On this day of great rejoicing

Lord Jesus Christ, when we welcome

You as our King and Saviour,

we also walk in the shadow of Your cross.

Hosanna! We cry.

Blessed are You who come

in God’s name to save us.

Hosanna!

Strengthen our faith on this Palm Sunday

so that when the time comes

to carry the cross we might still

call out to You with heartfelt praise.

Give us the grace and the courage

to follow You this Holy Week

from death to resurrection,

from darkness to the fullness of light.

We need You

Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour

Hosanna!

On Sunday, we celebrate Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. This is a time where we commemorate the last days of Jesus: his final meal with his friends; his trial; his carrying of the cross; his death on Calvary and his rising from the dead. On Palm Sunday, branches are blessed as a reminder of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. His entry into the city was in stark contrast to how he left a week later.

Lent is a time for returning and reconnecting. Just as the son returned to his family in the parable of the Lost Son, so too, Lent calls us home, to deeper relationships, to prayer, to care for others and to being more present to God in our lives.

This year we also return in a physical sense to our parish communities. After two years of closed Churches and restricted numbers, we are once again able to gather and celebrate together. I encourage all families to set aside some time to participate in Holy Week and Easter ceremonies with their parish community. We have included the schedule for Holy Week and Easter ceremonies in our parishes in the newsletter.

Thank You

As this is our final newsletter for Term 1. I would like to thank students, staff and families for your support and hard work throughout what has been a very good but busy term. I know that students and staff are quite tired but also feel a deep sense of satisfaction in all they have achieved during the term. It has been good to have a full term at school, the first for two years.

Many thanks for everything and I hope that you find time for rest, fun and time with family and friends during the upcoming holidays, and that you return refreshed for Term 2.

As we enter Holy week, may the blessings of this time and the joys of Easter be God’s gifts to each of you.

Immersion Day

Last Friday, each year level travelled off site for an Immersion Experience. Year 7 students travelled to Point Cook for their Reflection Day, Year 8 students were on camp, Year 9 headed into Melbourne for Day 1 of their city experience and Year 10s visited the Shrine. Thank you to all students for their engagement in the learning experiences, to staff for the organisation that went into ensuring that activities ran smoothly and safely, and to parents for completing permissions and medical forms on time. This was a massive logistical exercise, particularly with a shortage of buses in Melbourne. I thank everyone involved in making it a terrific day.

Practicing Kindness

Congratulations to 7 Yarra on winning the inaugural Year 7 Kindness Cup and to all Year 7 students for the kindness they have shown over the past few weeks.

7 Yarra’s decision to forgo their pizza lunch and to donate the money to the Loaves and Fishes foodbank is testament to the spirit of this award, and we can see why they are such worthy winners. Thank you 7 Yarra.

Mark Twain once described kindness as ‘a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see’. This is very much at the core of the culture being developed at Year 7.

School Advisory Council

At this stage, we have some expressions of interest but it would be good to have at least two more parents / carers involved. We seek people with diverse skill sets and backgrounds, and a strong interest in Catholic education. It is an exciting opportunity for parents and community voices to shape the ongoing development of our school.

If you are interested in supporting / serving our school community in this way, please email me at principal@crcstalbans.catholic.edu.au.

Rapid Antigen Tests

The Victorian Government has announced that twice-weekly Rapid Antigen Testing for students and staff in schools will continue for the first four weeks of Term 2. Additional test kits will be sent home in the first week of term.

Thank you to students and families for testing regularly. This surveillance testing, together with air purifiers, ventilation and other COVID safe practices has helped to limit the spread of COVID at school.

First day: Term 2

Students return to school for the beginning of Term 2 on Tuesday 26 April. This will be Day 2 of our timetable.

There will be some changes to the timetable. Students are asked to check their timetable on SIMON in the second week of the holidays.

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.

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.

Newsletter

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

Newsletter Days for Term 1 2022:         

Fridays: 06 May,    20 May,     03 June,     17 June

All dates and activities are tentative and a final decision will be in light of COVID risk assessments.

Year 7 Reflection Day

Last Friday Year 7 students were involved in a personal and spiritual reflection day. The theme for the day was, ‘What it means to be People of Peace’. Students worked in small groups to unpack the day's theme. A liturgy was held at the conclusion of the day and each student was presented with a CRC St Albans Peace Badge. I would like to thank both students and staff for their contribution to the day.

Students reflections about the day:

Getting to have some peaceful time and walking in the olive grove.

Everyone worked well together, making friends and talking about peace.

Thinking and reflecting on each activity and sharing my thoughts with the group.

All of the activities were very nice and made us reflect on how we can be more peaceful and make the world more peaceful.

