The Journey Begins

As we step into this New Year

restore our spirits.

Renew our passion for learning

and nurture our compassion

for those in need.

Transform us as we seek to transform;

guide us as we seek to guide;

open our minds and hearts

to the world around us;

to the Good News of justice and peace.

Help us listen more deeply

to the world and to your Word,

so we that we are attentive

to the Wisdom that

calls us all to the Kingdom of God.

Adapted from a prayer by Jane Deren

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:

Our school theme for this year is `Listen to the cry of the earth, listen to the cry of the poor’. This year's theme recognises the five years since the release of Pope Francis encyclical Laudato Si and we hope to unpacked this important document and theme in our liturgies but also in the social justice actions of our school.

Listen to the cry of the earth……..

The following prayer of ecological conversion was read at Mackillop assembly this week where we joined together to reflect on the cry of the earth.

God of the sun and the moon of the mountains, deserts and plains God of the mighty oceans, of rivers, lakes and streams, God of all creatures that live in the seas and fly in the air of every living thing that grows and moves on this sacred Earth…

Help us to love and respect it. To repair what we have damaged to care for what you have made good and holy. Give us the wisdom and the passion to change our minds and hearts and our ways.

Let us be mustard seeds in our world Bringing about ecological conversion which grows and spreads to every corner of the earth for our sake now and for every generation which is to come.

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Listen to the cry of the Poor...

Our first fundraising initiative at Catholic Regional College St Albans this year is supporting child care in Syria  that has suffered greatly due to the civil war, US sanctions and responding to the impacts of COVID. On Friday our social justice team will be selling roses for St Valentines day to raise funds for the childcare so they can continue their important work.

Our staff member Louna is currently trying to raise funds for the child care and she has set up a link to the fundraising page which includes more detailed information :

https://www.mycause.com.au/page/242842/jasmine-project/1

There will be an Ash Wednesday liturgy in Pastoral Care next week. This liturgy will  mark the beginning of Caritas Project Compassion. On Shrove Tuesday the social justice team will sell pancakes from the canteen to raise funds for Caritas.

MACKILLOP AWARD GALLERY

HEALTHY EATING

SCHOOL MUSICAL

This year's School Musical is Little Shop of Horrors.

Little Shop of Horrors is a delectable sci-fi horror musical with an electrifying 1960s pop/rock score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

Seymour Krelborn is a meek and dejected assistant at a floral shop who happens upon a strange plant, which he affectionately names "Audrey II" after his crush from the shop. Little does he know that this strange and unusual plant will develop a soulful R&B voice, a potty mouth, and an unquenchable thirst to take over the world.

As Audrey II grows bigger and meaner, the carnivorous plant promises limitless fame and fortune to Seymour, as long as he continues providing a fresh supply of food. Just when it's too late, Seymour discovers Audrey II's extra-terrestrial origins and his true drive for world-domination.

Calling all singers, dancers and actors to audition to be part of this incredible show.

- Information on the musical and list of characters can be collected from the Arts Building Foyer area.

- Audition Sign up forms can also be collected from the Arts Building Foyer.

Come be part of the journey and the performances.

Get your Audition forms into Mr Marshall ASAP

Cut off date: Friday 12th February.

We look forward to seeing you at the auditions!!!

Rehearsals for the show will be every Thursday after school  till 5:30pm. 

- Mr Marshall, Ms Baldacchino and Ms Liberatore :)

NATIONAL TEACHER - ARTIST PRIZE

The National Teacher-Artist Prize is a new annual art prize for Australian teachers. It aims to nurture, recognise and celebrate the visual art practice of school based teachers.

Hello everyone, I have entered the National Teacher-Artist Prize 2021.Please vote for my artwork by

clicking on the following link on a laptop or computer:

https://zart.us.launchpad6.com/ntap/entries 

Steps to vote:

1. Click Victoria

2. Then search 'Claire'

You will receive an email and will need to click the link to confirm. 

Thank you so much for your support!

Ms Rayos

Welcome to 2021 at CRC ST Albans....

The Student Leaders will be introducing themselves to the CRC St Albans community, through the next few issues of the College newsletter. 

This issue features our College Captains and Vice Captains: Sacreanna, Cayden, Alex and Tri.

Hello, I'm Sacreana Ulugia-Sa'ena, one of the school captains of 2021. Before making my way to CRC St Albans, I attended Resurrection Primary school. In my free time, I like to learn language(s) and produce music. For 2021, I hope that we, as a school, can share lots of laughter and joy despite COVID-19 restrictions. Even if we only get to plan a couple of small events, I hope we'll all have fun. If I were to give one piece of advice to the Year 7's, it'd have to be: 'Don't wait around. If you want something, go work for it. Don't waste time'. I'm sure many people also take their youth for granted, so please enjoy and appreciate your time as a teen. If anyone needs to speak to me about anything or just have a conversation, I'm usually free during break times. If not, you can speak to me through email- sacreanau@crcstalbans.com.au.

