As we return to something that resembles a “post-covid normal”, it is important to remember that the virus is still present, and that certain protocols and health guidelines are in place with respect to testing and absence due to infection. Catholic Schools NSW has provided schools with a recent document titled “Covid Smart Measure for Term One 2023”. Below are several key points relating to this document.

• Parents and carers are still asked to advise the school if their child has tested positive for COVID-19. Parents are requested to notify the school specifically of the reason why their child is absent from school, as per normal absence protocols. This can be done via the Compass portal or by contacting the school directly
• Stay home if unwell or showing even the mildest of symptoms
• Keep up to date with vaccinations – including the flu vaccine, which is available from your local GP, pharmacy, or Aboriginal Medical Service
• Get tested immediately for COVID-19 if you become symptomatic and isolate until you receive a negative result and are symptom free
• Practice good hand hygiene by washing regularly with soap and water.

Further to this information, the College still has a supply of Rapid Antigen Tests that will be distributed to all students next week to assist with our ongoing endeavours to provide a safe and supportive environment. Thank you for your support with this ongoing initiative.

Mr Simon Huntly

Mrs Christine Meharg

I am sitting at my desk in the common staffroom – a space which houses sixty-five other teachers – and looking up at a quote I have pinned to my noticeboard. The quote is from my favourite poet T.S. Eliot who asks the following questions: ‘Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’

I heard Eliot’s words repeated by Professor Maryanne Wolf last Sunday morning on ABC radio’s The Minefield – a program which explores the social, cultural, and ethical issues which make up the complexities of our modern world today. Last week’s topic was literacy – a capacity very dear to my heart. One of the hosts – Scott Stephens – spoke passionately about the critical importance of literacy stating that his ‘whole life has been spent in the company of books’, a practice he described as ‘an act of encounter’. In warning that ‘we are on the brink of a new age of illiteracy’, he urged his listeners not to equate reading with mere consumption but rather as an act of attention.

This mention of the word ‘attention’ echoed the message of our dux of 2022, Gabriel Garcia, in the speech he delivered at last Friday’s special assembly. In speaking about the importance of ‘a commitment to hard work and diligence’, Gabriel referenced the French philosopher Simone Weil who stated that ‘Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity’. He urged students to tune out the distractions and silence the noise around them in order to be fully present in the moment. He linked attentiveness with wisdom, understanding, creative expression, critical thinking and self-reflection. And he challenged students to ‘be attentive to the things around us worthy of attention – worthy of our time, consideration, and understanding.’ 

Young people today – and the not so young as well – are being bombarded with constant information. The acts of skimming, scanning, scrolling, and word-spotting, have become the typical and at times superficial way in which we respond to our busy world. What is being lost in this constant exposure to noise, fragmentation and transience is the ability to be still, to linger, to wait and delay gratification, to think and to reflect. And, as a result, self-knowledge, empathy, and wisdom are waning too. I often use the expression counter-cultural when discussing the educational, social, and spiritual needs of our young people today. I think as parents and teachers, that is exactly what we are being called to be. I hope we have the courage and the will to be just that.

Clare Murphy

English Coordination and Literacy Instructional Coach

An exciting start for the Languages Department! Our Year 8 students have embraced their Italian and Spanish language learning with much enthusiasm and excitement. Our ‘Introduction to Languages’ unit has provided students with an insight into the relationship between culture and language. Students had the opportunity to travel virtually to a region of Spain or Italy of their choice and create a virtual postcard to send to a friend.

Our Year 12 Spanish class is hard at work improving upon their conversational skills for their upcoming assessment task. Over the holidays they continued to work on their Spanish by challenging themselves to read novels by well-known Spanish authors such as Isabel Allende. Students have acknowledged that this has improved their comprehension and enriched their vocabulary which they are now able to incorporate into their coursework.

• School fees for 2023 have now been invoiced and can be viewed in the COMPASS Parent Portal.
• Fee statements have now been emailed with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2023.
• Fee Statements will show your Instalment breakdown and Bpay payment details. 

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: 

• The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.   
• Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.  
• If an amendment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc. you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates.  Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary. 

REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS 

SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office.  For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention.  Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts centrally and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools. 

SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES 

Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees.  If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school finance office.  The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools. 

IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS 

Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments.  If you wish to avail yourself to this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website.  On completion, email Form to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office.  Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement.  Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency. 

If you are experiencing genuine financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments.  This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the finance office.  Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances.  If you wish to submit an application, please do so at your child’s school.  Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application. 

For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2022, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession.    You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office. 

For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website. 

All Year 12 School Fee Accounts or the Year 12 portion of the School Fee Account will need to be finalised by the end of Term 3, Friday, 22 September 2023. If you feel that you will have difficulty in paying this account and require an extension of the due date, please make contact with the Finance Office to make alternative arrangements during Term 1 in 2023.

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 Clothing Pool is open from 2.30-4pm on the first Monday of each month.  The shop will next be open on Monday 7 March 2023. 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.

Cash only - no EFTPOS facilities