Mr Steve Lo Cascio

As parents of students in Year 12 are aware, this coming Wednesday night will see the final opportunity for Parent/Teacher/Student meetings before the HSC commences in just a few weeks’ time. Significantly, these discussions will be heavily informed by the students' Trial HSC results and teachers will be able to provide practical strategies with regards to how students can most effectively focus their attention on these upcoming exams. I encourage parents and students to make yourselves available for these interviews - the last of their journey here at Mount Carmel.

I also wish our Year 11 cohort the best as they commence their final week of classes in their Preliminary Course. Year 11/Preliminary Exams commence Monday 12th September and extend until Tuesday 20th September. Given the significance of this examination period, students are only required at school when they have a timetabled examination on and are encouraged to use times outside of this to prepare for future tasks. Normal classes will resume from Wednesday 21 September until the end of term, and Year 12 coursework will begin from the start of Term 4.

You may be aware that COVID isolation protocols for the general NSW population are due to change from Friday this coming week. Please note that we are yet to receive confirmation regarding how these changes translate into school settings, however, as soon as this information becomes available, we will communicate it soon after.

With that being said, I remind everyone of our ongoing COVID-safe reporting measures for Term 3. These stipulate that whilst household close contacts who have no symptoms may continue to attend school, they must adhere to the following requirements:

• The school is notified that they are intending to return as a close household contact
• They must wear a mask indoors except when eating or exercising
• Once positive cases have completed their 7-day isolation period, they should wear a mask for an additional 3 days (for days 8 to 10)

Please note that students who test positive for COVID-19, or who are unwell or showing COVID-19 symptoms, must continue to isolate at home.

All the best for the week ahead,

Recently, I listened to an interview with the American writer Anthony Doerr in which he spoke about the power of books and storytelling. I had known of the writer and one of his books – the award-winning novel All the Light We Cannot See – but had never heard him speak nor read any of his works. I have in the corner of my study an ever-growing pile of books waiting to be read. Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land is one of those books. 

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the author speak about his love of reading and the joy he had in imitating writers who participated in the magic of making different worlds come to life by putting ‘black marks down on white paper.’ Books explained to Doerr what it meant to be here. They somehow enabled him to live multiple lives and visit multiple places.

The most powerful childhood experience Doerr can remember is that of his mother reading to him the C.S. Lewis series The Chronicles of Narnia. One of his favourite books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is, according to Doerr, a marvellous metaphor for what a book actually is. ‘You open this cabinet and there’s this rich colourful world inside… That’s what a book is – a portable universe you can carry around with you.’

An interesting part of Doerr’s account of his childhood included his relationship with his grandmother who came to live with the family when Doerr was fourteen. Her battle with Alzheimer’s disease made Doerr profoundly aware of the fragility of memory and how precious past recollections are for the present. The tension between forgetting and memory colours Doerr’s exploration of continuity and interconnectedness. As a writer, he said he wanted to ‘wake the reader up’ and encourage them to ‘feel the awe of being alive.’

The comment that stayed with me long after the interview had ended was ‘You feel recognised in a book.’ This is so very evident in the English classroom. The look of recognition when a student encounters a character who speaks their pain or their disappointment, shows their delight or their frustration, acts out their anger or craves their need for love and acceptance, is witnessed daily as students read for pleasure.

The challenge for parents and teachers today is to redress the trend which sees reading for pleasure decline as students move through adolescence. Reading most definitely matters because it supports literacy and learning in school, it enables young people to develop their own informed perspective on life, and it allows them to understand and empathise with those in different situations, times and cultures.

Mrs Clare Murphy

English Coordinator & Literacy Instructional Coach

Mount Carmel P&F Clothing Pool sells pre-owned College uniforms at less than half the cost of new uniforms. 

You can bring your child's uniforms to the shop when they no longer fit or you no longer need them (Uniforms must be clean and in good condition. Blazers must be dry cleaned). The Second-hand Uniform shop will sell the uniforms on your behalf, and after they sell the P & F Committee will transfer the money to your nominated bank account.  The P&F will keep 10% of all sales.  You are also able to donate the uniforms and then the P&F will benefit from 100% of the sales.  

The uniform shop is open from 2.30-4pm on the days listed below. Usually the first Monday of each month.  The shop will next be open on Monday 5 September 2022. The shop is run by parent volunteers to raise money for the P&F Committee and to help families of the school with low-cost uniforms. 

If any parent wishes to volunteer in the Second-hand Uniform Shop please contact the school office.

Term 4 2022

Monday 7 November

Monday 5 December

Cash only - no EFTPOS facilities