Lenten Commitment

Give up harsh words: use generous ones.

Give up unhappiness: take up gratitude.

Give up anger: take up gentleness and patience.

Give up pessimism: take up hope and optimism.

Give up worrying: take up trust in God.

Give up complaining: value what you have.

Give up stress: take up prayer.

Give up judging others: discover Jesus within them.

Give up sorrow and bitterness: fill your heart with joy.

Give up selfishness: take up compassion for others.

Give up being unforgiving: learn reconciliation.

Give up words: fill yourself with silence and listen to others.

Anonymous, Latin America

Lent is a journey. As we pass the half-way mark it is timely to check in and to see how we’re going with the commitment we made on Ash Wednesday. Have we given up and gone back to our old ways or are we on track with the change we are trying to make?

For those of us who might have lost our way, our opening prayer offers a different way of looking at what we might give up and take up as we journey with Jesus to Holy Week and Easter.

Thank You

Whilst there is still one week of term left this is the last newsletter for Term 1. Congratulations and thanks to students, staff and families on a terrific term. Your energy, support and commitment has been very much appreciated and there is a long list of highlights. I’d especially like to congratulate our Year 7 students on a great start to their secondary education. We have all been impressed with your enthusiasm, willingness to be involved and commitment to your learning. Well done.

Easter brings many good things; holidays, time with family and Easter eggs. However, it’s important that we also set aside some time to walk with Jesus to the cross and to truly celebrate his Resurrection. I encourage all families to join their parish communities in the Easter ceremonies. We’ve included the schedule for Holy Week ceremonies in our parishes in the newsletter.

I hope that the holidays are restful and enjoyable for everyone. May the blessings of Holy Week and the joys of Easter be God’s gifts to each of you over the coming weeks.

Harmony Week

Last week we celebrated Harmony Week. The focus of the week is inclusion, mutual respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background. We are a community where people come from many different places, therefore, cultural diversity is something we know and celebrate. The key messages of Harmony Week are that everyone is welcome and everyone belongs. This is something that we believe deeply as a school community and try to live out in all that we do.

Harmony Week is a reminder and an affirmation of our shared humanity; that what we have in common is far greater than our differences, and that we are one human family.

Thank you to our student leaders who planned and led many different awareness raising activities throughout the week. From Wednesday mass, prayer in different languages, the Harmony Day concert and the activities for homeroom and extended pastoral care, it was a great week. Again, thank you.

Congratulations

Thank you and congratulations to our College Swim team who competed in the SACCSS Interschool Swimming earlier this week. Our small squad of 17 swimmers achieved some outstanding results. We are very proud of the commitment, sportsmanship and team spirit shown by all involved.

On behalf of the swim team, I’d like to thank Ms Andrea Jurcec, Ms Adele Simoncini and Ms Annette Vella for all their work with the team in the lead up to the carnival and for accompanying the team on the day.

First day: Term 2

Students return to school for the beginning of Term 2 on Tuesday 23 April. This will be Day 7 of our timetable. There are no changes to the College timetable for Term 2.

I ask that students make a note of this in their diaries and ensure they bring the appropriate materials for this day. There should be no excuses about incorrect books or uniform for the day.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) surveys

Last week all families would have received information regarding the ECSI surveys in the mail. Thank you to those who have already completed the surveys. We are about half way towards the number of parent surveys we need. Families have until Friday 05 April to complete the survey.

Where are they now?

Recently we had emails from Stephen Garbrah (Year 10 2016) and Ely Tom (Year 10 2015) who have been playing High School basketball in the US. Stephen has just received a full scholarship to Fort Lewis College in Colorado Ely is heading off to College in Denver. We wish both all the best as they pursue their basketball dreams. Bronson Borlace (Year 9 2018) is following in their footsteps and currently playing High School Basketball in the US.

Uniform

From the beginning of Term 2 all students will need to be in full winter uniform. This includes wearing the blazer to homeroom each morning, and the wearing of the school tie for both boys and girls. The uniform policy and requirements are in the Student Diary.

The holidays provide a good opportunity for families to check uniform items, to buy school shoes if these are needed, to let down hems if the kilt is too short, to mend PE uniforms that have been worn etc…  We hope that all students make a good start to the term by ensuring that they are in full uniform. I ask the support of families in this matter.

Holidays: a great time for getting into book.

I know that in many families computer games are put away / not allowed / rationed during term time and brought out during the holidays. However, holidays are also a great time for reading (and sport, getting together with family and friends, playing, enjoying the outdoors, pursuing other interests). Time online is very much the world of people today, however, like all things, it needs to be kept in balance and proportion to other activities!

