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ISSUE 31 | OCTOBER 2014
Mercy All Over the World
Mercy International Association is
currently preparing to celebrate its 20th
Anniversary with a prayer programme
for 30 days which we are all invited to
join. Visit
.
As Mercy Women (and Men) it
is wonderful to connect with the
worldwide community in this way.
I have been greatly privileged this
year by the opportunity to go to
Mercy International Centre and
immerse myself in the ethos of
Catherine McAuley. The experience
was profoundly spiritual as I walked
in the footsteps of Catherine and
the Sisters of Mercy. I have tried to
share something of the flavour of that
experience with the girls here at Villa
Maria College.
Continuing to strengthen these Mercy
links our Vivace choir visited St Mary’s
College in Auckland on their recent
trip to the Big Sing, where they were
able to stand at the graves of the first
Sisters of Mercy to travel to NZ. As I
reminded the girls, these extraordinary
women stepped off the boat after 8
months at sea and started teaching
50 Maori children the following day.
The girls found their visit especially
moving and loved the chance to see
another Mercy school and in particular
to sing in a school with such a strong
and proud musical history. Vivace were
rewarded for their fine performances
with a gold award for which we warmly
congratulate them all.
The College is currently preparing
excitedly for Mercy Day when we
welcome our special visitors, and
many Past Pupils will recall fondly
their experience of this day of special
celebration and service. We also
recently celebrated the Feast of
the Assumption with a lovely Mass
which Bishop Barry Jones was able to
celebrate, and our choral festival in the
afternoon. The immense energy and joy
of these events contributes to the very
special spirit of the College.
We hope wherever you are, you are
able to remember and celebrate Mercy
Day in your own special way.
Deborah Brosnahan
Principal
BOT Update
Our College Board have been busy
working at governance level to support
the teaching and learning of our Villa girls
in striving to achieve our mission.
The pace of school life, and indeed life
itself, seems to be constantly frenetic.
There is a growing perception that the
demands and the pressures on students
nowadays are relentless. For our students
at Villa, regardless of what year they’re in
at school, their tensions and burdens will
be relative to them and their situations.
Whether it be National Standards, NCEA,
Scholarship, sport, music, art, drama or
culture, the pressures on our students
can seem immense.
We are blessed to have a remarkable
team of teaching and support staff to
ensure that our students work to their
potential, but experience teaches us
that reaching one’s potential requires
the effort and support of families and
communities alongside the schools.
The Board is gratified that our Mercy
charism pervades our College’s
outstanding academic, sporting and
cultural ethos. It is our Mercy charism
that provides our distinctiveness and
is the foundation of our students
developing into Mercy Women. It is also
these Mercy values which provide the
base for teaching our students how to
manage the pressures in their lives, to put
them into perspective; and to be grateful
for what we have.
Catherine McAuley recognised that
education was the key to improving life
“The experience was profou ndly
spiritua l as I wa lked i n the
footsteps of Catheri ne a nd the
Sisters of Mercy.”
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
for women and their families. Mercy
education is aimed today at empowering
women in the search for a more just
and sustainable world, and at equipping
them for leadership in all fields of human
endeavour.
Empowering each young woman to
determine her potential, live Gospel
values, confidently embrace life-long
learning and as a Mercy woman be
inspired to make a difference.
Hector Matthews
BOT Chair
Front Row L to R:
Karen Mountford,
Kate Hanning (Student Rep), Deborah
Brosnahan, Hector Matthews (Chair),
Kerry McNeill (Secretary).
Back Row L to R:
Virginia Hillgrove (Staff
Rep), Jane Higgins, Natasha Taylor,
Rebecca Penalato.
Absent
:
Philippa Worthington, Sarita
McLean
