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Dear parents, friends, staff and students,
In the middle of this week’s Gospel (Matthew 25; 31-46), Jesus uses the phrase; “In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me”. In these 22 words, Jesus succinctly sums up how we can eliminate war, hunger, poverty and many other evil things that penetrate our world. If we are able to consider how we treat others and why we might be able to treat them better and look after them, we might be able to act in a way that shows positivity and care for those around us. This is not just in terms of how we might act in relation to world conflicts, but more simply, might be how we react to an aggressive or dismissive comment made to us. It may be reflected in our behaviours following disappointment or sadness or even if we are arrogant or humble in victory. Our Catholic tradition continually asks us to consider our relationships with those around us and to think about how we might do things for those in need. In this way, if we look after our brothers, it is the same as looking after Jesus Himself.
This week it was announced that Mr Simon Huntly will continue in the role of Acting Assistant Principal at Mount Carmel for a further 12 months. Mr Huntly has done a praiseworthy job whilst in this role and has agreed to continue in order to enable us to advertise for the substantive position in the middle of next year, I thank Mr Huntly for his efforts and support in 2023 and for agreeing to continue for next year until we are able to appoint a permanent Assistant Principal.
On Monday of this week, I was invited to a zoom with the Director of Education CEDoW and the chairman of the Roger O’Sullivan Award from the Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP). During this meeting, the chair began to praise Mount Carmel for our creation of the parent library and literacy initiative that Mrs Murphy and the English staff started a few years ago. He was particularly impressed that this initiative began with the passion of staff and was organic in its growth. He praised the fact that it was an initiative that recognised the fundamental role of parents as educators and was designed specifically to support parent literacy in an attempt to improve student outcomes. At the conclusion of this, he announced that Mount Carmel are the winners of the 2023 Roger O’Sullivan Award. This is an award determined by the CCSP from all submissions across NSW and the ACT including all catholic schools (primary and secondary, systemic and independent). The director expressed his gratitude and appreciation for this initiative and was also very positive in his praise.
Amongst other comments, the judges provided the following feedback for our school community: Student knowledge + parent knowledge + staff knowledge = Learning Partnerships and thus, improved outcomes. Parent Engagement in secondary falls sharply, as often does students’ engagement with literacy and this is a genuine initiative to share with parents the ‘language of learning’ and to support learning through a scaffold for learning-conversations & thus instilling a ‘love of learning’ – and even re-engaging families in reading.
Congratulations to Mrs Murphy for beginning this parent library and literacy and for all parents who have supported and participated in the initiative. There will be some further promotion of this award at the start of next year and we hope the connection to parents will grow in 2024.
Today we held our Year 11 Academic Awards and badging of Year 12 as student leaders. This ceremony is an important celebration of student achievement and student responsibility. It is also very important that the rest of the student body shares in the joy of student success and has a goal to strive toward. Congratulations to our award winners and to the Year 12 cohort who today formally become our student leaders.
Ite in Veritate
Mr Steve Lo Cascio
The past week has seen a range of activities that support and celebrate the ongoing learning and wellbeing of all members of our community. Year 9 students concluded their engagement with the Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) program on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday evening over 50 people attended the Parent Library conducted by Mrs Murphy and the English staff as part of our ongoing efforts to engage families and students in the ongoing challenge of maintaining literacy growth. Yesterday saw CatholicCare counsellors present a whole day workshop for our Year 7 students centred around Resilience and Peer Relationships and our staff finalised their reaccreditation in Resuscitation and Anaphylaxis training, which has been conducted after hours at different times over the past three weeks.
Earlier today we celebrated, as a whole community, the successes of our current Year 11 students as we presented a number of awards relating to their academic, cultural and spiritual contribution to the College throughout the Preliminary course. Many thanks go out to the staff who were instrumental in the organisation and supervision of these sessions, to the students who participated or were recognised for their achievements and to the parents and carers who attended.
Next week is another busy one ahead with 4 teams in the MISA finals on Tuesday, Years 7- 9 academic reports finalised during the week ready for final checking before distribution at the end of the term and of course, Year 7 2024 Parent Night and Orientation Day on Wednesday and Friday. Again, many thanks in anticipation for all involved in the preparation and presentation of these important events.
