Excellent engagement from students as they begin 2020

Congratulations to all students on the way that they have started the year. We have witnessed excellent engagement from our students as they have taken part in the following:

• Pastoral Planning Day
• Class activities and new learning opportunities
• Opening Mass & Laureate Assembly
• College Swimming Carnival
• Bendigo Chamber Music Festival
• Activities in the yard during the break.

We look forward to the upcoming Year 7 & 8 camps. Thanks to the staff who have been working to arrange these camps and to those who attend to lead and support these wonderful experiences.

Our first Student Representative Council (SRC) meetings have already occurred and the students are excited about upcoming contributions to the College planning and various student activities. Year 7 SRC selections will occur after their camp.

As you already know, our 2020 theme is ‘Mercy for our Common Home’. Our SRC will be working closely with others on the REGEN Project (introduced in the Principal’s welcome to 2020) as we explore sustainable practices that care for our common home. In Laudato Si’ (2015), Pope Francis writes, “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (LS, 217). We are all challenged by this and we look forward to attempting to respond with positivity and in line with our College mission. We continue to celebrate Catherine McAuley’s work and legacy, and her inspiration, Jesus Christ. May we truly live our gospel and mercy values every day of the year ahead.

The following clip has been created by the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) and provides us with some ‘simple gestures’ to consider as we seek to be guardians of our beautiful planet https://vimeo.com/388938580.

Take care,

Mr Tim Edwards, Deputy Principal – Coolock