What a wonderful week. Our Boys Marist basketball team has been down in Adelaide all week competing against other Marist Schools across Australia. A good start to the competition saw them win two of their group stage games and Unfortunately, on points differential they came in second place in their pool. They then took on Sacred Heart College and cruised to victory to make it the final four. Nerves beginning to build, the boys were fighting for a place in the final against Marist College Ashgrove. MCCC played a fantastic game against Marist College Ashgrove with a huge win 81-53 to take them into the final! A MASSIVE result for the boys saw them up against Marcellin College Bulleen from Melbourne and came out winners. This is a huge achievement for the team and a first ever victory in this competition for our college and from a team in the Campbelltown Area. A big congratulations to both Simun Krpez and Adam Prassad who both were instrumental in the success of the team. Simun was the MVP of the tournament and appointed Captain of the Australian Martist 10 team. A big thank you to everyone involved in getting the boys down to the tournament, supporting, coaching, fundraising and words of support. A true show of the Mount Carmel sporting spirit.

As we commence the final week of Term 1, there appears to be no slowing in the number of events that we have to look forward to. I draw your attention to a number of these that have occurred today or  that are taking place across the College in the days ahead.

Today we held our second College Assembly of the year. Mr Lo Cascio spoke about the concepts of Growth Mindset and Resilience and how we might be able to incorporate them into our learning and general challenges of life. Our Youth Ministry, Carmelite Captains and House Captains were presented with their badges and our outstanding sports successes in MISA, Marist and Diocesan competitions were recognised. Today we also hosted the Diocesan Years 7 to 9 Soccer Trials on our Ovals and across the road at Kooringa Reserve. Congratulations to all students and staff involved in the preparation, coaching and supervision of these initiatives.

Next week we anticipate finishing the term with a late flurry of activity. Below is an overview of what we have on offer:

• Year 10 Minimum Standards Testing Monday and Tuesday
• Whole school Easter Liturgy on Tuesday morning
• Staff Students Netball Game next Wednesday to raise funds for Project Compassion
• Year 12 Parent Teacher Student Interviews on Wednesday evening
• Cross Country and release of Years 7 to 10 Tracking Reports on Thursday.

Please note that school will finish at 1.45 on Thursday for Year 12 students and 2pm for Years 7 to 11. Students who are getting picked up from school can leave at these times. Those who will be catching buses at the normal times will be supervised on site until buses arrive from 3.15 onwards. Please also be reminded that sports uniform is to be worn to and from school on Thursday for the Cross Country. Again, many thanks to all staff and students for their anticipated involvement in planning, supervising and participating in these events.

Finally, a reminder to all students and carers that Winter Uniform is to be worn from the commencement of Term 2. Specific details of uniform and grooming expectations are located on pages 17 to 20 of both the Senior and Junior Student Diary.

Thanks to all members of our community for your support over the past term. I trust that everyone has a well earned break over the Easter season and returns re-energised for next term.

Mr Simon Huntly

A substantial body of educational research over the years has been focused on determining how to improve students’ knowledge of, and skills in, the discipline of writing. We know that writing is essential for success at school and life beyond school. Equipping students with the wide range of writing capabilities necessary to succeed in the world of school and beyond, depends in large part on the instructional and theoretical choices of their teachers. Central components which are known to contribute to an effective writing approach in secondary classrooms across all subject areas include the following: time, choice, the provision of real purposes and audiences, craft knowledge and skill, and a community of practice. Each of these components makes a significant difference to student engagement and writing development. And each of these components can be supported by parents and carers in the home.

This week I would like to focus on the first of these components, time. Carefully designed teaching programs – whether they be for English, History, Science or Maths – include regular, visible time for writing. Regular time for writing normalises writing and enables students to build writing repertoires, confidence and enjoyment. Regular time for writing not only validates writing as an important and empowering human activity, but shows students that writing is an essential aspect of learning that is worthy of attention and investment. To become accomplished and confident writers capable of conveying ideas and emotions with power and precision, students need time to think and to plan, to draft and to discuss, to read aloud, write again, revise, and write some more.

In our busy and distracted contemporary world, there are undoubtedly challenges in engaging young people in purposeful writing, in generating enthusiasm for writing, and in developing writing skills. The social and private worlds inhabited by our students are increasingly negotiated through language that is often instantaneous, fragmented and conveyed spontaneously as casual conversation communicated via a digital platform. Yet the academic context of school writing rewards written, literate and standard English as distinct from the more informal, spoken English dialect used in everyday communication. Studies have repeatedly shown that there is a very strong relationship between student writing confidence and writing performance. Findings have also indicated that students’ motivation is related to their self-perceptions and beliefs about themselves as writers and their writing ability. The opportunities teachers offer and the instructional approaches they implement in their classrooms need to be counter-cultural, considered and engaging if students are to write confidently and competently in imaginative, analytical, critical and powerful ways.

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach

The Technologies faculty is abuzz with activities this term. Students have been busy.

	Year 9 Information and Software Technology class has been learning to code a prototype autonomous EV car that avoids collisions and stays on the road without human interaction. Photo Yr 9IST
Year 10 Information and Software Technology have constructed their VEX EXP robot ready to use in their coding project to solve the problem of sorting coloured rings into storage locations in a simulated warehouse.
	Year 9 and 10 Food Technology classes have been exploring the use of Indigenous ingredients to prepare creative fusion foods for the Australian market and developing creative new food products in the 200hr course. Saltbush Pepperberry Crocodile
Year 10 Design and Technology class have been creating storage items for their desks.
	Year 9 Design and Technology class have developed creative solutions for the egg drop design challenge to protect an egg from a 2 metre fall.
Year 8 Technology have been creating digital solutions by coding the BBC Micro: Bits or studying engineering solutions ready for their upcoming electric vehicle design projects.
	Year 7 Technology have been developing solutions to the cup challenge to refine their design skills using the design and production process. They created cups to hold as much water as possible from a single piece of A4 paper.
Year 11 Information Processes and Technology have been analysing Information systems and their components, and putting their knowledge into practice by creating digital Decimal to Binary Converter using a spreadsheet.
Year 12 Industrial Technology Timber has studied an example of Timber production in the real world and have begun manufacturing their Major Design Project for the HSC course.