From the Principal

Newsletter 20 2021

Dear Members of the St Andrews College Community,

As we move into the Christmas holiday break I wish to thank the community for their resilience, their support, and their focus during Term 4. It has been a Term where the goal posts constantly changed, yet we again showed remarkable adaptability. I am looking forward to our final event for the year in the Year 7-11 Liturgy and Academic Awards Assembly on Monday. In a year where we have had to cancel or postpone many events due to COVID restrictions it will be a blessing to finish the year in this way. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday. I am looking forward to greeting you all in the new year.

‘It’s All About Learning’

Advent Reflection: A Time to Repent

Second Sunday of Advent (Year A)

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 3:1–2

John the Baptist is truly the greatest of the prophets. He had the unique role of being the immediate precursor to the Savior of the World. Many pious traditions state that John was sanctified within the womb of his mother at the moment of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when our Blessed Mother who was pregnant with Jesus visited Elizabeth who was pregnant with John. Upon Mary’s greeting, John leaped in the womb for joy. Additionally, Jesus says that no one born of woman was greater than John. That’s an incredible statement and is reason enough for us to listen to the words of John.

Regarding the preaching of John, note first that John did his preaching in the desert of Judea. He did not sit on a royal throne or enjoy the honors of the Jewish leaders. Instead, he was poor, simple, prayerful, regularly engaged in penance, remained in the desert and invited many people to come to him. And when they came, he preached bold words to all.

Among those who came to John in the desert were the Pharisees and Sadducees. They did not come because they were sincere but because of their jealousy and envy. But when they came, John said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” John then went on to preach that someone much mightier than he was coming after him and that he was not worthy to even untie His sandal straps. John explained that the one coming would become the source of salvation for many, but for others, they “…will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Though much more could be said about John the Baptist, it’s essential that we regularly consider his strong words of preaching and allow those words to shake us to the core. In what ways do you need to hear John’s message of repentance? In what ways are you like the Pharisees and Sadducees? In what ways are you self-centered, envious, jealous, prideful and the like? If you think you are much better than the Pharisees and Sadducees who were addressed with these harsh words by John, then you may actually be fooling yourself more than you realize. The humble soul will also see the sin in their soul and will always allow the powerful words spoken by John and by our Lord to lead them to deeper repentance.

Reflect, today, upon the unerring truth that you need to repent. You do. The only person who doesn’t need to daily repent is the one who lives perpetually in a state of perfect communion with the Most Holy Trinity. But these holy souls are rare. Don’t be offended by this truth but rejoice in it. Give thanks to God for the strong words of Saint John the Baptist, spoken to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and allow yourself to hear those words yourself, as if they were spoken just for you. Receive them with humility and rejoicing, and allow them to prepare you more fully to receive our Divine Lord more deeply into your soul this Advent season.

My powerful Lord, You sent Saint John the Baptist before You, so as to prepare many hearts to receive You and Your transforming truth. Please humble me, dear Lord, so that I will listen to the words spoken by John and will indeed continually repent of all of my sin with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You.

HSC Major Works Nominations:

Congratulations to Jonah Sailago for his performance of Morning Rush being nominated for ENCORE. Congratulations also is extended to Angelo Marasignan and Olivia Saad who were nominated for the Textstyle in InTech Exhibition. Your hard work paid off and we are very proud of you all.

Year 12 Graduation Mass, Awards & Formal:

We had a wonderful day of celebration and acknowledgement last Monday. Thank you to all the staff and students who played a part in setting up the Hall as well as participating in the Graduation Mass. Thank you to Fr Kevin Medilo who celebrated Mass. We then moved into the Awards Ceremony. Thank you to all the staff who assisted in setting up Awards and assisting in handing them out to such worthy recipients. The Formal was a wonderful evening where both students and staff had the opportunity to celebrate one last time together. The day was a fitting end to thirteen years of schooling for a great group of young men and women. 

Year 7 2022 Orientation Day:

The day was a chance to meet and greet fellow classmates for 2022. It started with some testing in order to best meet student needs in the classroom then moved onto Peer Support activities to get to know the school and their future peers. Thank you to Mr Leaves (Year 7 Leader of Wellbeing 2022) and the Year 7 Learning Advisors for their support on the day as well as Mrs Dechamps for organising the testing and Mrs Cooper for the Peer Support Training and presence. The fact that we had over seventy Year 9 students volunteer for the Peer Support Program as well as come into school during their work from home day speaks wonders of the type of young person we have at St Andrews College.

Year 7-11 Awards Ceremony:

I am very much looking forward to the awards ceremony on Monday. It is not only the culmination of the scholastic year, but an acknowledgment of all the hard work that has been done both inside and outside of the classroom. I hope the awards ceremony gives you the impetus to keep working hard or to work even harder to reach your goals.

Staff Moving On From the College:

We wish the following staff all the best in their future and thank them for their service at St Andrews College. 

Mrs Deschamps - Principal St Raphael’s Cowra , Mrs Healy - Principal O’Connor College Armidale, Mrs Simmonds - Jarrara Education Unit CEDP, Mr Gillogly - Pius X College, Mrs DeGuzman - St Agnes, Mrs Ryan - St Marks, Mr Loyola - Oakhill College, Mrs Niass - retirement & Mr Miller - not disclosed. Best wishes for the future.

Building Works:

We are installing over the holiday period 2 new synthetic Volleyball Courts on the Junior Campus near the Long Jump Pit.

We are also hoping to refurbish the Toilet Block on the Senior Campus.

Enrolment for Year 7 and 11 2023 

NOW OPEN