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I read a reflection recently from Hill Carmichael about one of the most famous Gospel stories, the Good Samaritan, which I thought was excellent. I attempted to summarise the reflection, but it works better left in the original (I have left out the first paragraph).
Hill Carmichael writes: After my professor finished reading (the story of the Good Samaritan), he looked up and said, “This is not a story about being nice. This is a story about the transformation of the world.” ...he went on to explain that Jesus is responding to a question by sharing that there are three types of people along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
The reflection
The first type are the robbers, whose ethic suggests that “what is yours is mine at whatever cost”. And the robbers will take whatever they need through violence, coercion and whatever means necessary. These are the people who will leave us physically, mentally and emotionally beaten and bruised along life’s road with nothing left but our shallow breath.
“Both the priest and the Levite are deeply respected in their communities. They very likely follow all the societal rules and norms. They sit on local boards. They pay their taxes on time and likely coach their son’s or daughter’s teams. They also show a great deal of love to those within their immediate communities, but because of what crossing the road to help might cost them, they put their head down and go about their business. So, without even recognizing it, they do more harm than good. Their focus is inward toward their needs and the needs of those who are most like them. It’s an ethic that leads the good and decent priest and Levite toward a life of valuing their reputations instead of relationships. And it often results with them choosing their own individual rights over the health and well-being of their neighbours. Unfortunately, this is the category where I fall most often throughout my life. And if we’re all being honest, I’d say it’s the category that most of us fall into more than we care to admit.”
Then there is the Samaritan, whose ethic is love. And along one of the most dangerous roads in all of history seems to live by a code that says “what is mine is yours…if you have need of it”.
My safety is yours…if you have need of it.
My security is yours…if you have need of it.
My resources are yours…if you have need of them.
My health is tied to your health.
My well-being is tied to your well-being.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. preached on this text often and once said that the real difference between the priest and the Levite from the Samaritan is the question that each must have asked. The priest and the Levite likely asked, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?”. The Samaritan likely asked a very different question - “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
Fear has a way of making us all behave badly. It was true for the priest and the Levite, and it is still true for us today. When fear is the ethic of our lives, we tend to cling to our own safety and our own individual rights. When fear is the ethic of our lives, we retreat, mind our own business and rarely cross to the other side of the road to help. And when fear is the ethic of our lives, we end up placing our hope in mottos like “We Dare Defend Our Rights” or “Don’t Tread On Me” as opposed to Jesus’ greatest commandment to “Love God and Love Your Neighbour”.
It doesn’t take looking out the window for very long to know that we are all on a road somewhere between Jerusalem and Jericho right now. It’s dangerous out there. The heartbreak and exhaustion are real. It’s not just the virus. It’s everything. It’s layers and layers of being beaten and bruised along a dry, hard road these past 18 months.
So, we have some choices to make. We can choose to make our decisions with an ethic of fear. And for a time, choices based on fear have a way of making us feel safe, but that is fleeting at best.
The other choice is to cross the road to help our neighbour. When we cross to the other side, we’ll get a glimpse of something Jesus talked an awful lot about. We’ll see what transformation looks like. We’ll finally understand who we are called to be. And best of all, we’ll finally encounter the Kingdom we’ve been longing for.
Staffing News
Mrs Donna Duggan has accepted a position at St James College starting in 2022. Donna has made an outstanding contribution to the St Aloysius College community as an educator, mentor and leader and she will be sadly missed. Donna started at St Aloysius in 2009 and has a held a diversity of roles at the College, presently being in the very important position of Director of Teaching and Learning
No matter what her role, Donna has always demonstrated an outstanding work ethic with the highest level of professionalism and integrity. Her students have benefited from having a passionate teacher who has always worked hard to ensure that they have the best learning outcomes in an engaging environment. As a leader, Donna has worked tirelessly to ensure the College has a collegial approach for teaching and learning from Kinder to Year 10. She has been approachable, supportive and willing to action the many needs of a growing College. We are grateful for the time and energy she has given to progressing the College towards Year 11 and 12 in 2023.
Mr Martin McManus will in effect retire at the end of the year. Martin will actually be taking Long Service Leave at the start of 2022 and will technically retire at the end of his Long Service Leave.
Martin commenced at St Aloysius in 2015. He is a passionate and outstanding teacher who genuinely cares about each of his students. Martin is very energetic. If he is not on class, Martin is checking in on students in electives, visiting intervention classes, touching base with teachers, calling parents, patrolling the grounds, directing buses, repairing vacuum cleaners, cleaning toilets… the list goes on.
As well as supporting students, Martin has been a wonderful support to parents and staff. Whenever there has been any problem, no matter what size, he always is fully active in providing support and follow through. Martin also thinks of everything. At the beginning of each and every year, timetables for each Grade 7 class are created, printed and displayed, labels are printed for bag boxes, and students are directed on exactly where to store their display folders, bibles and associated belongings.
St Aloysius has been very blessed to have Donna Duggan and Martin McManus on the staff. They have both been incredibly generous in their support of the St Aloysius community.
Apple for the Teacher
We are very excited that 17 of our amazing and dedicated teachers have been nominated for the 7HOFM Apple for the Teacher competition. Congratulations to -
Mrs Honner - Kinder White
Mrs Gardiner - Kinder Green
Mrs Callanan - Prep Blue
Miss Pollard - Prep White
Mrs Mahoney - Prep Green
Miss Nelson - 2 Blue
Mrs Travers - 3 White
Mrs Scharvi - 3 Blue
Miss Vague - 4 Green
Mr Clark - 4 White
Ms Fawcett - 5 Green
Ms Heyward - 5 Blue
Mrs Sullivan - 5 White
Mr Fasnacht - 5 Blue & 6 Green
Miss Castles - 6 Blue
Mr Harrington - 6 White
Mrs McCarthy - 6 Green
The teacher with the most votes receives an Apple Macbook Air and an Ipad for each of their students. You can vote as many times as you like, just follow the link -
Book Week
Book Week was held from 23rd to 27th August with the Children’s Book Council of Australia theme “Old worlds, new worlds, other worlds”. It was a busy week, celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. It was also a week to promote the importance of reading.
The Middle Campus celebrated the week with a lunchtime Kahoot with questions based on general knowledge about books. There were also book craft activities, including making miniature books. A bookmark competition was held and was strongly supported by many creative entries.
A dress-up day for the Junior and Middle Campus and Explorers was held on Thursday 22nd August. Students had the opportunity to dress up as their favourite book characters. It was great to see so many original costumes and the time and thought spent on designing and constructing costumes.
A book fair was also held during book week at the Junior Campus. The fair was strongly supported by parents and students with a large selection of books to choose from. Every book sold earnt free books for the school.
Thank you to everyone who supported book week and the book fair.
Bunnings BBQ
We had another successful Bunnings BBQ fundraising day for the College and Parish with over $1000 raised. Thank you to Caterina and Grant Thompson for running the BBQ for another year.
Thank you to all the volunteers on the day -
The MacFarlane family
Izaak and Jack Brown
Connor Thompson
Inara Osborne
Father Mike Delaney
Employment Opportunities
Click on the link to view an advert for the position of System-wide Manager: People Services - Catholic Education Tasmania (CET)
Father's Day Breakfast
Thank you to all the dads and grandads who came along to the Father's Day Breakfast on Friday, 6th September. It was a great opportunity to come together and celebrate the important role that male figures play in our lives.
Grade 7 Enrolments 2023
Grade 7 2023 enrolments are due on Friday, 10th September 2021. If you are already enrolled in Grade 5, you do not need to do anything. If you know families who want to enrol or have a family member in another school who would like to enrol, contact our Enrolment Officer simone.skinner@catholic.tas.edu.au. Expressions of interest forms can be found on the College website
GYC 2022 Enrolments
Mannena & Laudato Si Official Opening
On Thursday, 16th September we are officially opening two very special outdoor learning spaces at the Junior Campus. Local Aboriginal Elder Uncle Rodney Dillon will be welcoming us to Country and opening Mannena (which means Earth in the southeast dialect).
Father Mike Delaney will be performing a blessing for the new Laudato Si vegetable garden. Laudato Si is the encyclical letter Pope Francis has written to all people asking them to care for our common home (Earth).
College Principal Mr Eamonn Pollard will also speak to students, families and special guests.
St Aloysius Catholic College is grateful to artist Allan Mansell from Bruny Island for providing us with stunning artwork for the invitation. Allan's artwork 'Stepping' is a story of travelling between one camp and another. Allan recently facilitated printmaking workshops with our Yr 9/10 Art students. More about Allan and his art can be found on his website
Parents and families wishing to attend should RSVP to annemarie.mcwatters@catholic.
Student Achievement
Congratulations to Sophia Foster-Appleby (Grade 7) who won the Beakley Under 13 Girls Best & Fairest in Aussie Rules. Sophia plays for the Kingborough Tigers.
Focus on Grade 2
On Friday, 27th August, the three Grade Two classes went on a local history excursion to Richmond. We left on the bus at 9:00 am and arrived at 10:00 am. We then had recess and split into two groups. One group went to the Old Hobart Town model village, while the other visited the old Richmond Gaol. We then returned for a barbecue lunch before breaking off into our groups again to complete the other activity. The students had a great time playing on the play equipment and kicking balls on the lawn during their breaks. Thankfully, the rain just held off and, although it was a little bit cold, the students were having too much fun to notice! Thank you to all the parents who came along to help, you helped make the day an extra special one!
National Science Week
The theme for National Science Week was Food: Different by Design. It honoured the United Nations International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. To celebrate Science Week, the Junior Campus held a competition for students to create a piece of healthy food art. Here are some of the student's amazing work.
College Band Performance
The College Band performed at a recent assembly. The band has developed, since its inception, into a tight ensemble performing difficult repertoire. Members are developing soloing techniques as well as learning to listen and respond to the playing of other members.
Grade 8 History
In Grade 8 History, students have been learning about the Renaissance. During one of their History lessons, they learnt about the Sistine Chapel and put themselves in the shoes of Michelangelo by colouring in an image of The Creation of Adam that was stuck under their desks. Students found this task to be physically challenging and could appreciate the works of Michelangelo.
Grade 8 Civics & Citzenship
Grade 8 students have been undertaking studies of society in their Term 3 Civics and Citizenship unit. The children have been learning how laws are made and applied. One lesson focussed on the ways in which European laws and customs differ from traditional Aboriginal laws and customs. For this lesson, students learnt about Aboriginal 'lore' and pre-colonial societies in lutruwita/Tasmania. Children enjoyed using miniature resources and figurines to learn how customary laws controlled many aspects of society and local economies based on trade.
Legacy Week
On 30th August, Brooklyn and I went to the Blackmans Bay post office to sell items for legacy. These included badges, pens, keyrings, wristbands and little teddy bears. When we first got to the post office, we set up everything and then started selling. At first, it was a bit awkward because we didn’t know what to say. Then as time went by we really got the hang of it and sold lots of items. We were so excited every time we sold anything. We were there for 2 hours. We ended up raising $148.20 to support Legacy, which included selling 3 bears which we were very happy about. When we got back on the bus, we were so happy about what we had done and how much we’d raised. When I first heard about doing this for Legacy, I wanted to do it but didn’t realise just how much I would enjoy it. The day was full of laughs and good times. I would definitely do it again if I had the chance in the future.
Philosothon
On 19th August, students Inara Osborne and Bede and Ruby Prichard went to the Hobart Campus of Guilford Young College, where they competed against schools from all around Tasmania in a Philosophy & Ethics debate called the Philosothon. The competing students were randomly split up into four groups of around nine members. Each group had to present their views on two separate philosophical dilemmas, and the four judges, members of the philosophy staff from the University of Tasmania, gave their verdict on which team displayed the deepest understanding of philosophy. The questions posed on the day were: "When is civil disobedience the correct thing to do?" and "If Person A and Person B are visiting their friend Person C, who is in hospital with a life-threatening illness but is unaware of how severe it is. Person A wants to inform Person C, but Person B wants to keep the truth from them. Who is right?"
As you can see the groups had a lot to think about and had many possible scenarios to explore.
