Catholic Regional College St Albans eNewsletter

God of our Wandering Ancestors,
Long have we known
That your heart is with the refugee:
That you were born into time
In a family of refugees
Fleeing violence in their homeland,
Who then gathered up their hungry child
And fled into alien country.

Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages: “Will you let me in?”
Give us hearts that break open

When our brothers and sisters turn to us
           with that same cry.
Then surely all these things will follow:
      Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices.
      Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat.
     Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.
And hands will reach out—
    working for peace in their homeland,
    working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven.

Lord, protect all refugees in their travels.
May they find a friend in me
And so make me worthy
Of the refuge I have found in you.

Amen

(Mercy eNews)

Over the past week, students and staff participated in a number of activities to mark Refugee Week, including a panel discussion. Thank you to the speakers for sharing their story, and the Social Justice Leaders, Mrs Dykes and Hayden for organising this week.

This year’s theme for Refugee Week is healing. It is an opportunity to celebrate the strength, courage and resilience of all who have 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?

Thank You

As we draw to the end of what has been a very busy term, I would like to thank everyone: students, staff and families for your hard work and support over the last 9 weeks. The end of semester is a particularly challenging time for everyone. Just in the last three weeks, we have had exams, final assessment tasks, reports, Year 9 mock job interviews, Premier League finals, and Year 10 Tertiary visits. Without a doubt, we are looking forward to the break.

I wish all students, families and staff an enjoyable and relaxing holiday.

Welcome

We welcome Ms Monique Alafaci to our staff. Monique joins Jen Comerford in the Counselling Team. She will be working on Mondays and looks forward to getting to know students and families. We hope that Monique’s time with us is enjoyable and fulfilling.

Year 7 Premier League

During Term 2 Year 7 students have been participating in Premier League. Congratulations to all teams on the terrific school spirit and fine sportsmanship they have shown. Each team can boast that they did their absolute best and that they continually improved throughout the season.

Three teams have made the finals: Boys and Girls Volleyball, and Boys Basketball. Well done to all involved. Thank you for Mr Boudahar (Sports Leader), Mr Damien Marshall and all the coaches and staff for their support of the teams.

Years 9 and 10 Exams

We would like to congratulate all students in Years 9 and 10 on their excellent approach to the recent exams. They followed instructions, were well prepared and managed themselves in a mature and responsible manner throughout the week.

Thank you to families for all your support during exam week, by being there for your son / daughter, in ensuring that they have the time and space for study but also in dealing with the changed arrangements for the school day.

Start of Term 3

Term 3 will commence on Monday 11 July 2022. Please note this will be Day 1 of the Semester 2 timetable.

Semester 2 Timetable

There will be a new timetable for Semester 2. This will be finalised during the holidays and will be available to students and families through the SIMON Learning Management System by the last Friday of the holidays, Friday 08 July 2022.

Monday 25 July 2022: Staff Formation Day

Each year, staff have a day where they have the opportunity to explore and deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith. This day will take place on Monday 25 July 2022. In the afternoon, staff will join colleagues from all the schools in the Federation of Catholic Regional Colleges for an Intercampus mass. Students will not be required at school on this day.

Update on COVID-19 vaccination requirements for school staff, visitors and contractors

On Saturday the Victorian Government announced changes in relation to the vaccine mandate for staff, visitors and contractors in schools. Details are outlined in the attached letter.

COVID UPDATE 3 23.06.2022

Save the Dates: Year 10 Families

In Term 3 Year 10 students will be finalising their courses for Year 11. This brings to a conclusion much of the planning and preparation already done in the pastoral care program.

There are two activities which involve parents / carers - please note these in your diary.

Wednesday 27 July: Sydenham Open Evening and Careers Expo

Tuesday 09 August: Course Planning Day at CRC St Albans

Annual Report 2021

Our 2021 Annual Report is now available to families on the College website at https://www.crcstalbans.catholic.edu.au/our-college/annual

We encourage the school community to take a look.

Newsletter

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

Newsletter Days for Term 3 2022:

Fridays: 22 July, 5 August, 19 August, 02 September, 16 September

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

Thursday 23 June:	University / TAFE Taster Day (Year 10) / Final day of classes
Friday 24 June:	Report preparation day (students not required at school)

Key Dates Term 3 2022

Monday 18 July:	SACCSS Interschool Chess Tournament School Advisory Council (evening)
Thursday 21 July:	Parent / Student / Teacher interviews 1.30 – 8.00pm Classes as normal in the morning, finishing at 12 midday
Monday 25 July:	Staff Faith Formation Day / Intercampus Mass (No classes)
Wednesday 27 July:	CRC Sydenham Twilight Open Evening
Friday 29 July:	School Assembly
Tuesday 9 August:	Year 11 course selection (Year 10 students) / Year 10 Social
Wed 10 August:	Professional Practice Day (Students not required at school)
Monday 29 August:	SACCSS Interschool Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 6 Sept:	Immersion Day (whole school)
12/9 – 16/9 (WK 10):	Year 10 Work Experience / Blended Learning Week
14/9 – 16/9 (WK 10):	Year 9 Camp

Prayer at CRC St Albans

A goal for the school this year is to review how we complete prayer in the school. Prayer is conducted in a number of ways at Catholic Regional College St Albans, in the homeroom, at the beginning of the RE class and on special occasions we have the whole school prayer. On feast day Dale Marshall organised for every class to pray a Lectio Devina to reflect on what is to be part of a community.

The lectio commenced with the class forming a circle and settling into a state of calm. The following passage was then read twice:

Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his hardship, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I working extremely hard for,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour:

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

The students then reflected on the following questions.

Why is it important to belong?
What communities or groups do you belong to?
Why is a school community important?

The teachers of Religion are currently completing professional development on centering Christian meditation. It is hoped that we can increase the practice around the school.

Chess Club

Students from years 7-10 have been joining in the Chess Club competition to prepare themselves for the interschool chess tournament taking place in week 2 of next term.

If any student would like to be involved please let Mrs Jurcec know or watch out for chess club dates and times in the student bulletin.

Mrs Jurcec

Year 7 Chinese Museum Visit

On Thursday 9th June, 7 Kiewa and 7 Wimmera visited the Museum of Chinese Australian History in Little Bourke Street. It was an engaging afternoon with two guided activities:a museum tour and a hands-on 'chinese knotting' workshop.

Students had a great deal of fun and were able to learn more about Australia's connection to China as well as some of the cultural aspects that can be found around our cities and communities.

Semester One Reports and Interviews.

Reports will be accessible through the Parent Access Module (PAM) from Friday 15 July.

Student/Parent/Teacher interviews will be conducted online from 1:30pm – 8:00pm on Thursday 21 July. As all teachers are involved in interviews, students will be dismissed at 12 pm on the day.

Families are asked to complete an online booking through the Parent Access Module by Monday 11th July. The booking system will be available on Tuesday 28 June through the college website or the SIMON Everywhere App.

We look forward to meeting with families and students to discuss their academic progress, achievement and goals.

WELLBEING FOR LEARNING

Positive School-Wide Behaviour' in the Corridors

We ask that each class and student revisit and discuss each statement as a kind reminder of how we behave in the corridors, stairwells and near lockers at CRC St Albans.

This will ensure we are creating a safe and orderly environment for all to learn and enjoy.

Character Strength of the Week

Perserverance - Virtue of Courage

Definition: Perseverance is sticking with things. It means being hardworking and finishing what is started, despite barriers and obstacles that arise.

Explanation: Persisting towards one's goals despite obstacles, discouragements, or disappointments.

Synonyms: persistence, tenacity, stamina, determination.

Quote: "A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn" (Helen Keller).

"Fall seven times and stand up eight" (Japanese Proverb).

Further Information: Perseverance involves organising oneself to support activities (e.g., scheduling breaks and sticking to them, rewarding in small ways along the way), but when all else fails, this strength helps the person to barrel through until the project is done.

How to ignite perseverance:

When does persevering in a task feel engrossing to you as opposed to a chore?
What motivates you to persevere?
When you succeed in persevering, how does that affect how you approach subsequent challenges?

Joyful June

Our Joyful June calendar is full of actions to help create more positive emotions. Please share it with others and inspire them too!

When facing big challenges, we can still notice the little good things. Even in difficult times, there is still a lot to be grateful for. And we can actively cultivate positive feelings by looking for what's good.

Joyful_June_2022.pdf

Joyful_June_2022 _pdf 528.60 KB

Wellbeing for Learning Around the School

Year 7

The Year 7 School Spirit Awards are in their final week. These awards celebrate the actions that display pride in our school and both 1st and 3rd place are up for grabs. The winner will be announced in our assembly this Tuesday. In addition, Counsellor Jennifer Comerford and Peter Hichaaba have been running workshops in our pastoral period. These workshops focus on emotional literacy and building empathy and will finish next term.

Finally, we will be starting a movie club that will run every Wednesday in Room 33. This will be a great way for students who are interested in movies to meet and share their interests. It will start at 1:35 and students are welcome to bring their lunch inside.

Year 8

Aside from working hard to finalise Semester 1 assessments, this week, the Year 8s have continued to engage in the ‘All-Rounder Group Assessment’, a hands-on range of activities including skipping, tug of war, origami making and blind-fold art that take place in individual homerooms. This week students from Hollows and Edison were able to showcase their natural talents and character strengths of persistence in ‘in-sync’ skipping with Attard getting their ‘strong on’ with a satisfying game of tug of war. Clark engaged in a session of ‘blind art' where each student had a turn to draw a picture blindfolded while other students in the group guided them with instructions. Year 8s are showing a particular talent in creating magnificent origami of a frog or crane, with some creating unique and innovative samples.

Until the end of term, Pastoral Care teachers will assess students’ supportive teamwork, problem-solving and effective communication skills while also recognising naturally occurring character strengths that enable students to be at their best! We hope to continue to celebrate the unique blend of character strengths that all staff and students bring to Year 8 in our weekly community homeroom.

Year 9

Exam time has come and Year Nines are well underway with their completion of the English, Languages, RE and Maths exams. Amongst all of the exam preparation and finishing up their assessments for the Semester, Year Nines are also preparing for their mock interviews next Wednesday in the afternoon during Trinity. Students are encouraged to get changed into business attire during lunchtime, ready to sit down for the interview (full school uniform is completely fine also).

Also, the Year Nine cohort are still competing in their homerooms for the STAR Award. 9 Lyons have won two weeks in a row, with 9 Curtin a close second. The winning homeroom gets a free lunch next week on the last day of school! Lastly, students are continuing to be nominated for the Character Strength Awards, with every student being celebrated in Community Homeroom each Thursday during Homeroom.

The Year Nine team would like to thank the support you have given to the students during their Exam time and hope that you each have a fantastic holiday!

CRC St Albans Rights and Responsibilities

As we work on re-establishing Consistent Predictable Routines schoolwide, we will be re-visiting our 'School Rights and Responsibilities' early next semester. It is important that all members of our school community have the right to learn and teach in a safe and orderly environment. Please see our Rights and Responsibility document below that we will revisit and unpack further across our school next semester.

Year 9 CRC St Albans

Hands on Learning for Wellbeing Program

Attention Year 9 Students and Families…

Are you looking to build your confidence and independence?
Are you looking to further develop your collaboration and team-building skills?
Are you looking to work on real-life projects, for real-life reasons?
Are you interested in different ways of learning, outside of the classroom?
Are you looking to further connect with our school community?

If you answered "YES" to these questions, then our HoL program may be for you!!!

What will we be doing in the program?

Each week we will be sharing a meal together.
Working on small and large projects, so we can understand our talents and skills.
Each week we will celebrate our accomplishments.
The most important thing is to ensure you bring your whole self to the program.

When: Every Wednesday - Lunch, Periods 4 and 5 + 50 min After-School.

HoL for Wellbeing Student Comments:

"HoL encourages me to try my best. I feel like I can share my ideas a lot more and I love coming to school on Thursdays to come to HoL. It is the light of school."
"I've learned how to work in a team and help do things around the school. I've learned new skills that you can use in the community and help my Nan and Mum with."
"It's helped me concentrate and focus more in class."
"I wake up and look forward to coming to school on a Wednesday (HoL day)!"
"It's given me leadership skills and lots of responsibility."

Interested Year 9 students, please see Mr. Dale Marshall or Mr. Hayden O'Doherty for an expression of interest form. Get in quick, as there are only limited spots available.

CRC St Albans Child Safety Committee

Our School is committed to providing our students and families a voice to ensure all members feel safe and have a sense of belonging in line with our Child Safety Policy.

We are setting up a 'Child Safety Committee' with representatives from Years 7-10 and a parent/community member who will ensure our school is a safe and welcoming place for all our students.

The committee will formally meet twice per term.
Discuss policies, procedures and strategies around student safety.
Respond positively and proactively to emerging issues.
Coordinate whole school events around child safety.

If you are interested in developing your leadership skills and making a difference in our school community, please fill out the attached 'expression of interest form' and return it to Mr. Dale Marshall by Friday 24^thJune.