Mount Carmel Catholic College Varroville eNewsletter

Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

This weekend’s gospel (Mark 1: 1-8) is one of the rare times where the evangelist actually quotes the Old Testament that we read as the first reading (Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11). The main phrase is: “A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord”. In last week’s newsletter, I spoke of the fact that Advent is the season where we prepare for the celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. This phrase reflects the same theme, however, is clearer in its directive. Whilst the Old Testament and the gospel of St Mark are interpreted as referring to John the Baptist spreading the message of the coming of Jesus, we should be reflecting on how we are currently preparing for Christ’s coming. Not just at Christmas and not just as an idea, but specifically in our actions and lives. Leaving aside the Christmas present shopping and the preparation of our Christmas lunch, how are we reflecting on the message of Jesus and changing what we do in our relationships with others. This is one of the best ways to ‘prepare a way for the Lord’.

This week we have once again witnessed some of the many achievements of our students throughout 2023. We began with the Art Show which was held on Tuesday evening in the Champagnat Centre. This showcase highlighted the many talents of our students both juniors and seniors and the incredible efforts that they have contributed to their artworks. There were a number of awards presented on the evening and the displays reflected the high expectations from both staff and students. We were able to also congratulate the Visual Arts staff for their contribution and support of the students – well done.

From Tuesday to Thursday, Our College Captains travelled down to Mittagong to enter into a Leadership Retreat with Bishop Brian Mascord and the school leaders from each of the nine secondary schools within the Wollongong Diocese. The students spent the days reflecting on what leadership means in a Catholidc School Context. On Thursday, they then presented to all, including the nine principals, how their school displays the charism of their faith. Our students followed this up in a practical way with a plan of how they would put our beliefs into actions. Congratulations to Gloria, Jacob, Janita and Matias and to Ms Gardiner who supported them.

This morning, we gathered as a community to recognise our exceptional athletes and their achievements throughout 2023. These included the age champions for each of the College carnivals as well as students who have made Wollongong Diocese and Combined Catholic Colleges teams. Not only was it impressive as to the level to which our students performed, but also the number who had achieved a performance of note. Congratulations to all these students.

This evening a number of our students will be travelling to Magdalene to participate in the inaugural Macfest. This is a spirituality gathering of the Macarthur Diocesan schools where they all be given an opportunity to stop and pray as well as discern where they are on their own spiritual journey. We were honoured to have a special request for our cultural dancers to perform on the evening and I look forward to being there for this. Again, congratulations to all the students who have opted to be part of this.

Given all of this, it would truly be remiss of me not to acknowledge the many, many staff who make these types of events possible. Everyone from the administrative support, to coaches, and teachers who fill in for roles where others are occupied, the opportunities for students would not be possible without this dedication and support. Thank you to the staff who continually go above and beyond to ensure that Mount Carmel is a Christ-centred community which provides opportunities for excellence.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio

The past week has once again highlighted our ongoing commitment to providing opportunities for students to engage in and be recognised for their achievements across a range of Learning, Wellbeing and Faith activities. Mr Lo Cascio has written in detail about a number of these in his section, but I would also like to extend my thanks to all staff students and families/carers for their support over the past week with:

Tuesday to Thursday - Student Leaders Bishops Retreat
Thursday - Year 7 Surf Awareness Excursion to Sandon Point
Today - Sports Awards Assembly
Tonight - MacFest at Magdalene Catholic College

As we head into our final week of classes for 2023, the provision of these Learning, Wellbeing and Spiritual initiatives will continue. An overview of the upcoming week involves:

Year 10 Activities Week - Stanwell Tops team building and All My Own Work (Monday and Tuesday), Elevate Education Careers presentations on Wednesday and Community Day on Thursday.
HSC and ATAR Results on Thursday, with a morning tea being held for our class of 2023.
End of Year College Mass at 10.15am and Years 7-10 Academic and Major Awards at 12pm (parents and families invited to attend).
Years 7 to 10 Reports released on Friday afternoon.

Again, thanks to all staff students and families/carers for their involvement and support of these events.

Please be reminded that Parent/Teacher/ Student Interviews PTS Interviews will be conducted by Zoom on Monday morning, 18 December between 9am and 12:30pm. Information regarding access to the Zoom links has been communicated through Compass. Finally, please be aware that the 2024 school year commences on Wednesday 31 January with Years 7 and 12 starting and Years 8-11 returning on Thursday 1 February.

