Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community
Since I last wrote to you a fortnight ago, things have been very busy here on ’the hill’, Rourke’s Hill, our hill, as the busyness of Term 2 very quickly fills our days. The same is true for me as I am challenged to think and reflect by many issues.
Last week, I attended a Mercy Education Limited (MEL) Principals’ meeting in Perth. MEL governs Mercy schools in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia as well as having associate schools across those and other states. It was interesting and heart-warming to gather as a Mercy network to see other well equipped and beautiful Mercy schools, to hear that issues in schools are common across many states, and to simply be reminded that we are indeed part of a much bigger network capable of providing resources and advice at any time. It did make me wonder about future opportunities for student networking. These are our sister schools.
Last night, I, along with College Advisory Council Members and senior leaders of our College, attended the MEL Victorian College Advisory Council seminar and dinner, whose focus was ’Who is my neighbour?’. At the dinner, there were two well-credentialled and inspiring speakers who spoke from the heart about their organisations, but grounded their work in the theology of Catholic social teaching and the gospel story of the Good Samaritan. The first keynote address was delivered by Jocelyn Bignold OAM, CEO of McAuley Services For Women, which provides support for women and children who have experienced family violence and who are at risk of homelessness. It supports women to change their lives. You can learn more about the organisation at https://www.mcauley.org.au.
The second keynote address was delivered by Anne Henderson, Group Director of The Mackillop Institute (part of Mackillop Family Services), whose focus is to support and provide services for vulnerable children, young people and families and in so doing promote the rights of children to be free to enjoy their childhood in safety, to be nurtured and to have a sense of belonging and cultural identity. You can learn more about Mackillop Family Services at https://www.mackillopinstitute.org.au. Anne is responsible for leading their schools and education programs. Mackillop Family Services has a deep Mercy history and evolved from the work of the Sisters of Mercy, the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of St Joseph.
Again, at various times our student body has raised funds in support of these organisations and we will continue to do so, however, it does make me reflect that we are a part of a much greater organisation doing fantastic work across Victoria and Australia. We should be proud of our association with all things Mercy as we continue to consider that question of ’Who is our neighbour?’.
In thinking about our neighbour, we must also consider our brothers and sisters that walk this earth and this week, the College held its Reconciliation Assembly in preparation for National Reconciliation Week. While I do not want to detract from the keynote address given at that assembly, I would like to share with you part of the address that I presented to the student body, some of which can be found at https://www.reconciliation.org.au/our-work/national-reconciliation-week/. Please remember this was written as an address rather than an editorial, but it does challenge us:
We, the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community, acknowledge the
Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of the land we work.
We recognise the deep connection to the land, waters, and
rich song lines that tie them to country.
We promise to embed a genuine commitment
to reconciliation within our practices at our College.
Notice I finished that acknowledgment with a promise. A promise to embed a genuine commitment to reconciliation and today is very much a part of that process. Today we hold this assembly to focus on reconciliation in preparation for National Reconciliation Week, which officially runs from 27 May until 3 June. But, of course, reconciliation is a long-term ongoing process and a lifelong commitment.
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
The theme for 2023 is ’Be a Voice for Generations: Act Today for a reconciled tomorrow’, and it encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives — where we live, work and socialise.
For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, it encourages us to choose to create a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.
And a dedicated choice it must be.
The dates for National Reconciliation Week remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey — the first, the successful 1967 Referendum, which proposed alterations to the Australian Constitution. These alterations would remove references in the Australian Constitution discriminating against First Australians, allowing Australian Parliament to make laws in relation to First Australians and include First Australians in the national Census. The second, the High Court Mabo decision which recognised the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their islands in the eastern Torres Strait. The Court also held that native title existed for all Indigenous people in Australia prior to the establishment of the British Colony of New South Wales in 1788.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.
We are inspired to reconciliation by some significant events in our history such as The Long Walk, which you will hear about today whereby Essendon football great Michael Long walked from Melbourne to Canberra to highlight the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and get their lives and issues back onto the national agenda.
We commemorate National Sorry Day on 26 May. On this day, we commemorate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families under government policies during the Assimilation era (officially 1910-1970).
Those children stolen from their families have become known as the Stolen Generations.
We acknowledge the ongoing impact of colonisation on Indigenous peoples, including the forced removal of children from their families, loss of land, and the ongoing discrimination.
Here at MLMC we proclaim a Mercy education with values like compassion, justice, hospitality, respect, service and courage.
How are we compassionate to our First Nations people?
Where do we proclaim justice with and for them?
How are hospitable towards them?
How do we show respect to them as the traditional owners of this land?
How are we of service to the idea of reconciliation?
Where is our courage in acting for reconciliation?
At MLMC, our decisions and actions are formed by, and should reflect, our College values; we demonstrate all our College values for our First Nations citizens by working for real reconciliation in our own school, in our local community and the wider community in which we all live.
We must be very visible in this.
These events do ask us what work we need to do to in support of the many who walk this earth with us and to look both inwards into our own community to see what work we need to do, but also look to the much bigger agenda that impacts us each and every day.
This week, I also had the pleasure to attend two different meetings associated with the work of our College: the Old Collegians’ Association meeting and the Parents and Friends’ Association meeting. Both groups are vital to the future direction of our College and one discussion point at the P&F meeting was the Organisation Skills program, which operates in the McAuley Campus but only because of the great work of parent/family volunteers. This program is at risk and we do need more helpers. If you can support the program please contact Community Development Coordinator Natalie Virgona via email to nvirgona@mlmc.vic.edu.au, as she will be happy to discuss options with you.
Another important group that serves our College is the Community Forum Group (CFG), which was formed last year as a consultation group for issues at the College. It is my hope that this group continues to grow and will impact future policy and protocol development and support the work of the College Advisory Council.
The next meeting of the CFG is set for 7.30pm on Tuesday 16 May. Proposed agenda items now include:
- College email protocols
- College complaints process
- assessment and reporting guidelines
- scholarships at MLMC (time dependent).
If you would like anything added to the agenda or it is your wish to attend this meeting, please contact me via email to Marilyn Ryan at principal@mlmc.vic.edu.au. Once attendance numbers are known, the venue will be set and papers emailed to participants on Monday afternoon.
In the Spirit of Catherine,
May God bless each and every one of you.
Philip Morison
Principal
