From the Principal

Pablo Grana
4 days ago
12 min read

Updated: 2 hours ago

The Gift of Mary's Intercession

In our Catholic faith, one of the greatest blessings we share is the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God. Mary holds a unique place in salvation history. Chosen to bring Christ into the world, she remains a mother to us all – guiding, nurturing, and interceding for us before her Son.

To “intercede” means to speak on behalf of another. Just as we might ask a close friend to pray for us during a difficult time, so too do we turn to Mary, who is closest of all to Jesus. Her intercession does not replace our prayer to God, but strengthens it. She is a bridge of love between us and her Son.

Throughout Scripture, Mary is a woman who listens, trusts, and acts. At the wedding feast of Cana, she notices the needs of others and brings them to Jesus: “They have no wine.” Her words prompt His first miracle. This story reminds us that Mary continues to bring our needs to Christ, noticing what we may overlook, and encouraging us to “do whatever He tells you.”

For the Church, Mary’s intercession is not just a comfort, but a source of strength. In moments of uncertainty, she is a mother who whispers courage. In times of joy, she magnifies our gratitude. In times of struggle, she stands with us, just as she stood at the foot of the Cross.

As a school community, understanding Mary’s intercession invites us to grow in trust. It reminds us that we are never alone, that we can carry our worries, hopes, and prayers to her with confidence. She does not keep them for herself but places them lovingly in the hands of Christ.

In this way, devotion to Mary is not a distraction from Jesus – it is a pathway to Him. As St John Paul II once said, “To Jesus through Mary.” By inviting her into our lives, we learn to love her Son more deeply.

As we continue our journey of faith together, let us not hesitate to turn to Mary, Mother of God, asking for her prayers and guidance. May we trust, as she did, in the promise of God’s love, and may we follow her example of faith, humility, and service.

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Outstanding Good Samaritan People and Students

Below are great examples of outstanding Good Samaritan People and Students from Weeks 1 to Week 5 of Term 3:

We congratulate Neven from Year 12, who was recently honoured with the Archbishop's Award for Excellence at St Mary’s Cathedral College Hall. This award recognises her outstanding service to both our Catholic parish and school community, as well as her deep personal faith. It was a special moment as Shayla read out the citation, highlighting Neven’s dedication and contribution. Well done, Neven!

The 2025 10:10 Conference was recently held at Good Samaritan Catholic College. It brought together Year 10 students from across Sydney Catholic Schools, creating a vibrant space to “live life to the full” through music, prayer and inspiring conversation. Students engaged in group discussions on relationships and decision-making, joined in communal prayer with access to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and enjoyed joyful praise and worship. Keynote speakers John Nguyen and Rachel Vala delivered powerful messages that encouraged students to reflect on their values, choices and call to live with purpose.

Our 2025 Father’s Day Mass was a wonderful celebration that brought together dads, grandfathers, and father figures from across our College community. The occasion was marked with prayer, reflection, and gratitude, as students presented prayer cards and shared in a delicious BBQ. We extend our warmest wishes to all fathers, grandfathers and father figures for a joyful and blessed Father’s Day!

A number of our students recently came together for our Winter Stay Out – and what a night it was! In support of St Vincent de Paul’s Annual Stay Out initiative, students participated in an evening of prayer, reflection and social outreach. Meaningful activities opened our students' hearts and minds to the realities faced by those experiencing homelessness. The spirit of compassion and solidarity was truly alive, and we’re so proud of our students for stepping up and making a difference. Thank you to everyone who helped make the night a success – your efforts are a testament to the strength and heart of our school community.

With just over a week until our Year 12 students graduate, a number of our local primary schools - Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School, St Therese Catholic Primary School Sadleir, and St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School Lurnea - recently organised a heartwarming surprise! They thoughtfully prepared care packs for our Year 12s and presented them with warmth, encouragement and well-wishes. It was a beautiful gesture that reminded our students how supported they are by their wider school community as they prepare to celebrate their graduation and the end of their school journey.

A big congratulations to Brodie of Year 9 for his outstanding performance at the NSWCCC Athletics Championships, where he claimed 2nd place in the U15 100M Hurdles! Your hard work and determination are an inspiration to us all. Well done!

End of Term 3 Messages

Congratulations to the HSC Class of 2025

We especially congratulate our Year 12 students who have concluded 13 years of schooling. We now send our prayers and best wishes to our Year 12 students as they begin their final preparations for the HSC Examinations in Term 4.

Last Day of Classes for Years 7 to 11 - Thursday 25th September 2025

Students across Years 7 to 11 will finish classes on Thursday 25th September. Staff will be engaged in a Staff Spirituality Day that is offsite on Friday 26th September.

Please note that the College Administration Office will be closed on Friday 26th September as all staff are engaged in the Staff Spirituality Day.

Staff Professional Learning Day - Monday 13th October 2025

As published earlier in the year, a reminder that we will be holding our Staff Professional Learning Day on Monday 13th October that is focused on Wellbeing.

Please contact the College office if your child/ren requires supervision on this day.

