Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

The readings this weekend encourage us to reflect on the purpose of life and ask us to consider why we might struggle and slave to build wealth on earth. During the last century, the church regularly spoke of the seven deadly sins. These sins were called deadly because if we allowed ourselves to be consumed by them, they would take life away from us. One of these deadly sins is greed. When our decisions are based on how we can get more or what we are able to accumulate rather than how we can build relationships or care for those around us, our thoughts and actions can drain our energy rather than being ‘life giving’. In these readings we are reminded that there is a greater goal than accumulating wealth on earth. That goal is for eternal life by resurrection through and in Christ Jesus. Making fair and considerate decisions helps us to maintain our focus on goodness and leads us to eternal life.

On Wednesday evening, our English staff hosted a Year 7 Parent Library evening. There were over 30 parents in attendance and the evening was an opportunity for parents to chat with the English staff in a casual format. Parents were given the opportunity to borrow texts that their child might be reading so they can understand the nature of what is occurring in English. There was a large number of books donated by staff or no longer required by the College library, which were available for parents to take and add to their home collections. The evening was a lovely opportunity for parents to browse and ask questions or simply have a conversation. The intention of the evening was to give parents the opportunity to engage with their child’s learning and to also come into the College grounds as a first stage after COVID restrictions. I thank the English staff along with Mr Lozelle and Ms Miller for their involvement in the evening and availability to parents. Thank you also to Mrs Murphy who has now provided several opportunities for parents to come into the College and find out how they might assist their child’s learning in English and Literacy. Hopefully we will be able to offer similar evenings to parents of students in other year groups.

Next week our Year 12 students will begin their Trial HSC examinations. These students missed a number of opportunities last year for exam type practice and many of them will be nervous leading into the experience. I have laser cut a quote that sits on my office wall that I encourage the students to regularly reflect on. It is a quote from St Mary MacKillop which simply says; “Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God”. For our students, I hope this calms the nerves enough for them to realise that if they have worked to capacity, their work will be rewarded. Please keep our Year 12s in your thoughts and prayers that they gain greatly from the experience of their Trials.

Last Friday, I sent a letter to all parents outlining some proposals for the start of 2023. This letter explained changes to lesson lengths and requested feedback on proposals for a change to the start and conclusion times of the day, as well as possible changes to our senior school structure and finally, changes to the junior girls’ uniform. There was a link in this letter to a survey where parents have an opportunity to give their opinion and make further comment. The link was re-shared today. I encourage all parents to feedback on these proposals by Monday so that we can determine the next step.

As part of the survey above, some parents have raised other issues worth mentioning. One large concern is the process of student drop off and pickup. There is a very short space of time in both mornings and afternoons where the carpark and surrounding streets are very congested. I remind parents that courtesy and following road rules are essential even in the carpark. Please watch for pedestrians and it is vital that students are picked up from the carpark and parents do not drive up into the College to collect students. This is where the buses pick up and they require a clear run. Since they take hundreds of students offsite, they will have priority. Often by about 3:30, much of the congestion has dissipated so possibly delay your pickup by 10 minutes to avoid delays.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio