On Thursday we celebrated Remembrance Day, which is celebrated on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. An on-line whole school ceremony was held and was hosted by our student leaders, who are to be commended on their efforts. A minutes’ silence was also observed and dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation. We remember in faith all who have served, and continue serving in our armed forces, especially those who have died and those wounded in battle.

We also remember at this time to pray for healing and peace; that one day, all peoples will lay down their arms and embrace one another as brothers and sisters in one human family. Lord our God, on this day of remembrance, we entrust all our prayers and needs to Your infinite mercy. Help us to become ever more mindful of the bonds that unite us as a human family, despite our differences. Heal our inner wounds and outward divisions, that one day our world might live in Your true and lasting peace.

Year 10 Graduation Ceremony

We received some very good news this week. With the new easing of restrictions, we are now able to conduct an on-site Year 10 Graduation Ceremony and Assembly. However, due to the ongoing restrictions, unfortunately parents and carers are not able to attend the event. We will be livestreaming the Graduation Ceremony allowing parents to watch the event live from their homes. The Graduation ceremony will be held on the evening of Thursday 25 November. Given that we only recently received MACS endorsement to hold the event, more detailed information regarding the Graduation will be provided to parents next week.

Virtual College Tour

Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs warmly invites you to explore the College and facilities through our new Virtual College tour.

We are committed to providing a contemporary, comprehensive, and innovative learning environment that ensures all students are given every opportunity to reach their full potential. We are proud to provide state-of-the-art facilities for our students, including our newly completed Performing Arts Centre, Cafeteria and Dining area, as well as the recently completed Aquinas and Siena buildings.

Students also have access to a wide range of modern facilities, including dance, drama, music and art studios; the STEM centre with science laboratories and technology rooms; hospitality centre with commercial kitchen; sporting ovals and basketball, netball, volleyball and tennis courts; as well as St Catherine of Siena Church for Mass and liturgical services.

You are also invited to attend a guided College tour to gain a deeper insight into the vibrant Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs community. Enjoy the tour.

Please click here to explore through our Virtual tour

Please click here to book a guided College tour

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

Eternal Rest Prayer

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let the perpetual light shine upon them.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

November – Month of All Souls

Tuesday 2 November, the Church commemorated All Souls’ Day. A day to remember all the faithfully departed and pray for all souls in Purgatory.

Purgatory is a place where those who have died in a state of grace go for final cleansing before entering heaven. Our Catholic faith states that when we sin even though we are forgiven through the mercy of God, we still have an increased attachment to that sin. So, if someone dies without having made satisfaction from his/hers sins then they have to make it after their death before entering heaven in which we call purgatory (a state of spiritual cleansing). This belief has its foundation in scripture where we are told in Revelations 21:27 that nothing impure will enter heaven but we are also told that some sins we commit are not totally destructive to our relationship with God (1 John 5:17). Even the Jews speak of praying for the deceased (2 Maccabees 12) which precedes Christianity.

Throughout the centuries, Christians have prayed for souls in purgatory. Tertullian of Carthage as early as the 3^rd Century writes “A woman, after the death of her husband…prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection.”

Many of us have prayed for someone we know in the confidence that God would hear our prayer and bestow His grace that they needed upon them. The same applies for the souls in purgatory. We have faith that God will hear our prayers and give them the grace to be cleansed of their remaining faults.

This month our staff and students will have the opportunity to pray for family and friends who have deceased and writing their names in the College’s memorial book. These names will be offered at Holy Mass. Let us pray for all souls who have departed so that they may rest in the loving arms of our God.

What You Should Know About Purgatory

Friday 8:00am Mass

Parents/Carers and students are invited to attend 8:00am Mass every Friday at St Catherine of Siena Church, Caroline Springs. Holy Mass will finish at 8:25am. It is a wonderful opportunity to begin the day in prayer and contemplation with Christ. Please note that due to Government regulations this mass will be open to the unvaccinated. However, all are welcome to attend.

Gospel Reflection

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
Mark 13:24-32

2021 School Fees

A friendly reminder that School Fees for 2021 are due in full by the end of November. If you have a current plan in place, kindly review if it is up to date and contact the Finance department if you wish to discuss it.

2022 School Fees

2022 School Fee Notices and payment arrangements have been sent out in the mail to all families. Please find the relevant links below:

2022 School Fee Payment Arrangement and 2022 School Fee Notice

Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs has engaged Box of Books for the provision of digital and hard copy resources for the 2022 academic year.

When ordering resources, families should refer to their child’s 2022 allocated subject list that was emailed to students 10 November 2021.

Care should be taken in selecting resources. Digital resources cannot be refunded if chosen in error.

The resource list for each student includes required digital subscriptions, digital and physical books, and stationery.

Steps to order:

1. Visit https://shop.boxofbooks.com.au to create your parent/carer account
2. Add each student, nominating their school email address (student#@crccs.vic.edu.au)
3. Select the items you wish to purchase from the booklist shown
4. Use the checkout to organise postage direct to your nominated address and payment

A short guide has been provided by Box of Books explaining how to purchase books. Box of Books also provide an in-app support function (located at the bottom right corner of the Box of Books shop).

How to Purchase Books

10 December 2021 is the final day to order for guaranteed delivery of physical books before school year starts

For families to source stationery through Officeworks or other retail outlets, the stationery lists can be accessed from the link below.

2022 Resource Lists

This year for National Science Week, our College community celebrates the theme of 'Food by a different design.' Students throughout this week provided an opportunity to be involved in investigating, exploring, experimenting, designing, creating, and communicating their understandings about how science is involved in food production and sustainable agriculture.

Some of the activities were sustainable Minecraft world and Bike n' Blend, looking at bicycle energy harvesting and the two major methodologies in the various practical and theoretical attempts to harvest the kinetic energy of a bicycle. The first and perhaps more obvious of the two is collecting the energy from the rotational motion of the wheels. This kind of device would operate on a simple principle: the rotational force of peddling the bike causes the wheels to spin, this spins a rotor that spins a generator, ultimately producing electricity which is then stored in a battery.

Here are a few facts to ponder about...

When scientists modify plants and other organisms that we eat, they become genetically modified (GM) food. Scientists are looking for a range of traits that can help improve our foods. These include:

• the ability to grow in hot or dry conditions
• resistance to pests and pesticides
• the ability to produce more food
• the ability to capture more CO2
• improved nutritional value
• improved taste or juiciness

One-third of all food produced is lost or wasted (around 1.3 billion tonnes of food), costing the global economy close to $940 billion each year.

Eliminating global food waste would save 4.4 million tonnes of C02 a year, the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.

The top 5 most wasted foods in Australia are vegetables, bread, fruit, bagged salad, and leftovers.

Let us all come together and embrace the true meaning of Christmas. A time of giving, sharing the love, and thinking about others.

This year, we will collect non-perishable food items as part of the St Vinnies Christmas Appeal. These items may include pasta, rice, canned food items, sauce jars, and the like.

Every little bit makes a huge difference. 

Baskets will be placed in the Reception area for any donations made.

God bless!

Tickets to our College musical Annie are on sale now.

The students have been working so hard to bring this show back to life after a 2-month lockdown. They are doing an AMAZING job. We would love to have as many of our College community in the audience as possible.

Show dates are:

• Thursday 18 November 7:30pm
• Friday 19 November 7:30pm
• Saturday 20 November 2:00pm
• Saturday 20 November 7:30pm

Link to buy tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/BVIHG

We cannot wait to see you there!

Social Justice Applicants 2022

As a Christian community that lives by Gospel values, we strongly believe that the rights of every individual are important and need celebrating. The role of a Social Justice team member is to assist in the promotion of a community that is just and values the sanctity of human life. As a member your responsibility is to provide support, promotion and assistance in the awareness of personal, local and global issues pertaining to Social Justice. This position is one of great significance and requires members who can uphold the values and traditions of the Christian teaching.  The need for nurturing, reflecting and acting according to Gospel values is required all times.

