Feast of All Saints and All Souls

This Monday 1 November is the feast of All Saints. On this day, we are asked to reflect on the lives of the saints. We can often think of saints as perfect people, but their greatest witness is how they coped with the ordinary difficulties of their life, and how they courageously showed the love of God to others.

We also remember and pray for all those who have died on the feast of All Souls (2 November). Some of these people may only be known to God. Others are people whose love, sacrifice, and fidelity we have seen for ourselves and who have inspired us. They saw God in this world and are now fully alive to Him in the next.

Return to on-site learning

The sounds of children playing, the shrills of laughter and joy, the art of face-to-face conversations with friends and gathering together in homeroom to pray, all thankfully returned this week as students undertook a staggered on-site learning program.

It was wonderful to welcome students back as they entered through the front gate for the first time in over two months. Although I could not see the students’ physically smiling as they wore facemasks, I could certainly see their eyes smiling with delight and excitement.

As announced previously, by Premier Daniel Andrews, the date for all students to return permanently to on-site learning has been brought forward. We eagerly look forward to the return to on-site learning, with all students from Year 7-10 to return on Wednesday 3 November.

Please note that Monday 1 November, is a Professional Practice Day for staff and Tuesday 2 November is the Melbourne Cup public holiday. The College will be closed on both days.

As per the Victorian Government and the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) guidelines, the remote learning program will end, at the conclusion of classes on Friday October 29. This means if you choose to keep your child/children home after this date, that we can no longer continue the remote learning program as teachers will be teaching their timetabled lessons in the classroom.

Please note that based on CECV advice we have re-introduced staggered dismissal times as follows:

• Year 7 and 8 will be dismissed at 3:05pm
• Year 9 and 10 will be dismissed at 3:15pm

I would like to stress the importance of keeping students’ home if they are ill or show any COVID symptoms at all. I know that they have already missed large chunks of face-to-face learning. However, the safety of staff and students at the College is paramount and we need to do all we can to remain open.

With the return to on-site learning for all year levels, I ask all families to inform the College, via Reception, if any student or member of a household in which our students reside has tested positive to Covid-19 and is in quarantine. If this occurs on the weekend, please email principal@crccs.vic.edu.au

Of course, we will have also been strictly following Government and CECV guidelines, in particular relating to health and safety and staff vaccinations by the mandated dates.

We thank you in advance for your ongoing support and strongly urge all families to regularly communicate with the College to keep our community safe. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please contact the College.

We eagerly look forward to welcoming all students back to on-site learning on Wednesday 3 November.

Expressions of Interest to join the new Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs School Advisory Council

All the Catholic parish and diocesan schools in the Melbourne Archdiocese are now under the guidance and governance of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS). In keeping with the objectives of the MACS Constitution, which states “The good work of educating the young, undertaken in the light of the Gospel, is a co-responsible task led by every member of the Catholic school community”, the School Advisory Council provides a crucial point of connection and support between the wider school community and school leaders.

We are beginning the process to establish a CRC Caroline Springs, School Advisory Council, beginning in 2022. While the School Advisory Council does not have governance responsibility or decision-making authority, it supports the Principal and School Leadership team.

A letter to parents/carers inviting expressions of interest to join the School Advisory Council is available through this link.

I strongly encourage parents/carers to consider undertaking this important service. If you would like to receive an information pack to help your deliberations, about whether to apply to join the CRC Caroline Springs SAC, please email enquiries@crccs.vic.edu.au

Happy World Teacher's Day

Friday 29 October is World Teacher's Day. This is a day of celebration, as we share our appreciation and thankfulness for our incredible teachers.

We wish all teachers at CRC Caroline Springs a happy and well-deserved Teacher's Day.