Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics undertake fasting and abstinence. When we fast, we reduce the amount of food we eat to one meal and whatever is necessary for us to function within the day. When we abstain, we do not eat meat. The expectation for Catholics is that fast and abstinence occurs on both Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On all other Friday’s (including those in Lent), the law of common practice of penance is that we set aside specific time to pray, carry out an act of self-denial or specifically help others. The reason for these acts is to remind us of the sacrifice that Christ made for our benefit and to ensure that our thoughts are directed toward those other than ourselves. In the act of fasting or self-denial, we are asked to stop and think about our own values and our approach to others. Just as St John the Baptist preached about the coming of God and repentance before Jesus’ public ministry, we also have the opportunity during Lent to prepare for the reflection that takes place during the sorrow and celebration of Easter. 

As a sign of this sacrifice, our students have been reminded that the College canteen will not be serving meat products on Fridays during lent. Whilst this is not a specific church requirement, it is a symbol of the sacrifice and thinking of others that we specifically promote during lent and the preparation for Easter. 

On Thursday I attended an online launch of the celebration of the Bicentennial of Catholic Education in Australia. Catholic Education began by Fr John Therry at Parramatta in 1820 and has grown to around 1750 Catholic schools with some 770,000 students educated by almost 100,000 staff. The impact of Catholic education over the past 200 years has been enormous and has functioned with the ongoing support of our families. As we move through this year, we hope to be involved in further celebrations and information sharing around Catholic education.

Today we held the College Swimming Carnival. This year was a competitors only event with around 70 students nominating to attend. These students were given the opportunity to trial for a position in the College swimming team that will represent Mount Carmel at the diocesan carnival. Over the last few weeks, we have had students representing us in tennis and touch football. These events give students an opportunity for excellence in sport and I thank the students, staff and parents for the work involved in organising and enabling students to participate. Successes from these various events will be published in other parts of this and following newsletters.

It appears at this stage that we will be permitted to hold our Opening College Mass in week 6 as we had hoped. With the recent easing of COVID restrictions, we can now have all the students involved, however, we unfortunately are still not allowed to invite parents. We look forward to a time when we are able to have parents joining us for these celebrations.

A reminder that next Friday (February 26), We will be holding our scheduled Staff Development Day. Once again, I thank parents in advance for your support of this important staff professional development.

Our Year 7, 2022 Information Evening will be held on Monday March 1. The specific format for this evening will be communicated to all parents through a letter in the next week. I ask anyone who may be considering enrolling children at Mount Carmel in Year 7 next year, to keep this evening free and potentially join us. The final format of this evening will obviously be determined by COVID safety considerations at the time. Please circulate this date to any friends whom you know may also be interested in enrolling. 

Again a reminder that the Parents & Friends Annual General Meeting will be held on March 9. The meeting will occur on site and parents will need to sign in. At this meeting, the P&F executive for 2021 will be elected. Should anyone wish to stand for these positions, please attend on the evening. P&F meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month during school terms and are held in room I3 at the College. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. 

Mr Steve Lo Cascio