Hopefully, all students will set aside some time to enjoy a book or two. This is the chance to read, not what you have to but what you choose to, a chance to visit a completely different world.

Student Parent Teacher interviews will take place in the hall on:

Thursday 4^th April (1.30 - 5.00 pm and 6.00 - 8.00 pm)

The initial interview is with the Pastoral Care Teacher. Families are then invited to speak with 5 – 6 other subject teachers as well. This would normally take approximately 30 minutes.

We look forward to meeting all families at the interviews.

On the 15^th of March the Year 7’s were involved in a reflection day which was held amongst the olive groves at Pitruzello Estate in Subury. The theme for the Year 7 Reflection Day was 'What it means to be people of peace'. Students worked in small groups and discussed the presence of God's peace in their lives.

Students explored and reflected on a time in their life where they felt God's peace and they acted as an instrument of God's peace. Then they discussed where peace is needed in the world today.

The Students designed symbols of God's peace in clay and their art work will soon be on display as a reminder of how we need to be continually people of God's peace.  The day concluded with a liturgy where the students were presented with a CRC St Albans Peace Badge. The feedback from both students and staff was very positive. The following is a short excert from the day.

`I like learning about peace and harmony and community’. Toa, 7 Wimmera

`I like learning about our community’ Ricci, 7 Kiewa

`It was nice to be a part of nature (olive groves) and reflect on peace’ William, 7 Avoca

Ms Jacinta Dykes

Faith Leader

Come along to one of the churches in our parish and celebrate Mass with us.

Sacred Heart

• Holy Thursday: 7.30pm Mass of the Lord's Supper
• Good Friday Stations of the Cross : 11.00am Public Stations of the Cross - Alfreida St
• Good Friday: 3.00pm Solemn Celebratiob of the Lord's Passion & Death
• Easter Vigil: 7.30pm
• Easter Sunday: 8.00am, 9.00am Polish Mass , 10.15am, 11.30am
• Holy Week Reconciliation Times: Tuesday 9th April - 7.30pm

Emmaus

• Holy Thursday: 7.00pm Mass of the Lord's Supper
• Good Friday: 3.00pm Solemna Celebration of the Lord's Passion & Death
• Easter Vigil: 7.00pm, 9.30pm Iraqi Mass
• Easter Sunday: 9.00am, 11.00am Iraqi Mass
• Holy Week Reconciliation Times: 9th April - 7.30pm

Resurrection Church

• Holy Thursday: 7.00pm
• Good Friday Stations of the Cross : 10.00am
• Good Friday: 3.00pm
• Easter Vigil: 7.00pm
• Easter Sunday: 8.30am & 10.30am
• Holy Week Reconciliation Times: Tuesday 16th April at 7.00pm

St Mary MacKillop

• Holy Thursday: 7.30pm
• Good Friday Stations of the Cross : 9.00am
• Good Friday: 3.00pm
• Easter Vigil: 7.30pm
• Easter Sunday: 9.00am, 11.00am, 5.30pm
• Holy Week Reconciliation Times: Monday 10.00am, Tuesday 7.00 pm Wednesday 7.00pm, Friday 10.00am

St Paul's

• Holy Thursday: 5.30pm
• Good Friday: 3.00pm
• Easter Sunday: 8.00am, 10.00am
• Holy Week Reconciliation Times: Wednesday 10.00am, Thursday 11.00am, Saturday 11.00am

Holy Eucharist

• Holy Thursday: 7.00pm Mass of the Lord's Supper
• Good Friday Stations of the Cross : 10.00am Public Stations of the Cross – School Oval
• Good Friday: 3.00pm (English) and 7.00pm (Vietnamese)
• Easter Saturday Vigil: 6.00pm and 8.00pm (Vietnamese)
• Blessing of the Food: 11.00am and 5.00pm.
• Easter Sunday: 9.00am, 10.30am, 12.00 noon (Vietnamese), 2.00pm and 6.00pm.

Family Nights

Last week’s Year 10 Family Night brought to a conclusion the Family Nights program that has taken place throughout Term 1. All up there have been 8 different nights over 5 weeks. Each year level has its own style and focus for the evening, taking into account the stage of schooling and particular needs of the cohort.

On behalf of families, I’d like to thank the teachers, non-teaching staff and student leaders who made these nights possible. We really appreciate their support and generosity.

