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Dear parents, friends, staff and students,
This Sunday, the church returns to what we call ‘ordinary time’. It is ordinary in the sense that we are not celebrating a specific season such as Lent, Advent or Christmas. It does not however, suggest that this time is less important than the others. It is sometimes within the ‘ordinary’ that we might get the best advice or the most easily understood messages. In this week’s Gospel, Matthew 9:36- 10:8, Jesus uses the phrase “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few”. As teachers at the moment, this is particularly relevant, but in a broader sense it is an invitation for each of us to take part in the harvest. We can be both harvester and crop. In the second part of this Gospel, each of the apostles is individually named and a number of them also have a brief description given about them. Perhaps Matthew goes into this detail partly to ensure that we are aware that God picks people by name and knows of us each individually. The harvest that is occurring is the richness that occurs as we grow in relationship with God. We do this by cultivating good deeds and acting in the way that God expects. One message here in the ordinary day to day of our lives is to go out and live a life that brings us closer to God but also brings others as well.
Today and Monday we will be posting our Year 7, 2024 offers. This is the culmination of a process that began mid-way through term 1 and involved an information evening and interviews with all applicants. In the end, we have applied the CEDoW advertised enrolment criteria and this will determine who is able to join our community next year. I thank all who have been involved in the process and whilst I empathise with those who have missed out, it is encouraging to know that there is such great desire to join us.
In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about two issues that I wanted to repeat to ensure all parents are aware. They are repeated here:
Over the past few weeks, we have been stretched with staff absences and the inability to access casual teaching staff. This has been a difficulty across schools this year and we had avoided large scale supervision of multiple classes until this past fortnight. On the whole, most students have been very cooperative and have worked well in these larger groups. This is not our preference and is less than ideal, however, in discussions with colleague principals, we were able to hold out on doing this longer than many. We are working toward accessing more casuals and hoping that the current spreading of illness amongst staff will ease. We are looking to ensure solid learning still occurs in an environment of safety and care.
Over the past few months, we have had a number of issues with the junior girl’s and boy’s toilets. Much of this stems from the inability of staff to easily see into the common areas in the toilets and who is gathering in them. We are looking to open new junior boy’s toilets when the senior girls move to the new amenities block at the top of the school. Following discussion with the College Captains and P&F, I will be looking to improve general supervision by placing ventilation grates at the end of the corridor which runs between the cubicles, install new lighting and re-paint. This will ensure staff can see into the corridor and will be able to supervise more appropriately. The aim is to complete these works during the next holidays.
Ite in Veritate
Mr Steve Lo Cascio
After the celebrations of Champagnat day last week subsided, Week 8 has seen a return to some pattern of regularity. Immunisations for Year 10 and catch ups for Year 7 were held yesterday. This was our second battery of vaccinations for the year with NSW Health rolling out a new online registration process via the NSW Health Portal. Thanks to those parents and carers who were able to successfully navigate their way through this process. Earlier today, Year 7 attended Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and participated in a reflective session as part of their Encounter Program. The Diocesan Netball Championships were also held today in Wollongong with over 50 players representing the College. Thanks to all students for their participation in these activities and to the staff who coordinated, supervised, and coached.
Next week will see further engagement in a range of initiatives that will support the learning and wellbeing of our students. On Wednesday afternoon, Bishop Brian Mascord will visit our HSC Class of 2023. This will be an opportunity for Bishop Brian to share his vision of Catholic Education and for students to engage in a Q & A session. College photos are being held on Thursday June 22. For those who may be away next Thursday, catch-ups will be held on Monday June 26. Please refer to Mrs Moore’s Pastoral Care and Wellbeing section of the newsletter for information regarding expectations relating to uniform and grooming. Envelopes for payment (either by cash or online) have been distributed to students today. All envelopes must be returned when photos are taken even if not purchasing. Family envelopes are available from Students Services. Please consult your respective Year Coordinator should you have any queries regarding photos.
Next Friday will see Year 7 students attend their annual excursion to the Zoo and Year 11 PDHPE students attend an Anatomy and Biomechanics excursion to the University of Wollongong. Finally, Friday afternoon will see the release of Semester One reports for Years 7 to 10. These will provide valuable information on student academic progress and an opportunity for conversations between students, staff and carers at the interviews scheduled for Week 10. A reminder that these will be held face to face on Monday and Thursday evening (June 26 and 29) and by Zoom on Friday June 30. Bookings can be made via Compass.
Thanks to all students and staff involved in these upcoming events and for the ongoing support of families and carers.
All the best for the week ahead.
