The morning began with a special Mass presided by Fr Greg Barker who delivered a thought-provoking, challenging and inspiring homily for the entire congregation.
As the students performed a wonderful music number, the school welcomed guest speakers Sr Ellen Royan, ssjl, Ms April Browne, Regional Manager for Dairy NSW and Uncle Chris Beale.
Uncle Beale who spoke about the contribution of women to the land as part of the Sisters who lived in country towns; women on the land working, sometimes with husbands or alone, on farms; and the role of Indigenous women in country towns.
The main focus of the day was women – women who work to keep their family together in times of crisis such as drought, who keep country towns together, who work on the land, who inspire others, who dream big dreams like St Clare of Assisi and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
“We admire their tenacity, their courage and their ability to see both the large and small picture,” said Ministry Studies Coordinator, Denise Ryan.
Sr Ellen Royan mentioned, “The gradual spread of these dedicated women to the most remote areas of our wide brown land, sharing the lives of struggling families contending with drought and fires as many are doing to this day.
“They brought with them the hope of education in slab and bark schools that culminated in schools such as St Clare’s is today.”
After the Mass, students from the Student Representative Council organised a day of fun activities to raise money to support struggling farmers in need. All students dressed as farmers and participated in student-led activities such as decorating cupcakes, ice-cream sundaes, egg and spoon races, a lolly guessing competition and entertained their guests with live music.
“The highlight of the day was the ‘cow-pat lotto’ with Mary the Cow as the active participant,” said Denise.
“Students and staff put a huge effort into making the day enjoyable and successful. I was particularly proud of the way our young students and staff collaborated to produce a great number of stalls and events that gave both the stall holders and their peers a great opportunity to learn and have fun together,” said Principal Peter Nicholls.
The community of St Clare’s raised an impressive $4,000 for our farmers.