Newsletter 19 October 2017

On 28 October 1816, three months after his ordination, Marcellin Champagnat was called to the
Montagne home in Les Palais, about 6kms from La Valla, where 16 year-old Jean-Baptiste Montagne was dying. As Marcellin prepared to hear the confession of Jean-Baptiste, he realised that the young man had little religious or academic education. It occurred to Marcellin that Jean-Baptiste was one of many young people affected by a lack of education during and after the French Revolution. It was this incident that further inspired the young Marcellin Champagne to start a teaching Order, namely ‘The Marist Brothers’ and which has resulted in a Marist footprint today in 81 countries, educating over 654 000 children and young people.

Next Friday 27 October 2017 St David’s Marist Inanda will celebrate Montagne Day, with this year being the 201^st Anniversary of the date on which St Marcellin Champagnat visited the dying Jean-Baptiste Montagne. Montagne Day will mark the closing of the formal celebrations of the 200 Years of Marist Education Bicentenary and the 150^th year of Marist education in South Africa.

In remembrance of this significant event in Marist history, all St David’s boys will be encouraged to continue the legacy of St Marcellin by once again this year pledging to act in a manner that reflects the Marist values. To this end, each boy will receive a Pledge Form during their tutor period or RE lesson before Montagne Day on which they can commit to specific behaviours that they feel they would like to uphold. These pledges will be brought to the Altar, as part of the Offertory Procession, at the combined Montagne Day Mass on Friday 27 October.

As part of this pledge, and in the spirit of the Marist value of ‘Love of Work’, we would like to encourage each boy to commit to raising, through their own efforts or acts of service, R100 to contribute to the St David’s Marist Foundation Father Bernard Brewer Bursary Fund. These donations will form part of each year group’s own Circle of Friendship as per the Matric Years that they will eventually become, for example, those boys currently in Grade 6 this year will be the Matric Class of 2023 Circle. The funds brought in by the boys will go towards giving the gift of a Marist education to a boy who may be a modern-day Montagne, in honour and remembrance of the young Jean-Baptiste Montagne and the opportunities he did not have. A portion of the donation will also go to the ‘Hands of Champagnat’ Grade 11 service portfolio committee for their 2017/18 community project.

In the interests of safety, we would prefer that the boys not carry cash to school and ask that you indicate your consent to us adding this once-off donation of R100 (or any amount you would like to gift to the School for Montagne Day) to your fee account, or that you make an EFT to the St David’s Marist Foundation account (bank details below), with the reference being your family surname + M Day. Please click here to give your consent to have R100 added to your fee account (either per son, or as a family contribution).

From the Desk of Mike Thiel - Executive Headmaster