Wide Enough

God of friends and strangers:

make the doors of our homes

wide enough

so all find a home.

God of the near and far off:

make our hearts

wide enough

So all might find a friend.

God of saints and sinners:

open our arms

wide enough

so all-

the politician, the homeless man,

the neighbour, the guest,

the child, the widow –

may be wrapped in your grace.

Thom Shuman

Once again, students and staff returned to onsite learning. With all the experience we have had, these transitions are now almost seamless. Thank you to families and staff for all your tireless work during Learning from Home. Your support, care and perseverance is very much appreciated. Congratulations to all students on how you have navigated this challenge. Attendance and engagement in online classes was excellent, and the ongoing support, encouragement and care you show each other is terrific to see. Nevertheless, it is great to have everyone back at school.

Refugee Week

Next week marks Refugee Week across Australia. It is an opportunity to celebrate the strength, courage and resilience of all who’ve been forced by war and terror to leave the world they know to build a new life in a ‘foreign’ land. It is also a chance to pause and reflect on how well we, as individuals, as local and parish communities and as a nation, welcome strangers. Do we open the door when they knock? Do we reach out or are we indifferent to their plight? Do we stand in solidarity or run in fear? Do we recognise Christ in the strangers we meet?

The theme for Refugee Week 2021 is Unity. The volatility of life in recent times has once again reminded us of our interdependence as a global community, and that we need to work together, often merely to survive. In this time of the pandemic and closed borders, we remember especially, all the people across the world who do not have a home, who have been displaced from all they know, and are waiting in refugee camps and communities to find a new home.

Thank You

This is the final newsletter for Term 2. As we draw to the end of what has been a very busy term, I’d like to thank everyone: students, staff and families for all your hard work and support over the last 10 weeks.  I am sure that you are all looking forward to the break, the chance to enjoy life at a slower pace. Without a doubt, the holidays are well deserved.

Whether you are looking forward to a good book, planning special activities with family and friends or hoping to get away, I wish all students, families and staff an enjoyable and relaxing break. With the School Production, course planning and selection for 2022, Year 9 camp, lots of interschool sport and many different activities, it looks like being a big term.

End of Term 2

Due to the change of date for exams and the report preparation day, Term 2 will conclude for students on Thursday 24 June, 2021. This will be a normal school day, starting at 8.40am and concluding at 3.10pm.

Start of Term 3

Term 3 will start on Monday 12 July, 2021. There will be a new timetable for Semester 2 which will be published on SIMON towards the end of the holidays. The first day of term will be DAY 1.

Save the Dates:  Year 10 Families

In the early part of Term 3 Year 10 students will be selecting their courses for Year 11. This brings to a conclusion much of the planning and preparation that they have already done in Pastoral Care.

Year 10 families need to be aware of some key dates related to course planning for Years 11 and 12. Each activity is designed to support students in planning for the next two years and in their transition to CRC Sydenham. It is very important that Year 10 students and their families attend all activities. Please note these in your diary.

Wednesday 28 July:        Sydenham Open Evening and Careers Expo

Tuesday 17 August:        Course Planning Day at CRC St Albans

Newsletter

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

Newsletter Days for Term 3 2021:             

Fridays:    23 July,     06 August,     20 August,     03 September,     17 September  

The newsletter can also be accessed on the College website at http://www.crcstalbans.catholic.edu.au

As we draw closer to Refugee Week, we reflect on the great contribution of the many refugee communities that have arrived in Australia. In previous years we have had Catholic Regional College St Albans students and staff share stories of their family's refugee experience and we have come to learn so much from the refugee experience.

This Term the Year 7 students are exploring the story of the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt into the Promised Land. The Jewish people were fleeing their country of residence because of religious persecution. The journey they experienced was filled with uncertainty and loss, but at the same time there was also a feeling of hope.

At the conclusion of the unit, the Year 7 students will have interviewed family and friends about their refugee experience and linked these stories to the story of the Jewish people in the Exodus. The Social Justice team will be profiling one of these stories each day in the school bulletin to draw a link between the plight of refugees today and that of refugees in the bible.

As we near the end of the semester, our students are working with purpose and determination to prepare for exams, tests and final assessments. This is also a time to reflect, recognize and appreciate their high level of engagement, resilience and growth in the first six months of the year.  

In particular, we would like to congratulate the following students who have shone through by their demonstration of the Characteristics of the CRC Learner:

Confidence - learning  how to learn

Resilience -  learning to ‘bounce back’  

7 Kiewa	Aidan Li	Evana Sakarya
7 Snowy	Mark (Ajak) Ayool	Mari Habash
7 Wimmera	Narmin Alqas Butrus	Marc Farrugia
7 Yarra	Manal Matti	Amos Thang

Hello CRC St Albans community,

The Student Leaders are proud to announce that the CRC-SA Podcast has been revived and reinvigorated.

The hosts of this season's Podcast are:

Thomas Le, Reuben Rock, Tommy Pham, Sacreana Ulugia-Sa'ena and Audrey Gerada.

Check out their intro and first episode exploring the topic of exams. With the appearance of guest speakers, the crew chat about study tips and tricks to help you reach those aspired scores!

Intro:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5puDrfcD32a3sk5RtbV9Qf?si=bkJr8nhzR9aNcr4-076XsQ

Episode 1:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sBLJkTYtToWpwQaxb9XQV?si=qFjWnoD9SmeUhzyc43Y55g

SHAPE Word of the Week - PERSISTENT

Definition: continuing firmly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

Synonym: tenacious, endurance, persevering, determined, resolute, non-stop, constant.

