Welcome

Welcome to the 2022 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.

There was a lovely surprise waiting for students and staff when they returned to school. Our stage mural was completed over the holidays. This artwork is the result of much planning during 2021. A group of students and staff worked with artist, Sasha Heath, to design a mural that captures and celebrates the cultural diversity of the school community. The mural consists of 40 images of flora and fauna, each representing a different cultural group in the school. An olive branch and the word ‘welcome’ in different languages are woven through the mural, echoing our school song ‘All are Welcome’.  Thank you to everyone involved.

School Focus 2022

Our theme for 2022 is hearts open to the world. This comes from Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti. The encyclical asks us to open our hearts, and to appreciate and love each person, regardless of where in the world a person was born or lives. At the core of the encyclical is a story we all know well, the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’. Pope Francis invites us to revisit our response to the question of ‘Who is my neighbor’ and calls us to see all of humankind as our brothers and sisters.

Lunar New Year

This year, the return to school coincided with 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 for 2022.

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 always 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.

Thank you also for your support in implementing our COVID safe measures, including the twice weekly Rapid Antigen Testing.

Your role in supporting the learning of students cannot be underestimated. It is very hard to do your best in 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 are beginning to feel ‘at home’ and that your time with us is all that you hoped for, and more.

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 local schools. You are indeed very welcome.  

New Staff

I am delighted to welcome Andrew Bain-King (English, Visual Arts and Year 7 Level Leader), Ibrahim Huseyin (Humanities and English teacher), Jennifer Comerford (School Counsellor), Teresa Vu (Library Assistant), Michelle Das (Speech Pathologist), Edie Bush (Learning Support) and Julianne Pham (Learning Support) to the staff.

Jenny Spataro (Humanities and English) and Elaine Smith (Learning Support) and Atem George (Dinka Multicultural Aide) all return to the College from various forms of leave.

Each brings a wealth of experience, many gifts, fresh ideas and a strong commitment to our students. I wish them every blessing for their time with us.

Opening Assembly

On Tuesday morning we marked the beginning of the school year with our opening assembly. Due to COVID restrictions, the assembly was virtual. I thank Ms Cini, our School Captains; My, Caelen, Ana and Alex, Ms Dykes and Mr Marshall for organising and leading the assembly.

At the conclusion of the assembly, My and Caelen encouraged everyone in the school community to: 

• Share their gifts and strengths.
• Be themselves and the best version of themselves.
• Get involved.
• Build relationships with each other.
• Live the school values to be compassionate individuals, friends, peers and neighbours.

My and Caelen wished everyone an outstanding year, a year they achieve what they dream, see the best in themselves, are proud of what they accomplish and where everyone feels connected as one.

MacKillop Pins

At the opening assembly we recognised a number of students for academic excellence in 2021.

The Mary MacKillop pin is awarded to the top 10-12 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 Mary MacKillop Pin for 2021 were:

2021 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 2021 were:

Year 7:                  Konstantyn Wejak

Year 8:                  Janelle Lawang

Year 9:                  My Nguyen

Year 10:                Vincent Nguyen

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 2021

Congratulations to Vincent Nguyen on being accepted into the Kwong Lee Dow Scholars program at Melbourne University. Vincent has achieved excellent results throughout the year and is a worthy recipient.

Williams Cup

Congratulations to Guelen House on winning the 2021 Williams Cup. This is a repeat of 2020 and the House Captains are already planning for the ‘threepeat’. An outstanding effort! Guelen established an early lead and built on this throughout the year. The big improvers for the year were Corbett House who improved from fourth to second in 12 months. Well done to everyone for your participation and house spirit.

Final Points:   Guelen (179)     Corbett (153)     Reis (133)     O’Reilly (128)

Guelen House Leaders Sophia and Sammy

Year Level Leaders 2022:

Year 7:  Mr Andrew Bain-King  abain@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 8:   Ms Stella Alexopoulos salexopoulos@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 9:   Ms Christie Roberts croberts@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 10: Mr Brad Taylor btaylor@crcstalbans.com.au

Newsletter

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

Newsletter Days for Term 1 2022:             

Fridays: 11 February      25 February       11 March          25 March          08 April                       

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 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 behavior 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 2022

Term 1:                 Tuesday 01 February – Friday 08 April  

Term 2:                 Tuesday 26 April – Friday 24 June

Term 3:                 Monday 11 July – Friday 16 September

Term 4:                 Monday 03 October – Tuesday 06 December

Please Note:     

Year 10 students finish at the College on Thursday 01 December but have an Orientation program at CRC Sydenham from Monday 05 December to the Friday 09 December.

Mid-year exams (Years 9 and 10):             14 – 20 June 2022

End of year exams (Years 9 and 10):         25 – 30 November 2022

Families planning to travel in the middle of the year or at the end of 2022 are asked to note that exams and the Orientation program at Sydenham are compulsory. Exams must be taken within the exam timetable.

Please do not book travel before:

• 21 June in the middle of the year (Years 9 and 10)
• 09 December for Year 11 2023 students (Year 10 2022)
• 30 November for Year 9 students.