Musical Festival

Awakening our Spirit Music Festival

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS OF MUSIC AND SONG PERFORMED BY LORETO NORMANHURST STUDENTS AT MUSIC FESTIVAL EACH YEAR IS QUITE LITERALLY, MUSIC TO OUR EARS! WITH THE THEME OF ‘AWAKENING OUR SPIRIT’ OUR MUSIC CAPTAIN SHARES HER REFLECTIONS ON WHAT THE POWER OF MUSIC AT LORETO NORMANHURST HAS MEANT TO HER.

My time as Music Captain at Loreto Normanhurst was a rewarding experience that I will never forget. I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity and to have called Loreto my school for the past six years.

“Our annual Music Festival at the Sydney ICC, was an exhilarating night inspired by the theme ‘Awakening our Spirit’.”

As the girls presented their hard work and talent to an audience of thousands, they created a breathtaking atmosphere of joy and celebration; exuding immense pride in their school.

It was my privilege to co-host this event with Isabelle Humphries, the Performing Arts Captain. We thoroughly enjoyed showcasing our school’s wonderful talent.

Leading up to Music Festival, I was inspired by the immense hard work the conductors, accompanists and every girl gave to their House Choir performances. Each choir overcame numerous challenges in the rehearsal process to ultimately showcase a beautiful collection of angelic voices for the audience.

Of course, this celebration of music continued throughout the year as we witnessed girls singing their heart out at Wednesday long recess, joining in the hymns of school liturgies and singing our school song, ‘Cruci’, with pride at every Assembly. It has been an honor to lead these wonderful music events at the school this past year.

I am very grateful for the endless support from my peers, the Music staff and all other staff who have helped me as Music Captain.

It gives me great joy to imagine the many more wonderful musical moments and happy memories that will be made, through creating beautiful music, by future generations of Loreto girls. I know they will be encouraged and supported just as I have been.

JAYDA GURSEL Music Captain 2018-2019

Celebrating Loreto Day

LORETO DAY EMBODIES THE VALUES OF LORETO NORMANHURST BY SUPPORTING THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED WHILE EMBRACING THE SPIRIT OF THE SCHOOL BY UNITING THE COMMUNITY. IN 2019 WE SUPPORTED THE BABY MILK PROJECT TO HELP MOTHERS AND BABIES IN KENYA.

The Baby Milk Project, a Mary Ward International Australia project, is a crucial cause centred in the district of Lukulu in Zambia, Africa, and provides baby formula to mothers who have HIV/AIDS and are unable to breastfeed their children due to mother-child transmission. The Baby Milk Project works to provide basic nutrition for babies and children and to enhance their wellbeing to give them a chance to grow stronger and lead healthier lives, as well as supporting poverty-stricken guardians who do not have the means to provide this support for the babies.

By choosing to support this cause for Loreto Day, our community helped those in need by invoking a call to service and a commitment to social justice.

The day started with a whole-school Celebration of the Eucharist to acknowledge the cause for Loreto Day. The school community then enjoyed the amazing food and games stalls organised by Year 11 before moving into the gymnasium for the Loreto Day Concert which showcases various talents in the performing arts. The concert is a celebration of the artistic achievement of Loreto Normanhurst and a celebration of our connection to St Lucy’s and St Edmund’s who were in attendance. The food and game stalls and the concert both contribute to the funds raised for the cause and are a unique and enjoyable part of Loreto Day, reflective of the Loreto values of social justice and felicity.

“In a world of inequality and injustice we stand with the oppressed, the disadvantaged and those exploited in any way by unjust systems.” – Mary Ward International Australia

The most fulfilling part of the Loreto Day experience is that the proceeds from the day will go to deserving mothers in the Lukulu district who are able to give nourishing formula to their babies to enhance their child’s health and quality of life.

The process for organising Loreto Day helped provide Year 11 to further develop their skills in communication, time management, teamwork and organisation. The various teams that the girls were part of helped give an insight into future leadership opportunities and allowed Loreto students to actively involve themselves in organising and planning school events as a year group. The day was a rewarding one and we look forward to seeing what unfolds for Loreto Day 2020.

KIMIA DEGANI, ABIGAIL ROBERTS AND TARA SAVELL-MCKEAN Year 11, Loreto Day Communications Team 2019