Classes for Term 4 resume on Tuesday 14th October

All students return in the Full College Summer Uniform.

As such our learning and behaviour expectations continue to focus on quality teaching and learning with all students engaged in classroom tasks and assessments. Parents/Carers are reminded that all student assessment booklets are available for your convenience via the College website found under ‘Teaching & Learning’, followed by choosing ‘College Assessment’. Please take the time to be aware of the College regulations and policy around assessment and engage your child/ren in positive discussions around how they will organise, prepare and complete their assessment tasks on the due dates.

Remaining Staff Professional Learning Days and End of Year Dates

For continued future planning for all families, Staff Professional Learning Days and end of Year dates for the remainder of 2025 are:

Friday 21st November - Staff Professional Learning Day
Friday 12th December - Last Day of Classes Years 7 to 11
Monday 15th December - Years 7-10 Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews (12.30pm - 7.00pm)
Tuesday 16th December - Years 7-10 Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews (8.30am - 1.00pm)
Wednesday 17th December - Staff Professional Learning Day
Thursday 18th December - Staff Professional Learning Day
Friday 19th December - College Closed

Please contact the College office if you require supervision for your child/ren on any of these dates.

Scheduled Building Works

We are excited to inform you that we have two confirmed building works scheduled:

Good Samaritan Catholic College in partnership with Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) can now confirm that the final stage of the building works to complete the Specialist Support Classes Building has now been approved. The works will be broken up into two phases:

Phase 1: Will be completed over the Term 3 Holidays and will involve internal works in the classrooms and common area. We have been advised that these works will not affect the functioning of classrooms during Term 4.

Phase 2: Will be completed over the Christmas Holidays and will involve major building work to create the third classroom (Stage 6 Senior) that will involve the removal and expansion of the existing Seminar room to be converted into a classroom. The works will also include the building of a staff study room as well.

The Canteen toilets (both male and female) will be receiving a refurbishment to its cubicle setup and main entrances. As Year 12 students will not be onsite, the building work will begin on Wednesday 24th September. The builder has informed us that the toilets will be back in operation by the beginning of next term.

College Uniform Expectations for Term 4

Parents/Carers and students are reminded of the College uniform and grooming policy when resuming in Term 4 with all students are required to comply with the summer uniform regulations found in the College diary or on the College website. We appreciate your support throughout this term in respect to student uniform and grooming. To avoid any issues on the first day back, parents/carers and students are asked to also adhere to our grooming regulations and expectations regarding haircuts, shaving, jewellery and nails. In particular, we would like to remind everyone that chewing gum, eyebrow slits and undershirts are not permitted. Any student found breaching this policy will be issued with a uniform infringement.

A reminder of our uniform policy consequences are detailed below:

three (3) uniform infringements will have Compass generate an automatic Wednesday detention (visible to students and parents/carers).
six (6) uniform infringements will have Compass generate an automatic Friday detention (visible to students and parents/carers), and Year Coordinators will make contact with parents/carers, either via telephone or a parent meeting.
nine (9) uniform infringements will result in a suspension, and a further meeting with parents/carers to discuss our concerns."

We ask parents to ensure that over the holidays you check your son’s/daughter’s uniform and rectify any problems before coming back on the first day of Term 4. If any student is not in the correct Summer uniform on the first day of Term 4, they will be sent home to have the problem rectified.

Please also be advised that we will be continuing to carry out uniform checks of students in each year group. These checks will now be random and at the discretion of the Year Coordinator.

Our uniform is something we are all proud of as a community. It reflects our values as a Catholic school and demonstrates our high expectations of all of our students at Good Samaritan Catholic College. These expectations have existed since the College was first opened. We thank all parents for your support of our College uniform regulations and welcome you to call us if you are having any difficulties with ensuring your child is in the correct uniform. We will also be happy to assist you with any difficulties where possible.

Online Safety During the School Holidays

We ask parents/carers to keep a close eye on their sons/daughters to ensure they are safely using the internet. We also encourage all students to communicate any unsafe or threatening online behaviour to their parents/carers immediately. Parents/Carers are then advised to contact Police and/or the eSafety Commissioner if there are any serious concerns regarding online behaviour.

For more information, please visit the eSafety Commissioners Website: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

A reminder from earlier correspondence with all parents/carers that from 10th December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account. Please refer to the Australian Government Factsheet

We hope that our students and their families have a safe, enjoyable and restful break and look forward to students returning on Tuesday 14th October.

Important Reminders

Traffic and Parking Safety

We remind all members of our community regarding the importance of maintaining road safety in and around our College at all times.

The following are important reminders for both parents/carers and students:

All drivers are to adhere to the sign posted speed limits within the school grounds
When picking up or dropping off students in the College Bus Bay, please move the car to the furthest spot to allow as many cars access the area for pick-up or drop off as possible and avoid any traffic queues at the front gate of the school and subsequently affecting traffic on Hoxton Park Road.
No student is to be dropped off on the median strip or middle of any road or street. This is very dangerous and places at risk the lives of students and other drivers.
Respecting all road and parking laws both on the roads near the school, local streets and the parking areas in local shopping centres around the vicinity of the College.
Respecting the local neighbouring homes and not parking in front of driveways, on the grass areas in front of homes, leaving any litter and ensuring noise is kept to a minimum.
Students are to respect and follow all pedestrian road rules when using all forms of crossings in and outside the College site.