As we enter the final few weeks of the term, which conclude on Friday December 15 with our final Mass of the year, it is important that students maintain a focus on using the next 3 weeks as a launching pad for 2024. By engaging in their learning, looking for opportunities for improvement and maintaining high standards with respect to behaviour, uniform and grooming and peer relationships, it will ensure a smooth end to what has been a very productive year across all aspects of faith, learning and wellbeing.
Mr Simon Huntly
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OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE YEAR A |
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| First Reading | Ezekiel 34:11-12. 15-17 |
The Lord will rescue his sheep. |
| Second Reading | 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 |
When all has been subjected to Christ, all will be one in Him. |
| Gospel |
Matthew 25:31-16 |
Whenever you serve the lease of people, you serve Christ. |
Mrs Christine Meharg
Year 7-11 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews provide an opportunity for parents and students to meet with their class teachers to review academic progress and discuss areas for growth. This conversation provides valuable feedback and enables the opportunity to ask questions to support students as they progress through their secondary education.
Interviews for Years 7-11 2023 are being held on Monday December 18 between 9:00am and 12:30pm via Zoom. Interview sessions can be booked online through the Compass Parent Portal. In some cases, teachers may be unavailable for these Parent/Teacher/Student interviews and in these circumstances, the respective teachers may make contact with you regarding how you can obtain additional feedback about your child’s academic progress.
Further to the upcoming interviews, please note that Semester 2 Academic Reports for students in Years 7-10 will be made available via Compass on Friday December 15 at approximately 3:30pm.
If you have any questions regarding the upcoming interviews, please do not hesitate to contact the College via an email to info@mcccdow.catholic.edu.au or a phone call to (02) 9603 3000.
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TERM 4 |
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| Week 8 |
Year 11 (HSC) 2024 27/11/2023: English Advanced 27/11/2023: English Standard 27/11/2023: English Studies 29/11/2023: Chemistry 30/11/2023: PDHPE 30/11/2023: Work Studies (2unit) 01/12/2023: Mathematics Advanced 01/12/2023: Mathematics Standard 2 01/12/2023: Mathematics Standard 1 01/12/2023: Numeracy
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| Week 9 |
Year 11 (HSC) 2024 04/12/2023: Business Studies 06/12/2023: Modern History 07/12/2023: Visual Arts 08/12/2023: Mathematics Ext 2
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| Week 10 |
Year 11 (HSC) 2024 11/12/2023: CAFS 11/12/2023: Society and Culture 11/12/2023: Mathematics Ext 1 13/12/2023: SORII 13/12/2023: SORI 13/12/2023: Physics 14/12/2023: IPT |
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Ms Chardy Miller & Ms Rebecca Toogood
Leader of Learning - Curriculum Pedagogy & Leader of Learning - Acting Curriculum Administration
Educational research clearly highlights the accrued benefits of reading for pleasure. Reading for pleasure matters because it supports literacy; enables young people to develop their own informed perspective on life; is a safe and inexpensive way to spend time; allows young people to understand and empathise with those in different situations, times, and cultures; and improves educational outcomes and employment opportunities.
Australian writer Jackie French – prolific author of books such as Hitler’s Daughter, Fire, and A Rose for the Anzac Boys – suggests that it is the ‘make or break’ task of adults to attentively guide, model and support the development of students’ sustained reading engagement, enjoyment, and confidence. French captures the important elements of reading success in the following equation: ‘young person + the right book + the adult who can teach them how to find it’. This ‘winning equation’ depends on the often-neglected factors of individual taste, motivations, and purposes for reading.
