Welcome

I wish students, staff and families a very warm welcome to the 2021 school year. I trust that you’ve had an enjoyable break, and are looking forward with anticipation to all that this year will bring.

We’ve had an excellent start. There’s been lots of excitement as students catch up after the break, meet new teachers and once again settle into the patterns of school and study. It is great to see that everyone is positive and ready to do their best this year.

Lunar New Year

Today marks the Lunar New Year, a very special day for many in our community. We wish all families who celebrate Lunar (Chinese) New Year every happiness and much prosperity.

Thank you to families

A very big thank you to families for all you’ve done in the background to ensure a smooth start to the school year. It’s a busy time as you sort through booklists, buy and label uniforms and once again establish the routines of the school term, especially after the more relaxed life of the holidays. All this takes planning, energy and patience.

Your role in supporting the learning of students cannot be underestimated. It is very hard to do your best to your studies without good nutrition, effective routines, adequate sleep and the right materials for class. Thank you.

New families

On behalf of the school community I’d like to extend a very warm welcome to the students and families who’ve joined us this year, particularly our Year 7 students.

The start of secondary school is an important milestone; something that students look forward to with great anticipation and excitement. I hope that your start has been a smooth one, that you already feel ‘at home’ and that your time with us is enriching and fulfilling.

We look forward to meeting Year 7 families at the Family Nights which take place in a few weeks.

As well as the new students at Year 7 we also have students joining us at Years 8, 9 and 10. These students and their families come from diverse places: interstate, other areas of Melbourne and neighbouring schools. You are indeed very welcome.  

New Staff

I am delighted to welcome Lisa Grech (Reception), Lauren Duggan (NCCD Administration Assistant), Atalina Ulugia-Sa’ena (First Aid and Administration) and Rosa Medina Barron (College Psychologist) to our staff.

Each brings a wealth of experience, many gifts, fresh ideas and a strong commitment to learning and wellbeing of our students. I wish them every blessing as they join our school community.

Ash Wednesday

Next week we celebrate Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season. With the COVID restrictions on mass numbers, we will mark Ash Wednesday with a Liturgy of the Word during pastoral care on Wednesday morning. We encourage families, where possible, to join their parish community for mass on this day. Mass times and booking details are included in the newsletter.

This year the Caritas Project Compassion campaign invites us to be more. This idea comes from a line by St Oscar Romero, where he called people to ‘Aspire not to have more, but to be more’

Lent is a time to be more, to explore our faith more deeply and to live it out in concrete everyday actions such as feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, welcoming strangers and giving comfort to those in need. During Lent we try to live more simply; focusing less on ourselves and more on others, sharing what we have and making more time for God in our lives.

MacKillop Pins

At the open assembly we recognised a number of students for academic excellence in 2020.

The Mary MacKillop pin is awarded to the top 10-15 students at each year level. Results from Semester 1 and 2 are considered in selecting these students.

I’d like to congratulate all students who received a MacKillop Pin. You are indeed a talented group!

Recipients of the MacKillop pin generally have the ability to stick at things and to work hard even when the work is not immediately enjoyable. They know that learning is about making mistakes and learning from them. They’re focussed, seek help, use feedback and constantly look for ways to do better.

In 2020, these students also showed remarkable resilience and the ability to manage their own learning in the online space. Well done on working hard throughout the year and doing everything to be the best you can be. Your pin is well deserved.

I’d also like to congratulate all the students who were not recognised with a pin, but who know that what they achieved last year was their very best. Well done!

Recipients of the Mary MacKillop Pin for 2020 were:

2020 Learning Bursaries

As well as the MacKillop Pin we also awarded a learning bursary for the DUX (student with the most outstanding academic results for each year level). The recipients of these awards for 2020 were:

Year 7:    Janelle Lawang 

Year 8:     My Nguyen

Year 9:      Hinh Ho

Year 10:     Alessia Lo Guarro         

Congratulations to these students. Each had a terrific year and achieved results of which they should be very proud. We hope that each student uses the prize in some way towards their education.