Video: https://youtu.be/mAkwmomM62s

For example; Deng showed persistence in pressing on in spite of difficulties.

Year 7 Health – Changing Me

This term our Year 7 Health Education classes have been learning and discussing the unit - Changing Me. This unit unpacks the physical, mental, social and spiritual changes that occur during this part of the lifespan, more commonly known as ‘puberty’.

It can be a difficult conversation to have at times with our kids, but if parents / guardians and families would like further support about how to approach this topic of conversation, please see the ‘Sex and Sensibility webinar resource below.

If you would like further information, please contact the school and speak with our Health and Physical Education leader Mr. Dale Marshall.

Sex and Sensibility Webinar - Dr Justin Coulson

“The Talk” has been the source of anxiety for many parents for generations. Cutesy phrases like “the birds and the bees” have become standard to avoid embarrassing discussions. Parents often rely on schools to teach their children about sex and everything associated with it.

This is the webinar you need so you can help your child make safe, healthy decisions when it comes to body boundaries, sex, and consent.

You’ll learn:

Why “the talk” is a bad idea.

When real conversations with your children should start – and how to start them.

How to answer tricky questions.

The ways you can equip your children to be safe and healthy from the age of 2 through to 22.

Webinar date: Monday 21st June, 8pm AEST.: https://www.happyfamilies.com.au/product/sexandsensibility/

Junior Girls and Boys Futsal Competition

The SACCSS Junior boys and girls futsal competition was meant to be held next week on Wednesday 23rd June but due to current restrictions it has been postponed to term 4.

Upcoming Sport Events

SACCSS Chess

The inter school SACCSS Chess Tournament is on Monday 19th July and will be held at St.Monica’s College. Any student who is interested in taking part should contact Mrs Jurcec.

SACCSS Badminton

This event was not able to run last year due to restrictions, so this is the first Badminton Competition. The team has been selected and will represent our school at Eagle Stadium on Thursday 29th July. Good luck to Mr.Pham and the team.

Year 7 Premier League

Due to the recent lockdowns Year 7’s weren’t able to complete their Premier League season. The last 2 games of the season have been rescheduled and the proposed dates are Thursday 24th June and Thursday 15th July. Please keep an eye on SIMON for further details.

Year 9 Premier League

Training will begin at school next week for Year 9 Premier League. The first round will take place in week 2 of Term 3. Good luck to the Year 9 students taking part.

Yew - we’ve made it past the halfway point of our Push-Up Challenge! We are super proud of what the CRC team has achieved so far! 

We have raised $434 so far and have completed 16951 pushups collectively as a team. We encourage everyone to dig deep and keep pushing-up to raise awareness and funds for mental health.

We would like to still encourage our students, staff and all members of our CRC community to join us for the Push-Up Challenge.

Register today through our team link below and click JOIN: https://www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/team/681-crc-st-albans 

 Use this code word to join the team: CRC 

Lockdown 4.0 didn’t stop the School Production staff and students from rehearsing. We decided to conduct our rehearsals using Google Meets and although it was different, and a little restricting, we had a wonderful time reading through scenes and developing our character voices and dramatic pauses. It is truly amazing what we can all do in moments of adversity. 

We cannot wait for the day we are permitted to rehearse onsite again, but until then, “rehearsals must go on”.

Mr Marshall – Arts Leader

The Year 7 EAL students have been reading the novel The Fall by Tristan Bancks.  The students read then work collaboratively to discuss the meaning and themes - just like a book club.  They select which questions and tasks to complete from the colourful reading response chart to show their knowledge, application and evaluation skills.  A popular choice was to design an alternative book cover.  The Fall is a great detective story, fast pace with a thrilling ending.  Great work Year 7 EAL.

- Mr Tobin

CRC SKINCARE PROGRAM

Yr 10 student Jesse Renda is passionate about Skincare, and has decided to run his own program at the school.

In the previous newsletter, during Lockdown 4, I set a question about how much coffee a teacher requires to function.  Thank you to all students who sent in answers.  Congratulations to our Lockdown 4 winner, Tri Truong. Tri wins a smoothie/coffee tumbler courtesy of the Technology Dept. Tri submitted the correct answers within 12 minutes of the newsletter being published.  The solutions to the problems are as follows:

Question 1

1 cup of coffee = 230 ml

6 cups per day = 230 ml x 6 = 1380 ml

14 days x 1380 ml = 19320 ml or 19.32 l

Question 2

Number of boxes to be open for 19320 ml of coffee:

19320ml/230ml = 84 capsules

Therefore 9 boxes need to be opened

Again well done to all that participated.

- Mr Johnston

These are my answers for the newsletter questions.

Question 1 - (14*6)=84

                   84*230= 19,320mls of Coffee

Question 2 - They would open 9 boxes of coffee capsules.

- Tri Truong, Winner!

Registrations are now open for the Term 2 School Holiday Programs

We are pleased to advise that Mushroom Group, Melbourne Victory and North Melbourne Football Club (The Huddle) are offering fun and engaging experiences in the upcoming Term 2 School Holidays, with a range of opportunities to keep young people active and busy.

Details about the program activities are available in the attached flyers. All programs will be delivered in line with public health directions.