General News
8 August, 2024
Students celebrate milestone with a message
CATHOLIC schools across the region are celebrating a milestone for the Diocese of Ballarat with the creation of an object used for thousands of years to allow Aboriginal nations to transfer information.
Five Message Sticks, which carried artwork depicting important messages and histories to be shared between First Nations groups, were recently created to mark the 150th anniversary of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat.
The message sticks are currently being passed between catholic schools across Victoria, carrying the Romans 12:12 message of “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer”.
Last week one of the Message Stick, which is travelling through schools in western Victoria, was passed from St Patrick’s Primary School in Camperdown to St Thomas’ Primary School in Terang.
This week, students at St Colman’s Primary School in Mortlake are the custodians of the Message Stick.
St Thomas’ Primary School principal Matthew Uzkuraitis said students had enjoyed the opportunity to be part of a special milestone for catholic education in the region.
“This year we’re celebrating 150 years in our Ballarat diocese,” he said.
“One of the sticks, the Mother Stick, is at the Ballarat office while four other sticks are being passed around primary and secondary schools.
“We’ve received our message stick for a week, and concluded its visit with a special liturgy where our Grade 5-6 will learn more about the symbols one the stick and why we’re celebrating 150 years.”
The Message Stick design features a journey track, which represents the thousands of students, teachers and staff and the shared gifts of their journey.
There is a southern cross painted in the middle of the stick, which symbolises the process of guiding those on their journey.
The four ‘U’ shaped designs represent the leaders in the region gathering to share their stories, and the circles on each end represent the rover and ocean waters.
Mr Uzkuraitis said the Message Stick perfectly encapsulated the aims of education, which created an exciting talking point for staff and students alike.
“It is a nice symbolism of the 150 years of catholic education in our diocese, but the Message Stick itself is a great representation of sharing that news among our school communities,” he said.
“There are meanings in all the designs on the stick, particularly the circles from the Murray to the sea, representing our schools up the top of Victoria all the way down to the coast.”
Mr Uzkuraitis said students had enjoyed the opportunity to be part of such a significant
milestone, while sharing in custodianship of the physical object which represents it.
“It’s about our 150 years but I think it’s pertinent in being able to see something and learn a little bit more about it.”
Read More: Terang