Lord, as you call each of us by name,

may we call the names of one another

with affection, respect and reverence.

As you accept and love us the way we are,

give us the wisdom and courage to do the same

for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters.

Amen

Welcome

Welcome to the 2023 school year. I trust that you’ve had an enjoyable break and are looking forward to all that this year will bring.

We’ve had a great start. I would like to congratulate students on how well they have settled into their new classes, into study and the rhythm of the school year. There was lots of noise and excitement on the first morning as students re-connected with friends after the break. It is great to see everyone so positive and ready to do their best.

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 always 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 with 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 are beginning to feel ‘at home’ and that your time with us is all that you hoped for, and more.

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: overseas, interstate, other areas of Melbourne and local schools. You are indeed very welcome. 

New Staff

I am delighted to welcome Ms Georgina Hart (Materials Technology), Ms Marie Pintarich (English, Humanities and RE), Mr Ray Mizzi (Health and P.E and Religious Education) Ms Dorothy Stavros (EAL and Humanities), Ms Lesly Ryan (Maths, Science and Tutoring) who join our teaching staff.

As well as this, we welcome Mr Danny Sgro (Student Wellbeing and Engagement), Ms Joanne Johnston (Finance), Mr Duwapatabendige Fernando (Sports Assistant), Ms Joy Pekez (Canteen), Mr Jay Fernandez (Learning Support), Ms Amelia Pannunzio (Learning Support) and Mr James English (Learning Support).

Each brings a wealth of experience, many gifts, fresh ideas and a strong commitment to our students. I wish them every blessing for their time with us.

MacKillop Assembly

This morning we gathered as a school community for the MacKillop Assembly. This was an opportunity to formally mark the start of the 2023 school year and to celebrate the achievements of students who attained all round excellence in learning in 2022.

It was lovely to have families and some Year 11 students join us for the assembly. Thank you to all involved in preparing and leading the assembly.

MacKillop Pins

The Mary MacKillop pin is awarded to the top 10-12 students at each year level. Results from Semester 1 and 2 are considered in selecting these students.

We would like to congratulate all students who received a MacKillop Pin. You are indeed a talented group!

Recipients of the Mary MacKillop Pin for 2022 were

2022 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 2022 were:

Year 7: Stella Mom                

Year 8: Angelina Brillouet                          

Year 9: Janelle Lawang               

Year 10: Michela Bartolo           

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 2022

Congratulations to My Nguyen on being accepted into the Kwong Lee Dow Scholars program at Melbourne University. My has achieved excellent results throughout the year and is a worthy recipient.

Williams Cup

Congratulations to Corbett House on winning the 2022 Williams Cup. Corbett established an early lead and built on this throughout the year. Well done to everyone for your participation and House spirit.

Final Points:   Corbett (78)     Guelen (65.5)    Reis (61)     O’Reilly (58.5)

Year Level Leaders 2022:

Year 7:                 Mr Andrew Bain-King                    abain@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 8:                 Ms Stella Alexopoulos                  salexopoulos@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 9:                 Ms Christie Roberts                       croberts@crcstalbans.com.au

Year 10:              Mr Anthony Baressi                       abaressi@crcstalbans.com.au

Pastoral Care Teachers

Year 7 Pastoral Care Teachers

7 Avoca: Ms Jasmine Crisci

7 Kiewa: Mr Mitchell Porter  

7 Snowy: Mr Chris Strachan

7 Wimmera: Mr Daniele Zarosinski

7 Yarra: Ms Marie Pintarich

Year 8 Pastoral Care Teachers

8 Attard: Ms Sangeeta Arora

8 Clarke: Mr Ibrahim Huseyin

8 Edison: Ms Marcelle Gusman

8 Hollows: Ms Georgina Hart / Ms Claire Rayos

8 Orifici: Mr Clarence Marshall /Ms Jenny Spataro

Year 9 Pastoral Care Teachers

9 Barton: Ms Emma Baldacchino

9 Curtin: Mr Chris Dib

9 Deakin: Mr Dale Marshall

9 Hughes: Mr David Boudaher

Year 10 Pastoral Care Teachers

10 Little:  Ms Mai Nguyen

10 McAuley: Mr Len Tobin

10 MacKillop:  Mr Chris Orsini

10 Mannix:  Mr Alon Gilad

10 O’Connell:  Mr Ray Mizzi

Newsletter

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

Newsletter Days for Term 1 2023:           

Fridays:               10 February          24 February           10 March              24 March          07 April

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 fortnightly newsletter or a special letter.

Parents need to know that students who arrive prior to 8.20am and 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 behavior 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 Ms Atalina Ulugia-Sa’ena at aulugia@crcstalbans.com.au. As Atalina 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. Atalina rings parents after 10.00am. It is a great help if parents/guardians ring before we make contact. 

Term Dates 2023

Term 1: Wednesday 01 February – Thursday 06 April  

Term 2: Monday 24 April – Friday 23 June

Term 3: Monday 10 July – Friday 15 September

Term 4: Monday 02 October – Wednesday 06 December

Please Note:    

Year 10 students finish at the College on Thursday 30 November but have an Orientation program at CRC Sydenham from Monday 04 December to Friday 08 December.

