We wish you a Merry Christmas!
Here we are at the end of the year with only a few days left of school for our Reception to Year 9 students to enjoy some activities and celebrate a busy year.
We enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Northern Festival Centre last Friday to celebrate the graduation of Year 12. As students now anxiously await their SACE results, due on 16 December, I reminded them that they are not defined by their results. Each of our graduates, and indeed all our students, possesses unique strengths and character traits that will serve as the foundation of their future. Worth is not measured by grades but by positive attitude and effort, the people our graduates have become and the potential they hold. We wish our graduates every success in the future.
Today we also held a wonderful Liturgy to acknowledge our Year 6 students moving into high school next year and to announce our Benedict Captains for 2025.
We have celebrated academic success in our Bosco Presentation Evening and look forward to the Celebration of Success assembly at Benedict next week. Catholic education at St Mark’s College offers so much more than just academic learning. It provides a holistic approach to education, where values such as compassion, integrity and respect are woven into the fabric of our everyday lives, as they need to be. Our students are encouraged to grow in their faith, to serve others, and to become responsible, respectful and caring contributors to society.
As the year concludes, I express my sincere thanks to all the staff here at St Mark’s College for the many gifts they bring to the community. In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the challenges we face are numerous and complex. The demands on educators have never been greater but when students flourish and develop responsibility for their learning and behaviour, all the challenges are worthwhile.
In my last newsletter, we celebrated the service of staff leaving the College, and I add to that our best wishes to Sophie Donnellan as she takes maternity leave.
Thank you to you all, for your support and commitment to St Mark’s College. As I said in my Presentation night speech, we see that dedication, commitment and effort bring their own reward. Respect and gratitude given are valued and returned in abundance. For each of us there have been highlights, and areas where growth is ongoing.
Just as Christmas is a time of hope and new beginnings, so it is a time for all of us to give thanks for God’s goodness and to commit to learning and growing every day into better, kinder and more loving people. It is why we are here, to have life and live it to the fullest.
I wish you all a safe, happy and holy Christmas and look forward to welcoming you back in 2025.
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