At the end of March, I was very fortunate to attend the Religious Education Congress in Los Angeles. Staff from the Catholic Education Office, St Thomas Aquinas (Bowral), St Pauls (Moss Vale), St Anthonys (Picton) as well as Fr Sean and I from St Michael's Mittagong, attended this Congress. Over 23,000 people registered for the Congress with 193 speakers and 308 workshops. It was an amazing experience to be there amongst so many Catholic educators and people in a variety of ministries from around the world. 

A highlight of the Congress, were the many liturgical experiences that were celebrated each day and the guest speakers who presented information around current practices in Catholic Education and global issues, such as the focus of the Congress "Thirsting For Justice". Most Reverend Jose H Gomes, the Archbishop of Los Angeles said, "We hear in this theme Our Lord’s promise from his Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Righteousness in the Scriptures means “rightness” or jus- tice. This is how God calls us to live – to walk with Jesus and to grow in holiness, to seek his Kingdom through works of justice for the poor and vulnerable. What we are all thirsting for is Jesus Christ." 

We were very fortunate to visit a Catholic Primary School, St Irenaeus in Cypress, California. This school caters for children from Transitional Kindergarten to Grade 8. I sincerely thank Mrs Monica Hayden, St Irenaeus' School Principal, for being so welcoming and showing us around her school. This school runs solely on parent contributions. There is no government assistance offered to religious schools in the USA. It is a real credit to their staff and parents, that the school can operate so well under such limited financial resourcing. We were amazed to hear that the staff are only paid for 10 months of the year and their wage is not comparable to that of their government school system's staff. If you would like to see a short highlight video of St Irenaeus School, I have added a link here:

We also had the opportunity to spend a day of reflection at the Mission of St John Capastrano in San Juan Capistrano, California. This mission was established in 1776, to spread Christianity to the peoples of that region. Today the Mission is a place for spiritual reflection, education and worship. It was fascinating to see a place so rich in history.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fr Sean and the community of St Michael's for supporting me in my journey to the Congress and the Catholic Education Office, for providing such a wonderful experience for not only myself but all of the representatives from the schools of the Southern Highlands Schools. 

Mrs Katrina West
Assistant Principal