www.therecord.com.au
28 April 2016
Edition #79
SCHOOLS EXIST TO PREPARE YOUNG FOR THEIR FUTURE:
ARCHBISHOP COSTELLOE OPENS
NEW SPORT AND ARTS CENTRE By Jamie O’Brien
SCHOOLS EXIST to prepare young people for their future and to equip them with the tools they will need to make their lives rich and fulfilling, Archbishop Costelloe told the Emmanuel College Community recently, as part of the blessing and opening of the new Sports and Performing Arts Centre of Excellence. The school community came together on Wednesday, 6 April for the occasion, which included some 250 students, teachers, parents, friends and board members. Catholic Education Executive Director Dr Tim McDonald was also present for the occasion to officially open the new facility. “The Church is convinced that the most important tool, and one which influences every other dimension of a person’s life, is a recognition of the love and presence of God at work in every human heart and in the world around us,” the Archbishop continued. As part of the blessing and opening ceremony, the Archbishop blessed crosses in each room of the new facility and College Captains, Atidaishe Mugwara and Antonio Joboy assisted with the unveiling of the new plaque. Emm anuel College Principal, Mr Leo Di Gregorio
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe stands with Catholic Education Executive Director Dr Tim McDonald, right, and from left, Emmanuel College Principal Mr Leo Di Gregorio and College Captains Atidaishe Mugwara and Antonio Joboy. The Emmanuel College school community came together on Wednesday 6 April for the opening and blessing of the new Sport and Performing Arts Centre. PHOTO: JAMIE O’BRIEN
said the new facility has provided students with an outstanding resource for Sport and Performing Arts educational programs. “It has certainly raised the profile of both these teaching areas and staff and students are delighted with the opportunities that our new facility provides,” Mr Di Gregorio said. “Added to this, the centre has provided the college with a whole school meeting place to hold assemblies, liturgies, Masses and other events. We now have a comfortable venue conducive to best practice for these school events,” he said. Mr Di Gregorio went on to explain that the original school master plan included a building to facilitate both
the sport and performing arts programs of the college. The actual build, which had been talked about for many years, finally came together in late 2012, under the principalship of Mr John Bormolini, who together with the College Board invited EIW Architects, to commence the planning and design process. “After two years of researching and careful designing of the new facility, the building program commenced in 2015 and was ready for student and staff use from the beginning of 2016,” Mr Di Gregorio said. In continuing his address for the occasion, the Archbishop continued by saying that because God is at the heart of everything, and not just a kind of added-on optional
extra, then everything good in life both comes from God and can open our eyes to the beauty and goodness of God. “This is certainly true of what we sometimes think of as extra curricular activities like sport, drama and the arts,” the Archbishop said. “These things, each in their own way, and in a way that is different from the more traditional academic pursuits, put us in touch with the depths of our own humanity and help us to give space to all the gifts which God has given us,” he said. The College is now planning to hold its first musical performance later this year. Full Text available at
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