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Dear parents, friends, staff and students,
Welcome back to our students. It was fantastic to see the smiling faces and energy of the Year 7 – 11 students returning last Monday. On the first day we had a 96% attendance rate and students were very conscious and cooperative in ensuring our health requests were being followed. I thank all students for their continued mask wearing and cooperation regarding remaining in their designated areas and not sharing equipment at recess. As directives change, the students will be notified. Some of these are in Mr Cloran’s section of this newsletter.
Next Monday (November 1) is All Saints Day with Tuesday being All Souls Day. In the Catholic tradition, we remember and celebrate all those who have gone before us and have moved to eternal life. We often avoid discussing or referring to death for fear that we might bring up sad memories for those around us. Of course, death does raise emotions of loss and grief, but the remembrance celebrated next week with All Saints and All Souls helps us to focus on the gift of the opportunity to join back with God after this life. Our faith holds that we are a people of hope and that this hope is based on the understanding that God will look after those who are faithful to His teachings. The knowledge that we always have the option of repentance and full forgiveness is also a basic belief of our faith. For each of us, this belief is what fuels our hope in reuniting fully with God at the end of our life on earth. For those who have already died we pray;
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
May Your perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Today we celebrated World Teacher’s Day. Each year, we take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the teachers for the work that they do with our students. During the remote learning period, I received many emails and comments expressing appreciation to the staff for the work they do and the care they take in giving opportunities for excellence to your children. On behalf of the community, I thank the teachers and wish them a happy World Teachers’ Day.
During this week we have had our HSC students collecting their final portfolios. Unfortunately, very clear health directives were given that prohibited any graduations, formals or farewell ceremonies prior to December 3. This was to reduce the possibility of COVID spread as a result of this type of event. Following consultation with the Student Representative Council, the decision was made to make the portfolios available as some students may wish to use these in their applications for employment or university entry. We will be building the major awards into the formal which is planned for early December. I would like to congratulate our Year 12 students on their maturity in disappointment and assure them that they have the full support of the Mount Carmel community as they complete their final preparations before the HSC exams.
On Tuesday November 9, we will be holding our next Parents and Friend’s meeting for 2021. This meeting will be the final one for the year and will once again be held via zoom. I encourage parents to join into this meeting. It will begin at 7pm and can be accessed by:
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/62597895255?pwd=Y283OHRjRmtMcE9yUXo5UFZSYUF1dz09
Password: s8DY7NO9
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
There has been a genuine sense of excitement and relief around the College this week following our successful return to face to face learning after a 17 week absence. Despite the great deal of work that had been invested over the past few weeks by many people in preparation for this return, the success of these efforts was always going to be dependent on the support we received from students and their parents, and for this, we are most grateful.
In speaking to a number of students throughout the course of the week, it is clear that the greatest COVID-safe adjustment has been with regards to the mandatory wearing of masks while indoors. I thank the students who have taken this adjustment in their stride by complying with this public health order mandate. As I mentioned to all students earlier in the week, their support of this, and other measures, has ensured that our collective focus can remain on supporting their transition back to school.
Early this week, we received confirmation that there was to be a slight relaxing of the restrictions that are placed on sports. Fortunately, this means that for students in Years 7-10, a modified Tuesday sports program will be running again and Miss Bowen will be communicated specific details to all students in due course. This also means that we will be reverting to our normal Tuesday bell times as of this coming week. Secondly, the relaxing of this directive will also allow ball sports to recommence in each year group's respective outdoor grassed area from Monday.
A reminder that in order to support the staggered departure of students in the afternoon, those who have class Period 6 in an odd numbered classroom in Week A of our College timetable, will leave their rooms at 3:05pm (and vice versa for Week B). As we are now entering Week A of the timetable, parents who pick up their children of an afternoon are encouraged to ask their child what classroom they are in during Period 6 each day in order to determine their dismissal time. Students being picked up are asked to move directly to their waiting car, while students who are walking home will be asked to leave the College grounds as efficiently as possible. For those catching a bus, the separate waiting areas that were introduced this week for each year group will continue until further notice.
Finally, I once again 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.
With thanks for your continued support,
David Cloran
Assistant Principal
First Reading Dt 6:2-6 Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength.
Second Reading Heb 7:23-28 The priesthood of Christ lasts forever.
Gospel Mk 12:28 - 34 The wise scribe asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment.
Jesus tells us that loving God completely, loving our neighbors, and loving ourselves are our highest commandments.
How are all the other commandments based on these?
Is it ever all right (not sinful) to do something wrong, if no one will ever know about it and no one will ever be hurt by it? How does committing a sin—even a secret sin that is never caught—hurt you?
