Merry Christmas from the Principal
Hello Mary MacKillop Community
It is nineteen days until Christmas.
I pray that you and yours will be having a peaceful, joyful festive season and that you return to us refreshed, well fed and relaxed. I have the most wonderful feeling about 2020, and the professional and cultural growth the College will undergo.
2019 has not been without its challenges. When we farewelled departing staff this week, I reminded them that we have had some great successes but also some challenging moments. The College community has had its hands full reaffirming direction and focus. In the senior College we have had to focus with real vigour on getting ourselves 'ATAR ready', and from a standing start we now are. We must also remember that we lost one of our own this year, Bianca, and our prayers go to her family in this first Christmas without her. We also mourned the loss of Christine Bethel, and although her name will endure in the bursary named after her at the College, it does not replace the loss many will feel, particularly those close to her. May perpetual light shine upon them.
I had the genuine pleasure of watching the Prep Nativity Play this week. I am sure that those who watched it will agree that it was incredibly impressive and such an achievement from our Preppies and their incredible teachers. Whilst watching it, it made me think of the essence of the Christmas story - the stuff we sing about as compared to the things we are being told.
We sing about drummer boys, donkeys, wise men, stars in the sky, shepherds and their flocks and a manger. None of these iconic motifs challenge us - in any way. The Christmas message is that God became man and walked amongst us. The challenge comes in that in doing so He offered to the people of first century Palestine a confronting conundrum. The Roman Empire reserved crucifixion as a punishment for people who had significantly challenged their wealth, power, privilege and position. Jesus Christ did that - and his message was so revolutionary - so incendiary - that the ruling classes of the time sought to destroy it.
In a time of escalating poverty, He prioritised the care and contribution of the marginalised. In a society dominated by men, He sought to recognise and respect the contribution of women. In a society defined by class and social judgement, he defined Himself by His vulnerability. In our world today, there is so much that resonates.
To me, Christmas is when we remember that God sent someone to walk with us, to feel how we feel, to see what we see, to feel the same dust on our skin. As we near Christmas, may all of us - no matter where we are - remember those who need us to walk alongside them, and help them on the journey.
Thank you again for a really rewarding and wonderful 2019. I look forward to our next steps in the New Year.
