Celebrating Our Carmelite Story – Foundation Day Mass

Although the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is officially on July 16, we chose to mark this special occasion as a community on Friday 18 July during our Foundation Day celebrations, and what a beautiful morning it was!

This feast means a lot to us here at Carmel College. Mary, under the title Our Lady of Mount Carmel, is more than a figure from the past, she’s a symbol of strength, faith, and quiet courage. Her example reminds us to take time to listen for God, to act with love, and to bring hope to those around us. That’s at the heart of what it means to be a Carmelite community.

Our Foundation Day Mass gave us a moment to stop, come together, and reflect on our story as a school. We were so fortunate to have Fr Matthew Tonini with us to lead the celebration. His words really stayed with us, encouraging us to carry Mary’s calm, steady presence into our daily lives, even when things get busy or uncertain.

A big thank you to everyone who helped bring the Mass to life, our readers, musicians, and especially the students who carried up the canvas artwork filled with the names and fingerprints of our community. It was such a powerful symbol of unity and belonging.

New Artwork in Amare: A Window into Our Carmelite Story

If you’ve stepped into Amare recently, you might have noticed something new on the wall.  It is a hand-painted copy of Pietro Lorenzetti’s Hermits at the Fountain of Elijah. It’s a quiet piece, but one that says a lot about who we are.

The timing couldn’t have been better - just as we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This artwork connects us to our Carmelite roots and reminds us of the deep tradition we belong to.

The painting shows a group of Carmelite hermits gathered around a spring on Mount Carmel — a place connected with the prophet Elijah, who’s at the heart of the Carmelite story. The hermits are shown in a gentle rhythm of life: drawing water, reading, praying, and simply being. This balance of contemplation and action, solitude and community, is what Carmelites have always tried to live, and what we continue to live out at Carmel College.

We hope it invites everyone who sees it to pause, breathe, and remember that God often speaks in the stillness.

NAIDOC Week Mass – A Special Morning Together

Last Wednesday, our student leaders and First Nations students came together to celebrate a very special NAIDOC Week Mass.

We were excited to welcome some First Nations students and their families from St Rita’s Primary School to join us. It was such a lovely celebration, filled with moments of prayer, reflection, and pride in culture and community.

After Mass, we all enjoyed a relaxed morning tea together. It was a great chance for students, staff, and families to chat, connect, and share stories.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the morning so meaningful, it was a wonderful way to celebrate NAIDOC Week together.

Mrs Erin Hardy

Assistant Principal-Religious Education