Every time you make a selfish decision, you teach yourself to be selfish. Every time you lie, you teach yourself to be dishonest. Every time you make a considerate decision, you teach yourself to be caring. Every time you make a moral choice, you teach yourself to have integrity. Every time you do the right thing, you feel more confident, you like yourself more, and you respect yourself more.
If everyone understood these concepts, how would it change the world?
Is it possible to know and understand these concepts, but to ignore them? What kind of decision would it be to ignore them? Why would someone do that?
Whom do you respect? Why do you respect him or her?
Do you respect yourself? Why or why not?
Jesus and this scribe seem to like each other. They affirm each other’s words. It’s hard to tell who’s the teacher and who’s the learner.
The Church is Open and waiting to see you!
Not sure of the mass times for your parish or other news go to this link, it has links to the different parishes in the Wollongong diocese.
Mrs Christine Meharg
REC Coordinator
It has been wonderful to welcome students back to the College and to see and hear the enthusiasm about returning to school. The remainder of term 4 provides students with the opportunity to refocus and re establish their good learning habits and prepare themselves for their next phase of learning next year
Students in Year 11 have received their Academic Report via Compass. This report provides rich feedback to students on their performance and progress in the Preliminary course and should help them to reflect on their areas of strength as learners and inform their areas for further growth during the HSC year. To assist in supporting students academic development, Tuesday Senior Afterschool Study will resume in Week 5 - 9 for Year 11 Students ONLY. To further support students in meeting the HSC Minimum Standards, an invitational intensive tutoring program will commence this term. Year 11 students who have not yet met the minimum standards in one or more of the components (writing, reading and numeracy) will have the opportunity to sit the tests during Week 5 and 6 as the first stage of the intensive tutoring program.
Year 12 continue to be able to access support from their teachers face to face, during their regular timetabled lessons. Students are encouraged to continue to seek feedback and revision as they finalise their preparations for the HSC exams. Information regarding the HSC exams and NESA COVID Safe Protocols have been shared with students via the Year 12 google classroom.
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,
It has been great to welcome all students in years seven to eleven, and staff, back this week to face to face learning. The transition after a seventeen week hiatus has been a very positive one. During Pastoral Care lessons earlier today, a range of activities were conducted to further enhance the re-establishment of relationships and community and to provide time for students to re-focus on their learning. A brief overview of these initiatives include:
- Year Seven: A reflection of the concept of Family Spirit and interclass Trivia competition
- Year Eight: Presentation of Coordinator Awards and Class Trivia competition
- Year Nine: Presentation of Coordinator Awards and Individual Pastoral Activities
- Year Ten: Preparation time for the final ROSA Assessment Tasks over the upcoming week
- Year Eleven: Careers survey and HSC Goal setting activities
Many thanks to all Coordinators, Assistant Coordinators and Pastoral Advisors who organised and supervised each of these activities.
Elevate Education
Elevate Education has continued to provide parents of Mount Carmel Catholic College exclusive access to their Parent Webinar Series for Term 4, 2021. To reserve your spot for the remaining sessions, register for free below:
Elevate Education Webinar registration
The webinars run live online from 7pm – 8pm where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly. The remaining two sessions scheduled for this term are outlined below.
- November 10 Exam Preparation tips to deepen revision
- November 24 Exam-Room skills
Should you have questions or would like to contact Elevate directly, their details are listed below.
Phone: 1300 667 945
Email: auscoaching@elevateeducation.com
https://au.elevateeducation.com
https://www.facebook.com/ElevateEd/
Regards
Mr Simon Huntly
Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Coordinator
This is a kind reminder to all the families leaving Mount Carmel Catholic College at the end of 2021. Please ensure any outstanding school fees are finalised by 12 November 2021.
If you are experiencing difficulty finalising your account balance please contact the Finance Team immediately via mccc-finance@dow.catholic.edu.
2022 FEES OPTION OF PAYING BY INSTALMENT
Our finance new system provides the opportunity to generate regular instalments with due dates, rather than having an annual bill which is due for payment, in full, 30 days after invoicing. If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2022, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available here. On completion of the request please email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.
IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The instalment request carries over from school to school.
The act of reading plays a crucial role in everyone’s life. Research tells us that being a confident, competent, and committed reader has wide-ranging positive effects on the personal, social and intellectual wellbeing of people from early childhood to the senior years. In thinking about the value and importance of reading, I am reminded of an interview with the English writer, Jeanette Winterson, where she spoke passionately about the wonderful gift books were to her as she was growing up. She called them her ‘magic carpets’ and spoke about their power to ‘take you places’ and to ‘be your friends.’ During her childhood – growing up in the city of Manchester – the local library was the hub of the community, and no child was deprived of access to books. It was a world rich in possibility, wonder and awe.
