Principal's Blog: ANNUAL CELEBRATION NIGHT

Extract from Principal"a Speech - Annual Celebration Night ...

One of the most significant milestones for 2014 is the graduation of our first Year 12 students I am very pleased that every one of them met the requirements of both College and WACE Graduation.

Of the 15 students who will graduate tonight, 9 of them were foundation students. Their journey started in February 2010 when they arrived at this brand new College. I thank the Year 12 students for their enthusiasm and commitment to Holy Cross. I particularly acknowledge the positive spirit and initiative of our first College Captains, Giordarna and Teaghan.

Last week we gathered for our Graduation Mass and each of our graduating Year 12 students received a small bottle of oil, a symbol of their pilgrimage. The oil was pressed from the fruit of Olive trees, propagated from those at New Norcia. Hopefully in years to come we will be able to present graduating students with olive oil from our own small olive grove - trees that were a gift from the Benedctine community of New Norcia and also the Mayor of Subiaco.

This is a proud night for us as we present our first class of Graduates. For those who have selected the vocational pathway this is their last school commitment and then they are on their way to the next stage of their journey. Those who are sitting ATAR exams have another hill to climb. On the Camino, Padron was the town where we stayed on the last night - the ATAR students need to remember Padron, where you are nearly there but not there, they will need to put their heads down and keep going through the ATAR exams and out the other side and then onward ever onward through all that awaits.

I hope our first graduates will strive to be the best they can be and will live life in all its fulness. I hope they stay true to the values of our College and make a difference in the world.

While we were in Tui, Fr Angel one of the local priests and our tour guide, told us that when Dom Salvado returned to Spain for a visit he was offered the position of Bishop in prestigious European diocese, but Australia had taken his heart - and so he returned to the challenges of New Norcia and the Swan River Colony. I hope that like Salvado, our graduating students wont always take the comfortable option, but will follow their hearts in their journey ahead.

M Connor, Principal

2 November 2014