Kwong Lee Dow Scholar 2020

Congratulations to Sonany Istaifo on being accepted into the Kwong Lee Dow Scholars program at Melbourne University. Sonany has achieved excellent results throughout the year and has been involved in a range of co-curricular activities. She is a worthy recipient.

Williams Cup

Congratulations to Guelen House on winning the 2020 Williams Cup. An outstanding effort! The 2020 Cup was a very close battle with only a few points separating the Houses for most of the year. Well done to everyone for your participation and house spirit.

Final Points:   Guelen (285)     O’Reilly (278)     Reis (261)     Corbett (257)

Congratulations: Year 12 2020

On behalf of the College community I’d like to congratulate the students and staff of Catholic Regional College Sydenham and Melton on the resilience, perseverance and courage that exhibited throughout the challenging circumstances of 2020 and the excellent Year 12 results attained by students. On any measure students are doing very well and we should all be very proud of what they’ve achieved.

We congratulate Jordan Luong (former CRC St Albans student) who was DUX of the College. Jordan is a wonderful young man: hardworking, talented, humble and very deserving of this achievement. We were delighted to welcome him back to the College at our school assembly where he spoke to students and presented the MacKillop Pins.

Year Level Leaders 2021:

Year 7:     Mr Justin Mead  

                jmead@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 8:     Ms Stella Alexopoulos

                 salexopoulos@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 9:     Ms Christie Roberts   

                 croberts@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 10:    Mr Eder Ramos 

                  eramos@crcstalbans.com.au

Please note:  Ms Roberts is replacing Mr Taylor who is currently on leave

Newsletter

The newsletter is published fortnightly and is available online on Day 10 (Friday Week 2).

Newsletter Days for Term 1 2021:         

Fridays:             12 February          26 February           12 March            26 March

Supervision

Parents and students are advised that the College grounds are supervised on a daily basis from 8.20am to 3.30pm.

Outside these hours there are sometimes special activities, practices or events. For these, parents are notified through the weekly newsletter or a special letter.

Parents need to know that students who arrive prior to 8.20am or who leave after 3.30pm are not supervised.

The library is open until 4.30pm on Monday – Thursday and 4.00pm on Friday. Students are able to complete homework or read quietly in this space if they need to wait for parents.

School start / finish times

Students need to be at school by 8.40am and classes finish at 3.10pm each afternoon. However, students may be detained by teachers until 3.25pm without formal notification to parents. This allows teachers to follow up work, provide additional assistance or to address minor behaviour issues before they become major.

Notification of Absences

We ask that parents or guardians contact the school before 10.00am if a student is absent on any day. This can be done by phone on 9366 2544 or email Lisa Grech at lgrech@crcstalbans.com.au. As Lisa is responsible for tracking absences we ask that parent notification by email be directed only to her, not to other staff.

If the phone call or email notifying absence is received it will be taken as the official explanation of the student’s absence and no further note is required. If no contact is made with the school, a note explaining the absence will be required on the student’s return to school.

To ensure the safety of students the College has a policy of contacting parents when a student is away from school without notification. Lisa rings parents after 10.00am. It is a great help if parents/guardians ring before we make contact.

Term Dates 2021

Term 1:            Monday 01 February – Thursday 01 April  

Term 2:            Monday 19 April – Friday 25 June

Term 3:            Monday 12 July – Friday 17 September

Term 4:            Monday 04 October – Friday 03 December

Please Note:    

Year 10 students finish at the College on Thursday 25 November but have an Orientation program at CRC Sydenham from Monday 29 November to Friday 03 December.

Mid-year exams (Years 9 and 10):           07 June – 15 June 2021

End of year exams (Years 9 and 10):       17 November – 24 November 2021

Families planning to travel in the middle of the year or at the end of 2021 are asked to note that exams and the Orientation program at Sydenham are compulsory. Exams must be taken within the exam timetable. They cannot be taken before or after the exam week.

Please do not book travel before:

• 15 June in the middle of the year (Years 9 and 10)
• 03 December for Year 11 2022 students (Year 10 2021)
• 24 November for Year 9 students.

Key Dates Term 1 2021

A full calendar for Term 1 will be sent home to families in the first week of 2021. However, key dates for Term 1 2021 are listed below: