Easter Blessings

The Easter Liturgies will take place over the school holidays which will arrive very soon. In these Liturgies, we remember again the last week of Jesus, his death and resurrection. I have found over the years trying to understand some of the mysteries of Christianity, perhaps in particular Easter, is not all that easy. It is certainly a lifetime’s reflection for me.

Christianity makes the claims that God became human in Jesus. God knows what it is to suffer. Those who were supposed to be closest to Jesus (the apostles) betrayed, denied and abandoned him. Jesus sweated blood in anticipation of his suffering in Gethsemane. Yet there was a healing and reconciling love. Perhaps this empathy and compassion can be transformative for us in our own times of suffering.

I once heard somebody say that there are two types of people in the world, those who become bitter due to their suffering and those who become compassionate due to their suffering. I believe the risen Christ is still present and can help us from blaming ourselves or others when things go wrong and to choose empathy and compassion for ourselves and others.

 
Consent

Consent is a topical issue at present, particularly in the context of schools. I think it is very positive that a clear message is being enunciated that enough is enough and that the dignity and boundaries of each person need to be respected and honoured. 

We take seriously the need to educate all of our students on this topic and the importance of consent and that coercion is unacceptable. This topic is already in our curriculum, that is all of our High School students receive an education that includes rights and responsibilities in healthy relationships, consent and party/social safety. I know that parents also take the responsibility seriously to educate their child(ren) in these areas. Please note this article which has some important points to make on Porn, Consent and Character, from Michael Grose: 

Over the last month or so we have been reviewing how we educate our students on this topic with a view to strengthening the message. To this end, we are collaborating with some staff at Kingston High to share resources and learn from each other. I am keen to continue to consult with staff, students and parents of St Aloysius to be as effective as possible in getting the message across. 

 
Parents and Friends Meeting

The Parents and Friends committee was relaunched a couple of weeks ago. We had around 40 people present, which was terrific. The first formal meeting is this Thursday, 7:00 p.m. at the Middle (Huntingfield) campus in the Staffroom. All welcome.

 
Future Newsletters

This term we have reviewed how we communicate our newsletters to the College community. This review has included input from the Board and parent representatives from the College Community Group (now known as the Parents and Friends). As a result of this feedback, this newsletter will now come in weeks 2, 5 and 8 of each term. At the end of terms 1, 2 and 3, there will be glossy publication, perhaps 16 or so pages long, which will highlight the many good things that happen each term. In Term 4, we will publish the College Yearbook which will be issued to all families.

 
Staffing News

Ms Susie Bond has resigned from the College to take up the position of Education Officer:  Pastoral Care and Wellbeing, working at the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office. Susie will not commence in this new role until we have a replacement in place.
  
While we are happy for Susie that she has been successful in winning this position which she will excel at, she will be greatly missed in our community. Although Susie has been at St Aloysius for a relatively brief period of two years, she has been an outstanding leader and member of our College community. We must especially acknowledge her exceptional work in the area of pastoral care and wellbeing for both students and staff. Susie’s caring nature, professionalism, ability to tackle the hardest situations with diplomacy and compassion is something that St Aloysius has been the fortunate recipient of. There is no doubt that she has a gift when working with students and families, to ensure their pastoral needs and concerns are addressed whilst still ensuring all students feel safe in the College and have the best opportunities to learn.

Susie’s warmth and genuine care for all students, parents and staff will be sorely missed. We wish her all the best in her new journey.

 
Best wishes for the break

Term 1 has flown by. I am very grateful for the warm welcome I have received and am now feeling quite settled. I remain feeling privileged to be a part of this wonderful community.

My first impressions of a positive, cheerful and energetic community also remain. There seems to be a general consensus that we have started the year well. Best wishes for the Term 1 break.