The local NSW Police Force has been briefed to carry out regular checks during morning and/or afternoon peak times to ensure drivers and pedestrians are following all road and parking laws and rules.

We encourage parents/carers to speak to their children about maintaining safe behaviour when making their way to and from the College. To assist you, please find the link below, that provides a suite of educational resources.

On the Move Road Safety for Parents/Carers

Morning Attendance

We remind all parents/carers that once their sons/daughters are dropped off in the morning inside the College grounds, they are to remain on the College grounds and are not permitted to leave to visit the local shops.

Our Duty of Care Obligations require that all students, once on College grounds, remain on College grounds until the end of the day.

If students are found to be leaving the College grounds once dropped off before school, this will be followed up with in accordance with consequences for truancy.

If students wish to access the shops before school, we advise parents/carers to drop them off safely outside of the College grounds.

We thank all parents/carers and students in advance for ensuring that students remain on College grounds once dropped off before school.

Attendance and Applications for Leave Reminders

Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) make very clear that “school attendance plays a critical role in enhancing the lives of students in schools. Every day of attendance adds to a student’s academic achievement and success at school, and conversely every absence, can impact their learning and progress.”. Studies are clear about the importance of attending school to ensure your sons and daughters progress and grow in their learning.

In NSW, all children from six years of age are legally required to attend school. After students complete Year 10, and until they turn 17 years of age, they must remain enrolled in school, be engaged full time in approved education, training, employment, or a combination of the two. This is a legal responsibility of all parents/carers.

Responsibilities of Parents/Carers

As per the SCS Attendance Policy, parents/carers of students enrolled at an SCS school are required to:

Ensure their child attends school each day unless exempt or absent for an approved reason.
Explain the absence of a student as soon as possible and within seven (7) school days from the first day of absence, otherwise the school will record the absence as an unexplained absence.
Provide a medical certificate where a student’s frequent, recurring or long term absence is explained as being due to illness.
Apply in advance for planned student leave
Work in partnership with the school and SCS to address any issues impacting on a student’s attendance.

At Good Samaritan Catholic College, we work in partnership with parents/carers to ensure your sons and daughters attend school each day. When attendance becomes an issue, this partnership is critical to ensure that the student’s learning and wellbeing are at the forefront of the response.

We ask that parents/carers work with our College in ensuring that you support the importance of daily school attendance, especially when you may be challenged by your sons and daughters who may ask for a “day off” or a “break from school”. Allowing this will affect their learning as you can see below:

1 day absent = 5 hours of learning missed

5 days absent = 25 hours of learning missed

10 days absent = 50 hours of learning missed

20 days absent = 100 hours of learning missed

30 days absent = 150 hours of learning missed

40 days absent = 200 hours of learning missed or the equivalent of a whole two (2) years of a HSC course.

Application for Extended Leave Procedures (Five (5) Days or More)

I have noticed a high rate of applications for extended leave recently, mostly for overseas or domestic family holidays. As you would be aware, the College does not encourage student breaks during school time, but I understand that at times, this cannot be avoided in situations where there may be a legitimate family emergency or an international learning or sporting experience. As stated earlier, I must stress however, that any absence can have a negative impact on students’ performance and, in turn, can affect their academic results.

I encourage parents/carers to avoid requesting extended leave during school terms (except in cases of extreme emergencies) and instead plan/arrange these trips during school vacation periods to avoid your son/daughter missing learning time and in some cases assessment tasks/exams and risk receiving zero marks.

Parents/carers must complete and submit the Application for Extended Leave (A1) form together with the school based (yellow) Application for Extended Leave of 5 days or more prior to commencing leave.
Both forms must be submitted with a minimum of four (4) weeks in advance of the first date of the requested extended leave. If the form is submitted late, this will result in the leave request being declined.
Travel documentation, such as travel itinerary or e-tickets, must be attached to the application.
We will not accept a reason for travel during the school term if it is not in the best interest of the student, academic or otherwise.
It is the responsibility of the student to ensure they are accessing work missed and complete any work/assessment that has been required by teachers by the time they return to school or in some cases during their leave.
If the application is accepted, the code Leave (‘L’) is used. A copy of the certificate (C1) is attached to the application form (A1) and a letter is sent to parents/carers confirming the acceptance of the application.
If the application is declined, the code ‘A’ for unjustified absence is used. A copy of the certificate (D1) is attached to the application form (A1) and a letter is sent to parents/carers confirming the application being declined.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the College Office or your son/daughter’s Year Coordinator.

Online Safety At Home

For more information, please visit the eSafety Commissioners Website: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Inspirational Quote from Pope Leo XIV