I am watching the NRL State of Origin 1 game as I work on this editorial tonight and I have to say, it is wonderful to see the Blues finally looking so strong at Suncorp Stadium! My sincere condolences to our Queensland families who will be feeling just a bit gutted at the moment. The competition is the best of three games, so the final outcome could be anyone’s.

At the beginning of the year, the College moved to a different information platform. It has proven to be a bumpy transition and we continue to have problems with the integrity of the data in the new system. Please bear with us as we continue to work with the company to iron out the difficulties. Our staff have been excellent in working and responding to your concerns, however  the program has been problematic at times, which has worked against staff efforts. We expect to have it rectified in the coming weeks. We appreciate your support and understanding.

The last day of this term is Benedict Day. Over the last few years, we have held a mass and an academic awards ceremony. From this year we will no longer hold the academic awards ceremony at this time, as the majority of our courses run across the whole of the year. We will explore ways of acknowledging academic achievement throughout the year. The end of year awards will remain the same, acknowledging academic achievements, effort and include our special and prestigious awards. The day will continue to have the Mass for St Benedict and we will have activities and stalls raising money for the Good Samaritan Foundation. Please feel free to contact myself or Mrs McGeachie if you wish to discuss this further.

Next Tuesday, we have Ms Dianne McGrath visiting the College. She has been shortlisted as a finalist to be one of the people to travel on a spaceship to the planet Mars. It is expected that the successful people will never return back to Earth. Dianne will speak to the girls at assembly on Tuesday. This has been proudly sponsored by the P&F.  If you would like to listen to her address, please feel free to attend the College. It will be held in the Mary Sheil Centre beginning at 9.00am.

Finally, this week falls in Reconciliation Week. Flanked by Sorry Day, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the Mabo Decision, it is a week when we reflect on where we have journeyed towards reconciliation.  The theme for this year is ‘Let’s Take the Next Steps’ and refers to the need for constitutional reform to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take a rightful place in the country. To be informed on the constitutional recognition movement, please click here.

I will leave you with a reflection on Reconciliation Week. 

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal 

Reconciliation Prayer: 
Holy Father, God of Love
You are the Creator of this land and all good things
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
And the suffering of our peoples.
And we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
Our hope is in you because you gave your son Jesus
To reconcile the world to you.
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive,
Accept and love one another,
As you love us and forgive and accept us
In the sacrifice of your Son.
Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history
So that we may build a better future for our nation.
Teach us to respect all cultures.
Teach us to care for our land and waters.
Help us to share justly the resources of this land.
Help us to bring about spiritual and social change
To improve the quality of life for all groups
in our communities,
Especially the disadvantaged
Help our young people to find true dignity and self
esteem by your Spirit
May your power and love be the foundations
on which we build our families, our communities
and our Nation.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen