Deputy Principal Mission and Pastoral Care
2026 College Theme: Accept the Invitation
On Tuesday 3 February we held our Year 7-12 Opening Mass. At this Mass I introduced to the students our College theme for 2026 – Accept The Invitation. This theme will be explored and enacted in so many ways throughout 2026 from Mary Bailey House through to Year 12, with our staff and with our families. Below you will find the reflection delivered at the Opening Mass for Year 7-12 students where we introduced our theme and what it will mean for us in 2026.
As we begin this new school year together, I would like to start with a line from Scripture that feels a bit like God whispering directly to each of us:
I have called you by name. You are mine.
It’s a reminder that God doesn’t just see “Santa Sabina students.”
God sees you.
Your name.
Your story.
Your heart.
And this year, our theme – Accept the Invitation – is God’s gentle nudge to each one of us. Not a push, not a demand. An invitation.
But what exactly are we being invited to?
1. An invitation to relationship
We’re invited into friendships that are real, kind and brave.
This may mean sitting with someone new at lunch.
It may mean repairing a friendship after a falling out.
It may mean including someone who might feel left out.
It may mean being honest, compassionate and courageous – even when it’s awkward or uncomfortable.
This year, our Santa Sisters Buddy Programs, our homerooms and many other College activities will focus on hospitality, belonging and connection. Our College theme will remind us that relationships are where courage is lived out day by day.
This invitation is also:
2. An invitation to purpose
God has created each of us with gifts – some we know already, some we are still discovering.
Accepting this invitation means being brave enough to try something new or to ask for help or to admit we don’t know something yet.
It means being confident enough to name your strengths.
And being wise enough to make decisions based on your values—not what’s popular.
This year, through your learning, your involvement in co-curriculars and service and leadership opportunities you’ll have so many chances to grow into who God is calling you to be.
And lastly this theme is:
3. An invitation to action
Because we are Dominican, we don’t just talk about justice – we live it. Justice is not something we do it is who we are and how we live each day.
Action doesn’t always look big or dramatic. Sometimes it’s simply:
- standing up for someone who is being treated unfairly
- choosing honesty when it would be easier to stay silent
- caring for the environment
- helping someone who needs support
- seeing a need and quietly responding.
This year, through House Salamanca service projects, environmental initiatives and community outreach, you will be invited to make a difference.
Our Dominican Guide for 2026: St Martin de Porres
St Martin de Porres is our role model this year – a Dominican saint who accepted God’s invitation through simple, everyday kindness.
He welcomed everyone.
He helped anyone he could.
He used the small gifts he had to create big change.
And he did it all with humility, love, and joy.
He shows us that courage isn’t always loud.
Often it’s gentle.
Often it’s quiet.
And it always starts with a yes.
So as we begin 2026, I invite you to notice the invitations God will place in front of you – some big, some tiny, some surprising.
The invitation to relationship.
The invitation to purpose.
The invitation to action.
And I pray that throughout this year, each of us will have the courage to say:
Yes, I accept the invitation.
Melanie van der Meer
Deputy Principal Mission and Pastoral Care