As always, thanks for your ongoing support with all matters relating to Learning, Faith and Wellbeing. Please contact your son or daughter’s respective Year Coordinator or Pastoral Advisor should you have any questions or concerns.

Mr Simon Huntly

2023 HSC Results - Available 14 December

This coming Thursday 14 December, Year 12 2023 will receive their HSC results from NESA. Students will be able to access their results via their Students Online account. This requires their NESA Student Number. If any students have forgotten their NESA Student Number, they can contact Ms Miller (millerc06@dow.catholic.edu.au).

The College is also holding a morning tea to celebrate the successes of the cohort. Details are as follows:

A google form will also be sent to students as a means to collate their ATAR results.

The College looks forward to being able to celebrate their successes.

Year 7-11 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

Bookings close on Friday 15 December

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.

REMINDER: All My Own Work - Year 10

In week 10, Year 10 have their alternate learning week where they will not have regular lessons but rather participate in a number of learning experiences that will prepare them for the transition into 2024. The completion of the All My Own Work modules is an essential part of this program. NESA requires that students complete All My Own Work to be able to move into Year 11. All My Own Work is a program designed to help HSC students follow the principles and practices of good scholarship. This includes understanding, valuing and using ethical practices when locating and using information as part of their HSC studies. Students will need to have a charged laptop to undertake the modules.

TERM 4

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

Ms Chardy Miller & Ms Rebecca Toogood

Leader of Learning - Curriculum Pedagogy & Leader of Learning - Acting Curriculum Administration

In my role as the Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Coordinator at the College, I frequently come across emails and advertisements urging the dissemination of information to parents and guardians within our community. One piece, particularly caught my attention – an article from Linewize in Western Australia. As both an educator and a parent, the content resonated with me deeply.

Navigating the task of instilling healthier technology habits in our children during extended breaks, such as the Christmas school holiday period, poses a significant challenge. Linewize has encapsulated this challenge and provided six invaluable points that serve as pillars of support in this critical arena.

Create tech agreements - Creating a family tech agreement before buying a tech gift is essential, and you should involve your children to instil responsibility for their digital habits. Whether you’re establishing a new agreement or reviewing an existing one, it's crucial for all family members, including parents, to uphold and model good tech habits.

Update parental controls - Before the holidays, verify that parental controls on your children's devices, consoles, apps, and games remain current amid frequent updates and potential changes by developers.

Read the fine print - Parents/guardians often overlook the lengthy terms and conditions of new online games or apps installed by their children, intending to revisit them later. However, safeguarding your child's data privacy is just as crucial as promoting healthy tech habits. To ensure their safety, it is essential to thoroughly read and understand these conditions.

Access, not ownership - If you have younger children, begin their online device experience with supervised access, gradually transitioning to full ownership. Teach responsible digital citizenship and ensure they can demonstrate online safety understanding and behaviours before granting them full ownership.

Consume content together - Share digital experiences during the holidays by dedicating specific times for your child to guide you through their favourite apps or games, enhancing your understanding and fostering casual conversations. Alternatively, engage as a family in playing online games together.
Tech timeout - During the holiday season, maintain balance by dedicating daily blocks of time to tech-free activities with your family. Capitalise on the morning energy peak to engage in activities like reading, learning, exercising, setting a positive example for your child.

Wishing all families a very happy and Holy Christmas.

Mrs Theresa Moore

Acting Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Coordinator

IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE (AFP)

Sextortion safety information from the Australian Federal Police

In the lead up to the end of year school holidays, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is asking education departments to share important safety information within their school communities to help prevent sextortion.

Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where someone tricks or coerces you into sending sexual images of yourself and then threatens to share the images unless you comply with their demands. The ACCCE is receiving around 300 reports of financial sextortion per month, with the majority of reports involving 13-17-year-olds. There are serious safety concerns for victims, with instances of self-harm attributed to this crime.

To continue raising awareness of this issue amongst young Australians, the ACCCE recently launched a new education initiative to increase sextortion support for young people alongside Kids Helpline, Meta and US youth prevention program NoFiltr.

For more information and access to resources visit: https://www.accce.gov.au/sextortionhelp

Online child sexual exploitation, including sextortion, can be reported to: https://www.accce.gov.au/report

The ACCCE would like to remind victims of this crime they will never be in trouble for seeking help at any stage, even if they have already sent images and paid money.

