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Acting Principal's Message
For many years, I have been researching my mother’s family history. Over the past two years, I have woven the research, visits and oral histories together to create a story. My ancestors have become my companions. There are very few photos but I see them in my mind’s eye.
I have come to admire the incredible women whose spirit runs through my veins …
Women and young girls who undertook arduous immigration journeys under horrific conditions;
Women who worked incredibly hard at menial jobs to provide for their families and give their children better education than they had;
Women with great social vision who were part of the Victorian Suffragette movement for women’s right to vote;
Sisters with unbreakable lifelong bonds; and
Women who loved dancing and laughed often.
The women of my ancestry were hardworking, generous and loving. They inspire me.
As I look at our Class of 2025, I wonder …
Who are the people in your family’s stories that have inspired and guided you?
What has your own story been thus far?
What challenges and achievements have helped shaped you?
Within your cohort there are stories of courage, friendship, hard work, loyalty, generosity and a zest for life.
Take a moment to think of a peer, or teacher, who has inspired or lifted you this year. Make a mental note to affirm and thank them if you haven’t already done so.
Remember, we can live and survive as individuals but we thrive in community.
And what of the future?
Joan Chittister, female religious and theologian, tells us that “the size of your future depends on the size of your dreams”. Year 12s, what do you dream of? For yourself? For the world? Dream big for your story is yet to be written.
Euphrasie Barbier was a woman of prayer and missionary action. A woman with a great heart for the world. As a Sacred Heart community, we have encouraged you to open your eyes and hearts to the needs of others, especially the most vulnerable. Do you, on the cusp of stepping out from this community, have the courage to risk mistakes, to speak up and get involved? You have the heart and the spirit.
Graduating class of 2025 …
Be young people with a heart for the world. You will be a better person for living a life of compassion and service, and the world will be a better place in which to live.
Dream big. You have been blessed with gifts and opportunities that too many girls and women in the world are denied. You will live a more fulfilling life if you dream large and generously and the world will be a better place in which to live.
Thank you for your contributions to Sacred Heart over the last 6 years and blessings for the final stretch of this particular chapter of your life.
