Happy Birthday to us!! On Friday evening we will celebrate 40 wonderful years of Shalom. Anniversaries are a chance to reflect on highs and lows. In the life of this College there have been both but, I am very confident that the highs have outweighed the lows. ‘Standing on the shoulders of those who’ve gone before us’, is a phrase that captures how history and culture get built. Shalom began as a bit of a gamble. A new school, combining Loyola Girls’ College with Christian Brothers Bundaberg, was a risk. Many at the time thought the site of Shalom was too far from town. The only thing here at the time of confirming the decision was an oval that had been hacked out of the bush by students and staff from CBC. Locals like Jim Thorn, John Santalucia, Jim Stephenson and many others did a lot of the hard work involved.

We stand on their shoulders – with thanks. The school has changed so much since 1984 but the fundamentals are the same today. Young people are cared for, they are encouraged to do and be their best and they are reminded daily of the story of Jesus and the values he shared. This 40 year anniversary is a chance to celebrate the lives and journeys of those who have passed through this College and those who are here now.

Friday evening there will be a fairly informal function to which all are welcome. Link to tickets –

Entertainment will be provided by some of our many talented Musicians. There won’t be a lot of formality and most will centre on a documentary of our history that has been prepared over the last few months by our AV and Marketing teams. It will be a great resource for the College.

Work Experience – an increasing number of our students, via our Pathways team, choose to use some of their vacation time doing Work Experience. This is not limited to trades and many find it a great opportunity to explore future employment opportunities in blue collar or white collar work. Keiarna S is one of our Year 12 students. I listened to Keiarna interview, on ABC radio where she was doing Work Experience, another of our Year 12 students, Lucy H, who had recently been chosen to Captain the Australian Womens’ Under 19 Cricket team. For someone, who admittedly, didn’t know a lot about cricket, Keiarna asked some excellent questions and had obviously done her homework. Well done both. Contact the Pathways office if your child might be interested in having a crack at some Work Experience.

The Catholic Parents Association is very keen to get feedback on our schools from parents. It would be great if you could invest ten minutes of your time to complete this survey. Scan the QR code on the flyer to access the survey. All completely anonymous.

Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
mcmahond@shalomcollege.com