One of the crucial roles of the adult – parent, carer, or teacher – when it comes to reading, is modelling: modelling reading habits, attitudes and importantly, enthusiasm. This Wednesday evening’s Parent Library event provided an opportunity to do just that. Over fifty enthusiastic people gathered in the College library to talk about books and the power and critical importance of reading. Parents, carers, grandparents, and teachers perused with interest the huge number of books donated by the Mount Carmel community. Over three hundred of these managed to find new homes on this one evening. The selection included a wide range of children’s books, adult fiction and nonfiction, classic literature, contemporary texts and secondary school textbooks. Authors such as Anh Do, C.S. Lewis, Maeve Binchy, Jane Austen, Morris Gleitzman and J.K.Rowling were very popular on the night. Genres such as fantasy, crime fiction, life writing texts and historical fiction tended to attract the most attention.
This Parent Library initiative is part of the Mount Carmel Home-School Literacy Partnership program – a program which invites and supports parent engagement in the education of their children in order to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes for all of our young people. This rich collaboration between home and school is already seeing positive and beneficial outcomes for students, parents, and teachers alike. What I appreciated more than anything about the Parent Library endeavour the other evening was the community spirit it engendered. The weeks leading up to the event saw excited Mount Carmel staff carrying in boxes of reading material to be made available on the night. I was humbled by their passion for the venture and their care of our students and their families. On the actual day I was heartened by the contribution of several people behind the scenes who worked tirelessly to set the library space up for the evening as well as the English and library staff who attended on the night. The joy generated by the encounter in this situation was palpable.
Clare Murphy
English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach
What an incredible week it has been for our Mount Carmel MISA teams! We are thrilled to announce that a total of four teams from Mount Carmel have successfully qualified for the upcoming MISA grand finals. Among these outstanding qualifiers are both our senior boys and girls volleyball teams, as well as our 7-9 Boys OzTag and Ultimate Frisbee teams.
A heartfelt congratulations goes out to our dedicated students and coaches who have poured their efforts into the final term, striving to secure victory and uphold Mount Carmel's reputation as a powerhouse in MISA competitions. Their hard work has positioned us well as we aim to retain the coveted MISA championship trophy for the year 2023.
As we eagerly anticipate the grand finals, scheduled for the upcoming week and we extend our best wishes to all our teams. May they conquer their respective challenges and bring home more silverware to augment the two trophies we have already proudly earned this year.
Shifting our focus to another exciting event, we are pleased to announce our upcoming sports assembly scheduled for Week 9 on Friday 8 of December. This assembly serves as a special occasion to express gratitude and admiration for the exceptional talents exhibited by our athletes here at Mount Carmel. It provides an opportunity to recognise and applaud their unwavering dedication and outstanding performances throughout the year.
We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our MISA teams and athletes during these significant events and wish them continued success in their sporting endeavours.
| Sport | Result | MVP | Short Report |
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Indoor Cricket 7-9 Boys Mr O'Connell |
VS MAG Loss 101-9 |
Baxter Bastoli | The boys finished 4th in the group stage which meant a match up against the 1st place Magdalene team. MCCC won the toss and elected to bowl first. The first few overs were outstanding with a number of wickets. However Magdalene found their stride and were able to post a solid total of 101 runs. MCCC had a mammoth total to chase down and started strongly with a good total to begin with chase, winning the first skin. However some mistakes resulted in some silly wickets which took the wind out of the MCCC sails. The boys played extremely well and should be proud of their efforts. Special mention to Baxter Bastoli who captained the team and demonstrated excellent leadership in the face of a difficult opponent. Next week will see a third/fourth playoff, good luck to the boys for the final game of the year. |
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Oz Tag 7-9 Boys Mr King
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VS JTCC Win 7-4
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Nicolas Lalic |
The boys lifted to another level this week with an impressive performance against John Therry Catholic College. A huge defensive effort in particular, led by Nicholas Lalic, Kayde Hughes and Zachary Keith frustrated the opposition who struggled to break our line. The mounting pressure forced many errors and the boys were able to capitalise, running away with a 7-4 victory. The team is in great form, and hopefully, they can carry this momentum into the grand final next week against Magdalene Catholic College. |
