May – The Month of Mary, Mother’s Day, and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention

Over the last week, I have been privileged to watch our students at various College events honour their mums. On Friday we held our Mothers’ Day Mass, followed by Breakfast in the College cafeteria. It was greatly pleasing to have so many mothers and grandmothers attend with their children and grandchildren, and to hear the appreciation from the mums as they felt these events were so meaningful.

May is traditionally dedicated in a special way to honoring Mary as the Mother of God and Mother of the Church. By our devotion to Mary, we acknowledge how our relationships with women enrich our lives and how we are drawn closer to God through the example of Mary. We give thanks to our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, colleagues and women friends for the special way they bring the virtues of Mary into our world. Mary is the Mother of the Church and therefore the example and inspiration to us all about the way to Jesus.

Mother’s Day and our devotion to Mary also calls us to consider the injustices perpetrated against women in our world. The month of May is also dedicated to Domestic and Family Violence Awareness. Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month is an annual event held in May each year to raise community awareness of the social and personal impacts of domestic and family violence, and the support available for those affected.

Our College plays an important role in the prevention of social problems such as domestic and family violence. As a Catholic school, we want to form active citizens for whom the morality and the long-term impact of their actions, is a major consideration.

We want to produce young adults for whom virtues like love, compassion and justice are not just good manners, but are lifelong values. Knowledge by itself is not enough; proper human formation demands that the acquisition of knowledge be joined to the teachings of the Catholic Church and of developing good values and character.

In the context of Mother’s Day and the month of Mary, we at Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs want to produce good young men and women who are not only good husbands and wives, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, but who are also prepared to take a stand against social problems like domestic violence.

Staffing News

We wish Lisa Barnard and Laura Bonini all the best as they begin their maternity leave at the end of next week.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome the following staff members to the CRCCS community:

• Carolyn Sarnecka (Materials Technology Teacher)

• Eunju Yu (Japanese Teacher)

• Kyleen Popovic (English/VCAL Teacher)

• Nicole Croft (Science Teacher)

• Sarah Caruana (Daily Organiser/Administration Assistant)

• Cassandra Kambouris (Receptionist)

As always, when a new staff member begins they bring a diverse range of knowledge, gifts and talents to share with our school community. We wish all our new staff all the best as they begin their journey at Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs.

CRC Caroline Springs Parents & Friends Association

This year we are looking to further develop our Parents & Friends Association as we see this as a very important support group for our College. We held our first meeting on Wednesday 14 May. Meetings are open to and attended by interested parents/carers, friends of the College, teachers and administrative staff, as well as the Principal or one of the Deputy Principals.

Everyone is welcome to come and meet other parents, to learn more about our wonderful College, as well as participate and share in general discussion, often relating to significant issues about College events.

Below are the dates for the Parents and Friends Association meetings, to be held in the College Library:

Wednesday 28 July 7:00pm

Wednesday 20 October 7:00pm

We would like for interested parents to please email the College at: principal@crccs.vic.edu.au