Last Mother’s Day my father passed away. He was 91 and had been ill, particularly so, in the last seven weeks. Whilst I believe him going is a blessing given the suffering he was experiencing, it is still a significant loss to say farewell to a parent. I am not the first one to lose a parent nor will I be the last, so many will identify with this experience. Nevertheless, irrespective of how old, mature or established we are, our parents remain our parents for the entirety of our lives and the relationship we have with them is unique and comforting. I have received many kind words and prayers, for which I am very grateful. I know that a few in our community have experienced similar bereavements or are currently supporting sick or failing parents. Let’s keep these families in our prayers as they support and care for their loved ones.

Last Saturday we hosted the enrolment interviews for Year 7 2020 and a few for Year 7 2019. We are approaching capacity for 2019 and have very strong numbers for 2020. If we have any siblings wishing to join the College for either of these years who have not yet submitted an application, I urge you to please do so very soon. Once the positions are filled, we will not be able to accommodate siblings, irrespective of their priority in the enrolment policy.

During the last holidays our Chair of Board Dr Michael McDonald stepped down from the College Board. Michael had been on the Board for six years and was chair for over 5 years. Having a legal background and extensive experience in property, Michael brought great wisdom and capacity to the Board. As a governance leader of the College, he was reflective, astute and collegial. We thank him for the devoted service he brought to this voluntary role and his passion for the education of girls in the Macarthur area. We are very grateful to have Ms Ann-Maree Creenaune step into the role of Chair of the Board. Anne- Maree works in policy with the Catholic Education Office and has extensive experience in education and compliance. We again are very fortunate to have a person of Anne-Maree’s calibre take on this role. Our College is in good hands under her leadership.

Saturday 26 May is Sorry Day and begins Reconciliation Week. We have a few activities planned at the College to mark this important week. I will leave you with a prayer on reconciliation and the hope that as a nation we continue to work towards healing the grief and trauma experienced by our Aboriginal brothers and sisters caused by the policies and practices of past and present.

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal 

Holy Father, God of Love,
You are the Creator of all things.
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
and the sufferings of Our peoples,
and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of Indigenous 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 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.
(NATSICC - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council)