Lent in the school community

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten period. Lent is a time to renew and restore our relationship with Christ. In what ways can this be enabled and supported in the school community?

Each Gospel concerns an encounter with Christ that challenged people to open themselves to God, to faith, to truth, to life. Catholic schools provide opportunities for such encounters throughout the year, but Lent demands a special effort. These opportunities might include:

• providing regular prayer and meditation sessions (daily or weekly, for individuals and groups)
• reflecting on the Lenten readings
• using images of the face of Christ for prayer and meditation
• ensuring every classroom, gathering space and public space contains an image or symbol that is not only a reminder of Catholic identity but an invitation to be open to Christ’s presence
• encouraging participation in Project Compassion, not just in donating or raising money but in opening our eyes to the suffering around us and making a compassionate response.

Lent is a chance to encounter Jesus, to remember again his invitation to chat, to come and see who He really is. It is a rich season for schools to look into the face of Jesus, not merely in our churches and classrooms with crucifixes and other images. Every encounter we have with a student, colleague or staff member can lead to a more profound realisation about our lives in Christ.

Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs School Advisory Council

It is with great pleasure that I formally announce and introduce the inaugural Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs School Advisory Council (SAC). The first meeting of the SAC was held on Thursday 17 February.

The Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs School Advisory Council for 2022 is made up of 10 council members who value and share the educational mission and ethos of the Catholic Church, comprising:

• Jamie Madigan- Principal (ex officio)
• Fr. Richard Rosse- Parish priest St Catherine of Siena Caroline Springs (ex officio and custodian of mission)
• Jason Kok- Chair (parent representative)
• Deb Gee- Finance Manager
• Elise Novak- Staff Representative
• Christine Thewma- Parent representative
• Daniel Xuereb- Parent representative
• Maher Alkateb- Parent representative
• Alicia Azzopardi- Alumni/Parish representative
• Ivanka Portelli- Student representative

Serving on the School Advisory Council of a Catholic school is a form of Church lay ministry. It is a response to the call to support the local Catholic parish and school communities in a particular way. It is also a means for members of our community to share their skills and talents for the common good. A well-functioning council provides rich sources of wisdom and insight, as well as a means of strengthening community links and potential for partnerships.

The board of MACS has responsibility for the strategic direction and oversight of the operation and management of MACS schools, including Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs. Clear lines of authority, reporting and delegation from the MACS board through the Executive Director delegate the day-to-day operational management of Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs to its principal.

The School Advisory Council is not a governing body but is part of the broader governance framework of MACS. Its role, as determined by the MACS board through this Terms of Reference, supports the overall governance of the MACS system as it ‘is to give consideration to, and advice on, important school matters in order to support the principal and the strategic interest of the school’ (Working Together in Mission p. 20).

The School Advisory Council provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where parent voice and community perspective are available to inform and support the decisions made by the principal and custodian of mission for the good of school and parish where students’ wellbeing and outcomes are paramount.

The following are some examples of the many ways the School Advisory Council may support the school and the principal:

• articulating and enacting the school’s vision and mission
• promoting the school’s Catholic ethos and culture
• promoting faith formation and development
• supporting school policies as required
• giving advice to the principal on issues such as school improvement plans and enrolment trends
• engaging in discussion with the principal about the annual school budget and other financial matters
• giving advice to the principal about the school master plan
• providing capital resource planning and maintenance support to the principal.

Once again, I thank the members of the Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs School Advisory Council and eagerly look forward to working closely with them to further develop the strategic interest of the College.

Change to mask-wearing guidance

The Victorian Government announced earlier this week that masks will no longer be needed in most indoor settings, with masks only required in school settings for students in Year 3 or above at primary school, and workers at early childhood centres and primary schools. Masks are no longer mandatory either indoors or outdoors in secondary schools. However, students are welcome to continue wearing their face masks at their discretion.

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. Unfortunately, the last two years due to COVID-19 restrictions we were unable to meet regularly and hold our usual social and fundraising events. 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/carers, to learn more about our wonderful College as well as participate and share in general discussion often relating to significant issues about school events. We are currently awaiting an update to the CECV School Operations Guide to provide further information regarding the health and safety guidelines for these meetings. Further information will be made available as it becomes available.

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

The Investiture of Student Leaders Ceremony is one of our formal events for 2022. It is a College event which our student leaders remember and look back on very fondly, and one that we are very proud of here at Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs.

