Issue 15, 7 September 2023

This week is National Child Protection Week. It invites all Australians to play their part in promoting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. The theme for this year is 'Where we start matters' and it continues to promote a safe and supported life for every child, now and into the future. Safeguarding Sunday follows National Child Protection Week and will be celebrated in all Australian Catholic Dioceses this coming Sunday. At Caritas College, child protection is our highest priority. Creating a safe environment for children is paramount and central to our endeavour to support every child and young person to feel safe and happy.  

This Friday staff will gather for our annual Staff Reflection Day. Our commitment to the children and young people in our care is contextualised by our Catholic faith and Josephite tradition. As such, it is important that we make time and space for our own faith formation which is a core element of our school and enhances the work we do. Thank you to the families who support this important experience for staff on a student free day. 

Over the past few weeks our Year 7-9 students have all visited All Saints Church in preparation for celebrating the Season of Creation Mass on Thursday 14th September. These visits have assisted our students to learn more about the traditions and customs of the Catholic faith. The Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with God and all of his wonderous creation. In caring for our environment now and into the future, we want to instil a genuine sense of responsibility and stewardship in our students.  

I have been very heartened over the past two weeks by the amount of conversation and collaboration between parents/caregivers and teachers. Last week we invited parents/caregivers in to meet with teachers for important learning conversations about student growth and achievement. This week, students and families in Year 10 and 11 have been working with teachers in subject counselling as they prepare for next year in choosing subjects aligned to their interests, strengths and possible post-school pathways.  

I will be taking leave from 25 September until 22 October 2023 (Week 10, Term 3 – Week 1, Term 4). I am pleased to announce that Mary Manning has been appointed by Mrs Nichii Mardon, Director of Catholic Education, to the position of Acting Principal for this period. Mary is well known to the Caritas College community in her current role as Deputy Principal. Mary has capably performed this role many times and I appreciate her taking on this leadership position in my absence.  

Our Years 8 and 9 students have both visited All Saints Church for the 9:00am mass over the last 2 weeks, preparing for their 7-9 Seasons of Creation mass. Last week, we met Fr Ranjith, who will be filling in for Fr Jim whilst he is on annual leave. Fr Ranjith spoke wonderfully about the importance of the Season of Creation in preparation for the upcoming mass. Leo Mascardo, our seminarian preparing for his ordination to the diaconate, assisted with giving our students a tour of the church at the end of mass. 

Our Year 7 students have been exploring the concept of stewardship in preparation for their Season of Creation mass. They have been dissecting Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si and how to live this out, making connections between the environmental crisis and religion through our call to love our neighbour.