Hi my name is Cayden Aguila and I am one of the School Captains for 2021. Like Sacreana, I too attended Resurrection Primary School. One interesting fact about myself is that I like to sing even though I cannot, Giveon is amazing! Let us forget about 2020 as we all know that it was a rough year. We should focus on the future because the past is history but the future is a mystery. The world will never go back to “normal” but we all must adapt and change how we learn and live not only in school but wherever life leads us. My advice for the new year 7s....Year 7 is about having fun and finding yourself, it isn't about the scores you got or the homework you forgot to do, it is all about finding out who you want to be and what life you want to strive for. You are the future for CRC St Albans. Wear our CRC St Albans badge with pride and your head high!

If you would like to introduce yourself, or chat, you can find me here: caydena@crcstalbans.com.au

Hello, my name is Alexandra Chau and I am one of the College Vice Captains. I attended St Paul's Kealba Primary School. I love to blast music and just vibe. 

My hopes and dreams for 2021 is to be able to leave a mark behind for current and future students who attend CRC St Albans. By doing so, as School Captain I want to be able to bring ideas to the table and put those ideas into action. As a school community I believe we can do so with the cooperation and support from those around us. I aim to inspire the younger year levels to achieve their goals whether they are big or small, they can be achieved with passion and persistence. Throughout 2021 and the many years to come, I want us to continue to grow and flourish as people, to create positive relationships with others and stay connected in the CRC St Albans community.

My advice for the year 7’s as they begin their journey at CRC St Albans, is to enjoy it and find yourself amongst the crowd. I know it may be nerve racking but I promise you CRC St Albans is a welcoming community, where students grow and learn to better themselves as people. Remember you represent us as a school, so wear your uniform with pride and respect.

Live out our school values!

Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions or questions at: alexandratamc@crcstalbans.com.au

Always keep positive, try to have a good sleep schedule and if you are struggling with mental health don’t be afraid to talk to the school psychologist.

You can find me at trit@crcstalbans.com and we can plan a time to talk or you can find me around the canteen or the year 10 area.

What exactly is Mental Health?

According to the World Health Organisation Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stress of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Mental health is determined by how we recognise and manage our emotions, thoughts, and behaviour to stay in control of our lives and relate with others.

Why is Mental Health important?

Our state of mind regulates the way we perceive reality. It is the pair of glasses we wear to see the world. 

If we are in good mental health, with clean glasses, we get a clear picture of ourselves and our situation. We can appreciate our strengths, identify the things we may improve, find solutions to common problems, and create healthy relationships.

On the other hand, if we are stuck with non-useful emotions and thoughts, our glasses are foggy, and our vision of the world is distorted.

For example, when people are depressed, they tend to overrate their mistakes and flaws and think that there is no way out of difficult times, and nobody likes or cares about them.

THAT IS NOT THE REALITY…IT’S JUST THEIR VIEW THROUGH MURKY GLASSES 

How to stay mentally fit?

1. Taking care of our physical health. Thoughts and emotions are hosted in our brain. A healthy brain is part of a healthy body. So, we need to practice healthy habits, e.g. eating nutritious food, having quality sleep, and exercising.

2. Gaining awareness of our emotions, thoughts, and reactions. It is essential that every single time we feel uneasy, we take a break to reflect on what is going on both in our minds and in the real world.

3. Socialising. Observing others' behaviour and connecting with them to share thoughts and feelings is the best way to learn about different world perspectives. Recognising that there are alternative views to the same situation helps us pick the ones that serve us better.

Online Medical Forms 

Please complete your child's online medical form through the Parent Access Module or the SimonEverywhere App. The video explains how to access PAM, and further instructions regarding online medical forms and downloading SimonEverywhere. The same video can be viewed in Vietnamese or Dinka on the College website:

https://www.crcstalbans.catholic.edu.au/parents/

Photo Day – Wednesday 17 February 2021. 

Please order online or complete the envelope that has been sent home.  If completing the envelope, insert exact cash and student to bring on Photo Day to give to photographer.

Immunisation for Years 7  and 10 – Friday 5 March 2021

Immunisation cards have been sent home to Year 7 & 10 families.  Please complete and return to PC teacher by Monday 22 February 2021.  If you do not wish to have your details passed onto Brimbank Council, you must notify the College in writing by 26 February 2021.

OUR COMMUNITY GARDEN

A more mild summer has led to some bumper crops in the garden this year and the chooks appreciated the lower temperatures for sure.

We're looking forward to another year of garden projects, good food and building community.

Hello!

My name is Lisa and you will find me in the College front office.

Here are some of the things that make my heart happy…..Wearing bright colourful dresses and shoes - I love all things rainbows and bright colours!

I love spending time with my friends and family – especially holidays to Queensland to visit my extended family.

I absolutely love Christmas, it is my favourite time of year. I love Christmas carols, mince pies and the joy that the time of year brings to my friends and family. I am a HUGE Christmas movie fan. I start watching Christmas movies in November and don’t stop until February.

I am looking forward to meeting and working with the CRC community. 

 

FIRST WEEKS AT SCHOOL