Mr Simon Huntly
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ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A |
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| First Reading | Ex 19:2-6 | The Lord speaks to Moses on Mount Sinai |
| Second Reading | Rom 5:6-11 |
We are justified by the blood of Christ. |
| Gospel |
Mt 9:36 – 10:8 |
The Twelve are sent on a mission |
Mrs Christine Meharg
Year 7 - 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
Semester 1 Report Distribution
Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences provide an opportunity for parents/carers and students to meet with class teachers to review academic progress and discuss areas for growth. This conversation provides an opportunity for valuable feedback and enables parents/carers to ask questions to support students as they progress through their secondary education.
Bookings for Parent/ Teacher/ Student are now open. In preparation for this, please note the times and dates of the conferences:
- Monday 26th June - 4-8pm at the College (Champagnat Centre)
- Thursday 29th June - 4-8pm at the College (Champagnat Centre)
- Friday 30th June - 9am -12:30pm via Zoom
To support the discussions at these meetings, Year 7 -10 Semester 1 Reports will be available via Compass on the afternoon of Friday 23 June (Week 9).
If you require any assistance with making a booking, please contact the College and the office staff will be able to assist you.
Year 11 2024 Subject Selection
The Yr 11 2024 Subject Selection Information Evening at the College on Wednesday 21 June at 6.30pm in the Champagnat Centre. All Year 10 students are expected to attend this evening with a parent/guardian. This will be followed by the Subject Markets held during periods 2-5 on Thursday 22 June.
Students have now received their Automatic Eligibility Letters, which will further assist them in discerning their selections.
Students are encouraged to speak with their class teachers or KLA coordinators, if they have subject specific questions and begin considering the learning pathway that they wish to pursue for Year 11 and 12. Mr Daniels (Transition and Pathways Coordinator) is also a valuable resource for advice on TAFE, university and career pathways. Mr Clark (VET Coordinator) can also assist in answering any questions about School-Based Apprenticeships and TAFE VET courses, which students may wish to study in conjunction with courses at the College. For any questions regarding the Subject Selection process or HSC pathways, please contact Ms Miller or Ms Toogood.
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Week 9 |
Year 12 20/06/2023: 12 History Extension 21/06/2023: 12 Spanish Continuers 22/06/2023: 12 CAFS 23/06/2023: 12 Mathematics Advanced Year 11 19/06/2023: 11 Legal Studies 19/06/2023: 11 Business Studies 21/06/2023: 11 Chemistry 22/06/2023: 11 Studies of Religion 1 |
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Week 10 |
Year 12 27/06/2023: 12 History Extension 27/06/2023: 12 Society and Culture 28/06/2023: 12 Ancient History 28/06/2023: 12 Mathematics Extension 1 Year 11 28/06/2023: 11 Studies of Religion 2 28/06/2023: 11 Modern History 30/06/2023: 11 Mathematics Advanced |
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Week 1, Term 3 |
Year 12 17/07/2023: 12 Visual Arts 18/07/2023: 12 English Extension 2
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Ms Chardy Miller & Miss Rebecca Toogood
Leader of Learning - Curriculum Pedagogy & Acting Leader of Learning - Curriculum Administration
Happy International Men’s Health Week
It is International Men’s Health week – where we raise awareness about the importance of men looking after their general health, mental health and overall wellbeing.
We have a podcast which might be useful to share with the men and dads, in your school community. Dr Jason Frishman joined us to discuss fatherhood, masculinity and the importance of mateship amongst men, and especially fathers.
Listen Now - it is a podcast not to be missed!
College Photo Day
One of the many aspects that Mount Carmel Catholic College prides itself on, is a high standard of uniform and grooming. This high standard of uniform and grooming supports our identity of high expectations and pride, and aids in maintaining the great reputation the College holds in our community and beyond. The way in which each student wears their uniform is an outward sign of the pride and respect they have for their College.
With College photo day scheduled for Thursday 22 June, this is a timely reminder for students and their families of the College’s uniform expectations.
(Policy can be found in the Senior and Junior College Diary on pages 17-20)
- Students are to wear full College winter uniform including tie and blazer.
- Female students must not be wearing makeup or anything else that may attract comment from your Year Coordinator, eg. false eyelashes.
- Males must be cleanly shaven.
- Students are to have their hair groomed in a neat and tidy fashion. Females with long hair must have it tied back, not half up/half down. Male students’ hair must be above the collar and behind the ears, no undercuts or below a 2 blade, no mullet style cuts inclusive of being significantly shorter around the ear (changes in length should be blended).
- Jewellery must be in line with the uniform policy. Males - no piercings. Females - one pair of silver/gold studs or sleeper earrings, to be worn in the lower lobe. No other piercings, clear or otherwise are allowed.
On College photo day, students who do not meet the College uniform policy expectations will need to address any issues prior to having their photo taken. If issues cannot be addressed on the day, the student will need to have their photo taken on the photo catch up day, scheduled for Monday 26 June.
Students have received their photo envelope today and must have it with them on the day to present to the photographer.