Talking about some personal stuff to the group, connecting with others and reflecting.

It was fun.

7 Yarra - A True Act of Kindness

From the start of 2022, Mr Marshall has challenged us to think of others. He always encourages us to “do good things because it is the right thing to do, and not for reward”. With this in mind, and all the work we have done in relation to the Kindness Cup, we decided to donate our Pizza Lunch prize for coming first in the Kindness Cup, to the Loaves and Fishes Foodbank. We donated $100.

We also have had fun raising money for Caritas through Project Compassion. Ms Utri challenged us to have a ‘change of heart’ this Lent and we decided to open our hearts by giving to those in need. As a class, our aim was to raise $200 and actually we raised just over $236.

We wish everyone in our school a wonderful Easter and an enjoyable break.
- Gavin Tran and Mr Marshall (7 Yarra)

On Friday the 1st of April, Year 10 students visited the Shrine of Remembrance for Immersion Day. The Shrine of Remembrance is a war memorial located in Melbourne, the Shrine was made for the sole purpose of honouring the service and sacrifice of Australian soldiers during the war. The Shrine consisted of 3 main parts which highlighted the loyalty and spirit of soldiers during the war. All students went through the museum in which many artifacts and memories were presented. Furthermore, the students enjoyed the scenery located at the top of the Shrine which revealed a beautiful view of Melbourne. Finally, a harmonious trip through the Shrine’s garden displayed to all students the national plants of all nations in which Australia fought. The Shrine of remembrance depicted the triumph and courage of Australia’s historical past and helped all students reflect on our society today. 

- Tommy and Tristan 10 O'Connell

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Online

11 May – 21 May 2022

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. 

The assessment window for NAPLAN Online is nine days instead of the three days provided for the paper tests. This is to give schools flexibility in scheduling and to accommodate laptop and/or network capacity.

One of the main benefits of NAPLAN Online is tailored (or adaptive) testing, in which the test presents questions of higher or lower complexity depending on a student’s performance.

The Year 7 and Year 9 students will be completing writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy tests.

In Extended Pastoral Care and Homeroom, we have been working collectively to create a sense of community and sense of belonging where all students and staff feel safe and students are ‘ready to learn’. It is also important that as we move into our term break, that students maintain a sense of community and awareness as we interact with others during the holidays.

Remember: We respect ourselves and others and represent our school with pride.

Gratitude: Virtue of transcendence

Definition: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Explanation: Thankful for the good, expresses thanks, feel blessed.

Synonyms: Thanks, appreciation, recognition.

Quote: "I am happy because I'm grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy." (Will Arnett)

How to ignite gratitude:

• What circumstances make it most likely you will experience gratitude?
• What is most rewarding to you about expressing gratitude?
• Who would you like to express gratitude to daily?
  VIA_Calendar_April.pdf

  VIA_Calendar_April _pdf 1.22 MB

Our new Active April calendar (please see attachment) is packed with helpful ideas to give you a boost this month, so please share it and help spread the word.

When life feels challenging, staying active really helps. There's a lot we can't control, but when we choose to get moving and take care of our bodies, we can boost our energy and cope better with life's ups and downs.

As you stay active this month, focus on ways that feel achievable for your own personal levels of mobility and health.

It's not about running marathons or hours in the gym; even just stretching and fresh air can boost resilience and benefit your mind and body.

Thanks for being an active part of this community!

The Resilience Project strategies and resources have been used in our Student Diaries and other resources as part of our Pastoral Care program. These resources focus on three key pillars proven to cultivate positive emotion; known to our students as GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness). Our programs also have a strong focus on Connection, Purpose, Kindness, Emotional Literacy and Physical Health.

This year PROJECT+ has been developed to focus on supporting the wellbeing of staff and parents and carers. Each term, we will be sending out PROJECT+ with a variety of additional ideas, activities and resources that can be easily accessed by our school community. 

Supporting Parents & Carers

As we continue to use various teaching resources to support our students, it is also important to best support our families. Therefore, we suggest you click on the links provided to help support your health and wellbeing.

The PROJECT+ and the necessary links can be found below:

• Staff Support
• Parent/Carer Support

HITTING A HOME RUN

VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS

- Hoang-Quan Tran Yr 10

 Back: Justin, Thong, Aiden, Hoang-Quan, Tri, Christian, Ivan, Leo

Front: Tristan, Raf

EASTER MASS TIMES

SACRED HEART/EMMAUS PARISH

HOLY EUCHARIST PARISH

RESURRECTION - KINGS PARK PARISH

ST MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION PARISH

Download and read the library newsletter here:

Congratulations to our Reader's Cup winners,

who were rewarded with a pizza lunch!