"Education is not about knowing things or taking lessons but about being able to use three lingos: those of the head, the heart, and the hands... learning so that you can think about what you feel and do, can feel what you think and do, and can do what you feel and think. Unity within a person." - Pope Francis
As a College community, we have again traversed our way through the very challenging and trying times that COVID-19 has presented us with this year. However, overwhelmingly we have done so yet again in a very positive, composed, and unified manner. For that, I acknowledge and applaud the entire CRCCS community of staff, students, parents/carers, and families.
The ongoing unpredictable changes presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ensuing extended period of remote learning and subsequent return to on-site learning, have again posed additional challenges to our College and wider communities. I would like to congratulate all students for their resilience and for productively completing extended and intermittent period of remote and on-site learning. A big thank you also to parents and families who have supported the students through this unusual learning journey this year.
I would also like to express my thanks and gratitude to our teaching staff, who have worked tirelessly this year to ensure students had a positive remote and on-site learning experience. They have worked long hours and have tirelessly re-written curriculum, course outlines and assessment tasks to accommodate remote learning. They have also undertaken various new and contemporary modes of pedagogical delivery, including the use of flipped learning, various new digital resources, video conferencing and MS teams throughout this period, to enhance the students remote learning experiences. These key learnings will benefit the students, and ultimately have long-term benefits for the College and our future learning and teaching experiences.
We also thank the College I.T, Maintenance, Counselling, Learning Diversity, Library, Support, Administration, and Finance teams who have been actively working on-site throughout the entire year.
Amidst the uncertainty and challenges surrounding COVID-19, the year has still been a very productive one for our College community. It was filled with many high-points and activities including:
- Opening College Mass
- Student Leaders Investiture Ceremony
- Easter Liturgy
- College 'Annie' Production
- Whole school and Year Level assemblies both on-site and via MS Teams
- School Choir live and virtual performances
- Swimming Carnival
- SACCSS Premier League and Swimming Carnivals
- Student Leaders camp
- Uganda building and food project
- Year 10 Graduation (live streamed to families)
- Presentation Evening (live streamed to families)
I thank and congratulate the increasing number of students acknowledged as Student Leaders. They have positively impacted the College. Each role continues to evolve and extend the student leaders’ responsibilities.
I would also like to wish all the best to our departing, Year 10 students. This group of students is an extraordinary and eclectic group of young men and women, both collectively and individually. They are scholars, athletes, narrators, engineers, musicians, mathematicians, artists, comedians, politicians and men and women of intense faith, devotion, and spirituality.
"School not only expands your intellectual dimension, but also the human heart. In a particular way, Catholic schools are attentive to developing human virtues such as loyalty, respect, faithfulness, commitment." - Pope Francis
When I look at these students, I have a genuine, optimistic hope for our future and for the future of our Catholic church. I feel certain, that their futures are bright, exciting, and positive. Through an active focus on our College motto ‘Live Fully, Act Justly’, our students have embraced a community in which faith is a "hands-on experience", in which they seek Christ in the each other and the world in which they live.
As the 2021 year concludes, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs. I continually feel blessed that I work in a school environment where the College motto of 'Live Fully Act Justly' is lived, breathed, and enacted each and every day.
Advent
In the very busy lead up to Christmas, we often miss Advent's power because these December weeks are full of Christmas shopping, parties, and other end of year events. Each year, the business of this month serves to distract us from having an Advent season that truly prepares us for the celebration of Christmas, with all its meaning.
This Advent, let us all remember it is the feast that sings of the gift of life. The birth of a child moves us and causes tenderness. It is a stimulus to discover the warmth of simplicity, friendship, and solidarity. Christmas can become an occasion to welcome, as a personal gift, the message of hope that emanates from the mystery of the birth of Christ.
Uganda Project
"In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is incomprehensible how there can be so many hungry children, so many children without an education, so many poor". - Pope Francis
We continue to build on the very positive relationships that has been established between CRC Caroline Springs and St Luke’s parish as well as our sister school St Francis primary school in Kizinga Uganda.
By reaching out in friendship and solidarity with the community of St Francis, Kizinga we have given hope to hundreds of children and their families who otherwise couldn’t access education. The support of our students has enabled the construction and furnishing of a brick classroom; a food program; the refurbishment of the church with a concrete floor; and soon the installation of water tanks. Compassion, empathy, and love for one another are the cornerstones of our teaching at Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs and we are immensely proud of our community for continuing to embrace the Uganda Project.
