Stella Day

Tomorrow is Stella Day, our College Feast Day. It celebrates Mary, Star of the Sea. The Patroness of Broken Bay Diocese, Mary Star of the Sea connects us to our faith and our local community. The Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Mother of Jesus Christ and comes down to us from the Latin Stella Maris.

Under this title, Mary intercedes as both guide and protector for all those who travel or work on or by the sea. For our northern beaches community, facing the Pacific Ocean, Mary is our guiding star and the first disciple as the mother of the Church.

"Mary, Star of the Sea, must be followed....lest we capsize amidst the storm-tossed waves of the sea. She will illumine us to believe in Christ, born of her for the salvation of the world". (Paschasius Radbertus d.865)

The Feast Day of Mary Star of the Sea is celebrated on 31 May.

On Stella Day, we take time to be community, by walking to St Mary’s Church for mass with the local parishioners. Upon returning to Main Campus, we hold an assembly focused on the importance of outreach, through the Good Sams Foundation, to communities in need such as Santa Teresa and Kiribati.

Stella Day afternoon is a community celebration with food, eco-stalls and friendly competition engaging students and staff. Thanks goes to the SRC and the staff who planned the day for us. Thank you to all the students for the positive way in which you engage in this special day.

National Reconciliation Week Assembly

We came together as a school community on Tuesday to mark National Reconciliation Week and National Sorry Day. The assembly commenced with a beautiful performance by our Elective Music students of Australian composer, Nigel Westlake's, 'Ngapa William Cooper’.

Ms Smith, our Assistant Principal, shared a photo of our fig trees dating back to the 1880s. It captures the same trees, but 140 years apart!

Ms Smith raised the importance of acknowledging the land we stand on by asking students to reflect on the question, "what if the two Moreton Bay figs were no longer present when you arrived at school?” We are truly blessed to be surrounded by these two trees every single day. They are the heart of Stella.

At the end of the assembly, students wrote words of reconciliation to add to a special reconciliation tree.

Prayer

Mary, mother of Jesus, who heard the call of God and answered,
Mary, mother of Jesus, who drew strength from the woman Elizabeth,
Mary, mother of Jesus, who underwent hardship bearing Christ,
Mary, mother of Jesus, who ministered at Cana,
Mary, mother of Jesus, inspirited at Pentecost,
Mary mother of Jesus, who turned the Spirit of God into the body and blood of Christ, pray for us.

Amen.

(Joan Chittister, OSB, A Litany of Women for the Church, 1 October 2021)