Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

“Treat others as you would like them to treat you” (Luke 6: 27-38).

The above phrase from this Sunday’s Gospel is perhaps one of the simplest and best-known teachings of Jesus. The concept, if applied to every decision we make, would automatically create a world where the dignity and care of the other person is paramount in our actions. In large communities, this is sometimes difficult to achieve because we are to some extent, conditioned to compete and to ensure that we accumulate wealth and power. Our success, however, does not need to be at the expense of others. We can compete against ourselves to ensure improvement. We can compete as a team to overcome a hurdle or obstacle. We can compete with what we know to be wrong or unfair. In each of these, the competition can be positive focussed and based on mutual benefit. If our goal is for improvement but our philosophy is to treat others the way we wish to be treated, we can achieve both outcomes. 

Whilst we are only three weeks into the year, we have already held a number of events that highlight the vision of the College. Our Year 10 and Year 11 families have attended Commencement evenings which explained our processes around assessment procedure and expectations as well as reinforcing our core business of learning. All members of the College participated in our Beginning of Year Mass, which drew our attention to the Catholic journey and focus of our year. Our Year 7 parents and students attended the Meet and Greet evening where they were able to look around the College and speak with Pastoral Advisors and visit the classrooms where their child learns every day. These special events reinforce the notion that Mount Carmel Catholic College is a “Christ-centred community providing opportunities for excellence”. This vision needs to be the focus of what we do and how we do it and students make a deliberate decision to reinforce this in their own actions. Over the coming weeks, there will be many more opportunities and as always, I encourage involvement wherever possible.

Next Wednesday evening (Feb 26) we will be hosting our Yr 7, 2026 Info evening. This evening commences at 6pm with an opportunity for anyone to tour the College and visit classrooms and view Key Learning Area (KLA) displays. After these tours led by our student volunteers, there will be a formal presentation by key staff commencing at 7 pm in the Champagnat Centre. This formal presentation will outline what the College stands for and expects. It is an opportunity for those already in our community to reinforce what you know and for those new to us to experience welcome and understand who we are. For these reasons, I encourage anyone who is considering submitting and enrolment application for Year 7 next year to attend this evening. Both students and parents should attend and prospectuses can be collected on the evening. Please let your friends know of this evening if they have a child in Year 6. 

On March 6, Transport NSW will have representatives at the College to observe students and the use of OPAL cards on the afternoon school buses. Please be aware that the number and frequency of buses is determined by Transport NSW and they rely heavily on OPAL card data to decide this. Students are expected to tap on and off every trip so the correct need for buses can be fulfilled. It also goes without saying that we would expect the highest level of respect and cooperation to be shown by students to bus staff and other passengers. Please have a conversation with your child if they catch a bus to ensure they have an OPAL card and use it every trip.

Finally, on Tuesday March 4, our Parents and Friends will hold their AGM. At this meeting, the P&F Executive for 2025 will be elected and some formal requests for funding will be made by the College. The P&F is a vital contributor to the College both financially and in policy direction. I encourage parents to come to these meetings and be an active part of the College community. The meeting will commence at 7pm in room I3 (at the front of the College).