Mid-year exams (Years 9 and 10): 13 – 19 June 2023

End of year exams (Years 9 and 10): 24 – 29 November 2023

Families planning to travel in the middle of the year or at the end of 2023 are asked to note that exams and the Orientation program at Sydenham are compulsory. Exams must be taken within the exam timetable.

Please do not book travel before:

• 20 June in the middle of the year (Years 9 and 10)
• 08 December for Year 11 2024 students (Year 10 2023)
• 01 December for Year 9 students.

To be known and loved.

At Catholic Regional College St Albans we will be unpacking the theme 'to be known and loved’. To truly live as a Catholic community, each student and staff member needs to be known.

Year 7 has started off the year with an activity where each student drew a heart and placed special people and memories in their hearts. They then shared these with their classmates. 

This year in our school liturgies we will be exploring scripture that reflects on knowing ourselves and knowing the God in others. The following prayer was shared by our school leaders at assembly:

Help us to connect with those around us

To honour our diversity 

To seek out those we don’t know

To build a community which sees beyond face value 

Challenge us to know others more deeply

Isaiah reminds us that all people are known by God: “From the distant East and the farthest West I will bring us, your people home.

Help us to see beyond social media to the real person

To listen to those who have no voice

To respond with love to what we see

Challenge us to be open to our world.

Year 7 Immunsiation Day is on the 24 February. Immunisation Cards were sent home with students on Monday, and need to be returned to their Pastoral Care teacher by the 20th of February.

We are holding an Activity Day Sign-Up Competition. The winning homerooms will receive a free Zooper Doopers on Tuesday at lunchtime.  

The College will be sending out invoices to families by the end of February. If you wish to make payment before then, please contact Odelia in the front office on: 9366 2544

Each fortnight the Careers Team will provide an update in the school newsletter including information on upcoming events, about career pathways and maybe a conversation starter or two for you to have with your families to further develop your career pathway understanding. 

WHO are we?

Hi everyone, we’d like to introduce the CRC St Albans Careers Team for 2023 - Mr Orsini is Careers Leader, with Ms Denise as Careers Assistant.

We are available to chat about anything to do with your career pathway, courses at Sydenham, work experience and more!

WHEN are we available?

Mr Orsini is available Monday to Friday on most days at recess, lunch and after school.

Ms Denise is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays at recess, lunch and after school.

Please note you will only be able to see us during timetabled class time if you have a pre-arranged appointment.

WHERE can you find us?

Room 43 (in the Year 10 area, between the auditorium and the kitchen).

Year 10 is a big year for our students as they begin to make important decisions around their career pathways. Many students can experience extra stress and anxiety and may be unsure where to go next. It is important to recognize these feelings are normal. We are always here to support students along the way and we have in place a number of steps to ensure students are feeling more at ease as they reach important milestones throughout the year.

At year 10 we use the Morrisby online platform to assist students in exploring who they are, what they enjoy and where their strengths lie. The Morrisby online platform has many tools and resources to assist students in making the right decisions for them. Each student at year 10 will complete the Morrisby profile, which involves completing a series of aptitudes tests, aspirations and interests questionnaires. Students will then be provided with a detailed report which we will spend time unpacking with them in a one on one conversation to explore their strengths and interests and the pathways most suited to them.

Ms Denise has begun working with some year 10 students in completing the testing and this process will continue throughout term 1.

To find out more about the Morrisby online platform, please watch the video below.

The Careers office has many publications to support you in finding out more about different career pathways. We currently have an array of magazines and booklets available for collection. Please feel free to drop in to our office to explore further.

Successful goal setting is a crucial part of a young person’s development and future success, because goals can provide focus and help students to move forward in life. Over the next two weeks we encourage parents to find a time and space to discuss the following question:

If you are great with people, love babies and are looking for a diverse and challenging career that’s all about creating connections, forging trust and multitasking, midwifery could be worth considering. Take a look at the one minute video below to find out more.

A big congratulations to Charlie Desira from the Holy Eucharist Foodbank, who was presented with an Order of Australia Medal earlier in the year. 

Image: Damjan Janevski

Carmelo “Charlie” Desira has been volunteering up to 30 hours a week delivering hampers and collecting, sorting and handing out food at the Loaves and Fishes food bank in St Albans for the past 23 years.

Also honoured was fellow St Albans resident, Valentina Brjozovkia, who received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to the Russian community.

Mr Desira, 78, began volunteering after being approached by a priest at Holy Eucharist Catholic Church in St Albans, who asked him to open a food bank for refugees and the poor.

“I wanted to help. In the 1990s while working in Melbourne’s CBD, I would talk to homeless people and vowed to try and help them one day. This was a way for me to help those in need,“ Mr Desira explained.

Every Friday Mr Desira and other volunteers give out hundreds of food parcels to those in the community most in need.

“We started out in 2000 collecting food donations for refugees who had just arrived here, but as time went on we realized that it wasn’t just those who were new to Australia who were struggling. A lot of people in the community were in need,“ he added.

“The foodbank grew over time, and now we provide hundreds of food donations every week. People can collect them or we can get them delivered to them. Eighty per cent of the food we as volunteers provide ourselves and the rest is very generously donated by the Salvation Army. We hope as time goes on it will continue to grow.

“It’s a gift doing this volunteer work. I thank God that he gave me this opportunity to do it".

(Article from StarWeekly News, 27/01/2023)