Message from Assistant Principal - Development
To the community of St John Paul II College,
Today, the church celebrates The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a significant event in Catholic tradition that commemorates the meeting between Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. According to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:39-56), after the Annunciation, when Mary learned she would conceive Jesus, she visited Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the unborn John leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, recognising Mary as the mother of her Lord.
This event is celebrated by Catholics as a profound example of humility, joy, and the importance of recognising the presence of Christ in one another. It symbolises the bond of kinship between Jesus and John the Baptist, as well as the solidarity and support between Mary and Elizabeth. The Visitation is also seen as an embodiment of the Church's mission to bring Christ to others, as Mary brought Jesus to Elizabeth, and as a call to service and charity, reflecting Mary's selflessness in helping her relative during her time of need.
During this time we pray to God to be open to the Spirit moving in others:
Almighty ever-living God, who, while the Blessed Virgin Mary
was carrying your Son in her womb, inspired her to visit
Elizabeth, grant us, we pray, that faithful to the promptings
of the Spirit, we may magnify your greatness with the Virgin Mary at all times.
Amen
Reconciliation Assembly
On Tuesday, we held our Reconciliation Assembly for 2024. Students and staff entered the assembly from the front of the school passing through a smoking ceremony facilitated by Aunty Violet and her two grandsons Noah and Cain.
The assembly then commenced with a Welcome to Country by Aunty Violet Sheridan and a Cultural Performance by the Wiradjuri Echoes – including the opportunity for students to take to the stage and participate in the dancing.
Thank you to Ms Louise Dwyer for the organisation of the event. Ms Dwyer is our First Nations facilitator and supports the College in our continuing journey of becoming a more culturally aware and accepting school.
Strategic Plan 2025-2028
Thank you to the large number of people from our community that nominated to be a part of the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan Working Group (SPWG). After shortlisting and sending out invitations, the group met for the first time last week to begin this exciting work.
In the coming weeks, students, staff and the community will be invited to complete online surveys as well as be invited into the College to participate in focus groups. This capturing of the thoughts and views of our community is extremely important as we develop the plan that will guide JPC for the next four years.
Please keep an eye out for the survey links and information about focus groups that will be emailed and shared on our Social Media pages in the coming weeks.
As always, there have been many wonderful things that have occurred at JPC over the last couple of weeks. We thank all of those involved in these activities and for the collective effort to make them a success.
Jacob Knowles
Assistant Principal – Development