Year 12 Graduation Mass and Awards

In this edition

I hope and pray that Christmas will be all you want it to be for your families. It is difficult in this day and age to keep sight of the Christian message of Christmas. Like Joseph and Mary searching for a room in Bethlehem, we need to make room in our lives for Christ. If Christmas is not about accepting Jesus into our lives, then we have missed the meaning. As the 2020 academic year draws to a close, we can look back on the year with thanks and look forward with hope.

In this final newsletter for 2020, I wish to express my sincere best wishes for a most Holy and Joyful Christmas Season to the students, parents and staff of St Clare’s College. My sincere gratitude and appreciation for the support and contributions all have made over the past twelve months. This support and generosity of the entire College community helps to give St Clare’s its unique character and ethos, making it not only a spirited learning community but also a vibrant Christian community in which our students grow and flourish. We have worked together to achieve our goals, at all times conscious of God’s goodness and our children’s education. Thank you to all who attended our Year 12 Graduation Liturgy and Awards Ceremony on Thursday 3 December and particularly to Mrs Kym Darmody, Mrs Marie Manning and Mrs Dearne Marrapodi who oversee the organisation of this event. A special public thanks must go to Mrs Lynore Clarkson for her assistance behind the scenes with trophies, medallions and certificates and Mrs Caroline Lanzon for her Certificate checking and production of the program. On Friday morning, we concluded our academic year with a community celebration of Mass and Awards Ceremony for Years 7-11 in the College Hall. Student attentiveness and participation were excellent. Congratulations to all those students who excelled during 2020. May you continue on your road to excellence and inspire others along the way.

At the end of this week we farewell several members of staff who have served the St Clare’s community tremendously well through their dedication and hard work during their time here: Mrs Litsa Spiropoulos is retiring after serving the College community for the past 29 years. Ms Beth Doherty will be taking up a leadership role as Religious Education Coordinator at Hennessy College in Young; Mrs Rebecca Markovic and Ms Hannah Baillie will be taking up teaching positions at Marist College Canberra; Mrs Elizabeth Allsopp will be taking up a teaching position at Canberra Grammar School; Ms Lindsay O’Donoghue will be relocating to the Newcastle area and Mrs Anne Kerrigan in Student Records has announced her retirement.

We express a sincere word of gratitude to each one of these staff members for their loyalty, commitment and dedication. We wish them all the best for their respective future endeavours. A number of other staff members have completed their contracts and will be leaving us. We offer our best wishes to staff leaving us at the end of 2020. On behalf of the College, I wish to thank you all for the way you have thrown yourselves into life at St Clare’s.

Have a happy, holy and safe Christmas. May the presence of Christ in our world be a reality for you and your families this Christmas.

Principal