News

Lenten Season and Project Compassion – Love your neighbour

In his message for Lent 2017, Pope Francis highlights the Word of God as a gift, he says: “The word of God is alive and powerful, capable of converting hearts and leading them back to God. When we close our heart to the gift of God’s word, we end up closing our heart to the gift of our brothers and sisters.”

He further invites us “to express this spiritual renewal also by sharing in the Lenten Campaigns promoted by many Church organisations in different parts of the world, and thus favour the culture of encounter in our one human family. Let us pray for one another so that, by sharing in the victory of Christ, we may open our doors to the weak and the poor. Then we will be able to experience and share to the fullest the joy of Easter.”

Caritas Australia continues its long-term development of people in need, a model of development that acknowledges human dignity, works towards sustainability and self-reliance, and brings about social change. I urge parents to discuss this issue with their students and reiterate the point that individuals can create a better world through their daily decisions and the commitment they display to improving the plight of others.

Schools Clean Up Day 2017
Thank you to our community, under the passionate leadership of Sustainability Coordinator Tom Linnell, for your support of Schools Clean Up Day 2017. We collected 540 kilograms of litter and general rubbish, heavily bolstered by the Year 9 cohort, with a combined weight of more than 200 kilograms.

The heaviest weigh-in was by Micki Greenham’s Year 9 homegroup with a total of 96 kilograms which included tyres, scrap metal, and bag after bag of litter. More than 20 golden bricks were found with small prizes, which was aimed at engaging students to look for rubbish in unusual places.

Thank you to the students, staff and parents for your support on this significant day, which not only teaches students about the importance of caring for our planet, but also underlines the importance of individual action to support the larger communal endeavour.

On this important day we stepped up to the potential of one; the potential of our community, the potential of our planet.  

Stational Mass
Once again this Lent, all parishioners from the parishes of our South East Deanery are invited to attend the Stational Mass to be celebrated by Archbishop Wilson on Thursday 9 March at 7:00pm at St Thomas Aquinas Church, Naracoorte. This Mass follows the ancient tradition in Rome of pilgrimage between churches and celebrating Mass, to express our journey in faith with the Lord towards Easter. At this Mass, our Catechumens and Candidates, those preparing to enter into the Catholic Faith through the Easter Sacraments, will be blessed by the Archbishop. Please note that there will be no Lenten Program in Mount Gambier or Millicent on this night.

Autumn Ember Day
Archbishop Wilson reminded us that last Friday 3 March was the Autumn Ember Day and a special day of prayer, fasting and penance. In keeping with the spirit of this special day of Lent, he asks that our prayers during all our Sunday Masses this weekend be offered for the needs of those who have been affected by the evil of sexual abuse within the Church. In a special way this Lent let us offer up all our prayers and penances in reparation to God for the sins of sexual abuse within the Church and for healing and justice for all victims and their families.

Wellbeing and Resilience Training for Student Leaders, Tuesday 28 February
I was delighted that experienced educator, leader and positive education advocate Annette Bulling spent some time working with our senior student leaders last week. Annette’s workshop helped students focus on their own wellbeing, strengths, and how their leadership will be influenced by positive education skills.

Annette’s workshop was another expression of our partnership with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Tenison Woods College is developing a whole school community way of talking about, measuring and critiquing the resilience and wellbeing of our members. The project complements our current strong commitment to wellbeing and resilience through the variety of programs offered to students, families and staff, by giving us a common language and frame of reference through which to view the associated issues across our school community.

Parents stepping up – Wellbeing and Resilience
I am delighted to see parents taking up the Wellbeing and Resilience course offered by our community Tuesday evening, so that they can practise and reinforce them at home. 

This free parent ResilienceWerks course is offered as a result of our partnership with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAMHRI) and our aspiration to implement the PERMA+ model across our College community.

The course will be conducted this year from Week 6, Tuesday 7 March, and then 14, 21, and 28 March and finally 4 April, for two hours per week for five weeks. 

Board Annual General Meeting
I remind parents and carers of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Tenison Woods College Board, which will be held Wednesday 22 March at 7:30pm in the Pam Ronan Centre. Nominations are sought for people interested in serving on the Board this year. Please see further details here.

OSHC – Care, Fun and Learning
Sarah Seebohm and her committed Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) team are offering a fun, caring and professional before and after school program for our community. Don’t forget that OSHC offers before school care that is only $10.00 per child before the rebate is factored into the cost. OSHC before school care offers parents peace of mind in the morning, given that the school grounds are not formally supervised until 8:20am. For further information and bookings contact Aleisha or Sarah on 8724 4633 or email oshc@tenison.catholic.edu.au. You can also visit the OSHC page on our website.

Parish Planned Giving Rebate
I remind families that parents contributing to the St Paul’s Planned Giving may claim a rebate from tuition fees of 50 per cent of their contribution up to a maximum claim of $750.00. Official Parish receipts are to be presented to the Business Manager after 30 June 2017 for a deduction to be made.

Enrolment of Students
I am very pleased to see that the College is experiencing significant demand in relation to enrolments. To assist with our medium and long term planning, I encourage parents to lodge an enrolment form with the school as soon as they have made a decision to enrol their child at the school. For some families this decision is made very early in the newborn’s life and contacting the school at this time, no matter how early it may seem, will assist us to plan in the best possible way for your child’s experience of education in our College community.  Should you wish to discuss this further please contact our College Registrar, Tracey Davey on 8725 5455, or email davet@tenison.catholic.edu.au.

God Bless,

David Mezinec | Principal