Newman News Term 2 Week 4 : From the Principal
Marist Association Marian Lecture
On Tuesday afternoon, we hosted the Marian Lecture which featured Christopher Lamb, a British journalist who is the Rome Correspondent for the Catholic publication, The Tablet. He is a contributor to the Vatican Insider page of La Stampa and a regular commentator for the BBC on Vatican and religious affairs. The presentation was on the post COVID Church – Crisis or Opportunity. Beaming in online from the UK the presentation went to over 199 sites across the country where members of the Marist Association are situated.
Having worked closely with Pope Francis over his papacy, Chris provided a rare insight into the person of Francis, his leadership and his hopes and aspirations for the Church into the future. At the forefront of his presentation was the Pope’s commitment for the option for the poor and the importance of the Church being grounded in the common good, specifically for those most in need. Such an apostolic Church though needs to create the space where each of us can continue to develop our relationship with Jesus Christ underpinned by the notion of faith, hope and love.
A post COVID Church has an opportunity to continually reimagine what is possible to engage people in faith as a means of building more loving and compassionate communities. Within our own College our Vision for Mission highlights the importance for each student and staff member to have an opportunity for formation, so to build a culture that is transformative and based on the common good.
In the weeks ahead we will be celebrating our Founders Day, St Marcellin Champagnat, and his vision of providing opportunity for young people, specifically the marginalised, to receive an education. For our students, it is a time to value the privilege of what we have and being a member of this Marist community. The responsibility that comes with this privilege is to continually challenge ourselves to be people who will in their lives seek to make a difference.
Opening and Blessing of the St John Henry Newman Learning Hub
The formal Opening and Blessing of the St John Henry Newman Learning Hub is scheduled for Tuesday 1 June, from 9.00am. We are delighted to be able to welcome to our College the Most Reverend Timothy Costelloe, Archbishop of Perth, and Dr Frank Malloy, National Director Marist Schools Australia, to perform official duties at this significant event.
Due to the restricted space in the Learning Hub it is not possible to have the entire College community present. However, we will have representation of College staff, students and parents from Early Childhood through to Senior School. Families will be advised closer to the time if their child is involved.
The event will be streamed live into all classrooms so that all students (with the exception of those sitting exams) and staff can view.
The Opening and Blessing of the St John Henry Learning Hub is the culmination of six years of planning which commenced with the development of our Vision for Learning – Shine through Discovery, Let Your Light Shine (Mat 5:16) in 2016. Our environment is a reflection
of our learning intent which is to create spaces where we can collaborate and challenge our students.
The St John Henry Newman Learning Hub sets the tone for our future master planning
Year 7 Camp
I visited the Year 7 Camp last week and celebrated with the students their transition into Secondary School. The vibe and excitement that emanated across every activity exemplified the way the students have come together as a cohort.
Mothers Day
Due to the recent lockdown we were not about to fully celebrate Mothers Day as we had previously intended. However, across the College we marked Mothers Day in a variety of ways and I thank those who were able to attend our liturgies. I hope everyone had a wonderful day last Sunday.
Newman Parents Consultative Committee (NPCC)
On Monday night we held our first NPCC meeting of the year, with the focus being one of the College’s strategic intents for 2021 – “To develop extension learning pathways that enhance the opportunities for gifted and talented students.” Ms Lara Ognenis, Gifted and Talented Teacher K-10 presented her vision of this project, the aim of which is to explore how we can create opportunities to extend our students. You can access Lara’s presentation and the minutes from the meeting below.