1st XVIII Football - Indigenous Round
Congratulations to our Prefects and team members who have worked hard to celebrate the contribution of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys through our annual 'Indigenous Round' played against St Peter's College this Saturday.  We are very grateful that Mr Lochowiak (parent of Anzac, Jacob and Jackson) will Welcome us to Country prior to the game.  We expect it to be a terrific match and we look forward to seeing our lads take the field in their new Indigenous Round Guernsey, the design of which represents the following:

•  18 circular dot formations to represent each player, their family and where they are from.
• Each dot formation is connected by a straight line to represent the journey each player took to get to Rostrevor.
• The centrepiece of the design represents all the journeys coming together as one.
• 3 yellow boomerangs representing the College's three pillars (Spirituality, Academic and Co-Curricular).
• 2 hands symbolising helping hands that the students provide by being men for others.

Women featured prominently in the life of Jesus
The fourth week of July, as it turns out, is also a 'big' week in terms of the feast days, commencing on Monday 22 July with the feast of Mary Magdalene, and ending on Friday 26 July with the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (the parents of Mary).

Mary of Magdala, according to the gospel of Luke, followed Jesus after he exorcised her of 'seven demons' (8:2).  Her devotion to Him gave her the courage to stand under the cross as he died and to stay near the tomb on Easter morning; long after everyone else had left.  While there are many gospel accounts of Jesus breaking with the custom of His day to interact with women, nothing compares to His appearance to Mary Magdalene (before everyone else) on Easter Sunday.  With this in mind, it is worth pondering that the Good News of Jesus' resurrection found its way to the Apostles on the lips of this courageous and devoted woman.

In our 21st Century, secular world we may wonder at the relevance of this event from two millennia ago.  Perhaps, the feast of Mary Magdalene reminds us of Jesus' unrivalled ability to include everyone, especially those not rated or valued as highly as others.  Thus, our little mantra to 'Live Jesus in our hearts - forever' orientates us towards doing the same in our own lives.  May it also help us to become more like Mary of Magdala in our desire to know who God calls us to be.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Brian Schumacher
Principal