Robert Scholes accurately captures the critical importance of reading and writing in the secondary school context when he states: ‘Reading and writing are important because we read and write our world as well as our texts and are read and written by them in turn. Texts are places where power and weakness become visible and discussable, where learning and ignorance manifest themselves, where the structures that enable and constrain our thoughts and actions become palpable. This is why the humble subject ‘English’ is so important’.

At the heart of our work as English teachers is the goal of empowering our students to leave our classrooms capable, confident, articulate, discerning and empathic people, well-prepared to meet the complex challenges of living and working beyond school. Our legacy to each of our students is far more than the measurable set of knowledge and skills that are assessed and reported on throughout their secondary education. As English educators we are intent on inspiring a love of language and learning, a passion for reading and writing, and a boundless capacity to think critically, to imagine and to wonder.

In equipping our students with a rich repertoire of reading and writing capabilities, we are, according to the new English 7 – 10 syllabus, creating a culture within which ‘students learn to appreciate, reflect on and enjoy language, making meaning in ways that are imaginative, creative, interpretive, critical and powerful.’ The development of a responsive, literate community of confident and competent readers and writers will see our young people grow and flourish. The most important thing that teachers, parents, and carers can do, is to model these two very important practices. In our busy, distracted and ‘noisy’ world – with technology affording us ways to take shortcuts, multitask, skim, scan and spot – the need to be counter-cultural has never been greater.

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach

Around the Grounds

Another challenging week for our last MISA team in a grand final this week with our Senior Boys Volleyball team losing out to a strong Oran Park outfit. Week 9 also saw the College Annual Sports Assembly congratulating and acknowledging students in a variety of MISA and Diocesan teams. This provided an opportunity to recognise and applaud their unwavering dedication and outstanding performances throughout the year. Next week's newsletter will have a recap of the year that has been and highlight the individuals who received awards.

During sport on Tuesday the final selection trials were hosted to pick our Marist Basketball squad. This now completes the squad selection process for both the BAsketball and Netball teams who will represent the college in their respective sports against other Marist colleges from around the country. Congratulation to the following students who have been selected:

Marist Netball Squad

Marist Basketball Squad

Leisl Hopoate

Krystal Borello

Janita Leota Brown

Gemma Olling

Isabella Ashcroft

Taylah Faiai

Sienna Finn

Rebecca Barnes

Isabella Nakasenh

Darby Scales

Chukie Okonkwo

William Montgomery

Cooper Scott

Aneek Gamildien

Ritchie Kan

Adrian Capitly

Isaac Ramos

Lee Ombina

Mario Aoun

Shadows

Aaron Pereira

Emanuel Koroma

Isaac Collard

MISA - Term 4 Finals

Sport Result

Short Report & MVP

Volleyball

10-11 Boys

Ms Turnbull

VS JTCC

Loss 2-1

MVP - Whole Team

Boys Volleyball Grand Final Loss

Despite winning the first set, our team ultimately lost to the strong Oran Park Angelician team. I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Daniels for his unwavering support for this team. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to coach our talented team, consisting of Mateo, Cristian, Carlos, Hayden, Samuel, Alexander, Alex, Nathan, Krissh, Noah, Jacob, Elijah, and Sebanian. These students are a credit to the school and their families; they never gave up, fighting until the last point. The Man of the Match was the explosive Carlos.

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

If you have any questions, please email webbb01@dow.catholic.edu.au

Mr Braydon Webb

Sports Co-ordinator

On December 5, Tuesday evening MCCC held the Annual 21st Visual Arts Exhibition. This exhibition showcases the talents of students who have created artworks of a high standard in Year 8 through to Year 12. Thank you to all who visited the exhibition to support our students on Tuesday evening and throughout the day on Wednesday. Congratulations to all of the talented students whose artworks appeared in this Year’s exhibition. A notable mention must go to the students who were the recipients of this Year’s Awards, two awards were given in each category that was exhibited, the following students received an award for Highly Commended or 1st Place in their category:

