Religious Education: Eucharistic Celebrations In Term 1, our Gleeson College Community celebrated an Opening Liturgy, which focused on our theme in 2024 - the ‘Year of Educating the Heart’. The previous year, Gleeson celebrated the ‘Year of Growth Mindset’, and in 2024 we were united in a theme of educating the heart. Aristotle said, ‘educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all’. In 2024, Gleeson College as a Catholic community celebrated the Year of Educating the Heart, which continued to build on our theme from last year of the Growth Mindset. The Catholic understanding of educating the heart addresses our brain, our heart and our hands. We are all made in God's image. In 2024, Father Joshua Nash consolidated his tradition of celebrating a series of Year 7 class masses in House Communities, which provided a unique opportunity for the students to engage in a 'Slow Mass' that created connections with Catholic faith traditions and Eucharistic celebration. The format and style of the 'Slow Mass' shaped an atmosphere and sacred space, which allowed the students to listen and learn about the processes, sharing the 'whys' about the priest's role, and providing a space for curiosity and wonder. The use of a structured approach created connections for the students to access key concepts of symbolism, sacred colours and movement that led to a communal sharing of the significance of the Catholic tradition. On Wednesday 27th March, all students from Years 8 to 12, celebrated a Holy Week Mass as part of a focus on the Triduum of Holy Week, which consists of three days; Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. These most holy of days celebrate Christ’s Last Supper, His Passion and Death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the grave. Our communal gathering celebrated the whole Mystery, with specific attention on Holy Thursday where Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples. During the final evening with his disciples, Jesus asked them to eat bread and drink wine in his memory, establishing for us the importance of the Eucharist. Jesus also bowed down and washed the feet of his disciples, modelling for us servant leadership, an integral aspect of our culture here at Gleeson College. Our Eucharistic Celebration concluded in silence as Father Joshua with Sebastian Natale and Ms Rachel Staffin processed the Blessed Sacrament back to the tabernacle in St James Chapel. The symbolic action demonstrated the somber and melancholic mood, which Holy Thursday represents as Jesus participates in the Last Supper with his disciples before being arrested at Gethsemane. On Wednesday 13th November, members of the Gleeson College community joined with Archbishop James Gleeson's family to celebrate the memory of Deceased Bishops, Clergy and Religious from the Adelaide Diocese in a Memorial Mass, which occurred at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Wakefield Street, Adelaide. Vicar General and Director of Vocations, Father Dean Marin led the gathered assembly with co-celebrants including Monsignor John Swann, to demonstrate a beautiful and respectful celebration of their lives. The Gleeson College Choir performed a range of songs and hymns, which complemented the Mass readings and prayers, highlighting the talent of our students' singing in such an austere and reverent setting. Vicar General, Father Dean Marin was complimentary in his praise, commenting on the beautiful and seamless performance. The event also served as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist in the historic, ornate and awe-inspiring Cathedral, which was truly an occasion to remember for staff, students, parents and family members, alike. Final Mass: The End of an Era On Friday 29th November, the Gleeson Staff shared an opportunity to gather for a momentous occasion in the history of Gleeson College, the final Mass in the chapel. The St James Chapel, which was officially opened and blessed on October 25, 1992, by the Most Reverend Leonard Faulkner, has been a sacred space for our community for over three decades. On Friday afternoon we celebrated the Eucharist for the last time in our original chapel, and we were honoured to have Monsignor John Swann preside over and lead the special service. As we look forward to the arrival of our new Chapel Hub in 2025, we reflect on the significance of endings and beginnings in our lives. This chapel has been a place of worship, reflection, and community, and while we bid farewell to this beloved space, we also embrace the exciting future that lies ahead. We are grateful for the memories we have created here, and we patiently wait in anticipation of the new chapter that lies before us next year. Page 4