Thresholds are connected to the Celtic and Brigidine tradition. It is said that St Brigid was born on the threshold and so it has a rich symbolism for us in our community. It is important to recognise and celebrate these crossing moments.  The rituals of the next week will do just that for our Year 12 students as they begin their leaving from this place, their leaving from secondary education into their next step in the world. We commenced with the Transfer of Leadership Liturgy on Tuesday which was slightly different in format this year to reflect the collaborative style of leadership that our College Co Captains have created with the Year 12 Leadership group. There was great joy as we gathered for the first time in a long time, with families, for a whole school assembly.

We had the fun of our Class of 2022 stepping into the shoes of teachers, quite literally, as students came dressed as various members of staff. It’s a little disconcerting to see what they notice! Through this fun they also fundraised for the Brigidine Education Fund. On Monday evening we will celebrate their graduation at St Mary of the Angels Basilica followed by the Celebration Morning on Tuesday which will conclude with a whole school assembly where the Year 12 students will reminisce, give thanks, and be acknowledged for their contribution over the last six years.

We are so proud of these young women and the people they have become. They have brought energy, joy and great school spirit to all they have done this year. We wish them all every blessing for the coming weeks as they either undertake exams or prepare to move into the workforce, apprenticeship, or further training. We trust that they will give their endeavours their best, an effort worthy of who they are, the belief that others have in them and the education they have received. 

Inspired by the words of Daniel O’Leary, one of my favourite spiritual writers, we pray:

Though your destination may not yet be clear

Trust the promise of this opening

Awaken your spirit to adventure

Hold nothing back for your soul senses that the world awaits you

And may God hold you in the palm of God’s hand

Amen

Along with being a place of learning for our students, our staff have been undertaking some significant learning this year as part of our School Improvement Agenda. Our Learning Design Team who will work with our Year 7 students in 2023 have been learning how to bring to life a learning experience that will foster deep learning based on our Learning Charter and enable our students to learn and demonstrate complex capabilities that will be measured by the New Metrics for Success tools being developed in our partnership with the university of Melbourne. This is an exciting initiative, and we are grateful to the leadership of Jo Ryan in this space. The team worked for a full day this week to explore curriculum design in light of these principles. Our Catholic Identity team also had a full day of learning working with Dr Rina Madden. We explored ten characteristics of prayer in a recontextualizing dialogue school, the key elements of belief and then an understanding of spirituality and how this might relate to the staff and student experience.

This week I draw your attention to some items of interest and information. Some of you may have viewed the documentary by Todd Sampson earlier this week on social media. He referenced the eSafety Commissioner and the resources on this website. We have also used these tools and I commend them to families Online safety | eSafety Commissioner

This week saw further changes to the COVID-19 isolation requirements. Information about the latest updates have been sent to all families today via our internal communications systems. In essence whilst the isolation period for COVID is no longer mandatory it is highly recommended for the ongoing safety and wellbeing of the community especially if someone has symptoms. And finally, the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria has released information for families in relation to the State election in November. This letter outlines what our system of school is seeking from Victorian government support including the ongoing capital development of our schools. This letter can be found here.

As we end this week we pray also for the communities in Victoria who are facing the uncertainty that the recent rains and flooding have brought. May they experience compassion and hold on to hope in the days ahead.

Blessings

 

Luci