We thank you for your continued support of the College uniform expectations. Any concerns, please feel free to contact your child’s respective Year Coordinator.
Elevate Education
Free Webinar for Parents
How to Help Your Child Prepare for Exams
We are excited to announce that Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinars for our parents on Wednesday 21 June @ 6.30pm (AEST)
Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school.
Please use this link to register for free
The event will be covering the following on the night:
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High Priority Work: The kinds of work students should be focusing on in the build-up to exams to maximise marks |
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Time Management: How to ensure your child has enough time to prepare for their exams |
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Practice Papers: How to prepare effectively using past questions and practice papers |
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mrs Theresa Moore
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is in the process of delivering a new curriculum for Kindergarten through to Year 12. It is the first comprehensive reform of the NSW school curriculum in three decades. The reform follows an intensive review led by Professor Geoff Masters which took place from 2018 to 2020. Two of the aims of this review focused on the need to de-clutter the curriculum so that teachers could focus on teaching essential knowledge and skills; and the importance of ensuring that schools provide students with strong foundations of knowledge and capabilities to enable them to become lifelong learners.
NSW Curriculum Reform has prioritised the core subjects of English and Mathematics to ensure the best learning outcomes for all students. Speaking from an English perspective, I can assure parents that many months of consultation and feedback have resulted in the formulation of the new English syllabus which will be implemented in 2024 for Years 7 and 9 and 2025 for Years 8 and 10.
The three key aspects of the new English syllabus for Years 7-10 are of particular interest as they wisely focus on literacy and the critical importance of reading and writing in the learning process. Whilst I am very pleased to see these areas prioritised, they have in fact been the focus in English classes at Mount Carmel for the past twenty years or more. The first of these key aspects calls for a more explicit evidence-based focus on students continuing to strengthen literacy skills by studying quality texts and further developing reading and writing skills. The second suggests that a more explicit approach to teaching writing will help students learn and practise the skills needed to create written texts for specific purposes. The third places a greater focus on reading regularly for understanding, challenge, interest, and enjoyment. This reflects evidence that regular reading enhances reading fluency and builds vocabulary, contributing to improved writing and use of language.
Over the next few weeks, I will be discussing the new English 7-10 syllabus in more detail. Given that the new syllabus’ central focus is text related, I’d like to remind everyone that the Parent Library, located in the uniform shop under the administration building, is open Monday 8am to 2pm, Wednesday 8am to 4.30pm and Thursday 8am to 2pm. Parents and carers are invited to look through the selection of books on offer and take home any of interest. These books can either become part of parents’ own home libraries or donated back to the Mount Carmel Parent Library after reading.
Clare Murphy
English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach
Around the Grounds
Mount Carmel has continued its strong year in Diocesan and MISA sport this year gaining yet another trophy to add to our already well established cabinet. From the 5 teams who have managed to make it to their MISA finals the mixed 7-9 Ultimate Frisbee team came away with an upset win over Magdalene. This adds to the 2 trophies already won last term bringing our yearly tally to 3. We have also had multiple athletes at our school achieve great things in recent weeks which are outlined below. Parents and guardians are encouraged to reach out to help recognise the sporting achievements of their children. We also have some fantastic leaders across our college community who are blossoming in their leadership. Below is pre pre-game speech prepared by Mia Aiono for the inaugural MISA U16’s Girls Rugby League team which shows the fantastic college community we have on and off the sporting field.
'Okay team, look I know we are down so many players but this is an important game. We must not focus on what we don’t have but instead what we do. We are all GREAT players and we have come a long way from where we began. A good friend of mine told me, be better than your opposition and it has really stuck with me and I hope it sticks with you too. Girls I know your faith has dropped with all our players almost out but can I tell you. BE HUNGRY & STAY HUNGRY. If you want to win then there is nothing stopping you. Rugby is not just a physical game but a mental game. So when we go out there let’s play with our hearts and stay hungry. Let’s bring it home for all the girls who missed out on playing today, for our school and for ourselves. I need you all to step up and play your best because I believe in us !! & regardless of who is on the field if we all play at our best we can win.’
Mount Carmel had three students qualify for the NSWCCC Cross Country held in Sydney. The Mount Carmel kids did really well with the following results.
| Monique: 6th | Ethan: 7th | Simon: 24th |
Monique and Ethan have now qualified for NSW All Schools. Ethan's Wollongong team also won a Gold Medal in the Under 15 boys' team event with all 6 Wollongong boys finishing in the top 10. Congratulations to these three outstanding athletes.
Rugby Union Illawara
Congratulations to Jeremiah Leota-Brown who has been selected to compete in the Country Championship and State Championship with the Illawarra Rugby Union Team. In addition to this Jeremiah is also competing in the Southern Country Championship on the 11 and 12 of July in Canberra.
