Acting Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Coordinator
2023 HSC High Achievers' Ceremony
It was wonderful to see our distinguished and high achievers recognised for their efforts and achievements in front of the College community this morning. Year 12 students engaged in a very successful Q&A session after the High Achievers' assembly during period 2. We congratulate the 2024 SRC for their work in putting the session together. The Q&A session is a great way for the current Year 12 cohort to gain insights and tips into the HSC year from the 2023 high achieving students, and a way of encouraging and supporting the students to take up every opportunity and strive for excellence.
Some wise words, tips or highlights from the High Achievers included:
- There is such a thing as a normal amount of stress, consider where your limit is and embrace the idea that being uncomfortable leads to growth
- Organisation was key to academic success
- Limiting technology was an effective habit for students during study. A number of students used the apps: YPT or Flora which help block social media platforms during study and make study fun with challenges/games
- Reading broadly is essential for understanding the implications of language use and provides superior information for critical responses. Students used journal platforms such as Academia and JSTOR to access peer-reviewed journals
- Practice practice practice was key to understanding the standard required for achieving at a band 6 level. Hand in your practice responses and seek to employ teacher feedback. Consider possible questions you could get at HSC by understanding the syllabus of each subject.
- Having a good support network inclusive of communicating with family and having driven friends/peers was a critical component to success in HSC.
- Asking the critical question of ‘how can I improve?’ when facing results was crucial in transforming grades.
College Uniforms
We congratulate the vast majority of the student population who have returned to school abiding by uniform and grooming expectations and we thank parents/carers for their continued support. As outlined in the College enrolment package and your child’s enrolment interview, maintaining a high standard of presentation is an important aspect of our community. Each student is the face of Mount Carmel Catholic College. The way they dress and present themselves, travelling to and from the College and on school grounds is noticed. We have College uniform and grooming guidelines in place to create a safe and supportive environment for all. We remind parents/carers of the expectations and ask that you review pages 17-20 of the diary for any clarification. Please ensure your child has a College hat as the hat must be worn at all times whilst on the College ovals and basketball courts.
A gentle reminder to parents/carers to please label all uniform items, lunch containers, drink bottles etc with their child’s full name. We already have a significant number of items in lost property. If your child has lost a garment, lunch containers or drink bottle, please have them check student services at the front office.
With regard to College uniform, can we ensure that the College Sports jacket is only worn on Tuesdays and days where your child is wearing their sport uniform.
Recess Dentention 2024
This year, the recess detention process has changed slightly to assist students in improving their organisational skills and habits. This process will now include students sending an email home to parents during the recess detention to help discuss the causes of their detention and what the student intends to do to improve their habits and prevent future detentions. Parents of students who are on a recess detention will now receive the following email from the College in preparation for their student’s individual email at recess time:
Mount Carmel Catholic College endeavours to work in partnership with families in the learning of each student, this involves communication that notifies parents and carers of organisational practices that have negatively impacted your child’s ability to complete their learning at the College for the day.
The purpose of this correspondence is to inform you that your child has been placed on recess detention today in response to a uniform and grooming concern or lateness to the College.
As part of this recess detention process, the students are asked to reflect on their habits and consider strategies for improving these habits to avoid detention and maximise their experience of the College in the future. This will involve considering their response to some questions and then constructing an email on their reflection which they will send to you during the detention. This reflection requires students to share with you why they are currently in detention and how they hope to respond to this in the future. It is reviewed by the detention teacher prior to being sent to you.
Please discuss this matter with student in support of their organisational habits. We thank you for your partnership in ensuring that students receive a positive, holistic educational experience at Mount Carmel Catholic College. Should you require additional information, please feel free to contact your child’s Pastoral Advisor.
We look forward to working in partnership with you and your children throughout 2024. Thank you in anticipation of your support this year.
Miss Rebecca Toogood and Mrs Theresa Moore
Acting Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Coordinators
Upcoming Parent Webinars
Elevate Education
Elevate works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you’ll learn how you can help support your children at home by reinforcing the skills they’re learning at school.
Their upcoming webinar on motivation will give you some easy-to-implement strategies to help your child get focused on achieving their goals this year.
How to Get (and Keep!) Your Child Motiviated
Wednesday 14 February (AEDT) 6:30-7:30pm
Here’s what Elevate will be covering on the night:
- Using praise and reassurance to motivate your child
- Setting relevant and effective goals for your child
- Helping your child to stay motivated long-term
