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Dear parents, friends, staff and students,
This week’s readings refer to the notion of Wisdom and the idea that it should be the basis of what we do. I am reminded of my studies for my Masters of Religious Education at ACU when we contemplated the first few lines of the Gospel of St John. These lines read:
“In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In the original Greek, the ‘word’ was written as ‘Sophos’ which roughly translates as ‘wisdom’. St John ties the idea back to the beginning of time that God has always been synonymous with wisdom and that Wisdom and God have existed from the beginning of time. For Christians, the idea is that wisdom is a basis of life and our existence does not mean that we have complete access to it. The wisdom that is referred to in the Gospels this week is around recognising that riches and wealth are not the basis for happiness. We are encouraged to get closer to God because God is wisdom. The implication is simply that if we are able to reflect on our decisions and make them with God in mind, we are a long way to reaching wise decisions. At a College level, particularly in our current environment, we are constantly weighing decisions in terms of our relationship with God through our contact with others. We may not always reach the perfect result, but whilst we use this as a part of our process, we can be guaranteed that our decisions will be closer to wise than not.
Following much publicity over the past 24 hours, it has become apparent that students in Years 7 – 11 will now be returning to face-to-face lessons from October 25. Under this new road map for return, we have contacted the bus companies and they have informed us that they will commence their normal school services from October 18. Whilst the new timelines have been stated in the media, we have unfortunately not been given any further details regarding other directives and were not aware of the changes until they were announced. In our original planning however, we had already begun much of the safety processes. At this point, I can assure parents that all air conditioners have been serviced and all windows checked for operability to ensure sufficient air flow in rooms. Hand sanitisers have been replenished and students will be required to wear masks and to remain in their own cohorts wherever possible. In Mr Cloran’s section of this newsletter, he outlines further safety processes and requirements that I ask you to note. As we move closer to the return dates and are given further formal directives, we will communicate these to you.
A number of parents would be aware that we have been working with the Catholic Education Office staff to obtain a Block Grant for the construction a new building and the refurbishment of a number of others. I am pleased to announce that these plans are in the final stages of application for council approval and we have had successes in obtaining this grant. Over the next few weeks, I hope to present more detail around the extent of the building and refurbishment that we anticipate will commence at the start of 2022.
At the end of last term, Mr Greg King left Mount Carmel to take up an appointment with the Association of Independent Schools. Following his resignation, we undertook our recruitment processes and I am pleased to announce that Mrs Denise Tyra has been appointed as the new PDHPE Coordinator. I also welcome Miss Sophie Heath who will be taking Mr King’s classes for the remainder of the year.
As stated in the last newsletter last term, due to the impacts of COVID, there have been a number of events that have been cancelled or postponed until the new year. Our finance office has been working to apply credits to fees for these. On your next fee instalment, there will be a number of credits applied for these events and also for the sport and bus contributions that have not been accessed. These amounts will vary between year groups and students depending on what you had been charged for and what has been cancelled. Please feel free to contact the office should you have any questions.
As always, a very big thank you to the staff, students and parents for your flexibility and ongoing support during remote learning.
Ite in VeritateMr Steve Lo Cascio
Principal
As we return to the new term I take the opportunity to outline a number of the COVID-19 developments and directives that will support our safe return to school over the coming weeks. At the outset, and as you would appreciate, many of these directives have changed at rather short notice in recent days. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, we will keep you up to date with these developments as they are made known to us.
As you would be aware, any students or teachers on school grounds from the start of this term, are required to wear a mask at all times, regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors. The only exception is when we are in the act of eating or drinking. Similar rules still exist for all students on public transport to or from school. Students are, and will continue to be, reminded of basic hygiene practices such as keeping their distance from others wherever possible and regularly using one of the many hand hygiene stations situated around the College.
In terms of our arrangements with our local bus companies, we have been notified that these services will resume on Monday 18 October, in line with our Year 12 students returning. While parents are still encouraged to drop their children at school from their respective commencement dates, please also be aware that the public health order still prohibits carpooling with anyone beyond your immediate household. It is also important that parents do not get out of their car during pickup/drop off periods. If you need to attend the College at other times, please phone ahead in case your enquiry can be handled over the phone.
