The swimming carnival held last Friday was a resounding success this year, blessed with fabulous weather that set the perfect backdrop for the event. We witnessed the best attendance levels in several years, with students, staff, and families coming together to support the participants. The day was filled with excitement with a longstanding record broken, showcasing the incredible talent and dedication of our swimmers. The spirit of participation and house pride was truly inspiring, with everyone cheering on their teams and celebrating each other’s achievements. We look forward to the same spirit at our Athletics Carnival on March 28.
The Year 7 welcome evening had a fantastic turnout from students and their families. We are incredibly grateful for the strong support from our school community, which made the event a memorable one. We encourage our current families to share with your networks our upcoming Open Days. We have seen strong registrations so far, and we encourage prospective families to join us and learn about the wonderful opportunities our school has to offer.
In our Strategic Plan ‘One Pace Beyond’, our commitments include: ‘Expanding and renewing learning design, pathways and experiences within and beyond the classroom’.
Aligned with this commitment is the introduction of Big Picture Learning which is coming to Clonard College in 2026, with two advisories in Year 9 and Year 10. This innovative approach focuses on personalized education, allowing students to develop their own learning plans in consultation with their families and advisory teachers. Unlike the traditional secondary school experience, Big Picture Learning is not organized around subjects, timetables, multiple classrooms, and exams. Instead, students learn through personal interest projects, social action initiatives, field trips, and internships. They are part of small advisory groups of 17 students, each with a dedicated advisory teacher who guides and supports their learning journey. Students also have the opportunity to learn through internships in the community, gaining real-world experience and building valuable networks. Assessment is done through exhibitions where students present their learning to family, peers, mentors, and teachers. To learn more about this exciting opportunity, please visit our website. Over the coming months we will continue to share information about Big Picture with our community before hosting an Information Night for interested families and students. We are just finalising the date with our Big Picture colleagues and will share this as soon as it is confirmed.
A further aspiration is to ‘Offer opportunities the promotes the interconnectedness of humanity with nature’. Feedback in our consultation indicated that students were interested in accessing more open spaces during lunchtime. Last week we commenced a trial of lunchtimes on the Hurst Reserve Oval on Mondays and Fridays. This was well received by students with a number availing themselves of this opportunity. Thanks to Dean Williams for leading this initiative.
Last week our Religious Education teachers engaged in a workshop on interfaith dialogue. This is a living expression of our theme Hospitality: Open Encounter Transform in action. Liz Sullivan our Pedagogy of Encounter Leader has shared an article in this week’s newsletter further outlining the learning of our team. In a world where we see increasing hostilities that at times are based on religious grounds it is essential that we promote a culture of understanding and welcome. The document ‘Welcoming Each Other – Interfaith Education for Schools’ published by the Archdiocese of Melbourne provides a rich resource for use. Of interest to us was the four forms of dialogue: dialogue of life, dialogue of action, dialogue of theology, and dialogue of religious experience as a way of enriching our learning in this space.
Next week we commence Lent with our VM students hosting Shrove Tuesday and then the marking of Ash Wednesday with year level liturgies. Given the focus on fating, almsgiving and prayer especially on Ash Wednesday our canteen will be meat free of March 5. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent. This year as we journey through Lent we are reminded of the Jubilee theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. The word pilgrimage denotes a deeply transformational and spiritual journey, a setting out into strange territory in response to a call. So whilst we might not be making a pilgrimage to Rome the 40 days of Lent still offers the opportunity to think about how we might live lives closer to the gospel message of good news.
Traditionally, Jubilee years are strongly linked with ongoing works of mercy, charity, forgiveness and justice. This Lent we may wish share hope through outreach and service in your community. Some suggestions shared with us through the various resources for the year of Jubilee include:
- extending forgiveness to those who need it
- volunteering for charitable works, such as visiting the elderly, feeding the homeless or assisting in other community service projects
- committing to prayer and fasting
- creating ‘hope bags’ for anyone who needs hope and filling them with practical items, as well as scripture verses and inspirational quotes
- nurturing the three attitudes that Pope Francis encouraged pilgrims to have during Jubilee 2025: thanksgiving, intentionally seeking to encounter the Lord and seeking forgiveness.
As we pray for Pope Francis during this time of challenging health we continued to be inspired by his teaching:
Every Christian is called to go out to encounter others, to dialogue with those who do not think the way we do, with those who have another faith, or who don’t have faith. To encounter all because we all have in common our having been created in the image and likeness of God. We can go out to encounter everyone, without fear.
Pope Francis (Speech to Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation, 14 October 2013).
Blessings
Luci
