Year 9 Mercy Formation Day

On 25 March, ten of our Year 9 students represented our College at the Mercy Formation Day held at OLMC Parramatta. The day had a primary focus on local environments and what we as Mercy schools can contribute to ecology in our region. 

AMSSA Conference

This week, ten of our Year 10 students represented the College at the first AMMSA Conference. This is an online Conference, linking all Mercy Schools in Australasia with each other to discuss the Mercy Charism and how it is evolving for not only the twenty first century, but in our regional and national context. This has allowed for our students to engage with students in an open plenary to discuss challenges, opportunities and initiatives to bring mercy to our Communities. 

Senior Retreat

A reminder to all parents with students in Year 11. The Senior Retreat will  be held from the 31 March until the 1 April. A reminder that permission needs to be actioned. These opportunities to go on Retreat are always beneficial to students, especially in light of the busyness of the term. I offer my many thanks for your continued support with your daughters as they begin their senior studies.

Have a blessed Easter and I look forward to seeing you again in term 2.

Ian Anderson, Religious Education Coordinator