iServi News | 11 December 2020 | Term 4, Week 9
Final Mass and Assembly
We took time on Friday this week to pause as a whole school community to celebrate Mass together and reflect on what has been an extraordinary year.
In affirming that our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the many families and groups across the nation and around the world still struggling due to COVID-19, we reflected on how fortunate we have been to be able to continue to gather together each day as a connected and caring learning community.
The year has provided lots of learning for us as a community along with an array of growth challenges. It has highlighted the importance of adopting a growth mindset and allowed opportunity for students to develop quality resilience and self-regulation skills. The year has also highlighted the importance of family and friends and how these relationships should never be taken for granted.
We are most grateful for the terrific support of our parents and caregivers this year. We have greatly valued your trust as we worked in partnership to navigate some challenging circumstances to ensure that we continued to meet the educational, pastoral and spiritual needs of our students.
As the year comes a close, we also need to acknowledge our dedicated Servite College staff. Our staff have regularly put student needs before their own as they worked to continue to provide the best possible learning environment.
Servite Sisters Golden Jubilee
We congratulate the Servite Sisters who celebrated 50 years of mission and service in Australia on Saturday last week at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Parish, Riverton. Instilled with the charism of Compassion, the Servite Sisters have positively impacted the lives of others through their courageous service.
The special event commenced with Mass concelebrated by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Bishop Gerard Holohan, Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey, along with 19 priests, including our own Fra Chris Ross who was instrumental in bringing the Servite Sisters to Australia, followed by a lovely shared meal together. The event was a fitting celebration of 50 years of dedicated service.
The Servite Sisters have been part of our College’s history for many decades and have contributed enormously to the ongoing development of our Servite story. We are most privileged to have the Delegate Superior of the Servite Sisters in Sr Chitra as a staff member at our school. Sr Chitra leads by example through the inclusive and caring way that she ministers in our school.
St Kieran Parish Shrine
It was a privilege to attend the formal opening of the St Kieran Parish Shrine on Friday evening last week. Congratulations to Fr Wilson and the St Kieran Parish community on this wonderful addition to the Parish. The hard work and dedication of many came to fruition on Friday with Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB formally blessing the Shrine.
We are most appreciative of the exceptional support extended to the College by Fr Wilson and the St Kieran Parish.
Thank You and Farewell
As always at this time of year, it is my sad duty to farewell a number of staff from our College community. We thank the following staff for their terrific contribution and dedicated service to our community and wish them all of the very best for the future:
- Mrs Angie Di Marco is retiring from the College after 41 years of dedicated service. Mrs Di Marco has made an enormous contribution to our community across the decades in positively influencing the lives of many Servite students and will be sadly missed from our school.
- Mr Bruce Wilkins leaves us to take up a leadership position at St Andrew’s Grammar school next year. Mr Wilkins has taught at the College collectively for 20 years and we recognise this wonderful service to Servite. We have appreciated the positive way he has fully immersed himself in the life of the College.
- Ms Kara Beatty completes her temporary contact with us at the end of this year. We are most grateful for the wonderful energy and enthusiasm Ms Beatty has brought to the College this year.
- Ms Eden Carey will assume a Digital Facilitator role at Santa Maria College next year and we thank her for her contribution to Servite.
- Ms Jessica Fitzsimmons leaves us to fulfil a position at Prendiville College next year. We are most grateful for Ms Fitzsimmons’ terrific contribution to Servite, particularly in the field of Performing Arts. We wish her well for the future.
- Mr Trevor Galbraith is retiring after many years of significant contribution to the growth, development and integration of digital technologies to support quality learning not just a Servite but at many schools across the System. We thank him for his generous and selfless service.
- Mr Patrick McHale leaves us for Sacred Heart College where he will assume a role in their Technologies team. We thank him for his contribution to Servite.
- Ms Kirsty Sloan departs the College after making a significant contribution to the implementation of our Learning Diversity strategy. We wish her well for the future.
- Mr Seb Stasinski has fulfilled a temporary contract this year and, like always, we are most grateful for his terrific support of our school.
- Ms Stephanie Todorovski departs Servite to assume an English teaching role within the Department of Education. We wish her well on her future journey.
We also wish Mrs Maria McGovern and Ms Anne Lee well as they take leave for six months and one year respectively from the commencement of next year.
Season of Advent
As Christmas draws near in this Season of Advent, we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus and renewing our own faith in God. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe reflects on Advent as a time that “presents us with an opportunity to celebrate all the richness with which God fills our lives”. He says that the “beauty of our faith is a gift to be shared, not a possession to be hoarded. As we share this gift, through the witness of our lives and the practical care we show for those in need, we will be together the living sign of the Lord’s ongoing presence in the world. In this way too we will experience that true peace that only God can give.”
This Christmas, again in the words of Archbishop Costelloe, “May our eyes be open to recognise God’s face. May our ears be open to hear God’s voice. May our hearts be open to welcome God with love.”
We wish all of our Servite College community a happy and holy Christmas this year. We hope that you enjoy this special time with family and friends.
We look forward to our students returning to us safe and well next year, with new found energy and enthusiasm to continue to take full advantage of the many learning opportunities available at Servite.
The College will be closed from Thursday 17 December and will reopen on Monday 4 January. College Reception and Student Reception will be moved to a temporary location on Cape Street to enable our campus refurbishment program to continue. Please observe the signage on Cape Street.
Mr Jeff Allen
Principal