College Principal

Last Friday night the College held its Gala Dinner and it was wonderful to have parents, staff, Sisters, members of our Board and as well as trustees from Dominican Education Australia come together to celebrate 130 years of discerning scholarship at Santa Sabina College. It was a nostalgic journey reflecting on our earliest memories starting with the first Sisters and seven school girls who were the founders of the school. We then traced Santa Sabina’s history as innovators in education being one of the first schools to install purpose-built Science laboratories for girls in Sydney to today as early adopters adding our Virtual Reality classrooms. We explored our commitment to service and social justice through the ages, and our desire to offer a holistic education, one that educates the mind, body, heart and spirit. Many thanks to Yvette Graniero, our Director of Community Relations and her team as well as George Ayoub, our Director of Development for their work in bringing the event to life along with members of the Parents and Friends’ Association and Ex-Students’ Association who also contributed to the success of the evening. 

We have recently launched our latest podcast in our Santa Dialogues series – The Taylor Swift Phenomenon! Not being a ‘Swifty’ I had a lot of research to do beforehand and now I consider myself part of the Swift fanclub. We had an interesting conversation about Swift’s global dominance, her gift of storytelling and songwriting, her artistic integrity and intergenerational appeal. I am really proud of our teachers and students who take a risk to put themselves out there and take a stance sharing their perspectives about what matters most to them. In today’s world it takes a lot of courage to share your truth in a public forum and I hope they always have the courage of their convictions. Dialogue is at the heart of our Dominican charism – St Thomas Aquinas believed that dialogue is the pathway to truth stating that ‘we must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both have laboured in the search for truth and both have helped us in finding it.’

In our final week of Lent, we enter Holy Week; this is a time when we gather to remember and participate in the Passion of Jesus Christ. This is the most important time for Christians – Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus consecrated bread and wine, this is followed by Good Friday which is the darkest of days when Jesus was arrested, brought to trial and crucified. This is a day of solemnity and as Catholics we observe this day by commemorating the Stations of the Cross. 

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the joy of the Resurrection of Christ, which is the basis of our faith and a time of hope in the world. Easter is a time for forgiveness, a time to love one another, and for hopefulness; not just at this time but always. The resurrection of Jesus shows God’s power over death, his love for us through the ultimate sacrifice and the promise of new life. It is a reminder that despite the challenges we may face, we can have hope and faith that God will be there for us. When Jesus lived on Earth he experienced rejection, betrayal, suffering and pain and while our suffering may be different today, Jesus offers us peace, hope and love. We especially remember the suffering and inhumanity in our world at this time and pray that hope and love can persist despite all odds for those experiencing the brutality of war. 

As this is our last newsletter before our April vacation, I would like to wish students and teachers travelling to Italy for our Italian Tour during the break all the very best as they experience ‘la dolce vita’. 

Wishing you the joy and peace of Easter.

Paulina Skerman
College Principal