Due to ongoing restrictions, we are unable to have parents attend on-site. However, the ceremony will be live streamed for you to enjoy and join in the celebration of our special young people. This ceremony will be held together with our Opening Mass and Ash Wednesday Liturgy.

All College students are asked to wear full Summer uniform, including their blazers, to this event. Those that have PE on the day will be asked to change after the conclusion of the ceremony.

We look forward to celebrating our young leaders and recognising a number of staff that have contributed to the College.

As members of our College community, our students are very fortunate to have a number of events in which to participate in and be a part of.

Our Swimming Carnival is one event in which we celebrate each year. The carnival includes a variety of activities to ensure a fun day is had by all, and regardless of their ability, all students are able to participate in the day. The purpose of such an event is to build community amongst our students and support our designated College Houses of Jackson, Norman, O’Reilly and Franklin.

It is expected that all students attend the Swimming Carnival on Thursday 3 March and if they cannot, they must provide a medical certificate to their homeroom teacher the following day. If you require any further information about this event, do not hesitate to contact your child’s homeroom teacher or Year Level Leader.

A Prayer for Lent

O gracious Master, infuse in our hearts the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom and open the eyes of our mind that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, so that having curbed all carnal desires, we may lead a spiritual life, both thinking and doing everything to please You. For You, O Christ, our God, are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies; and to You we render glory, together with Your eternal Father, and with Your all holy, life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and forever.

Amen

The Season of Lent

‘Who is the King of your heart?’ Is it social media, material possessions, wealth…JESUS? This Wednesday, we will enter the season of Lent which calls us to ask ourselves this very question. We will place ashes on our forehead as a reminder of our intent to die to our worldly desires and live even more in Christ’s image. The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us of this necessity:

The Lord says this:

‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, Z
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabited.‘

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’

How can we make Jesus ‘The King of our heart?’ The Church encourages us to engage in a variety of practices: prayer - attending Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation, reading the bible, participating in the Stations of the Cross; self-denial - not eating meat, not eating sweets or dessert, giving up entertainment; refraining from gossiping; Almsgiving - special attention to those who are vulnerable in society such as the poor, sick, elderly, lonely or overburdened. These ‘pillars’ of lent can aide us in growing closer to Jesus. There are also many great resources that can assist us in our spiritual journey which I encourage you to explore:

Hallow App (Catholic Prayer & Meditation App)

Amen App (Catholic app that brings you beautiful prayers, faithful meditations and nourishing Scripture)

Laudate Prayer App (ios & android)

10 Ways To Make A Pilgrimage This Lent Without Leaving Home (Article)

Best Lent Ever (practical and inspiring videos)

Bruce Downs The Catholic Guy (short, practical and inspiring videos)

Let us pray that as we journey through the Season of Lent and approach Easter that we will open our hearts to Christ.

Friday 8:00am Mass – St Catherine of Siena Parish Church

Students, parents and their families are invited to attend 8:00am morning Mass.

Friday’s during Term 1

8:00 – 8:25am

St Catherine of Siena Parish, Caroline Springs.

The Eucharist allows us the opportunity to receive so many graces from God. Strength, forgiveness and hope are some of these graces we receive. However, the most important is growing in a deeper love for Christ from receiving him in the Eucharist. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend some time in silence and prayer and move our focus away from ourselves and on things we may need to work to allow Christ to reign in our hearts.

Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs has recently updated our College Course Handbooks and Assessment Calendars in line with the new five 60-minute period timetable structure in 2022. There has also been the addition of new subjects to our Curriculum Program across Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. 

The College is excited to provide you with a summary of the new subject options for students:

• in Year 7, all students will now participate in a year-long STEM subject
• in Year 8, students have increased choice of elective subjects, with STEM: Aviation and Digital Technology added to the elective program
• in Year 9, Creative Writing has been added as an elective subject option
• in Year 10, students may now select from one of three English subject options: 
  • Foundation English
  • English
  • Advanced English
• additionally, History now has two options for students to select from: 
  • History: WWII
  • History: Civil Rights Movement
• finally, Music: Sound Production has been added to as an elective subject option.

The Course Guides can be found on the College website, in the ‘Learning & Teaching’ tab, under ‘Curriculum at a Glance’, but have also been included below for your perusal.

Year 7 Course Handbook 2022

Year 8 Course Handbook 2022

Year 9 Course Handbook 2022

Year 10 Course Handbook 2022

Parents/carers who have any questions about our Course Guides are welcome to contact a member of the College's Learning & Teaching team.

The Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs has recently updated its Homework and Assessment Re-sit Policies to align with the new timetable structure and College Learning Model.

A summary of the key changes to the policies can be found below:

• Assessment re-sit will occur from 3:20-4:20pm each Tuesday in the College Cafeteria to provide an opportunity for students who are absent for an Assessment Task to complete this task
• To support our new Year 7 students with their transition to secondary school they will not receive any homework in the first four weeks of Term 1
• VCE students may receive up to one hour of homework after each lesson
• Maths support sessions will continue to run twice per week after school. This year after school sessions will take place in Room MM2 every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:20pm until 4:20pm
• English support sessions will also be running twice per week after school. These sessions will take place in Room MM1 every Wednesday and Thursday from 3:20pm until 4:20pm

Copies of the Homework Policy and Assessment Re-sit Policy can be found below for your perusal and are also available on the SEQTA Learn and SEQTA Engage Homepage.

Homework Policy

Assessment Re-sit Policy

2022 School Fees

School fees payment arrangements for 2022 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 choose to pay your fees in full by the end of Term 1, the College offers a $100 discount. Please deduct this amount from your payment before the end of Term 1 when paying in full.

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 sent out monthly by email. If you require a hard copy, please contact the Finance Department.

CSEF

CSEF applications are open for 2022.

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

CSEF Application Form

Year 7 Camp

Payment for Year 7 Camp is due by 28 February. The tax invoice is attached to your Operoo permission email. Please make payment to College by the due date.

The first mission for the Social Justice team in 2022, was to spread the love throughout the College community. Love is something that we can all relate to and should be something we all strive to do in our day-to-day lives. How wonderful would the world be if we loved unconditionally, while living out the motto, ‘live fully act justly’?

The Bible says that God is love, making the Word of God the perfect source to reinforce that, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because – God is Love” (1 John 4:8).

At the front gate, the team greeted the College community with smiles and happy vibes, reminding each one that they are part of a bigger body. Spreading love comes at no cost, it’s a priceless gesture that naturally lifts the spirits of all involved. On this day St Valentines worked through the Social Justice team and the results were special.

Students took a minute to jot down, on a little heart, what “love is” to them. We had family, friends, pets, neighbours, and nuggets even made the list. The display stands boldly and brightly on display.

Simple tips in keeping the love alive:

• Say thank you
• Greet others
• Help them out
• Say something nice
• Be supportive
• Show compassion
• Pray for them

May our Lord be your role model, as His love supply is never empty.

To assist students further in their literacy skills, English Support is offered to all students as an after-school program. The sessions are facilitated by English teachers to develop student capability and confidence in all areas of English including vocabulary, writing structure and conventions, grammar and punctuation.

The program is offered to all students on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons between 3:20pm – 4:20pm in room MM3. Students are not required to attend for the entire hour and can leave after they have received the necessary support.

Below is the timetable for Term 1, which indicates the date as well as the teacher facilitating the session. The sessions are entirely voluntary and provide a great opportunity for students to receive tailored guidance in further developing their literacy skills.

If you would like any further clarification, please feel free to contact me at the College at aconsiglio@crccs.vic.edu.au

English Support Timetable – Term 1, 2022

Getting messy with the Year 8 Art classes through their ceramic explorations. This group is learning pinch pot and joining techniques to create crazy, individually designed monsters.

These monsters will be glazed and fired over the next few weeks ready to take home!

Tuesday 22 February - a remarkable day spent with the Social Justice team of 2022. The day began with prayer and reflection, followed by a review of the mission statement and the intentions for the year ahead. After recess, guest speakers from Assist Ability Australia and Catholic Care Victoria passionately presented on the work involved within their organisations, highlighting the many differences they make within our community.

“How good would it be, if at the end of each day, each of us could say, ‘today I have performed an act of charity towards others’ – Pope Francis. This beautiful message was shared with students. Leaving them to think about ways they could put their compassion into action, with talk around being Kindness captains. Students engaged in conversation as they addressed the many issues faced by refugee families and the support networks in place.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent drafting ideas and planning. Students eagerly shared ideas with one another, creating a real positive buzz in the space. We all agreed that one of our focus’ is to be Christ-like in our actions and words, so much so that people will envy the good hearted and work on being just that, in turn, tying it in with the Project Compassion theme for 2022 - ‘For all future generations’.