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Oz Tag 7-9 Girls Ms Heath
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VS MAS Win 17-1 |
Beth Martin |
Great performance displayed by the girls today with a 17-1 win against MAS. The girls demonstrated great passing movements and patterns of play and a special mention for Beth Martin who is MVP for a spectacular 4 tries. Looking forward to next week, playing for 3rd place in the competition. |
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Ultimate Frisbee 10-11 Mixed Mr Martin |
VS MAG Win 26-7 |
Jessica McMillan | This week we decided to change up the formation to play more aggressively in attack by spreading the disc wider. Isabella Ashcroft and Liesl Hopoate adapted very well to the new formation. Our tactic seemed to pay off, scoring 12 points in the first 8 minutes. We decided at this point to call it a win, and mix the teams in the second half. It was still very important for us to play as competitively as possible to prepare ourselves for the final next week against John Therry. The MVP goes to Jessica McMillan for some brilliant catches, but most importantly for her focus throughout a disrupted game. We’ll be going into the final next week as clear under dogs, but we’ve developed a lot as a team since we played John Therry last, and so we are every chance of getting a result. Good luck next week team! |
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AFL 7-9 Girls Ms Abra
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VS JTCC Loss 20-12
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Monte Sauvao & Anne Warwick-Smith |
Another tough game with no subs but as always our girls fought until the end. A great effort this term by all the team who played. Everyone gave it 100%. We put the pressure on JTCC every chance we could, but unfortunately a few of their star players proved too good for our girls. It was a great opportunity to recruit new players who have never played before so we look forward to next year where we can really let loose and take on 2024. Congratulations girls! |
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AFL 7-9 Boys Mr Kawa
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VS MAG Loss 32-13 |
Isaac Danford | The boys put in a solid performance however they came up against a solid outfit in MCC. The boys could not manage to find a major score and were up against their opposition which continued to find points by exploiting our defence. All the boys should be very proud of their efforts and have all hopefully taken away a positive experience from the season. Congratulations to all involved in the team. |
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Volleyball 10-11 Girls Ms Hobbs
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VS SPT Win 2-0
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Amelia Thompson |
In an exhilarating showdown against St Patrick's in the semi-finals, our school's volleyball team emerged triumphant, claiming victory in both games with a dominant 2-0 scoreline. Zoe continued to impress with her challenging serves, putting the opposing team on the defensive. Poinsettia's consistent all-around performance showcased her strength and versatility throughout the games, while April's fearless commitment, evident in her willingness to put her body on the line, played a crucial role in our success. The team's unity and high spirits were apparent, reflecting a strong bond and positive morale. Amelia's remarkable progress in both skills and confidence did not go unnoticed, earning her the well-deserved MVP award. With anticipation building, the team is now eagerly looking forward to the finals next week, ready to deliver another exceptional performance fueled by their collective determination and teamwork. |
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Volleyball 10-11 Boys Ms Turnbull |
VS JTCC Win 2-0 |
Hayden Cunningham & Elijah Tran |
A great win by the boys to go into the grand final! The team dominated a weakened John Thery side and made light work of them in only 2 sets. We move onto the grand final against Oran Park in good form. Well done boys! |
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BYE - Softball 7-9 Girls; Mr Withnall |
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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 |
Year 7 2024 - Future Students
The Year 7 2024 Orientation Day will be held on Friday 1 December 2023. Students are requested to be at the school between 8.45am-9.00am. There will be a Year 7 Parent information night being held on Wednesday 29 November 2023 commencing at 7.00pm. Information packages were posted out on Monday. Please contact the office should you not receive your information package by 29 November.
The Rainer Uniform shop is located under the administration building at the foot of the stairs between the basketball courts and main building. The Uniform shop opens every Monday (8.00am-2.00pm), Wednesday (8.00am-4.00pm) and Thursday (8.00am-2.00pm). Please contact Rainer on 0493 122 101.
P&F Clothing Pool
The P&F Clothing Pool will be open times for the Year 7 2024 students. Please see times below:
- Wednesday 29 November - Parent Information Night from 5.30pm-7.00pm
- Friday 1 December - Orientation Day from 10.00am-4.00pm
Below is the schedule for 2024 opening days and times.
School Student Travel 2024
2024 school travel applications are now open. Please click here for information from Transport for NSW.