Principal's Reflection
Two of my favorite Church feast days of the year will be swamped by Melbourne Cup day this year! The first Tuesday in November will be more marked by mug punters all over the country losing their money than celebrating All Saints Day on Tuesday and All Souls Day on Wednesday. Younger citizens might completely lose sight of both Feast Days as they get distracted by the ‘race that stops a nation’ and the gaudy vulgarity of Halloween. All Saints Day on Tuesday is the day in the year in our Catholic tradition that the Church asks us to remember both the great and small saints of the Church. A saint is someone who the church believes is in heaven with God. Wrongly, we often think saints are perfect, but in fact their greatest witness is how they coped with the ordinary difficulties of life and how they reflected in a variety of ways the love of God. For most of us sanctity and even martyrdom will not come in dramatic ways. The daily routine of looking after a sick child, spouse, or parent, of living with a mental, physical, emotional or spiritual illness, the scourge of being unemployed, homeless, or addicted, and the feeling that we are unlovable brings with it the reality of sharing in the lot of the martyrs and saints. All Souls Day is an opportunity to remember and thank God for the presence in our lives and the part they played of all of those who have died. The remembering of significant lives is really important. Every one of us is better for someone who has gone before us. On Wednesday this week, I will quietly remember and celebrate the life of my Mum and Dad. Both flawed human beings but who to whom I am eternally grateful. I’m glad that some of our young people at Shalom and many past students will have fond memories of Brother Rochford and Kerry Bolam. Two ordinary men, who made plenty of mistakes but who still made a profound and positive impact on the lives of countless young people. Their souls live beyond death. They give us hope that there is more to this life than today and that our lives have meaning and potential far beyond us. There is something really worthwhile in this celebration of the ‘communion of saints’. Don’t miss it entirely losing money on a horse race or giving away lollies to kids going door to door this week.
School Captains 2023 – I was very pleased to be able to announce at Assembly last week that Molly Sellers (MacKillop) and Cooper Leeson (Rice) will be our School Captains for the coming year. These two young people were chosen after a vote by their peers and staff. Their call to leadership is a recognition of the commitment to the values of Shalom that they have both consistently shown over the past five years. I have no doubt that this will continue in 2023.
Giving Tree Assembly is on Thursday 10 November. Each year families are asked to donate unwrapped toys suitable for young or school age children or cash that will be used by the St Vincent de Paul society to assist families in need this Christmas. This is always a highlight event for Shalom and I hope that, again, Shalom families will be very generous in supporting this appeal.
An Afternoon of Beautiful Music was held on Saturday, in the Holy Rosary Church, a large crowd were thoroughly entertained by the Shalom Strings Department, Choir and Vocal Ensemble. The students were fantastic and we highlighted the Year 12 students who are part of the Strings program, and wider music department who are leaving the College. It was just a wonderful experience. It highlighted, again, the outstanding level of leadership and musical expertise contained in our staff. Special mention goes to Ms Bernadette Connolly, Ms Nicole Strohfeldt, Mr Ian King, Ms Christie McLucas and so ably supported by Ms Kate Hardisty, Ms Wendy Davis & Mr Sean Udal.
Senior students farewelled – Matthew P, Josephine M, Nicholas M, Rafe M, Meg F, Bailey W (Renee T absent)
Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
mcmahond@shalomcollege.com
