From the Principal
Newsletter 1 2023
Newsletter 1 2023
Dear Members of the St Andrews College Community,
Welcome back to our new school year. It has been delightful to see the fervour and glee that our students and staff have demonstrated upon their commencement at and return to the College. It has been a busy start to the year as expected with our Opening Mass and High Achievers Assembly being celebrated today, uniforms being collected and worn with pride, the co curricular opportunities already starting with Public Speaking and Sport, students getting back into the routine of classwork and inquiry, and relationships being made and consolidated. Thank you for the way in which you have started the year and I look forward to seeing you grow as a learner and person throughout the year.
Thank you to all the staff and students who participated so well in the Opening Mass and High Achievers Assembly today. Our Dux Hayley O’Connor’s Speech was outstanding and demonstrates the quality of young adult we help to develop here at St Andrews College. I hope all have viewed the Mass and High Achievers Assembly on the link provided. What are great way to start the year. Our two main focus’ of faith and learning.
‘It’s All About Learning’
Gospel Reflection: Isaiah 58:7-10 + 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 + Matthew 5:13-16
… your light shall break forth like the dawn ….
“God is light”, we hear in Sacred Scripture [1 John 1:5]. But in today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus declares to His disciples: “You are the light of the world.” To help you live out this calling faithfully, and to carry out the “good deeds” that are the heart of this calling, today’s First and Second Readings prepare you for the Gospel Reading.
The First Reading, from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, is very practical. It’s down to earth. The prophet Isaiah is calling God’s People to carry out the sort of actions that in the Catholic Faith are called “the corporal works of mercy”: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.
All seven of these corporal works of mercy—as well as the seven spiritual works of mercy—are very practical ways to live out your Catholic Faith. Each of us carries out these works of mercy because God commands us to do so. But of course, God only ever commands what is best for us. When we follow the Lord’s commands, we grow in the likeness of God.
It follows that each of us carries out these works of mercy in order to love our God and our neighbour. So God’s command and the desire to love—which are really two sides of the same coin—make for two sound motives for carrying out these works of mercy.
Yet the prophet Isaiah gives a third motive. He prophesies to those who would carry them out: “if you bestow your bread on the hungry… then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.” The Old Testament promise was that God, who is light, would shine on those who carry out good deeds.
But the Gospel of Jesus promises something even greater. In effect, the Gospel provides a fourth motive. The Gospel promises that those who live the Gospel become light, and that God shines through them.
Today’s Gospel Reading, along with the following Gospel Readings that we’ll hear on the upcoming Sundays before Ash Wednesday, are taken from the Sermon on the Mount. In St. Matthew’s account of the Gospel, this lengthy sermon (taking up chapters 5-7 of Matthew) might be considered Jesus’ “inaugural address”.
Immediately after the Beatitudes (which we heard Jesus proclaim last Sunday) comes today’s Gospel Reading, in which Jesus calls His followers “salt” and “light”. Jesus is calling you to be “the light of the world.” But what does that mean in practical terms?
Jesus’ last sentence sheds light on what He means. It’s basically a command, but it has three parts. Jesus commands you when He declares: “your light must shine before others, / [so] that they may see your good deeds / and [so that they may] glorify your heavenly Father.” But why would others glorify your Father if it’s your good deeds that they see?
St. Paul in the Second Reading, in preaching to the Corinthians, offers us the skeleton key that unlocks the meaning of Jesus’ words. St. Paul says, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling … so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom, but on the power of God.” What is this “power of God”? St. Paul answers this question for us, also. This power is “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”. Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself, destroyed the power of death by His own suffering and death.
When God asks us to do something for Him, our reflex often is to spell out for God all the reasons why we cannot help Him with His request. Generally at the top of the list is our explanation to God that we “just can’t do that”. Pastors often hear this when they ask parishioners to take up certain works of stewardship. Christians believe that certain good works are simply not within their power.
But maybe that’s God’s point. Maybe God wants to use a weak instrument such as yourself and myself so that His power shines more clearly. Maybe when you imitate Jesus Christ crucified by allowing your weakness to be the vessel of God’s power, people will see your good deeds and glorify the Father who loves you enough to ask you to serve Him through your weakness.
HSC Results and Growth:
Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2022 on the excellent results achieved this year. The College once again has substantial growth and was well above the State Average across all subject areas. Many results exceeded what the students initial expectations were, or that their Early Acceptance Offers covered. This is an exciting time for students, families and staff as it reinforces our mantra of hard work and feedback.
The fact that we had Joanna Owusu place First in the State in Community and Family Studies, and Abiel Santos receive a perfect score of 100 in Advanced Mathematics while in Year 11 speaks of the success of our Acceleration Program. Our Accelerated students did exceptionally well and the Program is growing each year. We now have over 70 students in this Program.
Congratulations Class of 2022 we are very proud of you all and the effort you put in. Ms Kalifa has a more detailed analysis of the results further into this Newsletter.
Science Extension SciX@UNSW Program:
During the Summer holidays, Science Extension students Ava Ally, Bianca Infante, Shaniya Lal, and Danny Yazbek participated in the SciX@UNSW program. The week-long program held at UNSW offered students the opportunity to access the latest technology, resources and equipment to complete their own research projects. Each student focused on a specific scientific research area of their interest. Ava and Shaniya participated in the RNA in disease project, which looked at using algorithms and statistics to analyse large biological datasets, while Bianca and Danny pursued their passion for physics by participating in the Quantum computing and Astronomy projects, respectively. Bianca was able to use a real quantum computer, located in IBM’s quantum computing laboratory. Danny learnt how to access and process astronomical data using Python.
The program was an invaluable experience for the students, helping them to deepen their understanding of scientific concepts, develop problem-solving skills and explore their interests in a collaborative and stimulating environment. We look forward to seeing the impact that their experiences will have on their future academic and career paths.
Past Student Doing Well:
Congratulations goes to our College Captain for 2021 Angelo Marasigan for his success in the social media area. Angelo was also nominated for his major work in Industrial Technology and was actively involved in Debating, Public Speaking, Drama, and all faith dimensions of the College. We are very proud of you Angelo. As a College we take pride in the success of our alumni. This article was recently published in the Sydney Morning Herald espousing Angelo’s successes..
Elijah Andrew Year 8:
Congratulations to Elijah on being selected as one of only 20 riders nationally for the 2023 Oceania Junior Cup National Championship for motorcycling. It is a 4 round championship to be conducted across the nation. We look forward to seeing Elijah’s performances with avid interest. Feel free to follow Elijah on Instagram and Facebook @ElijahAndrewRacing.
Building Works:
At present we have the new portable classrooms on the Junior Campus are almost complete. They look great and the feedback I am getting from staff and students is that they are great for learning. Once all six are online we will take offline the last three and fully renovate them as well.
The toilet block on the Senior Campus has been totally gutted and renovated and is operational now. Stay tuned for further developments throughout the Term and Year as we have many projects being planned to improve the facilities for learning at the College.
Primary School Visits:
I am starting the Primary School visits to Year 5 next week and I am looking forward to taking some ex students back to their Primary School to talk of all the opportunities they have at St Andrews College.
Enrolment for Year 2024 NOW OPEN
We have already accepted many applications for 2024 so please get them in soon.
Fidem in Christo
Dr Stephen Kennaugh
Principal