I’d also like to thank all the families who attended. Your interest, support and involvement in the learning of your child are very much appreciated. As the first and most important educators of your children never underestimate the importance of your presence. Little things mean a lot!

“Family life is like a broad peaceful river, in which children are like sponges soaking up the water in which they are immersed. Everything in life educates.

At home, it is in the thousand apparently insignificant happenings of everyday life that young people learn how to judge things, how to behave and what to expect from life. They often pick up some of the strongest messages about our values and way of acting when we least expect it.”  (Bruno Ferror)

This week we participated in Harmony Week to celebrate Australia’s multicultural society and how this country is continually enriched by different cultures. During Thursday’s Harmony Day Concert we were treated to dancing from our year 7 and 8 students Marsil Yalda (yr7), Anmar Zakar (yr8), Ghandi Matti and a lute performance from Jude Sef (yr 9). Olivia Barisic (yr 9) also sang for us. A big thank you to all the students involved.

Harmony Day 

Thursday the 21st of March marked the United Nations’ International Day for the elimination of racial discrimination, which we call Harmony Day. Our main focus this year was to recognise and celebrate our multicultural school community; to not only explore our roots, but each others stories of migration or refuge. Each year level was asked to complete a different activity regarding their families ethnicity, and this was displayed on the stage where several students performed cultural pieces.

May we remember to accept and love one another for who they are; To not judge each others differences, but instead, praise and celebrate these difference which make us unique and our school community diverse. Colossians 3:14 ‘And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.’

NAPLAN online

Families may have heard that NAPLAN testing is moving to an online test. The process for transitioning to online tests for all schools will be completed over three years, 2018 – 2020. Our school has been selected to transition this year.

To assist with this all schools using NAPLAN online must complete practice tests this week. Years 7 and 9 have been completing the online practice test this week.

Term 1 fees are due by 4^th April 2019.

Please note if school fees are paid in full before 28^th June you receive a discount of $100.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding School Fees, please contact Ms. Ross on 93662544.

School Fees can be paid directly into our School Bank Account:

Has your child recently become an Australian Citizen?

If so, please contact the College Registrar, Eileen Chalmers in the Office and provide a copy of the Australian Citizenship Certificate.

هل حصل ابنك/ابنتك على الجنسية الاسترالية مؤخرا ؟

في حال حصول أولادكم على الجنسية الاسترالية الرجاء الإتصال بمسؤولة السجل السيدة آيلين شارلمرز في مكتب إدارة المدرسة و تزويدها بنسخة عن شهادة الجنسية الاسترالية.

Con của quý phụ huynh gần đây đã trở thành một công dân Úc?

Nếu vậy, xin vui lòng liên hệ với nhà trường hoặc gặp cô Eileen Chalmer trong Văn phòng và cung cấp một bản sao Giấy chứng nhận quốc tịch Úc.

Newsletter

The newsletter is published fortnightly and distributed on Day 10 (Friday Week 2). Students will have a chance to read it before placing it in their diary to be taken home to parents that evening.

Newsletter Days for Term 2 2019:             

Fridays:    26 April,     10 May,     24 May,     07 June,     21 June

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

Since our last newsletter…..

Over and above the day to day activities of the school since our last newsletter students, families and staff have participated in the following:

• Girls Futsal Training
• Evacuation Practice
• Year 8 Inter-house Volleyball
• Year 10 Family Night
• Outdoor Education Snorkelling Trip
• Garden Show visit
• State Library Research Skills program
• Forensic Science incursion
• School Production auditions
• NAPLAN online practice tests
• Harmony Week
• Years 9 and 10 Health Club
• Volleyball Club
• Cubers’ Meetup
• Otaku Club
• K’s for Caritas Water Run

I am sure that students and their families are very appreciative of all these opportunities and the time and energy that staff put into organising and offering these experiences.

Winners of the Pizza lunch for the Readers Cup are having their Pizza lunch on Wednesday 3rd April. The top scoring students participating in the Readers Cup win points that go towards the Williams Cup

Beginning in Term 2, all borrowing numbers will be set to zero and we begin the competition again, to compete for another Pizza Lunch. Overall winner of the Cup will be decided at the end of the year by adding totals from each term. Everyone starts term 2 on zero … good luck and keep reading!

FING by David Walliams

If you like his other books you will love this terrible tale.

Myrtle Meek is greedy and wants everything, but it is never enough. She wants more, more, MORE! When Myrtle declares she wants a FING, there’s only one problem… What is a FING and where would you find it?

