Issue 2, 16 February 2024

The season of Lent commenced on Ash Wednesday. It will last for 40 days, counting from the first Sunday of Lent through to Holy Thursday. This liturgical period is significant for the Church as it invites change and transformation. It offers us the opportunity to renew ourselves in God’s love. Through the season of Lent, we focus on becoming more generous and thoughtful towards all those we encounter and be a true reflection God’s love in our community.  

Our Opening School Liturgy was held on Thursday. It was a special gathering to recognise and celebrate the beginning of the school year. We embraced our College theme for the year 'Let Your Light Shine'. The Student Representative Council and School Leaders were presented with their badges to acknowledge the important role they will fulfil within our school community this year.  

It is quite a feat for our whole school to gather together in one place at the same time. We only do it 3 or 4 times each year. With students, staff and parents we can amass close to 700 people under St Mary’s Shelter. Therefore, our Opening School Liturgy served as an important way to begin the school year and set the tone for our aspirations for the year ahead. I am confident that it provided inspiration for everyone in our school community to grow in love, wonder and understanding throughout 2024.  

The outstanding academic achievements of South Australia's 2023 Year 12 students were recognised at the SACE Merit Ceremony held last week. We were delighted to have two students from Caritas College receive Merit Certificates. Our school community can be very proud of the achievements of Lilah Hill and Max Edwards who achieved merits in their Year 12 studies last year. Lilah achieved merits in Research Project and Health, while Max obtained a merit in Essential English. It is also important to recognise the staff for their efforts in supporting students to achieve such great success in their learning.   

Our Year 12 Student Leaders are currently enroute to Sydney to attend the JJAMM Conference. JJAMM stands for Julian, Joseph and Mary MacKillop. It is an annual conference that brings student leaders together from over 25 Josephite schools around Australia. Students will deepen their faith and work together to develop their leadership skills. They will make commitments to their current leadership role and those they will take on in the future. This experience will support Deacon and Charlee to recognise their gifts and use them in ways to inspire others to make a positive difference in our school and broader community. We look forward to them sharing their learning with the rest of the College community in the days and weeks to come. 

Child safety and wellbeing is our first and foremost priority. Therefore, our College emphasises the importance of teaching all of our children and young people how to be safe. The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum is mandated to be taught in all schools in South Australia. It is designed to provide students with age-appropriate information about how to stay safe now and into the future. 

The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum is taught in all classes across the whole year. It focuses on explicitly teaching child safety and respectful relationships. Teachers are busy preparing this learning which will be taught later in the term. If you have any questions about the content or way in which this is taught, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.  

We encourage families to discuss the importance of child protection with their children and to reinforce the learning from the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum at home. By working together, we can create a safe and supportive environment for all of our students. 

Our Annual R-12 Sports Day will be held on Friday 15th March. Students from our three house teams (Tenison, MacKillop, and Joseph) will come together for a day of friendly competition. They will try their best in the field of athletics and work together for the benefit of their team. Sports Day is an opportunity for families and friends to come along and encourage our students and contribute to the lively atmosphere. It’s a vibrant event that not only showcases our students’ abilities but also strengthens our school’s ties with the broader community. Please mark this date in your diary and stay tuned for more details in the upcoming newsletters.  

What a week we have had here as we made the final preparations for the season of Lent. Lent is a liturgical season lasting 40 days, reminding us of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We are called to pray, fast and give alms as part of our Lenten practice – simple acts that allow us to imitate Jesus, who taught us to fast, pray and live in service to others, especially the poor, vulnerable, and marginalised. Many people choose to give up a particular indulgence or habit as a form of self-discipline or practice whilst others choose to take up a challenge. 

On Tuesday, we marked the final day before Lent, Shrove Tuesday. This is a day when luxurious items were used up in preparation for the fasting that would occur in the days leading up to Easter. Our Senior students donated pancake mixture and toppings with our Year 12 students making and serving hundreds of pancakes for all members of our community to enjoy. 

On Wednesday, we acknowledged the change of liturgical season with Ash Wednesday liturgies being celebrated throughout the day. It is here, marked with the ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday service, that we are reminded that we are drawn into a time of quiet reflection and contemplation of what lies ahead in our Catholic story. We are called to think about Jesus’ life and suffering and the many ways in which he continually showed compassion and forgiveness to others, right up to the moment of his death. It is also a reminder for us to think about how we can show compassion and forgiveness to others.  

Compassion creates a ripple effect of kindness throughout communities. Whilst we consider how we can give to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion campaign, we also encourage our students to focus on their gifts that they can offer to others – to create ripples that will improve the livelihoods of our global brothers and sisters and to support all future generations. Our fundraising campaign began this week, with the selling of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. 

By supporting Project Compassion, we can proclaim the faith that is in our hearts and help our brothers and sisters in need by sharing the gifts that we possess. During Lent, we are invited to take up the call to fast, pray and give, in solidarity as a global community. Our commitment to those in need is a direct call to our response, beautifully located in our College entrance statement, ‘to act justly, live tenderly, and to walk humbly with our God’ (Micah 6:8). 

The 2024 Sacramental Preparation Program will begin in Term 2, with Year 4 students preparing to receive their first Holy Communion. Letters to students in Years 3, 4 and 7 would have received an email from Fr Jim Monaghan last week advising of dates for family calendars for each sacrament as well as an information session, being held on Thursday 14 March, 7:00pm, at All Saints Catholic Church.  

If you did not receive a letter about the program, please click here for a copy, or, contact the All Saints Catholic Church on 8642 2847.