Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

This week’s gospel reveals what is perhaps the simplest yet most significant message of Jesus Christ. When asked by the pharisees ‘which is the greatest of the commandments’, Jesus answers simply; “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind… you must love your neighbour as yourself”. Earlier this year, I wrote about this command and explained that it presents a dual message that we must care for ourselves but must also care for each other. The first part of this quote however, directs that our love for God should be total and complete. In practice, for Christians in general, this love of God should be evident in the way that we deal with those around us. These dealings should be based in the values and role modelling of Jesus Himself. His message around loving God fully and expressing this through love of others is consistent throughout His parables and stories. Taking time to examine our own lives and how we act toward others can help us to develop better attitudes and behaviours and support us in spreading God’s love.

Today is World Teachers’ Day. As part of this, our Student Representative Council arranged for thank you notes to be written to the staff to recognise their efforts and contributions to the lives of our students. Whilst many of us who have left school cannot often recall specific lessons or content, we will often remember a teacher that made a positive impact on our lives. This may be someone who had a passion for their subject, a unique method of teaching or someone who enthused us to learn. In a recent interview for a teaching position, I asked the applicant, who was qualified to teach multiple subjects, which one was their passion. Their response was one that I had not previously heard and filled me with excitement. They said; “my passion is for my students. I don’t really mind which of my subjects I teach, as long as I can work with the students”. Needless to say, they now work at Mount Carmel and have lived up to the expectation they set during that interview. We are fortunate to have people who care and have the students as a focus and, whilst all of us may have good and bad days, I am proud to have the dedicated and caring staff that we have at Mount Carmel.

Lord, I pray for perseverance for the teachers in my community. As the school year continues, give them the diligence to perform each day with excellence. Help them to give themselves grace for the days that don’t exactly go as planned. Help them to pick up where they left off, and continue to teach with joy, patience, and perseverance. Amen.

                                     https://garmentsofsplendor.com/19-prayers-for-teachers/

Earlier this year, I notified parents through the newsletter that we will have two Pupil Free Staff Development Days this term. This is a result of agreements around the implementation of new syllabuses. Please note as previously notified that these SDD Pupil Free Days are on Friday November 10 and Monday November 13.

On November 7, we will be holding our final P&F meeting for 2024. As always, this is an opportunity to hear what has been happening at the College and become involved in discussions. The meeting will occur in room I3 (at the turning circle) and will begin at 7pm. I encourage parents to attend and be part of this meeting.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio