Newman News Term 2 Week 2: From the Director of Mission and Catholic Identity
I hope everyone has had a wonderful first two weeks to begin the term. We were very fortunate as a staff to commence our term with the Marist Life Formation team where we undertook a faith formation day alongside our other Marist communities from Western Australia – Bunbury Catholic College and St. Joseph’s School Northam. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on our Marist theme for 2023 and to gather together as one Marist Community.
May the month of Mary
This week marks the beginning of May, the month of Mary. This is an especially important time for our Marist community, with Mary playing such a pivotal role in the formation of the Marist Brothers.
Many people may be unaware, but when Marcellin Champagnat first went to school as a child, he only stayed one day due to the cruel nature of his teachers. He left to work at home with his Dad instead and was able to do some learning with his mother.
Years later, when Champagnat was ordained as a priest, he knew that he wanted to make Jesus Christ known and loved to young people everywhere and to provide an education to those in his community. However, having remembered his own time at school, Champagnat was determined to create a different experience for his students. Following his ordination, Champagnat travelled with a group of his friends to Fourvière in Lyon where at the feet of Mary, they promised to establish the Society of Mary (which later became the ‘Little Brothers of Mary’ or the ‘Mary-ists’ and eventually the Marists). Champagnat and his brothers dedicated themselves and all their good works to Mary. They wanted to educate children in the way of Mary – showing compassion and gentleness to the young people in their community. In this way, to be Marist means to be a disciple of Mary. The month of May is the perfect time to remember this and reflect on this throughout the month. I hope everyone can take some time to reflect on where they see Mary working in their lives.
2023 Marian Lecture
Each year, the Marist Association hosts a Marian Lectue – an opportunity for the community to come together to share in a message of hope and share in conversation around a particular theme or topic.
The 2023 Marian Lecture features a conversation with Dr. Medi Volpe about our Marist theme for 2023: A revolution of love and tenderness. This 1-hour lecture is a great opportunity to understand our Marist theme and to better understand how we can bring to life a revolution of love and tenderness in our own lives. This lecture is a live-streamed event and is open to all members of our community, including the general public.
Participants can enrol via the form below, and have the option of watching from home, or gathering together with other participants at the Newman College Auditorium.
You can register your intent to attend via the Microsoft Form below, which in turn will be registered with the Marist Association.
We look forward to sharing in this event very soon!
Mother’s Day Mass
Families are warmly welcome to attend our Mother’s Day mass celebrations next week. We look forward to welcoming all of our mothers and mother figures and celebrating their contributions to our community.
Marist Theme Art Competition
Students and families should keep an eye out for information coming shortly about an upcoming Art competition based on our Marist Theme for 2023.
Students will be invited to submit a piece of artwork that reflects the Marist theme for 2023 – Created & Called: A revolution of love and tenderness. There will be categories for students from PK–12 with prizes for award winners. Winning entries and honourable mentions will be showcased at our PK-12 Arts Festival later in the year.
We are looking forward to sharing details soon and seeing lots of excellent entries!
Year 9 Game Changers Retreat
On the 28th of May, a wonderful group of Year 9 Game Changers students assembled at St Joseph’s Church in Subiaco for their Regional Retreat Day. The students chose to begin the day with a beautiful Mass led by Monsignor Kevin, before meeting up with Issy, their Marist Youth Ministry MC for the day. From there, the group discussed the meaning and role of simplicity in their lives and how we, as Marists, are encouraged to live in the present. As Albus Dumbledore once said, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live!” The students then explored the importance of solidarity and how they can contribute to this in not only their own communities but also the wider global community, even if it’s just in small steps. In summary, the Year 9 Game Changers had a fun yet reflective day and, by the end, had bonded closer as a youth group and become excited to ‘change the game’ for the year ahead.
Izzy Ochtman – Marist Youth Ministry & Youth Chaplin
Year 10 Game Changers Retreat
This morning, the Year 10 Game Changers students set off to St. Joseph’s Subiaco to take part in their final La Valla Retreat Day. In the spirit of embracing our journey, students studied the symbol of the compass, and reflected on their personal North’s, East/West’s, and South’s (Goals, distractions, and significant past experiences). This symbol will be used to remind the Year 10’s that it is the compasses needle (people whom we can look to for guidance) that will make it a lot easier to find our True North. The day provided a safe and relaxing space for the students to reflect deeply on their lives moving forward, as we know many big decisions lie ahead for them!
Izzy Ochtman – Marist Youth Ministry & Youth Chaplin
Upcoming Events
- Tuesday 9 May – Year 8 Game Changers Retreat
- Thursday 11 May – Year 3 Reconciliation Retreat
- Tuesday 16 May – 2023 Marian Lecture
- Thursday 18 May – Year 4 Eucharist Retreat
- Thursday 18 May – Secondary LifeLink Launch
- Thursday 18 May – Year 11 & 12 Marist Connect Evening
Community Mass
A reminder that the whole College community is warmly invited to join us in the Champagnat Chapel at 8.10am on Thursday mornings for Mass celebrated by one of our local Parish Priests and hosted by our students from Marcellin and Lavalla.
Please see the upcoming schedule for the next two weeks:
- Thursday 11 May, Chisolm and Year 3 Blue (Mother’s Day)
- Thursday 18 May, Camara and Year 4 Blue
We look forward to seeing you there