Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

In the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (this week’s second reading), St. Paul speaks of the importance of looking after others and refers to the notion that when we have a surplus, we give to those who have a need. St. Paul speaks of ‘striking a balance’. This is particularly relevant at Mount Carmel as I have been speaking to students over the last few assemblies and the past few newsletters about balance and harmony in life. This concept of balance continually appears in various aspects of a healthy life.  On Wednesday this week we were fortunate to host a visit by Bishop Brian Mascord and Mr. Peter Hill, the Director of Education in the Diocese of Wollongong. This visit was a part of Bishop Brian’s plan to attend every secondary school within the dioceses and to meet with the student leaders and the Year 12 cohort. Bishop Brian met with our Year 12 SRC and then spoke with the Year 12 group as a whole. At the conclusion of his meetings, Bishop Brian finished by reminding the students that the holidays provide an opportunity for rest and the restoring of balance in their lives. 

Bishop Brian was open to answer any question that the students asked and found himself answering everything from whether he does his own grocery shopping, to the Church’s view on the dignity of human life. Within these questions, he made one statement that remained in my memory as a basic truth for all Christians but specifically for the students at Mount Carmel. When the Bishop was asked about love, his simple response was that “Love is about the betterment of the other”. 

Whether this love is between a couple, a parent and child, siblings or good friends, true love has the other person at the centre and is focussed on bringing about something better for the other person. In our dealings with others, the Christian perspective on love should underpin all that we do. 

Over the past week we have held the Year 7 – 10 Parent/Teacher/Student meetings. These meetings were far more varied in their delivery than we had expected due to the late nature of the changes to COVID advice. It was beneficial to have the opportunity for face-to-face meetings on Monday and whilst we had hoped to replicate these on Thursday, this was not to be the case. The staff were asked at the last moment to change their contact to phone calls. Whilst the vast majority of these went to plan, there were some who unfortunately could not get through. Friday then saw the meetings held via zoom as was our original plan. I thank the staff for their willingness to change approaches so late and also a very warm thank you to the parents on Thursday who accepted the change to phone calls. Whilst this was certainly not our preference, it was a viable solution. I now encourage all parents to have realistic and detailed conversations with your children around their efforts and achievements over the past semester.  

Finally, I wish you all a very restful and rejuvenating break and hope that all return in term 3 with a new sense of vitality and purpose.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio
Principal