Today’s long reflection is taken from the AMSSA Student Conference’s closing liturgy held yesterday in our College chapel. It draws heavily on the words of Kyneton’s own Sr Madeline Duckett rsm and highlights the importance that tangible objects can play in exploring meaning and symbolism.

2024 AMSSA Student Conference – “Mercy Pathways of Joy and Hope”

This week, Sacred Heart College has been privileged to cohost, with Catherine McAuley College Bendigo, the biennial student conference of the Australasian Mercy Secondary Schools Association (AMSSA). AMSSA is an association that brings together more than 50 secondary schools from across all Australian states and territories as well as New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Importantly, the schools come together annually for either staff or student conferences with Kyneton and Bendigo able to host the student event after several years of Covid-driven delays.

The conference included almost 150 students and staff with activities running from Monday 24 – Thursday 27 June. The activities included guest speakers, workshops, liturgies, visits to local tourist sites as well as a formal conference mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo and a conference dinner at Bendigo’s Town Hall.

I was fortunate to be able to attend every day of the conference and found the experience energising and quite moving. Highlights for me included:

• The personal stories and witness of a number of young women connected to Mercy and committed to nourishing the spirit of Catherine McAuley, and the Sisters of Mercy, in the 21^st century.
• The enthusiasm and determination of the young people who attended the conference and brought those gifts into the discussions and activities. The hope of a young person is very special thing.
• The opportunity to showcase Sacred Heart College to schools from across Australia, and provide students and staff an insight into why it is a wonderful Mercy school.

Appropriately, I want to include a number of comments from SHC students who attended the conference:

On 25th - 27th of June, a group of six Sacred Heart College Kyneton students attended the AMSSA conference. We interacted with students from various Mercy schools around Australia.

We visited Central Deborah gold mine, the heritage trams and the Great Stupa in Bendigo. On Tuesday, we attended Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral and then had dinner in the Bendigo Town Hall, we had a delicious meal and danced the night away.

On Thursday, we returned back to Sacred Heart, with everyone from the conference being welcomed into our community.

A highlight of the conference was creating care packages for women and children escaping family violence. We also exchanged our own personalised business cards with other students throughout the conference to connect with each other once we left.

Sacred Heart College Canteen – Semester 2 Prices

Please click the link below for the new canteen pricing for Semester 2. As I detailed in previous newsletters, the change in price reflects increases in salaries and food costs.

SEMESTER 2 PRICE LIST

INGREDIENTS LIST FOR CANTEEN

End of Term Arrangements

Please find below, reminders regarding arrangements for the end of Term 2 and the start of Term 3 at Sacred Heart College:

Monday 15 July SHC Faith Development Day (no student classes)

Tuesday 16 July Term 3 commences for all students

Bereavements  -   Your prayers are asked for the following families who are mourning the passing of a loved one recently.  The Rix family on the passing of Stephen Halloran, grandfather of Aden Year 10 and the Hemphill and McLeish families on the passing of John Burn, uncle of Clare Year 7, Kate Year 8 and Emily Year 9.

Yours in Mercy,

Dr Darren Egberts

Principal