Dear Parents and Carers, Many of our senior students travelled to Brisbane last week to

Firstly, I need to make a small correction to my words last week. I mentioned that the visit to the school of the Sisters of the Society of St Pius X would take place from the 18-21 August. In fact, it will take place a week later from the 25 -30 August. Please refer to the Corpus Christi Parish bulletin for details and times of events.

There are two important events coming up this month which you need to know about. First is an International Day which we will hold on 22 August, Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second event is a mini-camp run by the Sisters of the Society of St Pius X from the 18th to the 20th August for girls aged 7-18.

Firstly, I would like to thank all parents, students and staff for their best wishes, prayers and gestures of kindness on the occasion of my 20th anniversary of the Priesthood. On Sunday night, a wonderful celebration was organized by the parish for myself and Fr Pepping at which we received beautiful gifts, the most beautiful of all being the Mass vestments and the spiritual bouquet.

We reach the end of a very eventful term which will finish on a high with the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Whether one sees it as coincidence or an act of God’s mercy, the vaccination mandates on schools will be lifted this same day at 11:59pm. Our Secondary students will be attending Mass this day and thanking the Sacred Heart of Jesus for His merciful protection over our school during the last trying 9 months of the mandates. I ask families to please consider attending the parish Mass on this day for the same reason, or if this is not possible, to at least recite the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

We are privileged to possess at the heart of our College a treasure of infinite worth. It is from this treasure that radiates upon our students and staff the daily benevolent rays of God’s divine mercy and grace. It is thanks to this treasure that we receive daily the strength to continue our mission to form in each youth the true and perfect Catholic. Were it not for this treasure, we would have given up the struggle long ago, we would have perhaps never even dreamt of starting such a school. I am referring to the abiding presence of Jesus Christ in the tabernacle of our little College chapel.

Next Wednesday the College will be running a Seminar presented by the #Not Even Once Foundation. “Not Even Once” refers to the concept of not capitulating to peer pressure even once in matters of drugs and alcohol consumption. I was in contact with the organisation back in 2019 and was able to arrange a seminar for our Year 11 -12 students at that time. I was very impressed by the presentation and so invited them back the following year, but then Covid hit and everything came to a grinding halt. Fortunately, we are now able to resume this event again this year.

Despite a semblance of normality beginning to resurface after two years of interrupted learning, many students continue to struggle with nerves and anxieties and worry that they might not be as prepared as their peers to sit, and succeed in, their exams. If this is the case, here are a few ways that parents can support their students preparing for exams.

Being the Month of May, the month of Our Lady, I have chosen a few testimonials of former school students that might help encourage devotion to Our Blessed Mother as one of the most powerful means to acquire the virtue of purity. The following two testimonials from a young man and a young woman, chosen from among countless others, demonstrate the purifying and liberating effect of Marian devotion upon the souls of the youth:

Parents who spend a lot of time on their devices, phones or watching television during family activities such as meals, playtime, and bedtime are likely to create long-term relationships barriers with their children.