By Bede Prichard
U9 Girls Soccer Hobart Cup
Our soccer team played in the Hobart Cup on the weekend. We played four games versing teams from around Tasmania. The four teams we played were Princess Street on Friday night, on Saturday we played Devonport and on Sunday we played Taroona and Lenah Valley. The Friday night game was under lights at 7:00 pm, it was very cold. We won all four games. All the players got soaked on Saturday from playing in the rain. We all played in different positions on the field. All the players had fun and had lots of competition against the other teams. There were some moments where we were tired and some were all full of energy. It was a great opportunity to improve our soccer skills and we kicked lots of goals. By the last game, we were getting tired from running around. At the end of all the games, we got a participation medal.
By Abbey Dobson and Mackenzie Leitch
Kelp Craft
Grade 2 students are continuing with their studies of Aboriginal art. Here are some photos of students practising their weaving skills and making kelp craft with local palawa woman Michelle Synnott. Children were fascinated by the way the kelp dried and shrunk over a few days. Their mobiles look fantastic!
MJR in Grade 5
On Thursday, 2nd September, Grade 5 had a special liturgy to present them with their MJR workbooks which they will work through until the end of Grade 6. Fr Mike blessed the books and Hannah Donovan, our Parish Associate, talked about her memories of MJR at St Aloysius, the messages that stick with her and how she still has her book from primary school!
Making Jesus Real (MJR) has a simple message – Jesus is part of our lives and can change the way we live, and that we can make Jesus real through our daily actions and words. MJR is centred around the belief that we are the image of Jesus to all people around us. We are His representatives, and our actions should reflect His values taught in the Gospel. MJR is a natural follow on from the Spirit of Jesus program run by Jacynth Cornish in Grades 3 and 4. These programs support our College wellbeing and pastoral care goals including the values of: showing care and compassion, respect, honesty and trustworthiness, understanding, tolerance and inclusion. These values also encourage students to do their best, treat others fairly, be responsible for their actions and follow school rules and procedures.
Mrs Marriott’s favourite quote from the day was “If you want to fly like an eagle, don’t hang around with turkeys!”
Hoodies for Hamish
Hoodies for Hamish Day was held on 30th August, Hamish’s 8th Birthday, to raise money for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. Hoodies were to be seen all over the College with an amazing $1355.55 raised!
Vinnies Quiz Night
On Friday, 10th September St Mary’s College Vinnies Conference are hosting a Trivia Night for students, families and friends to support the Vinnies Loui’s Van Service. This is open to all, not just St Mary’s students. Please see attached flyer for more information.
Vinnies Sleepout
On Friday, 17th September, St Aloysius Catholic College will be holding a sleepout in collaboration with Vinnies Tasmania for any interested Middle Campus students. The aim of the sleep out is to raise awareness of the plight of homelessness in our country, to get an insight into how it must feel to be homeless and to raise much-needed funds for Vinnies (Kingborough Loui's Van) to assist those who are homeless.
This event is open to all Middle Campus students of St Aloysius regardless of previous experience or connection to Vinnies.
Please see the attached information and permission slip. These must be signed by a parent/guardian AND you need to register online to attend this event.
Footy Colours Day
Grab your footy gear and display your colours proudly! Footy colours day will be held on Friday, 24th September to raise money for the Archbishops Samaritans Fund, helping Tasmanians in need.
The Way to St James Pilgrimage, 15- 16th January 2022
The Way to St James Pilgrimage is based on the famous Camino pilgrimage in Spain that has come to be seen as a rite of passage across the world. Our Pilgrimage involves a 2-day hike from Hobart down to the Huon Valley exploring our stunning landscapes and finishing amidst the Cygnet Folk Festival. Whilst the original Camino is hundreds of kms long, our's is a challenging but fun-filled 30km walk spaced over the two days. You will get to hang out with your friends, meet new people, camp overnight, eat delicious food and be entertained by musicians. It will be an all round good time!
Families are welcome to sign up as long as all participants can meet the physical demands.
Father's Day Stall
Quiz Night
The P&F Quiz night will be held on Saturday, 18th September at the Sisters of Charity Centre at the Junior Campus. Why not get a group of friends together and book a table of 10. Tickets are $20.00pp, BYO food and drinks and don't forget your gold coins for games and raffle tickets.
Tickets are available via the QKR! app under Functions & Events
Families will have received raffle tickets to purchase for some fantastic prizes. All tickets are due back on Friday, 17th September and the raffle will be drawn at the quiz night