The book of Sirach tells us that:

Supportive friends and family are like a sturdy shelter.

Whoever finds them has found a rare treasure.

The people who give us support are priceless.

No amount of money can balance their worth.

(Sirach 6:14, 15)

Who are these priceless treasures in your life? Think about the people who give you support. They are there with you when you are low, respect you for who you are and are always ready to encourage and help. Perhaps you could make a special effort over the next few days to thank them for all the support they give you and what they mean to you.

Gracious God,

We thank you for those who support us.

They are such an important part of our lives.

Some days would be very tough without them.

We ask you to bless them in a special way today.

We thank you also for the support you, our God offer to us.

Stay close to us and never let us forget that you are always there for us.

We thank you and praise you our God, our Father and our support.

Amen.

During Term 3, we will re-visit our school values in homeroom and staff prayer. This week we began with Support (Green). Giving support is as simple and challenging as a ‘high five’, just being there when things are tough, listening, encouraging, and sticking up for someone when others are unkind or unfair. In our school we try to build a community where students, staff and families experience a circle of support.

Welcome

This term we warmly welcome Ms Zoe Parco to our staff. Ms Parco teaches Maths and Science, and replaces Mr Liam Stewart who has taken up a new position at another school. We wish Ms Parco a fruitful and professionally enriching time at our school.

School Review

Every four years Catholic Schools participate in a school review process. This review has a two-fold purpose, firstly, to ensure that the school meets the VRQA minimum requirements for school registration and child safety, and secondly, to identify areas for ongoing school improvement. A review is a chance to take stock, to celebrate our achievements of the last school improvement cycle, and to plan for the next four years.

Leslie Tulloch will be at the College on the 2^nd, 7^th and 8^th August, and again on the 13^th September. During this time she will be visiting classes, meeting with staff, students and parents, and reviewing a range of materials to give us, both feedback and directions for improvement.

Leslie will be meeting with parents on Thursday 8^th August from 8.30 – 9.00am. If you would like to be part of the process, please let us know via enquiries@crcstalbans.com.au

Updating Family phone and email contacts

At times families change their phone or email contacts and forget to let the school know. In case of emergency, it is very important that these details are always up to date. If your contact details have changed please notify the school, either by ringing the College or sending the information via email at enquiries@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 10 Families

In the next three weeks, Year 10 students will be selecting their courses for Year 11. We encourage all families to ensure that they attend the following activities which support the course planning process:

Wednesday 31 July:   Twilight Open Evening CRC Sydenham

Monday 12 August:   Course Finalisation Day

Year 10 families have received information from CRC Sydenham regarding the Twilight Open Evening. It is important that a parent / guardian attends with students

Staff Professional Learning Day: Tuesday 13 August 2024

Tuesday 13 August will be a student free day. On this day, some staff will work with David Vinegrad on developing an understanding of Restorative Practices, and their place in building strong and healthy relationships with young people, and in constructively solving relational problems. Staff with leadership roles will work with Gavin Grift on further developing their leadership skills.

NAPLAN Results

2024 NAPLAN results were posted to Years 7 and 9 families last week. If you have not received these please contact the school.

Uniform Shop

Our uniform provider, Academy Uniforms, has moved from Derrimut to Niddrie. The new premises provide excellent changing facilities for uniform fittings and excellent parking. Families are asked to note the new details at the end of the newsletter.

Newsletter

The newsletter is published fortnightly and distributed to families electronically on Day 10. Students can access the newsletter via a link in the student bulletin on Monday morning.

Newsletter Days for Term 3 2024:            

Fridays:                 09 August            23 August            06 Sep                   20 Sep                             

The newsletter can also be accessed on Friday afternoon (Day 10) on the College website at http://www.crcstalbans.catholic.edu.au

Key Dates Term 3 2024

Social Justice Report 

The Social Justice team would like to thank everyone for their great contribution to the Food Bank with a particular shout out to 8 Clark for their generous contribution. All the cans have now been delivered to the Food Bank and distributed to needy families. 

In Term 3 our fundraising focus will be with the Resurrection Buyaga Vocational College in Uganda. Every Year 10 RE class will be organising fundraising events at lunchtime. These events range from sausage sizzles, to hot chocolate drives. It is our aim that each class will raise $120. This money will be used to pay the fees so a student can attend school for the year.

Another fundraising event for the Resurrection Buyaga Vocational College is the CRC St Albans Cultural Dance Fundraiser Night. This event will include a light dinner and celebrate our diverse community with dance. The night will be on Friday 13th September, 2024. Tickets cost $5 per person. 

You can register your interest for the Dance Fundraiser here:

https://forms.gle/psz55eBsustG6rkq5

The Catholic Earthcare group have been very productive. They have established a worm farm and compost for the school's waste.  The earth group has also built a scarecrow.

The Animators Group has reformed to develop another refugee story. This year they will focus on a story from a Vietnamese family within our school.

Praying Our School Values

Each of CRC St Albans Values are linked to a piece of scripture.

Community We are many but one in Christ Romans 12:5

Respect God created humankind in Gods image Genesis 1:12

Equality For you are all one in Jesus Christ Galations 3:28

Support He climbed into the book Mark 6:51

Understanding God said to Moses I am who I am Exodus 3:14

Learn I have that you have life to the full John 10:10

Positive relationships Love one another as I loved you

Over the next six weeks staff and students will explore each value through prayer.  The following is an excert from our values statement:

Here in our community, each person is sacred and unique, and therefore deserves to be treated with dignity an respect. Diversity is one of our greatest strengths and we strive to live together in harmony, giving each other support, understanding and a fair go. Together, we work to build a safe and welcoming school environment, which offers each person the freedom to learn. In living out these values, we will build strong positive relationships and show our true colours.

Last term, on May 15, 22 students from Years 7 to 10 challenged themselves to compete in the global Science Competition run by Australian Science Innovations. Students completed 30 questions in 50 minutes.  Competition questions were aligned with the Australian Curriculum-Science and assessed students’ science knowledge, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

Congratulations to all participants:

Certificate of Distinction:

Emma Lean

Certificate of Credit:

Mia Ye & Aedn Elia

Certificate of Participation:

Xavier Pham

Eden Sario

Maryam Al Dano

Aurelius Catayong

Charlie Ha

James Joseph

Christine Joseph

Rachel Nguyen

Wendy Nguyen

Kirthik Ramachandran

Jason Huynh

Teresa Marsom

Theresa Nguyen

Mari Habash

Yoel Atallah

Stallon Fernando

Sky Portillo

Lana Qabo

Stella Sheko

'Friday's Earthcare Garden Group has been busy - we had our first harvest picking lettuce, digging potatoes and also making a scarecrow for the garden.'

'On a very cold Friday after school we: fed chickens, weeded around the cauliflowers, pruned the lemon trees and topped up the worm farm.  We have been busy!'

On Monday, 15 students from Years 7-10 took part in the SACCSS Interschool Chess Tournament at Antonine College. Our team participated with enthusiasm and skill, competing against some strong opponents from other SACCSS schools. Their hard work and preparation paid off, as they secured several wins throughout the tournament. Congratulations to Ben Dau from 9 Lyons for coming 3rd in the Intermediate division and also to our Intermediate team for coming 3rd overall in their division. It was a successful day with not only numerous wins, but the students displayed good sportsmanship and represented the College with pride.

Our Twilight Open Evening for Year 11 2025 families is being held tomorrow Wednesday 31 July 2024, 5:00pm - 8:00pm. This is a compulsory event that provides students and parents with vital information about 2025 course selection and pathway planning:

• Three 30 minute information sessions will be held at 5:00pm, 6:00pm and 7:00pm in The Crate Theatre. Bookings are essential, please click here to make a booking;
• 2025 course selection information will be provided;
• Academic testing results shared with families;
• Faculty areas will be on display and teaching staff available to discuss subjects; and
• Go into the draw for your chance to win 1 year free tuition fees in 2025.

For any queries about the evening please contact the College Registrar, Jennifer Rowe, on 03 9361 0002 or email: CollegeRegistrar@crcs.vic.edu.au.

We are looking forward to seeing you.

Kind regards,

Catholic Regional College Sydenham

Live Your Best Life in Love...

A Marriage Encounter weekend is for you…

Every married couple deserves this very special weekend.

Time-out to nurture your most precious relationship away from daily distractions.  

The two of you will come away from your weekend feeling more deeply connected 

and with tools to help keep the passion alive.

No group sharing required.

The weekend is based around Catholic values. Couples of all faiths are welcome.

Please check our website for more details and to book your special weekend:

Our next weekend is: 4 - 6 October 2024 at St Paul's Retreat Centre, Wantirna South.

Starts Friday evening at 7pm and finishes Sunday afternoon around 4:30pm

Information/Bookings: Phone Mercy & James 0409 183 676 or

Email: vicbookings@wwme.org.au    Website: wwme.org.au

Thank you to everyone who has come along to our Midwinter Christmas events this year. The students have had a lot of fun decorating the restaurant and making a Christmas feast for you all.