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Indoor Cricket 10-12 Girls
Coach: Mr O'Connell
Win 74-69
Joint MVP Esha Jadhav & Jorja Lewis
3rd Place Play Off VS MAG
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Congratulations to the girls for finishing 3rd overall. Thankyou for an outstanding season full of beautiful bowling, fantastic fielding, high class hitting and excellent enthusiasm. Well done!
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Basketball 7-9 Boys
Coach: Mr Rodoreda
3rd Place Playyoff VS MAS
Win 33-28
MVP - Adrian Capitly
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Basketball 7-9 Girls
Coach: Mr Turnbull
Final VS THAS
Loss 43-13
MVP chelsea Baltazar
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Netball 11-12 Girls
Coach: Ms Armour
Final VS SPT
Loss 29-34
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Hockey 7-9 Boys
Coach: Mr Rees
3rd Place Playoff VS SBCC
Loss 3-0
MVP Harry Roach
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Rugby League 10-12 Boys
Coaches: Mr Kawa & Mr Harpley
Final VS JTCC
Loss 14-16
MVP Cyrell Cisneros
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Rugby League U16 Girls
Coaches: Mrs Abra & Miss Heath
3rd Place Playoff VS MAG
Win: 40-24
Joint MVP Mia Aiono & Eric Saunders
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Frisbee 7-9 Mixed
Coach: Mr Martin
Final VS MAG
Win: 8-7
MVP Hudson Warren
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Soccer 11-12 Boys
Coach: Mr Berkley
Final VS SBCC
Loss: 5-0
MVP Max Bakulic
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| Monday 19 June | Diocesan Hockey |
| Tuesday 20 June | MISA Dance Festival |
| Wednesday 21 June | Diocesan Volleyball |
| Thursday 22 June | NSWCCC Girls Fottball Knockout Qualification |
| Friday 28 July | Diocesan Athletics |
DIO and NSWCCC EVENTS
Again a very busy term for sport with a lot of events occurring throughout the term. As always, students are encouraged to sign up and trial for representative teams. Below you will find registration links for both our DIO and NSWCCC events. If you require any further information please visit the Diocese of Wollongong sports here
Registrations are Now Open for 2023
Please refer to attached 2023_Registration.pdf
Representative Pathways
| MISA Website | https:/wwwwmisaonlineeorgg.au/ |
| Diocesan Sport News | Updates and news on Wollongong Diocese sport events and trials can be viewed here |
| NSW CCC/CSNSW Sport News | Higher level CCC trials and events status can be monitored here. |
| School Sport Australia Sport News | More School Sport Australia information can be found here |
Last week, Year 7 students were treated to a visit from some very special visitors! Students were involved in the Smart Farmer mobile Diary incursion where they were involved in a variety of activities that will help them gain an understanding of food and fibre production and agriculture in Australia.
One of Australia’s Primary Industries, the dairy industry, was the main focus of the day. Students explored how managed systems are used to sustainably produce the milk we drink and the dairy products we eat. Mammory and Kansas provided their milk making talents and generously allowed students to experience the way milking was done by dairy farmers, before the milking machine was invented.
They saw a small modern milking machine working and went through the steps to prepare the cow for milking, attach the milking machine and had their many questions about milk, cows, sustainable farming practices and many other related topics answered by our very knowledgeable local “Smart Farmers” Jesse and Tiana.
Students took part in cheese, butter, and yoghurt making activities enjoying the slightly cooler weather on the grassed area outside the Chapel. The highlight of the visit was patting the calf, Illusion (a heifer, we learned). The delight of some students can be seen in the images attached to this article.
Everyone, including the assisting staff, enjoyed the day with the farmers and their gorgeous furry visitors. Students now understand what it means when they see the words pasteurised and homogenised. They understand the importance of hygiene and safety in the production of milk and milk products in sustainably managed dairy environments.
Position Vacant - Mount Carmel Retreat Centre
Mt Carmel Retreat Centre (247 St Andrews Rd, Varroville), is a busy and growing hospitality business located on the Parish doorstep. A position has recently opened up on the kitchen team for a new staff member. We are interested in either experienced cooks/chefs or individuals who enjoy cooking and would be willing to be trained for the position. Mt Carmel Retreat Centre offers a supportive work environment and is also very child friendly. If you are interested please text or call the Manager (John Ransom) on: 0435 857 690.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Sacramental Preparation for students who have not yet received the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation is being offered during Term 3 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.If you child has not completed this sacrament please contact the Parish office for more information 9603 7373 or mobile, 0434 705 176 or via he parish website www.varroville.org.au. The Parish will be holding confirmation on September 9 at 4pm.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Annual Fiesta will be held on Sunday 16 July from 10am in the grounds of the Parish Church, 193 St Andrews Rd, Varroville. Please see flyer more information.