Dear Parents and Carers,

60th Anniversary Mass

The Ave Maria College community celebrated our 60th Anniversary Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, East Melbourne with Archbishop Peter Comensoli leading the Eucharistic celebration along with Father Anthony Doran the College Custodian of Mission. We were also joined by past Ave Maria College students (including the class of 1963 and 1964), families and members the MACS team including Dr Edward Simons, MACS Executive Director and Mr John Mills, Northern Region Regional General Manager. In gathering we reflected on our links to the Gospel story, our Franciscan heritage, Blessed Mary of the Passion (Helene de Chappotin) and Mary the mother of Jesus. We particularly acknowledged Mary of the Passion, the Foundress of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and Mary the mother of Jesus after who we are named for their their strength, commitment and powerful witness to their faith in God. Together we recognised who we are as a faith community, our foundation, our present and the future that awaits us. Well done to all those involved.

Students Achievements

Congratulations to Chiara Hutchison in Year 11 who is a very talented and accomplished competitive swimmer and has been selected to be a member of the Victorian State Swimming Team. 

Chiara will be part of the representative team for School Sport Victoria at the School Sport Australia Championships to be held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, NSW, from 21 August to 26 August. We wish Chiara and the team best wishes as they represent Victoria proudly. Go Victoria!

The Dante Alighieri Poetry Recitation Competition affords students the opportunity to learn and recite an Italian poem ranging from excerpts of Dante’s Divine Comedy to those of contemporary Italian poets. Participants are assessed by judges and ranked. At the conclusion of the recitation period, students who have performed to a very high standard are the “finalists”. 

On the day of the finals, the successful participants take part in a “knock-out round robin” which will determine who gets a first, second or third prize.

Congratulations to Cara Brown in Year 11 and Zara Nunez Alizzi in Year 9 who have been successful in being selected as participants from Ave Maria College in the next stage of the competition.

New College Website

Some of you may have noticed an exciting new look for the College website. In collaboration with JWAM, the Marketing Team over the last twelve months has been working to update the design and content of the College website to ensure it is user friendly, the content is current and it accurately reflects who we are as a community. In particular, that the College continues to be a high performing secondary school, where each student is known, as we provide a faith-based education enabling each person to reach their potential through positive relationships and the provision of diverse and engaging programs and pathways.

Considering this week’s very important Faith Community Celebration, I would like to share with you the following ‘Magnificat of Mary’ or as it is also known the ‘Canticle of Mary’ which is taken from the Gospel of Luke 1: 46-55.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for He has looked with favour on His lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is His name.

He has mercy on those who fear Him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of His arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Amen

In conclusion, I would like to wish the Ave Maria College community a safe and restful break and I look forward to welcoming both students and staff back at the commencement of Term 3.

God bless and may we treasure God’s word like Mary as we continue to strive for truth through love.