Mr and Mrs Meek will do anything to keep their darling Myrtle happy, even visit the spooky library vaults to delve into the dusty pages of the mysterious Monsterpedia. Their desperate quest leads to the depths of the darkest jungle where the rarest creatures can be found. But will they ever find a FING?

The school swimming carnival is on and Weir isn't looking forward to ANY of it! 

Not the TINY cozzies! Or getting water UP HIS NOSE! And especially not the RACING! 

Can Weir win for his team? 

It won't be easy... but it will be FUNNY!

Year 10 Outdoor Education – Snorkeling Day Trip

Recently we had our Year 10 Outdoor Education classes attend their Snorkeling Day Trip to Queenscliff where they visited the Marine Discovery Centre, received training on snorkeling and went out into the middle of the bay and snorkeled at Popes Eye and China Mans Hat. Whilst snorkeling, students and staff had close encounters with many marine creatures, such as seals, stingrays and many fish to name a few. Both classes were blessed with ideal conditions and have had an experience they will be talking about for years to come. Students will use their fieldtrip experience to complete their School Assessed Course work for this semester and we thank our staff Mr. Quinn and Ms. Lowe for providing our students with yet another memorable experience.

Students Get Healthy

Our school has started a Health Club which runs Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm for twenty of our students. Students receive training from two qualified and experienced personal trainers (Matt and Sharon) who work at CRC Fit at our Senior Campus at Sydenham. The focus of the program is on providing opportunities to improve students health and wellbeing.

We would like to acknowledge the work from our current House Captains and in particular, Augustine Morris for presenting an outstanding proposal to our College Leadership Team. We received 72 applications to join the program, however the program parameters can only cater for twenty students.

Health Club will run every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the year during school terms, unless specified by Mr. Marshall.

We look forward to seeing the benefits of the program in improving our students’ physical, social and mental health and wellbeing.

Victorian Institute of Sport PUBLIC OPEN DAY

Date: Wednesday 10^th April (first week of school holidays)

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Lakeside Stadium, 33 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria.

For the first time in our almost 30 year history, we will open our doors to the general public, showcasing our world-class facilities, athletes and experts.

SEE - Our world-class facilities, where Victoria’s best athletes and experts ply their trade.

MEET  - Hear from some of Australia’s best athletes, including Olympic Aerial Skiing Champion Lydia Lassila and Melbourne Vixens star players Kate Moloney and Liz Watson, and many more!

LEARN - Learn about how elite athletes train and prepare for competition with sessions in the gym, sport science sessions in Performance Labs, cooking sessions with sport dietitians.

TRY - Cycling testing with high performance experts, netball clinics with the Vixens and a taste of “Murderball” with the Aussie Steelers Wheelchair Rugby team.

Schedule

10:00-11:00 - Netball clinic with the Melbourne Vixens

10:15-10:45 - Performance Analysis

10:30-11:00 - Cooking class

11:00-12:00 - Netball clinic with the Melbourne Vixens

11:30-12:00 - Performance Analysis

11:45-12:15 - Cooking class

1:00-1:30 - Cooking class

12:00-2:00 - Wheelchair Rugby Demo

Williams Cup Update

Corbett are still in front but the battle for the 2019 Williams Cup is tightening with only 3 points separating 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th places.

Updated results include points for the Term 1 Readers Cup and the Year 10 Frisbee tournament. Congratulations to O’Reilly who won the Frisbee, and to Reis and Corbett who took the bulk of the points for the Reading competition.

1. Corbett                34 points
2. Reis                     24 points
3. O’Reilly                22 points
4. Guelen                 21 points

Key Dates Term 1 2019

Thursday 4 April

Student Parent Teach interviews 

Friday 5 April

Final Day Term 1

Key Dates Term 2 2019

Tuesday 23 April

First day Term 2    (Day 7 Timetable)

Thursday 25 April

ANZAC Day   (No Classes)

Wednesday 1 May

Year 7 Premier League starts

Tuesday 7 May

SACCSS Interschool Cross Country

14/5 – 24/5

NAPLAN online testing 

16/5 – 17/5

Outdoor Education Camp

Thursday 30 May

Feast Day

Friday 31 May

Staff Professional Learning Day   (No Classes) 

Monday 10 June

Queen’s Birthday Holiday   (No Classes)

11/6 – 18/6

Years 9 and 10 exams

 Wednesday 19 June

Correction Day / Report Preparation   (No Classes)

Friday 28 June

Final Day Term 2