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

Mother, you remained faithful

Holy Mary, Mother of the Lord,
You remained faithful when the disciples fled.
Just as you believed when the angel announced the incredible –
Your destiny as Mother of the Most High so too.

You believed, in the hour of His utter humiliation,
So you became – in the hour of the Cross.
In the hour of this world’s darkest night –

Mother of believers, Mother of the Church,
We ask you, teach us to believe and help our faith to become
courage for service and acts of supportive and sympathetic love.
- Pope Benedict XVI

Mary’s Faith

The month of May in the Church’s liturgical calendar is dedicated to honouring our Mother, Mary. Mary’s faith can provide such a beautiful example of how we can grow in virtue.

In the Gospel of Luke, God reveals to us ‘The Annunciation’, the moment the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Lk 1:31). In the exchange of words, we read that Mary is initially ‘perplexed’, but is soon reassured by the Angel when he proclaims, “Fear not, for nothing is impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). Immediately in the next line Mary puts her trust in God saying, “Behold: I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to Thy Word” (Lk 1:38).

Several times, in our lives we are often faced with things we have no control over. We can easily lose sight of God and the plan He has for us. If something is meant to be, God will see it through no matter what. If something is not meant to be, then we have to put our trust in God, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord” (Jer 29:11). This can be quite challenging especially when we are faced with the trials and tribulations of life. However, like Mary we must know that ‘nothing is impossible with God.’

Mary’s response “let it be done” showed that she trusted in God’s Word not knowing what was going to happen. It is a perfect example of the virtue of holiness and faith. When we say ‘Yes’ to God in prayer, serving others or to what comes our way, God will provide for us. Let us pray as St Teresa, “O Lady, increase our faith.’

Mass for Mother’s Day & Morning Tea

Last Friday morning we welcomed our beautiful mothers, grandmothers and significant women in the lives of our students for a Mass and morning tea. We commenced our morning with Holy Mass where we were able to give thanks to God for the gift of motherhood. Fr Richard celebrated the Eucharist and, in his homily, emphasised the great sacrifice and love mother’s constantly give to their children regardless of how challenging their lives are. He reminded mothers to imitate our Holy Mother Mary as the primary example of great virtue in holiness, love, trust and faith in God.

After Mass, the students and mothers had an enjoyable morning tea prepared by our cafeteria coordinator, Anna and Maryann and presented with a prayer card created by Paula D’Amore. It was wonderful morning to honour and celebrate our mothers.

College Chamber Choir to feature on Fr Rob Galea’s Live Stream Mass

On Sunday 30 May, our College Chamber Choir will have the opportunity to sing hymns in serving FRG Ministry’s (Fr Rob Galea) live stream Mass for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. FRG Ministry have been providing the opportunity for the faithful around the world to watch mass online, as well as many other initiatives since the beginning of lockdown early last year. Through the generosity of the community, they have been able to continue this service. The Sunday Mass will be broadcasted live on YouTube via FRG Ministry’s YouTube channel.

Ablaze Youth - St Catherine of Siena Youth Group

Ablaze Youth Group

Date: Friday 14 May (fortnightly)

Time: 7:00 – 8:30pm.

Where: Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs

Contact: stcatherineyg@gmail.com

All students from Year 7-12 are invited to attend.

Please click here to see attached PDF flyer

Sunday Gospel – Sunday May 16
The Ascension of the Lord – Year B
Mk 16:15-20

Welcome to the Year 8 Parent Information Night 2021

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability is an annual collection that counts the number of students with disability and the level of reasonable educational adjustment with which they are provided. The national data collection will count students who have been identified as receiving an adjustment to address a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (the DDA). College funding in support of learners is determined by this collection and submission of data. Further information, in both English and Arabic, are attached for parents.

Please click here to view the NCCD Information Sheet (English)

Please click here to view the NCCD Information Sheet (Arabic)

On the 5 May, 23 students across Year 7 to 10 participated in ‘The University of Melbourne - Mathematics School Competition 2021’. These students were selected by their Math teachers and have accepted the challenge of sitting for a 2-hour exam for our junior students and a 3-hour exam for our intermediate students. Students attempted their best at solving complex problems and we are all looking forward to receiving their results soon.

Our Year 9s have covered the unit Trigonometry. During this topic, we had students out and about on College grounds completing an activity using the measuring tape and inclinometer to find the height of poles and buildings. Here are some photos showing some of our students busy participating in this activity.

A reminder that Math Support sessions are held on most Tuesdays and Thursdays in room MM2 from 3:20pm to 4:15pm. Students can either attend part of, or stay for the duration of the session. During these sessions, a Math teacher will be available to help and assist students with completing Math work and revise or study for an upcoming Math assessment or Semester 1 exams.

Our Year 9 Drama and Dance students have the opportunity to perform to our very first live audience for 2021 at the end of Term 1. The students have been working hard all term to learn their lines, produce their class play and choreograph their dance, ready to be presented to their families and friends. The evening was a great success. I would like to thank all our Year 9 students who performed and for sharing their gifts and talents with our College community.

