Principal's Message
The Feast of the Assumption
This feast commemorates two events - the departure of Mary from this life and the assumption of her body into Heaven. Some mistakenly believe Mary "ascended" into heaven, which is incorrect according to the Bible. It was Jesus Christ who ascended into heaven, by his own power. But Mary was assumed, or taken up, into heaven by God.
Observed as a Holy Day of Obligation by Catholics and as a public holiday in some countries, devotees consider the Feast of the Assumption as the Holy Mother’s "heavenly birthday" and this is not a day of mourning for her loss, but a celebration of joy for the union of the mother with her beloved son.
The Church's official doctrine of the Assumption says that at the end of her life on earth, Mary was assumed, body and soul, into Heaven.
During these COVID times, the day which is normally a Holy Day of Obligation (a requirement to attend Mass) is now not a requirement. Nevertheless, students will today participate in a special prayer to honour and venerate our Lady.
Uniform - Jumpers
I want to reiterate the rules around College uniform for families so there is no confusion. When students are out of uniform for any reason, it is a requirement that parents/carers write a note in the child’s diary explaining this. There are two aspects of this that are required:
- An explanation of what item is incorrect and the reason why.
- An acceptable timeframe in which it will be corrected.
So for example - “Please excuse Jude for wearing the wrong shoes, they are broken. I will have this rectified next week". This is fine.
Example 2 - “Please excuse Mary for wearing a hoodie because she is cold”. This is not acceptable.
If your child is cold, and the jacket is not enough for their warmth and comfort, then you are required to buy a jumper to wear underneath or as an alternative. Please do not send them in hoodies and expect that simply writing a note is good enough. We have a uniform for a reason and we request parents to respect its value as a defining part of College life in our community.
Simply wearing the wrong thing and writing a note to excuse it, without any attempt or desire to rectify it, is not permitted. Parents cannot simply write notes giving students permission to break the rules. This is no different to writing a note allowing your child to do no work in class, be rude to a visitor or to break College property.
A Day in the Life for Year 6 Students
Many will have seen the advertisement to all Year 6 students who have not yet enrolled at the College, to come to an orientation day on August 26th. This was an attempt to maximise our ability to provide an opportunity for visits to the College during COVID restrictions. This fits perfectly well within the current guidelines. Since announcing this, it has become evident that some families whose child is already enrolled, would like to take advantage of this opportunity. Our response is - “Let’s do it”. We will open this invitation up to all Year 6 students, enrolled or not, to enjoy this day.
Be aware - this is not the official Orientation Day - two of which are planned for later in the year. Any inability to attend this day in AUGUST will in NO WAY impact your ability to enrol, or to attend the orientations in Term 4. If you can’t come in August - that’s perfectly fine.
We look forward to welcoming one and all.
God Bless
Kevin Lewis BEd (Syd) MEd (ACU) GradCertRe (Uon)
College Principal