Students are expected to demonstrate the following:
- a strong concern for Social Justice 
- a desire to actively contribute to their local community 
- a commitment to spreading Gospel values through Social Justice 
- demonstrate good communication and listening skills 
- demonstrate leadership qualities 
- display pride in the College and the College Pillars (Learning, Compassion, Stewardship and Prayer)
- be an exemplary role model within the College 
- possess excellent organisational skills 
- demonstrate a responsible, friendly and approachable manner 
- commitment to living out our College Motto to ‘Live Fully, Act Justly”

Regular Duties: 
- attend regular scheduled meetings 
- provide support and participate in the following events: 
       - Fundraising
       - Social Justice initiative
       - Social Justice Excursions 
- Liaise fundraising, ideas and events with the Student Leadership team.
- Promote awareness of Social Justice issues within the College community.
- Promote the collection of monies during the Project Compassion campaign

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=2w4aUaEmeUW0NqoUmOozQFmutw_UW4ZEkrb2rB5m4O1UOERBWkE2SFU2RlJJRjFFU1JLNDNSSkpYOC4u

Applications Close: 16 November 2021
Students will be notified by Ms Mattar on 22 November 2021

Best of luck - God bless always

Hello to our Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs families and extended community. We have the exciting news to share, as we announce our College Captain and Deputy College Captains for 2022.

Congratulations ladies, we cannot wait to work with you in 2022.

Throughout 2020, the College undertook a review of its current Timetable structure. In Term 1 this year, the College Leadership Team endorsed a change of the timetable structure for 2022 from the current six 50-miute periods per day to a five 60-minute period per day timetable. The purpose of this Newsletter article is to provide an overview of the day structure, subject options and period allocations for each subject for students across Years 7 to 10.

In 2022, the College will still run on a 10-day cycle. However, there will be a slight change to the time Homeroom begins, that being 8:42am instead of 8:45am. This change has been made to increase the time students spend with their Homeroom Teacher each morning, strengthening the relationship between each student and their Homeroom Teacher. The day structure also allows for the vast majority of learning to occur prior to lunch each day.

The structure of the day in 2022 will be as follows:

With the change in timetable structure the number of periods that students complete in each subject has also changed. This is to align with the recommendations by ACARA and MACS. At Year 7 minimal changes to the time spent in each subject has occurred, and STEM has been introduced as a compulsory subject. Students will complete one Semester of Italian, Japanese, Art, Drama, Music, Visual Communication Design (VCD), Digital Technology and Food Technology across the year.

* Denotes a Semester-based Subject.

At Year 8, the elective options for students have been changed, with both STEM and Digital Technology introduced as new elective choices for Year 8 students. The time in elective subjects has also increased at Year 8. Students are required to study Materials Technology for a Semester, and complete either Japanese or Italian for the whole year. Students are then able to select five Semester-based subjects from the following options: Art, Drama, Music, VCD, Digital Technology, Food Technology, STEM and a second Language (Italian or Japanese).

At Year 9, students select four elective options, and study two in each semester. More information about elective options can be found in the Learning & Teaching Quick Guide, found on the College website.

At Year 10, students select four elective options, and study two in each semester. More information about elective options can be found in the Learning & Teaching Quick Guide, found on the College website.

At Foundation VCAL, students select two elective options from the Year 10 Elective Program, and study one each Semester. Students will also select a VET subject to study at CRC Sydenham one day each week, and students complete Structured Work Placement, one day a week also. More information about VET and Structured Work Placement options can be found in the VCAL Course Handbook, found on the College website.

A summary of this and the two previous Newsletter articles which covered the rationale for the timetable change and the College’s new Instructional Teaching Model will be provided in the next Newsletter. Should you have any questions about the 2022 Timetable change, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the College’s Learning & Teaching Team.

Upon return to school, Year 8 students have been creating wonderful ceramic fish. Learning how to make pinch pots and various joining techniques the students have brought their designs to life. To complete the project, they will apply patterns and colour with underglaze, the work will then be fired and ready to come home! It’s great to have some practical, hands-on work happening.

I would like to thank all the students and staff who entered the portrait competition during Art and Tech Week.

It was difficult to vote on the finalists as the standard of entries was of a high quality.

The winners are:

Year 7 & 8

First prize
Amelia Sacco 8KO

Equal second prize
Jacob Galea 8KO

Joel Scapaci 7LI

Year 9 & 10

First prize
Johann Norantha 9MW

Second prize
Pierrah Fusca 10BA

Staff

First prize
Margaret Gray

Catholic Regional College Sydenham - Year 11 2023

We would usually have an Enrolment Information evening for Year 9 families to attend, which showcases our College. However, since we currently are unable to do this, we have put together an information pack for Year 11 2023 enrolments, which includes webinars links.

Please click here to view the enrolment brochure.

For Further Information
Please contact the CRC Sydenham
Email: year112023@crcs.vic.edu.au
Phone: 9361 0000