Issue 5, 28 March 2024

Our Lenten journey will soon come to an end. The excitement of Easter and all the joy and hope that it represents is building. This week is Holy Week and it is a special time that allows us to fully prepare for the miracle that happens at Easter. On Holy Thursday we remember the Last Supper before the most solemn holy day of the year, being Good Friday. On this day we remember that Jesus died on the cross for us. May we continue to deepen our faith as we edge closer to the triumph and joy of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  

Good luck to our Year 7 students who venture off on a 3-day camp to Wallaroo next week. The camp focusses on teamwork, communication and resilience building activities. These skills and dispositions are important for all young people to develop. They are generally the ‘glue’ that hold together all the things people are good at and allow them to be effective in a group or team environment. 

School camps offer a new and different canvas for young people to learn and grow. We are pleased to facilitate and support these types of extra-curricula activities to ensure that our students learn about themselves and build positive relationships at school and outside of the school environment. 

We have been made aware of a number of issues have been happening on and around the school buses after school. While this is occurring offsite and the school does not have duty of care, it is important to us that all of our students arrive home safely and represent our school positively in the broader community. In particular, there have been some concerns about the supervision of students while waiting for and transitioning to another bus. Some students have been getting off the bus and playing while waiting for the next bus to arrive. We understand that sometimes the buses can run late and this may be unavoidable given the number of stops they need to make and taking into account all the variables. It is not the bus driver’s responsibility to supervise students who get off the bus.  

To support our students and the bus service, we have made some changes to the way our students catch the bus at the end of the day. Our students will now stay onsite for slightly longer at the end of the day before catching the bus at 3:15pm. They will remain under St Mary’s Shelter and be supervised by a teacher before they catch the bus. This reduces the amount of time they will be waiting at the next stop for the other bus to arrive. This does not have any impact on what time the students get home in the afternoon. It simply reduces waiting times offsite and congestion when swapping buses. We trust this will be a proactive strategy to reduce issues on the buses after school. 

As per our assessment and reporting schedule, students in years 3-12 will receive an Interim report before the end of Week 11. This report will provide a helpful snapshot of your child’s learning throughout Term 1. I also encourage parents/caregivers to check SEQTA and review the assessments that have been uploaded throughout the term. 

While students in years R-2 do not receive and Interim Report at the end of Term 1, you can check the SEESAW application, which is used to provide parents/caregiver with an ongoing window into student activity, learning and achievements. I encourage parents/caregivers to contact their student’s class teacher if you have any questions.

Last week saw our College community gather in prayer as we celebrated our St Joseph’s Day liturgy. St Joseph, the patron saint of Caritas College, was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus. He was a carpenter, an ordinary and humble man, but he was able to see and speak with God in extraordinary ways. Not much is known about Joseph from the Gospels, but what we do know is that he encountered and listened closely to God in his dreams, protecting and caring for Mary and Jesus with deep compassion. 

Joseph, after encountering an angel in a dream, fled to Egypt with Mary and baby Jesus to escape persecution from King Herod. After attending JJAMM in Sydney and hearing about the work of the Sisters of St Joseph in responding to the refugee crisis, Charlee and Deacon were keen to educate our community and show how we, through our Josephite charism, welcome everyone with open arms. Through their leadership, a message of support for refugees in Australia has been created with handprints of all members of our College community, which is now proudly on display in the library. 

Let us continue to ask St Joseph to intercede for us to think about the things we say with great love that will leave a lasting and positive impression on all in our community.

Last Wednesday, the Chrism Mass was held in St Mark’s Cathedral in Port Pirie. This mass is important in the Catholic Church as the holy oils that are used within the sacramental life of the Church are blessed. 9 of our Year 7 students who are Confirmation candidates represented Caritas College and witnessed the blessing of the oils, one of which will be used when they are confirmed later this year. Students were able to see their connection to the wider Church community and enjoyed exploring the Cathedral after mass and having a brief tour of our Catholic Education office. We look forward to walking with these young people as they make this special and significant step in their faith journey. 

Our Year 11 students recently participated in the Caritas K’s event, walking 5km with buckets of water to gain an understanding of the plight of others in our world. They quickly discovered that the walk wasn’t always easy, being careful to not lose much water from their buckets in teams, to truly replicate what it must be like. They have done an amazing job raising money for our Project Compassion campaign, making a difference to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. 

As we are in the final days of Lent, some of us may still be rushing trying to purchase Easter eggs ready to give to family members and friends over the weekend. If you are looking for a way to enjoy your Easter treats that support ethical and sustainable practices, consider purchasing slavery-free certified chocolate Easter eggs. This sends a message to chocolate companies that consumers care about social justice and responsibility, connected to our Catholic Social Teaching of Dignity of the Human Person. 

Throughout the week, students across the College have gathered in year levels to commemorate the Stations of the Cross. Since the earliest centuries of the Church, Christians have made pilgrimages to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Jesus during his suffering, death and resurrection. During the fifteenth century, Christians began the practice of prayerfully meditating on the Passion of Christ by reproducing the pilgrimage in what we now know as the Stations of the Cross. By walking with Jesus, we join our personal suffering with his, knowing that he will lead us to new life through his Resurrection.