Another condition that will govern our safe return to school is the cancellation of all sport activities with the exception of some activities that will take place within PDHPE classes. For this reason, we will be adjusting Tuesday bell times to run consistent with the other days of the week, up until students are dismissed at their regular Tuesday dismissal time of 2:45pm. While sport will not be taking place, students are still permitted to wear their summer sports uniform to school.
From Monday of Week 3 (18 October) schools are also required to stagger student movement in an attempt to minimise student interaction between cohorts. For this reason, we will be dismissing half of our students from class 5 minutes prior to the end of each period (based on odd/even classroom numbers) and 10 minutes prior to the bell going at the end of period 6 each day (3:05pm). This will hopefully provide some opportunities for students to leave the campus in a more gradual manner as opposed to everyone moving towards the exits at the same time.
To further limit the mixing of cohorts, it will become necessary to further divide playground areas for students in each year group. This will be done by allocating year groups to certain halves of our two football fields and volleyball courts, in addition to their existing undercover areas. Further to the ban on sporting activities mentioned above, there is also a ban on activities that require equipment, such as ball games. Such activities would have been challenging whilst wearing a mask, however, as soon as the directives are lifted that allow us to promote activities and movement, we will be sure to alter this expectation.
Finally, as the new term gets underway, I take the opportunity to remind families to please continue following our COVID recording procedures that have been in place for most of the pandemic, which include:
- Informing the school immediately if your child is self-isolating or undergoing testing, and informing us of the result as soon as possible.
- Following sickness with flu-like symptoms, ensuring your child is free of symptoms and can present a negative COVID-19 test, before attending the College site for any reason.
All the best for the week and term ahead and thanking you all for your ongoing support.
David Cloran
Assistant Principal
TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
First Reading Wis 7:7-11 Wisdom brings all good things.
Second Reading Heb 4:12-13 Nothing is hidden from God.
Gospel Mk 10:17-30 A man asks Jesus what he has to do to enter the kingdom
Have you considered?
The Gospel of Prosperity
There are those within the ranks of Christianity who preach what is sometimes referred to as a ‘gospel of prosperity’. They claim that wealth is a sign of favour, or approval, from God. They feel that if a Christian person is wealthy then they must be living a ‘good’ life that God is rewarding through material possession. They use this as justification for further accumulation of wealth. We can see from today’s gospel that Jesus would have something to say about such an interpretation! Jesus reminds us that our reward is not in this world in the form of wealth and material possessions, but in eternal life.
Welcome to Term 4. With plans to return to face to face learning over the coming weeks, it is important that students begin to consider what they need to do to be ready for this. It is important to assist in a smooth transition back to school that students are organised with their books, College diary, pencil case and laptop. Teachers are excited to welcome students back to the physical classroom and are planning and preparing for this.
This term sees Year 11 students transition into their HSC courses and they are encouraged to establish clear learning goals about what they want to achieve. The Change of Course process is open for eligible students, with the aim for finalising any changes by the end of Week 4. Students are reminded to contact me (millerc06@dow.catholic.edu.au) if they have any questions about the HSC and patterns of study.
Year 12 are reminded that they are able to access face to face learning with their teachers from the 18 October, if they need to. Students will be asked to indicate via a google form when they are planning to come into the College, so that Year 12 teachers are prepared for their attendance.
NESA COVID Advice and HSC Exam Timetable updates
The advice from NESA is frequently updated on their website: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/covid-19/coronavirus-advice
Ms Chardy Miller
Acting Curriculum Coordinator
Good afternoon everyone,
After 15 long weeks of Remote Learning and isolation, it is a relief that we can now start to prepare for a return to face to face teaching and learning on October 25. As we are well aware, the lockdown has presented many challenges to families and individuals and will no doubt continue to do so over the coming few weeks. However, with confirmation of our return to some sense of “normality”, it is important that we start to prepare for the resumption of school-based interactions. A significant part of this preparation is to continue to engage in our learning and to ensure that we are managing our individual and collective wellbeing. This was the focus of today’s Pastoral Lessons, particularly with respect to promotion of October being Mental Health Month.