In the first week of May, a group of 48 students represented Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs at the annual SACCSS Cross Country event at Brimbank Park.

With the treacherous weather leading up to the day we were lucky enough to have no rain and little wind while our students were competing.

Our students competed across distances of 3 and 4 kilometres, with both courses having tough uphill sections at the end.

Our students competed well across the day and should all be congratulated for their efforts.

A special congratulations to Olivia G 10 Bunjil for finishing 4th overall and the 14yo Boys squad- Matthew S 8 Lingiari, Micheal J 8 Murphy Wandin, and James C 8 Baraka for finishing within the top 12.

Thank you to all that competed on the day, we look forward to the competing again in 2022.

Olivia G (10BU) crossing the finish line

Year 8 Boys participating in the 14 y/o division

On Friday April 23 we held our College Athletics Carnival. After some wet weather in the lead up, we were relieved to see the forecast was clear for the day and students were keen to get back out there and earning points for their house. The students all showed great spirit in dressing in house colours and giving their best in every event.

The day kicked off with all students running the 100m sprint and then moving off to compete in various events on the track and in the field. As always, high jump and long jump were particularly popular, but all events had a long list of competitors and plenty of strong performances.

I would like to thank all students and staff for once again showing tremendous spirit and contributing to another successful sports carnival at CRCCS.

All announcements including Athletic Carnival results, age group champions will be released at an upcoming College assembly and published in the following newsletter.

Mr Daniel Manning, Knev Nguyen (7MW)

Natalie Micallef (10WO) passing the batton to Olivia Grima (10BU)

Augustha Morris (8LI) clearing the High Jump Bar

Oliver Doolin (9BA) participating in Long Jump

Year 8 Girls 400m Sprint

Maria Ranasinghe (10MK) and Tiana Baba (10LI) participating in 200m Sprint

Year 9 Boys 100m Sprint

Tafara Tagutanazvo (10WO)

On Wednesday 5 May, our Performing Arts Drama, Theatre Studies, Music and Dance senior students went to the musical sensation hit ‘The Wedding Singer’ at the Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne. What an incredible experience to view live theatre in our great city!

Our students were captivated by the music, costumes and acting. The ‘80s was brought back to life in this fabulous production. I would like to thank the students for representing the College and navigating their way through the city so brilliantly. For some of our students it was their first time seeing a live show! Let’s hope there’s many more to come.

“On 5 May, the Year 9 dance class, as well as other Performing Arts classes, got the chance to watch the musical ‘The Wedding Singer’. The day started off with us taking public transport to Watergardens train station and catching a train to the city. From there we walked our way to the Athenaeum Theatre, which was an amazing experience as most of us have never been to that theatre before.

Once we got settled in our seats, the show started and I’m sure I can speak for all the Dance Class when I say the musical was amazing! The lighting was so cool and effective, and really added to the performance, and the dance choreography was perfect as they used different levels and moves - it was very much in the style of Broadway Jazz. Overall, it was such a fun day. We as a class are very thankful that we had the opportunity to go and experience this wonderful day. A big thank you to our College and teachers for planning this exciting day.”

Isabella Vignogna 9KO

Throughout the first semester, Year 7 students are focussed on completing an information and game app using App Lab. App Lab uses a block language that is very similar to Scratch that many students would have used in primary school. App Lab has its own built-in emulator to show students what their app would look like on a mobile device.

It is great to watch students give thought to their topic, complete a design process, consider the layout of their app and learn to code.

The information apps students have completed are on a variety of topics including economics, football teams, soccer teams, dogs, frogs, travel and much more.

It is wonderful to see our students have the opportunity to develop skills in an area of technology that is growing rapidly and filled with potential career pathways.

2021 School Fees

School fees payment arrangements for 2021 are still available. Please download a direct debit form from the link below. Hard copies are also available from the College office.

Direct Debit Form

If you have any concerns with school fees, please contact the Finance Department to discuss.

School Fee Statements

Please note that school fee statements are now being sent out by email. If you require a hard copy, please contact the Finance Department.

CSEF

CSEF applications remain open for 2021.

Please complete the application form below and return the completed signed form along with a copy of your current health care card to the College office as soon as possible.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/CSEF-Application-Form-2020.pdf

Year 8 Camp

Year 8 camp invoices have been sent home with your child and were also emailed to all families. Payment of $360 is due in full by Friday 4 June 2021.

Cultural Immersion

Cultural immersion invoices have been issued with payment dates due accordingly.

If you have any questions, please contact the Finance Department. Thank you.

On this day we recognise and acknowledge all the love and efforts of the remarkable females in our lives. We owe it to our mothers and motherly figures to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for their unconditional love, hard work, perseverance and strength.

It is best to remind our students that as Christians we are fortunate to have the ultimate role models: firstly, Jesus Christ, the obedient child; and as parents, the Mother of God, and ever virgin Mary. Together they teach us – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

To pass on the message of love, students were given the opportunity to make a card for their loved ones. The photos don’t require any captions, as the beaming smiles say it all.

Blessed and happy Mother’s Day to all!