I take the opportunity this week to welcome many of you to our new digital edition of the Mount Carmel Catholic College newsletter via SZapp. It is hoped that over the past few weeks, parents and students have had the opportunity to download SZapp in order to take advantage of the new and interactive opportunities that this software provides in the delivery of our College newsletter. We will continue to provide the newsletter via Skoolbag over the next few weeks, though encourage you to download SZapp via the app store or Google Play as it will soon become the exclusive source for our College newsletter. It is hoped that as the weeks unfold, this new platform will allow us to deliver a more interactive, dynamic and user-friendly source of information regarding all the events taking place at the College. As always, feedback is most welcome via the Contact Us button on the main menu on SZapp.

Last Sunday’s Gospel reading recounted a brief exchange between Christ and His disciples where he likened them to his flock. Despite the brevity of this exchange, the message he proclaimed held great promise for all His followers - that being the promise of eternal life. This promise was one that held great significance for our College community this week as a large number of students and staff prepared to gather at St Paul’s Catholic Church in Camden, in order to farewell former Mt Carmel student, teacher and House Coordinator, Mrs Peta Willard, who passed away last week following her battle with an aggressive form of cancer. The impact that Mrs Willard had on the Mt Carmel community, particularly on the many friends and colleagues that she worked with, and the countless students that she supported over the years, cannot be underestimated. The number of staff and students that were in attendance at her funeral today, is a testament to the person that she was and the legacy that she has left here at the College. I also thank the many parents and friends of the College for their prayers and messages of support during this difficult time, as well as for your understanding and flexibility following the variations to our regular scheduled lessons that has taken place today.

Our monthly P&F meeting was held earlier this week and I thank our College Counsellor Mrs Sue Livingstone who presented to those present on the great work and support that is provided to our students via our Catholic Care Counsellors on a daily basis. I also take the opportunity to invite any interested parents to attend our next P&F meeting which will be held on Tuesday 11th June from 7pm.

This coming Wednesday (May 22) will see the first Parent Technology Bootcamp being held at the College from 7pm. This evening is open to all parents and is intended to provide an insight in to how our students use technology here at school, in addition to providing attendees with a number of practical strategies for keeping young people safe online while at home. Further information including RSVP details appear below.

I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the 26 students from Year 11 and 12 who will be participating in the 2019 Mt Carmel P&F Community Service Ball which will be held at the Campbelltown Catholic Club tomorrow night. In order to participate in this event, each student has made a significant contribution towards a range of community services projects over the last 6 months and this evening is shaping to be a worthy recognition of their commitment towards those less fortunate than themselves. I particularly acknowledge the work of Mrs Theresa Moore, Mrs Clarissa Pearce, the P&F and all the staff who have worked so closely with these students in the lead up to this significant event.

Finally this week, I would like to wish our College Principal, Steve Lo Cascio a speedy recovery from surgery earlier this week and assure him of our ongoing thoughts and prayers. I remind our parents that in his absence, I will assume the position of Acting Principal, Mr Simon Huntly will move into the Acting Assistant Principal role and Miss Breanna Donnellan will move into the Acting Year 7 Coordinator role.

Mr David Cloran

Acting Principal

The fourth characteristic, love of work, builds upon our understanding of the Marist approach to education and life.

Marcellin Champagnat was a man of work, a sworn enemy of laziness. Marcellin, the builder, shows us the importance of being ready to “roll up our sleeves”. We follow his example in being generous of heart and constant and persevering in our daily work as well as in the efforts we undertake for our own ongoing learning. Young people learn that work is a powerful means of self-fulfillment, of giving purpose and meaning to life, and of contributing to the general economic, social and cultural wellbeing of the society in which they live.

To sum this up:

• an enthusiasm for the work of the school
• the generosity of heart and without any attention-seeking
• the honouring of all work and those who undertake it

Mrs C Meharg

Religious Education Coordinator

Technology in contemporary society plays a major role particularly in the lives of teenagers. As a College community, we are always looking to assist students and parents in their understanding of  learning. To assist parents in this area, we will be offering a Parent Technology Bootcamp. This evening will give parents a chance to understand how technology is used at Mount Carmel and answers questions about the incorporation of Google into education and safely using the internet at home. It will also give advice on using Compass and how this can be accessed for communication with teachers. The evening will be held at the College on Wednesday 22nd May at 7pm.

We encourage any interested parents to attend this evening to gain insights into your child’s use of technology. If you would like to attend please RSVP to teumad01@dow.catholic.edu.au by Monday 20th May.

As previously requested, we ask all Parents/Guardians to complete and return the Consent Form for use of Student Images/Work.  This can now be downloaded from the Forms and Documents attachments on the lefthand side of the Newsletter.  This is a requirement from the Catholic Education Office and thank those families who have already returned the relevant form.

We are again participating in the Woolworths Earn & Learn promotion and would appreciate your support until the 25th June 2019.  Stickers can be forwarded to the Front Office.

On Wednesday 8th May Year 10 participated in a science incursion run by ‘Fizzics Education’ called ‘Tick,tick boom!’. The students enjoyed a 60 minute presentation on the concepts covered in the Year 10 science course including Atoms and Chemical reactions.

Year 10 science will be learning about chemical reactions soon. Quill (the Fizzics presenter) explored the science behind explosions and explained why chemical safety is so important.  

The following concepts were also covered during the presentation:

• air pressure differentials.
• exothermic vs endothermic chemical reactions.
• the effect of surface area on reaction rates
• combustion requirements.
• properties of liquid nitrogen
• applications of controlled explosions

A big thank you to the science staff who assisted and to Mr Mackney and Mrs Balaghee who organised this wonderfully engaging science event.

This Semester the Year 7 Technology Mandatory classes have been studying a range of technologies as part of the new syllabus being implemented this year. Agriculture is a new addition to the course as part of the new NESA syllabus. Year 7 will study both Food and Agriculture Technology, as well as Textiles Technology.

In a recent Food lesson, the students used allocated ingredients to create Herbed Chicken Dippers that were enjoyed immensely by all students. These classes have also been designing and constructing a planter box made from recycled materials (food and drink containers) as part of their assessment task. The planters will be used to hold the herb they are growing in the mini greenhouses in the garden beds around I Block. All students have put in a great effort, and by the end of term, each will have a planter and herb to take home!

Textiles Technology classes have been diligently designing their laptop covers this semester. They have prepared paper patterns, customised the appearance and learned a variety of construction techniques. They have also learned how to use a sewing machine, an iron and a variety of decorative methods. Students have demonstrated some fantastic creativity so far and will be able to use their creations to protect their laptops from semester 2.

Compulsory college event for all students

Venue: Campbelltown Athletics Stadium, Pembroke Rd Leumeah

Times: 8:30am - 3:15pm

Uniform: Full sport uniform.

Transport: Students are able to arrange transport to and from the venue with their parents / guardians. If students are unable to arrange this transport buses will be organised by the college to transport students to and from the athletics stadium. These buses will leave from the college at 8:30am and return by 3:15pm. If students require this transport they are to return the slip at the bottom of the information note that is available from student services. These notes are due back by Friday 24th May (Week 4). ** Please see note attached.

2019 College Athletics Carnival_Permission Note

Mrs Tara Pontin

(College Sport Coordinator)

11^th May 2019

13C’s lost to St Johns 13 – 26

Grad D’s defeated Bluejays 55 – 15

Grad C’s (T3) defeated Grad C’s (T2) 38 – 20

Division 6 defeated Flames 35 – 31