Pope Francis has put forward that 2025 be a ‘Year of Hope’. I think he’s touched on something pretty worthwhile for all of us. Hope is, sometimes, in short supply. Too many of our young people seem to run out of ‘hope’ far too early. The cartoon from the late, great, Michael Leunig reminds us of the ‘hope’ promised us all with the birth of Jesus. That ‘hope’ is not always obvious. The world, at the moment, can be a little scary. Hope is important. We all need something or someone, to give us ‘hope’.

Just before school started this year, I went to see the movie ‘Conclave’ and I loved it. The movie is about the fictious election of a new Pope on the death of his predecessor. In the movie, one of the central characters, Cardinal Lawrence, gave a sermon during which he said, “Over the course of many years of service to our Church let me tell you that there is one sin which I have come to fear above all others – Certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end – ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ he cried out in his agony at the ninth hour on the Cross. Our Faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore, no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let Him grant us a Pope who sins, and who asks forgiveness, and who carries on.” I loved the movie because it showed the Church I love in its flawed, fallible and hopeful best. Nothing is perfect but we can all hope for something better and do our part to make that happen. I think Pope Francis is onto something!

We’ve had a really positive start… Wednesday saw the whole College gather for the first time in 2025. Almost 300 new students and eleven new teachers and fourteen new Support Staff joined our community. They will make a difference! I hope each and every one of them can look forward to plenty of support from those of us continuing at Shalom. Please click on the link below to see the faces of our new staff in 2025 –

Pick up areas after School have been very busy this week. Please remember that the ONLY places to pick up are in the designated car parks. Not on the side of Br Hogan Drive or near the cemetery in the Eggmolesse Car Park. This is a very real safety matter.

From Week 2, I’m on Leave until the end of February. Mrs Norris will step in as Acting Principal, Mr Brown will fill her role as Deputy Principal and Mr Robinson will be Acting Assistant Principal, Students.

Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
mcmahond@shalomcollege.com