Dear Parents, Carers, Staff and Students, 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending, along with our school captains Charlie and Tomas, a Diocesan Mass at the Co-Cathedral at Fairy Meadow to celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Brian and during his homily he reflected on the very purpose of why we have Catholic schools. He reminded us of the importance of providing our students with the ‘language of God’. This language is centred in both action and word and relies on the school supporting families in allowing their children to live their life to the full. 

In the gospel of John we are reminded through the example of Jesus, that we will have life and to the best of our ability we will be able to live to the full. When I hear this statement I always ask myself, “What does this really mean?'' Fundamentally this is centred around our moral purpose as a Catholic school and note that this has not changed since the doors were opened back in 1880 by the Sisters of St Joseph. We want the students to ‘grow in respect and honesty’. We wish for them to show kindness, peace, joy, love, patience, self-control, goodness. We also want them to experience anger, sadness, challenges and the word ‘no’. By experiencing the whole gamut of emotions we then allow our children to be their complete selves, to be completely whole.

As I reflected on the history of St Anthony’s I wondered what the three original nuns, Sisters Veronica, Stephanie and Columba would say. I am sure they would make positive comments  about the physical layout of the school but more importantly they would see the face of God in our students and smile, with a sense of knowing that what their hopes and dreams 140 years ago are still the hopes and dreams of our Catholic community today. 

In the weeks to come I look forward to our St Anthony’s Feast Day where we will be able to come together to celebrate the very essence of who we are as a Catholic school. More information regarding our Feast Day is attached to this newsletter.

Take Care

Justin Devlin

Principal