Exhibition Categories 2023
Year 8
EXPRESSIONS OF SELF LINO PRINT	Highly Commended	Jeremy Melendres
EXPRESSIONS OF SELF LINO PRINT	1^st Place	Hanka Filipinski
EXPRESSIONS OF SELF CERAMIC VESSEL	Highly Commended	Isla Harkin
EXPRESSIONS OF SELF CERAMIC VESSEL	1^st Place	Olivia Andreou
ANIMAL INSTINCTS REALISTIC DRAWING	Highly Commended	Rhea Singh
ANIMAL INSTINCTS REALISTIC DRAWING	1^st Place	Chloe Sujanto
ANIMAL INSTINCTS EXPRESSIONISTIC DRAWING	Highly Commended	Azaria Blume
ANIMAL INSTINCTS EXPRESSIONISTIC DRAWING	1^st Place	Isabelle Mizzi
Year 9
LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS	Highly Commended	Lovinia Camasosa
LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS	1^st Place	Angelica Ryan
LANDSCAPE CERAMIC TILES	Highly Commended	Jilliane Castrodes
LANDSCAPE CERAMIC TILES	1^st Place	Lovinia Camasosa
LANDSCAPE MIXED MEDIA	Highly Commended	Isabelle Villena
LANDSCAPE MIXED MEDIA	1^st Place	Katerina Krsteski
STILL LIFE DRAWINGS	Highly Commended	Katerina Krsteski
STILL LIFE DRAWINGS	1^st Place	Maria Cassandra Tuyor
STILL LIFE DRYPOINT PRINTING	Highly Commended	Zoe Meic
STILL LIFE DRYPOINT PRINTING	1^st Place	Monique Pleadin
Year 10
CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS - BUSTS	Highly Commended	Ariana Redding
CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS - BUSTS	1^st Place	Giselle Roson
CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITURE	Highly Commended	Zahie Wahhab
CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITURE	1^st Place	Renee Sundaram
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT REALISTIC DRAWING	Highly Commended	Renee Sundaram
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT REALISTIC DRAWING	1^st Place	Noelle Celevante
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT MIXED MEDIA	Highly Commended	Zahie Wahhab
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT MIXED MEDIA	1^st Place	Ava Antala
YEAR 11 1 UNIT COURSES
PHOTOGRAPHY	Highly Commended	Ethan Brayshaw
PHOTOGRAPHY	1^st Place	Daniel Kraichuk
CERAMICS	Highly Commended	Tanaya Watts
CERAMICS	1^st Place	Holly-Marie Quinn
VISUAL DESIGN	Highly Commended	Mia Bakulic
VISUAL DESIGN	1^st Place	Anna Segovia
YEAR 11 VISUAL ARTS
SELF & ART HISTORY	Highly Commended	Nyandier Deng
SELF & ART HISTORY	1^st Place	Tiffany Buckley
CONCEPTUAL ART	Highly Commended	Chantelle Elise Sapinosa
CONCEPTUAL ART	1^st Place	Sabina Celiz
YEAR 12 VISUAL ARTS
HSC BODY OF WORK	Highly Commended	Michael Liuzzo
HSC BODY OF WORK	1^st Place	Emma Searle

On Wednesday 6 December, the Year 8 Drama group performed at St John the Evangelist Primary School, Campbelltown to an audience of excited Year 1 students. The Mount Carmel students involved were: Juimn Pacheco, Christian Traboulsieh, Jessica Alford, Samuel Azzopardi and Mickey Robinson.

In this performance, Year 1 were taught about the components of the human voice: pace, volume, diction, tone etc. A dramatic reading from a children’s book was also presented as well as interactive group work sessions with the Year 1 students themselves. The performance showcased what the Year 8 students have learnt in a 12 week program that aims to sharpen the skills of public speaking.

Many thanks to Mr Paul Moroney, the Principal at St Johns for the opportunity to visit and perform for Year 1. Thank you, as well, to the Year 1 teachers who found the time in their busy schedule for our performance.

This type of activity forms important connections with our feeder schools and the benefits are clearly twofold. The Year 8 students are to be congratulated on their exemplary behaviour and their fine performance!

The College office will close on Monday 18 December 2023 at 11.00am and will reopen on Monday 22 January 2024 at 8.00am.

Rainer Schoolwear Uniform

Please see flyer for Holiday Trading times

P&F Clothing Pool

The P&F Clothing Pool will be open times for the Year 7 2024 students. 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.

21 Nov	Year 11 U-Turn the Wheel All day

27 Nov	Year 7 2025 Parent Information Night 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

29 Nov	Year 7 2025 Orientation Day All day

17 Dec	Students Final School Day All day

17 Dec	End of Year Mass and Awards All day

20 Dec	Term 4 Concludes All day

Year	Total
2023	$244.40
2024	$207.30