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Principal’s Message: Term 1, Week 10, 2022

“Let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Dear families and friends of St Edmund’s College,

We have held a few special events this week as we move towards the end of Term 1.  Students in Years 11 and 12 had a great House Day at the Canberra Olympic Pool in Civic on Wednesday, participating in a day of games and fun events.  The weather was on our side and the boys engaged themselves in a positive manner, building their house spirit and College spirit. Year 7 students had a similar day a few weeks ago.

Thursday saw students come together for Cultural Clothes Day.  Our students were asked to dress in a way that best represents their culture of origin.  We witnessed a vast array of different types of cultural clothing and celebrated the great diversity of backgrounds we have here at St Edmund’s College.  Cultural Clothes Day was part of our fundraising program during Lent for Caritas Australia. You will be able to see how our boys celebrated Cultural Clothes Day on our social media pages.

Congratulations to Ethan Guthrie (Year 10, Mulrooney) who will be attending the 2022 Australian Para and Age Swimming Championships in Adelaide next week.  Ethan has qualified for 50m Free and 100m Freestyle races. On behalf of the College community, I wish Ethan luck at this event and congratulate him for his achievement of being selected for these championships.

Term 2 Uniform
A reminder that all students in Years 7 to 12 must be wearing their blazer throughout our winter season of Terms 2 and 3. The blazer is a compulsory uniform item, not an optional item.  Students in Years 7 – 12 are expected to wear their blazer to and from school.

2023 Enrolment Events
The 2023 Information Evening is being held on Tuesday 3 May 2022, 6pm for prospective enrolments.  This will be hosted by myself and the Assistant Principal of Junior School, Mr. David Kelly. The Information Evening accompanies our Experience Eddies Program and our Open Day by providing important background about the College as well as explaining the structures available to support new parents and students. The evening will include presentations from myself and Mr. David Kelly, other members of the College Leadership Team as well as current parents and students.

We expect that parents and carers who are considering enrolling their son at St Edmund’s will attend this Information Evening.

Prospective parents can register here or by accessing our Facebook or Instagram pages.

Our annual Open Day will be held on Saturday 7 May 2022.   There will be regular tours of the College, allowing guests an opportunity to tour the College accompanied by our students and staff.  If you aware of members of the wider Canberra community who may be thinking about Eddies as an option for their son, I would ask that you direct them to the College website, Facebook page or Instagram page for further information.

Experience Eddies Day will be held on Tuesday 9 May 2022, from 8.45 to 2pm. This is an opportunity for boys in Year 3 and Year 6 to experience Eddies, especially if they are considering enrolling at the College. Students can select from activities designed to provide a taste of courses and experiences at the College.  RSVP closes Friday 29 April 2022.  Registrations for this event can be made here.

Easter Season
This Thursday we came together as a community for our special Easter liturgy.  In these days of the Easter season, it is important to focus on the very core of Easter – the significance of sacrifice.  In his 2021 Easter address, Pope Francis focused on the great sense of joy and positivity that came with the resurrection, following the ultimate sacrifice on Christ dying on the cross.  Pope Francis said that it is the cross that gives us hope and urged the faithful to enter into the mystery of Christ’s death by contemplating the joy that comes from sacrifice.  The Pope explains that the resurrection does not eliminate or wipe out the suffering of Jesus.  After the resurrection Christ still bears the scars of his wounds; the signs of His suffering are still present, “These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us. All those who experience a painful trial in body or spirit can find refuge in these wounds and, through them, receive the grace of the hope that does not disappoint… Amid the many hardships we are enduring, let us never forget that we have been healed by the wounds of Christ.  In the light of the Risen Lord, our sufferings are now transfigured. Where there was death, now there is life. Where there was mourning, now there is consolation. In embracing the cross, Jesus bestowed meaning on our sufferings and now we pray that the benefits of that healing will spread throughout the world.”  Pope Francis believes that love and hope come together on the cross of Christ and that that this is a cross everyone must carry at different points in their lives. At this time, we particularly pray for those in Ukraine; those feeling from war and extreme poverty; and those still suffering from the effects of the pandemic.

We have many symbols of sacrifice here at St Edmund’s College.  This of course is of no surprise given the origins of our school in the heritage of the Christian Brothers and their mission.  Our College crest provides us with a rich symbol of sacrifice. Rev. William Saunders, an American priest, author and academic, reminds us that the symbolism of the mother pelican feeding her baby pelicans is rooted in an ancient legend which preceded Christianity. The legend was that in time of famine, the mother pelican would wound herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Another version of the legend was that the mother fed her dying young with her blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life.  William Saunders writes that given this tradition, one can easily see why the early Christians adapted it to symbolise our Lord, Jesus Christ. “The pelican symbolises Jesus who gave His life for our redemption and the atonement He made through His passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the sacrifice of Jesus. Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with His body and blood in the Holy Eucharist.”

The image of the pelican as a symbol of sacrifice can be found in several literary texts.  Dante (1321) in his Divine Comedy refers to Christ as “our Pelican.” John Lyly in his Euphues (1606) wrote, “Pelican who strikes blood out of its own body to do others good.” Shakespeare (1616) in Hamlet wrote, “To his good friend thus wide, I’ll open my arms / And, like the kind, life-rendering pelican / Repast them with my blood.” John Skelton (1529) in his Armorie of Birds, wrote, “Then said the Pelican: When my Birds be slain / With my blood I them revive. Scripture doth record / The same did our Lord / And rose from death to life.” The hymn “Adoro te devote,” written by St. Thomas Aquinas, reads

Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what thy bosom ran —
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin

Saunders writes that the image of the pelican is a strong reminder of our Lord, who suffered and died for us to give us eternal life and who nourishes us on our pilgrim way with the Holy Eucharist. May that image move us to show the same charity and self-giving love toward all.

Our College motto, Christus Lux Mea (Christ is My Light) also acknowledges a sense of sacrifice.  It connects to the inspiration that the Christian Brothers originally founded through their devotion to Christ. It is this devotion that originally set Edmund Rice to consider the plight of the young people and to start a school in Ireland to help them face the economic challenges of the day. This original action can now be traced to St Edmund’s College Canberra where our young men and broader community are using Jesus as their example to attempt to live life to the full.

We are a College immersed in and surrounded by Christian symbols of sacrifice. Almost every classroom and office space has a crucifix on the wall, the most essential symbol of sacrifice in Christianity.   It is Jesus’ example that we constantly reflect on and share with our young men as we create an environment for all members our community to celebrate the rich Catholic tradition and to look forward with faith, optimism, compassion and hope for the future.

As this is the last Vortex prior to the holidays, I thank all members of the St Edmund’s community for a wonderful start to the year and wish all our students and their families a safe and happy holiday period.  A blessed and holy Easter to all of you.

Loving God,
the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people
in pursuit of the Christian ideal.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,
the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it,
the perseverance to continue to do it,
and the strength to complete it.
Amen

Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever

Joe Zavone
Principal
Christus Lux Mea