Winterson went on to speak about literacy in our contemporary world and the fact that many children are now deprived of the rich experience of reading in a world full of distractions, fragmentation, and immediate gratification. She asserted that ‘we have an inside’ – a mind and heart – that needs to be nourished by reading and that this, in turn, will provide us all with ‘a complex language to deal with our complex world.’
Reading can be ‘difficult’. Winterson attests to this. From decades of research, we understand that reading is an active process of making meaning from signs and systems of signs. Reading is also a transaction between the reader and the text: the text acts upon and shapes the reader and the reader acts upon and shapes the meaning of the words on the page. Skills in reading for meaning are dependent on the reader’s knowledge of the world and the complexity and accessibility of the text. As readers, what we bring to the text is critical:
- Our experiences of the process of reading (decoding symbols; knowledge of the structures and features of language; and our understanding of the codes and conventions of types of text).
- Our experiences of the world: we use our existing knowledge of the world to connect new ideas, synthesise these and make meaning.
Reading is therefore not merely a mechanical process of decoding print, but rather, a thinking process where we make meaning from letters, words, word order, and the meaning cues and context of the text, the author and the reader. Reading is about making sense out of the written word, not simply sound. We can decode the words without really understanding the meaning of what we are reading. Prediction is a central feature of the reading process: we predict and then have these predictions confirmed or denied by the text as we read on. The experience a reader brings to the text is critical in this meaning-making process. The bank of words a reader has stored away also has a huge part to play in their understanding of texts. When a reader’s language or vocabulary resource is limited, their ability to comprehend texts is limited also.
So, the two very important capacities a student needs to read for meaning and understanding are a rich background knowledge of the world and an extensive repertoire of words which are familiar to them. Both knowledge of the world and knowledge of words are therefore critical for the act of reading.
Tuesday Recreational Sport
We are very pleased to announce the College sport is returning next week. Whilst there are still some directives and limitations in place, students in Years 7-10 will participate in on-site school sport on Tuesday. The sport schedule will be posted to Compass on Monday morning for students to refer to.
2022 Sport
2022 sport planning is well underway. In the coming weeks, students will be able to nominate their selected sport pattern for next year. Permission notes will also be distributed to the whole school and will need to be returned to each student's pastoral advisor.
TERM 4 SPORT CANCELLATIONS
Due to the impact of COVID-19 across New South Wales, the School Sport Unit and CSNSW Sport has regrettably made the decision to cancel all NSWCCC, MacKillop, Polding, NSWPSSA, and NSW All Schools events on the revised term four calendar:
CANCELLED
NSWCPS Golf 18 Hole & 9 Hole Tournaments @ Blackheath
POSTPONED
NSWCCC Girls Cricket 2022 Selections Wednesday 24 November @ Riverwood
Diocesan Sport - Postponed and Cancelled Events
All cancellations and postponements are announcements on the following site https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/diocesan-sport-news/
NSWCCC Sport - Postponed and Cancelled Events
All cancellations and postponements are announcements on the following site https://csnsw.sport/covid-19/21-sport-cancellations-update
Due to the extended lockdown and the ever changing COVID-19 situation further events will continue to be monitored and updates will be provided via the College Newsletter.
NSWCCC Sport Registrations
A reminder that students and their parents are responsible for monitoring the closing dates of NSWCCC Sport Registrations. Information regarding upcoming events can be accessed via https://csnsw.sport/events
NSWCCC is a pathway suitable for students playing a representative level of their sport outside of school. For instructions on how to register go to - https://csnsw.sport/help/help-guide-for-parents
NSWCCC Sport Registrations 2021:
- Individual Registrations for the following sports to attend a NSWCCC Selection - AFL, Baseball, Basketball, Cricket, Diving, Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Softball, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo
- Registrations for the following sports is through a Diocesan/Association Selection - Athletics, Cross Country, Football, Swimming, Touch, Rugby League
Representative Pathways
- MISA Website https://www.misaonline.org.au/
- Diocesan Sport News - Updates and news on Wollongong Diocese sport events and trials can be viewed at https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/diocesan-sport-news/?ref=quicklinks
- NSWCCC/CSNSW Sport News - Higher level MacKillop and CCC trials and events status can be monitored at https://csnsw.sport/news
- SCHOOL SPORT AUSTRALIA SPORT NEWS
Ms Sarah Bowen
Acting Sports Coordinator
bowens01@dow.catholic.edu.au