News

Celebrating and Giving Thanks
We move into a period of the year when we witness the fruits of our dedicated efforts as students, staff and parents. At the same time, we give thanks for all that has comforted, gifted and challenged us. 

On Thursday 30 November we gather in the Barrie Holmes Stadium for our whole College Thanksgiving Mass. At this celebration of Mass, an event which is the source and summit of our Christian lives, we celebrate and give thanks to God for the many gifts and blessings we have received throughout this school year. We remember our successes and our struggles, our joys and our sorrows. We come with grateful hearts and spirits to meet our gracious God in Word and Sacrament.

Celebrating as a large learning community, that is comprised of and nurtures smaller learning communities, we will ask for God’s blessing especially on our Year 5’s moving into Middle School, our Year 9’s into Senior school and our Year 12’s who move into a journey beyond school.

Advent begins – it’s personal
The Season of Advent begins this Sunday and so does the beginning of a new Liturgical Year in the Church. The Advent Wreath is a sign to us of the coming of Christ Our Light into our lives and our world.

As Father Dean has often reiterated to our community this year, we are encouraged to ‘make it personal’ and see Advent as a time to pause and reflect upon our lives and decide what’s important and where our energy and attention should be focused. The less we do this the more we can be enticed by so many superficial interests and issues. However, the more we consciously pause and reflect and exercise our gift of freedom to do what’s right and good, the more human we become. As Christians, the more consciously we pause and reflect, the more open we become to the presence of God in our lives and the power of his grace and to shape our lives. Advent then is the time for conscious reflection upon our lives in the light of the presence of Christ amongst us.

As we prepare for Christmas, there’s always a real challenge for us. This time of year we all become so much busier with all the break ups, socials and preparations for Christmas. Instinctively, we speed up and busy ourselves attempting to do so many things. The invitation to us today is the opposite. Pause, slow down, reflect, listen and pray – make the experience intensely personal. Advent is a time for more prayer as individuals, families and as a parish community.

In such a way Advent will be an opportunity for real change and renewal in our lives, unleashing the power to reflect upon our lives, humbly name our challenges, be freed and forgiven for past poor choices and experiencing the loving forgiveness of God as we move forward with hope and confidence.

Enrolment of Students
I am very pleased to see that the College is experiencing unprecedented 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. 

Conversely, should you know that your family will be leaving the district or have other priorities for the education of your child(ren), it would be appreciated if you could notify the College as soon as possible. Such early notification would assist us in planning a very smooth transition for your child(ren) to their next learning community, while also assisting prospective families who have expressed interest in our College but are on one of our waitlists.

Should you wish to discuss this further please contact our College Registrar, Tracey Davey (tel. 8725 5455, or davet@tenison.catholic.edu.au).

God Bless,

David Mezinec | Principal

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO NEWSLETTER