With Father’s Day occurring this Sunday, I would like to wish all the dads in our CRCCS community a Happy Father’s Day. I would like to thank Father Richard Rosse for dedicating the live streamed 9:30am Mass from St Catherine’s of Sienna church on Friday 4 September to the fathers, grandfathers, and significant father figures in the lives of our students.
Being a dad can be difficult at times and I would like to again share an abstract from an article titled – ‘A Checklist for Catholic Dad’s' by R Hain which you may find useful:
“I have a long way to go, but I believe living up to the expectations below will keep me headed in the right direction:” (R Hain)
A Checklist for Catholic Dads
Surrender
We have to surrender on an ongoing basis to Christ for his will to be done in our lives. Guys, we are not in charge…as much as we want to be! St Ignatius of Loyola once said: “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to him and if they were to allow his grace to mold them accordingly.”
Be a Man of Prayer
Our children will be much more likely to pray if we do. Work on developing a daily prayer routine with the goal of at least an hour a day devoted to prayer. Sound difficult? Think about how much TV we watch a day or answer emails. Consider how much time we spend in our cars each day and how much time we devote to exercise. We have more than enough time for prayer if we schedule it and integrate it into our day. Also, imagine the powerful influence we can have on our children if they see us on our knees in prayer each night at family prayer time.
Understand Our True Vocation
For those of us blessed to be married and have children, we must recognize that helping our families get to heaven and being good husbands and fathers—not our business careers—is our real vocation. Ask yourself: “Is my work serving my family? Or is my family serving my work?”
Invest Time
Our children need our time. Put down the smartphone; turn off the TV; cancel the golf outing. Let’s spend more time with our kids! In the absence of a father’s time with his family, you can bet there are countless bad influences ready to take his place and guide his children in the wrong direction. I paraphrase author-theologian Scott Hahn, who wrote that in our modern age the father or mother who is willing to walk out of the office after forty hours in order to have more time with his/her family is the real hero.
Be Courageous
Christians are meant to stand out, not blend in. Blending in speaks to conforming so that our faith becomes part of the mainstream … and we need to fight the culture. These are difficult times, and we have a responsibility to love and defend Christ, be great role models for our families and stand up for our faith.
Practice Detachment
Are we too focused on acquiring toys, bigger houses, nicer cars or the next promotion? We need to let go of the things that are in the way of our prayer lives, Mass attendance, charitable giving, volunteering, time with our families and certainly our relationships with Christ.
Love Our Wives
Husbands, we must love and cherish our wives, plain and simple. Our children will learn to love others by how they see Mum and Dad love each other. We need to say, “I love you” to our wives and our children as often as possible. Let’s show our wives respect and cherish the critical role they play in our families. “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” So said Theodore Hesburgh.
Today’s kids face significant challenges and strong fathers, without a doubt, are part of the solution.
Let’s take a few minutes to reflect on how we are doing as fathers and as husbands. Take the results of this reflection to prayer and reconciliation. Most importantly, commit to make the necessary changes.
As Catholic men, we have a responsibility to be strong fathers and husbands, leaders in our parishes, good stewards in our communities and humble followers of Christ.
Let’s look to the inspiring example of St Joseph, patron saint of fathers, workers and the universal Church, for his obedience, humility, selflessness, courage and the love he showed to Mary and Jesus. If we can emulate St Joseph even a little each day, we will be that much closer to becoming the men and fathers we are called to be.
Taken From: MEN OF FAITH, SURRENDER & STRENGTH BY RANDY HAIN
http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2015/05/randy-hain-checklist-for-catholic-dads/
“Catch-up” Day Tuesday 8 September
Recently, the College conducted another Remote Learning Experience Survey with all students for every subject area. The aim of this survey was to glean a better understanding of our students’ experience learning remotely at home and to address any concerns that may have arisen.
Our student survey results have shown most students are satisfied with their progress in remote learning (average score of 7 out of 10 across the College). It is reassuring to see so many students accepting and rising to the challenge that remote learning brings. However, there is certainly a need to provide students with the opportunity to consolidate and revise recently covered concepts, such that they can continue to feel supported in this remote learning environment.
The workload breakdown for each year level and subject, as identified by the student surveys, makes it more apparent that there are substantial increases to student workload across the year levels within specific subjects. While this is to be expected due to the complexity of concepts as students’ progress from Year 7 to 10, there is a real need to provide students sufficient additional time in a remote learning environment to better engage with, and consolidate, these concepts.
Our response to these results and feedback is to provide an additional “catch-up” day on Tuesday 8 September. No formal classes will be held on this day; however, students are encouraged to use this time effectively studying and working. We believe the benefit to having a catch-up day next week, is to provide our students with some much-needed breathing space and extra time to consolidate new knowledge, catch up on incomplete tasks and ask questions for clarification.
Teachers will be available via email or MS Teams on this day should the students wish to communicate with them or seek assistance. This day is not regarded as a school closure day so students who arcurrently meet the criteria and are attending school on-site may choose to continue to come in to school. The College office and reception will be open normal hours.
Once again, I thank you for your patience, support and understanding in these very unique circumstances. I assure you that I, along with all staff at CRC Caroline Springs are doing our utmost to support your child and provide the best possible learning outcomes for all.
Final Newsletter for Term 3
Please note that final newsletter for Term 3, will be distributed on Friday 18 September.
Return to Newsletter - 4 September 2020
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