Some student reflection of the day:

Leighanna

Today was a great day we got to listen to amazing guest speakers and listen to what they were passionate about. Then we got to plan what we want to do for our school and upcoming important dates.

Ivanka

Our Social Justice Leadership Day was an inspirational, and reflective time for us as a team to listen to and gain wisdom from some guest speakers and to begin planning our goals for the year in the hope of brining social justice alive in our community. Through God's grace, I am certain that our team this year will achieve amazing things.

Noah

I really appreciated everything you prepared for us today, it was very intriguing and inspirational. Thank you for organizing the guest speakers we had today and giving us time to come up with ideas and plan for the year ahead.

Angel

Today was truly such an awesome experience and gave us opportunities to reflect on just how fortunate we are, and how we can utilise our own gifts and talents to help those who may not be as fortunate as us. Guest speakers Lola from Assist Ability Australia, and Liz from Catholic Care inspired us to do more through action, rather than words and gave us some wonderful advice and information. Thank you to Mrs Mattar, for organising such a fantastic, inspiring day

Ash Wednesday – 2 March 2022
(Week beginning Monday 28 February)

This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and/or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: lent.caritas.org.au

Students are invited to bring a small donation to school. Each amount big or small makes a huge difference.

First Week of Lent
(Week beginning Monday 7 March)

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about Anatercia, a 12-year-old girl living in a small village in southern Mozambique. She began to take on more and more adult responsibilities as her mother has chronic health issues. She did most of the household chores and had to travel up to five hours every day to collect clean water. Water scarcity also meant that harvests were poor and there was never enough to eat.

With your support, Caritas Australia’s local partner, Caritas Regional Chokwe, was able to help Anatercia’s family to irrigate their farm to improve their food security. They also improved water access for households in the village, delivered sustainable farming training, and provided Anatercia with essential school supplies.

Anatercia’s health, education and quality of life have improved, along with the outlook of her whole community for all future generations.

Watch a short film about Anatercia’s story here.

Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au

We have an exciting new opportunity for an experienced Administration Assistant to undertake office administrative functions at Sacred Heart-Emmaus Parish, St Albans-Sydenham in a part time role reporting to the Parish Priest. The role of the Parish Administration Coordinator will be to build solid relationships and work collaboratively to provide support to the Parish Team and parish volunteers.

The successful applicant must be well motivated to work for the Church and ideally possess a strong commitment to its practices and values. He/she must be able to recognise and respect the pastoral aspect of the Parish and an understanding of liturgy/sacraments would be highly advantageous.

This permanent part-time position is based at the Parish Office in St Albans. The role is 24 hours per week Monday to Friday, with some flexibility regarding hours required to worked. Terms and conditions are governed by the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Key Requirements

• Good communication skills with ability to relate to a variety of people
• Team orientation, including ability to work harmoniously with staff and volunteers
• Strong PC skills, in particular Microsoft Office suite of products and familiarity with the Archdiocese IT platforms would be an advantage, however, training can be provided.
• Initiative and a capacity to work with a minimum of supervision
• Maintain records in a confidentiality, tidy and readily accessible manner
• Maintain a high level of integrity, confidentiality, and discretion.
• Experience in providing a range of secretarial and office management services
• Ability to work to timeframes with attention to detail and priorities while handling regular interruptions

Key Responsibilities

• Provide high level confidential administrative and secretarial support including the management of the Parish diary and Office calendar.
• Attend to all relevant correspondence and communications in a timely and effective manner and to ensure a smooth flow of communication to and from the Office.
• Establish and maintain an efficient and effective record keeping system for the Office and the Parish and maintain appropriate records in digital format to ensure easy access to reports and documents, including maintaining Parish database and Registers (Baptism, Deaths, Weddings etc).
• Provide a courteous and efficient reception function for the Office, including management of office supplies, goods, and services
• Prepare letters and other documents as required.
• Assist the Parish Priest in managing his workflow to ensure he is able to fulfil all his commitments.

• Assist the Parish Priest and Parish team with various Administration duties

Additional Information

Applications are to be sent to recruitment@cam.org.au by 4 March 2022. Please submit a cover letter along with a current resume. For further information, contact Suzette Diaz, HR Officer on (03) 9926 5615.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is committed to the safety, wellbeing and dignity of al/ children and vulnerable adults. It is a requirement across our organisation that all clergy, employees and volunteers have a valid working with children check.