Click on the images below if you would like to know more about Mental Health Month or the Wellbeing Toolkit, courtesy of CatholicCare and NSW Health.
A reminder that as we get ready for our return over the coming month that we will be returning to Summer Uniform and that normal expectations and regulations regarding uniform and grooming will apply upon commencement of face to face learning. Please assist us with a smooth resumption by ensuring that all students are meeting these expectations, which are contained on pages 17-19 of the Student Diary and outlined in the following link: Uniform and Grooming
As always, thank you for your cooperation and patience over the past 3 ½ months and in anticipation of your support over the coming weeks as we get ready to resume on site learning. Have a great Freedom Day on Monday.
Mr Simon Huntly
Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Coordinator
With lockdown restrictions easing and schools looking at reopening very shortly, it is timely to revisit the important aspects of the literacy landscape. Literacy is essentially a capacity for making meaning. It involves the ability to read, view, speak, listen to and write for different purposes in a range of contexts. Students become literate as they develop the knowledge and skills to use and interpret language confidently and competently. Literacy is fundamental to a student’s ability to learn at school and to engage productively in society. Whilst not a subject in its own right, literacy is central to all areas of learning.
Reading is a vital part of the literacy picture. C.S. Lewis, the author of the popular Narnia series including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, urges us to read, ‘because words matter.’ He says that ‘we read to link our stories with the stories of others and to remember that our life, like all lives, has a story.’
Stories create a pattern to human experience. While some stories draw us back into the past, others project us into the future. Some illuminate the day and others take us into the darkness of the human condition. The best storytellers lighten and enlighten the contradictions and uncertainties of life. Whether as spectators of events in stories, or as participants in their creation, we can use narratives to link, expand or create templates of reality against which to consider our own existence – particularly in difficult and complex times.
Fundamental to the reading act is a commitment to vicariously living within a world created by another. There is a natural relationship between narrative and empathy. Empathy is the ability to think what it might be like to be in someone else’s shoes, to be a thoughtful reader of that person’s story, and to understand the emotions and desires that someone so placed might experience. Empathy seeks to understand human behaviour, and not to judge it. This concept is powerfully captured in Harper Lee’s wonderful novel To Kill A Mockingbird when Atticus Finch says to his daughter, Scout – ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’. This passionate plea for compassion and understanding, is the basis of all morality and true wisdom.
When we read we enter into a dialogue with the writer – a long, unbroken conversation about the important things of life. As the plot unfolds and readers engage with characters, language and the events of the narrative, they can discover an imagined role for themselves in the story. The sense of agency, choice and optional role-taking creates greater enthusiasm for reflection upon important life issues. Stories engage our interest, curiosity, fear, and sense of wonder. American philosopher Martha Nussbaum states that ‘a child deprived of stories is deprived, as well, of certain ways of viewing other people’. They are deprived of those ‘habits of wonder’ promoted by storytelling which ‘define the other person as spacious and deep, with qualitative differences from oneself and hidden places worthy of respect.’
In our complex and uncertain COVID-19 world, the value of reading a good book and ‘going somewhere with someone’ is even more critical for our young people. Imagination, creativity, exploration and storytelling form part of an educative continuum which will in turn foster thinking, deep learning, language enrichment and compassion.
Following the current NSW Health guidelines and compliance to COVID-19 rules and restrictions, the school uniform shop will remain closed until further notice.
Our priority has been and will remain, the health and wellbeing of the students, parents and our employees. Hence, we are unable to provide personal fittings at this time.
During these challenging times, parents can shop safely with us online. We recommend that parents rely on the sizing guides for each garment and for additional guidance, they can watch the body measurement guide videos (www.ranier.com.au/measure). For any incorrect sizes, parents can rest assured that all uniform orders are entitled to free size exchanges.
It is important to note that all online orders will be processed and despatched when the uniform shop can resume operations. Personal fittings will also resume when conditions permit.
Amidst the lockdown, our office is still operating, so should parents require any assistance they can contact our customer service team at custservice@ranier.com.au.
Ranier will follow the latest government health advice and we are here to support the school, parents and students in any way we can. We thank our schools and parents for their understanding.