In the Gospel at Mass last Sunday, we listened to the story of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple soon after His birth. As was tradition in Judaism, all children underwent purification rites but the first born had special rituals attached to them. These special rituals for them were a reflection that in all things we do, the first thought or action should be devoted to God. In the same way, our Catholic faith calls us to be conscious that our first thoughts and actions should be directed toward the love of God. In each of our activities, we are called to carry them out in entirety for the glory of God but it is always worth reflecting on our purpose and actions and whether they align to our values as members of the Catholic community.

On Monday, our senior students will be going to classes to collect donations for the St Vincent De Paul Bushfire Appeal. At this stage, we are only collecting money donations but will advertise if this is to change in the future. This collection is in conjunction with Marist School’s Australia who had organised a day of solidarity for bushfire victims on 7 February. Unfortunately, due to our busy start with the earlier than normally scheduled Opening College Mass, we were unable to do this on Friday but will ask students to join in on Monday for this appeal.

Earlier this week, students may have noticed Mr Cloran and myself walking through the College with a police officer. This was Snr Const Allan Clapham and he is the NSW Police School’s Liaison Officer. He is a regular visitor to Year meetings where he speaks with students about a range of issues from road safety to cyber safety. Snr Const Clapham is also an ex-student of Mount Carmel and was in the first group at the College. I am hoping that Snr Constable Clapham will be a regular sight for students so that they will be comfortable approaching him with questions.

Last Wednesday evening, we hosted the Year 11 Information Night. This was an opportunity for parents and students to become familiar with the requirements and expectations of Senior school. I thank the parents and students who attended and the staff who were there in support. A particular thank you to Ms Tolomeo and Mrs Moore for their presentations on the evening.

On Wednesday of the first week of school, Mrs Murphy and a number of her staff ran a Parent Literacy workshop for some of the new Year 7 parents. More than 50 parents attended this and were given assistance and advice as to how to support their children in developing literacy skills. This is the beginning of a number of initiatives where parents will be invited to attend sessions around helping your children. The first of these will be aimed at new Year 7 parents who will be invited over the next few weeks. I encourage those of you available to attend these evenings.

At the start of the year it is timely to remind parents of the importance of students attending school at every opportunity possible. Whilst I understand there will always be exceptional circumstances, as a general rule, I request that students are not taken out of school during term times. For every day a student is absent, they miss five hours of learning. A two week holiday is the equivalent of 50 hours which is extremely hard to catch up. Please be aware of this prior to making plans during term times.

Our first Parents and Friends’ meeting for 2020 is scheduled for 11 February. This first meeting is often an introduction to the year and will be held in I3 (next to the Lavalla Trade Centre at the front of the College). Our Year 7 Meet and Greet Evening is on 19 February. More details on this will be given to Year 7 parents. I encourage you to attend these evenings where appropriate.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio