Over the course of the past week we have witnessed the ongoing developments that the Coronavirus situation has had on our society. As these developments continue, so has the response that the College has undertaken on many fronts. I extend my thanks and gratitude to the students who have so enthusiastically embraced the new opportunities that their virtual learning environments have provided. I thank the parents who have had to adapt so quickly to the challenges that remote learning has had on the home environment. And finally, I thank the teachers and staff at Mount Carmel for the extraordinary amount of work that I have witnessed being undertaken in order to provide access to an education, pastoral care and spiritual nourishment for all our students in these most unprecedented times. 

From all reports, indications would suggest that we are closer to the beginning of this situation than we are to the end of it. That being said, I would like to emphasise our intention to continually evaluate and adjust a range of processes that are currently in operation at the College. These include our approach to lesson delivery, student attendance and engagement tracking, access to counselling and other pastoral care services just to name a few. As we undertake these refinements, I would welcome and encourage feedback from both students and parents regarding the experiences in each of these areas so that our responses encompass the perspectives of all members of our College community. 

With this in mind, I would remind families of a number of key contacts that may be of service at this time:

• For assistance with remote learning, contact our Learning Technologies Team at: icltsupport@mcchsdow.catholic.edu.au
• For assistance with Compass including access and troubleshooting issues, contact our Compass Team at: kripala01@dow.catholic.edu.au
• For subject enquiries, the first point of contact should normally be the subject teacher who is accessible through each student's Compass profile. 
• For access to our Pastoral Care services, including access to Catholic Care Counselors, please contact your child’s Year Coordinator via direct email.
• For any updates on the Catholic Education Office Wollongong’s response to the COVID-19 situation, please visit the CEO’s COVID-19 Information Centre Website 

Wishing all our parents, students and the broader Mount Carmel community the very best as we enter into Holy Week in preparation for our Easter celebrations next weekend. 

Mr David Cloran

Assistant Principal