Dear Parents and Carers,

On Monday 8 August, we celebrated the feast of Australia’s first and only saint - St Mary of the Cross, Mary MacKillop. While most Australians know Mary MacKillop’s name, many are unaware of exactly what this compassionate, devout and determined young woman achieved in her lifetime or why she remains such an inspiration, not only to Australians but to men and women worldwide. She is remembered for saying “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

Mary MacKillop was

• The co-founder of the Josephites, the Sisters of St Joseph, she was a tireless advocate of education and schools.
• Mary’s unwavering commitment to those on the margins of society constantly met with opposition. But with her strength of faith in God and her vision of a better world for all, St Mary refused to be daunted.
• Travelling extensively throughout Australasia, St Mary founded convents, charitable institutions, and free schools for children in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SA as well as New Zealand. This was at a time when most families had to pay to educate their children and only the wealthy could afford to send their children to school.

Mary’s journey was not trouble-free. She fought many battles along the way and her faith was continually tested as she walked a path that upset many. Throughout this time and with these challenges she showed resilience and continued to fight for what she believed was right. She modelled being faith-filled for us as she lived by the mantra “Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God.” (1891)

We learn from Mary how to stay true to our convictions, work hard for what we believe to be right and show resilience when obstacles are thrown our way.

In remembering our first Australian Saint: Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, we can learn much from her incredible vision, courage and leadership.

Last week I had the opportunity to travel with our Year 6 students on a 2-day, overnight excursion to Canberra. This excursion supported the learning the students undertook about democracy and government. Thank you to Mrs Mortimer, Mrs Alford, Mr Orazi, Mrs Simpson and Mr Astill for everything they did to make the Canberra excursion such a wonderful experience for our Year 6 students. The students had the opportunity to implement their learning, had a wonderful time and in the process were a real credit to our school. I acknowledge the huge personal commitment and the willingness to accept the additional responsibility that is necessary to enable excursions such as these to take place, especially with the additional COVID requirements. Thank you to our staff for accepting all of this for the sake of our students and for stepping away from their own family responsibilities in order to extend the learning in the classroom. Gratitude is also extended to our Admin team in the Office for the behind-the-scenes support and assistance with the essential organisational aspects necessary for this excursion.

Enjoy the week ahead

Tina Murray

Tina Murray

Principal

We continue to experience high rates of sickness within our student and staff community. As always, we appreciate your support when it comes to your child / ren being unwell in that you keep them home until they are well enough to return. If you or someone in your family tests positive for COVID, students are still able to attend school. It is recommended that they wear a mask whilst at school.

We are maintaining our COVID safe practices here at school by ensuring that we:

• Stay home if unwell or showing any symptoms & not returning until we are fully recovered.
• Rapid antigen test when exhibiting symptoms & for close contacts who are able to be at school.
• Practice good hygiene including regular hand washing & sanitising before eating & entering classrooms.

RATs are available on request and can be sent home with your child / ren as needed. If you require RATs, please email the school info@mievdow.catholic.edu.au. We appreciate your support in helping us to keep our school community safe and well over the coming weeks.