Issue 8, 17 May 2024

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From the Principal, Mr Damian Smith
Catholic Education Week
College Birthday
Post School Careers Excursion
SAPSASA & SSSSA Sport
National Reconciliation Week (Week 5)
From the Leader of Catholic Identity, Chloe Shanahan
Spotlight on Mary
Sacraments - First Eucharist
National Reconciliation Week - Now More Than Ever
Laudato Si' Week, 19-26 May
Teaching and Learning
Year 2 - Religious Studies
Year 11 - Outdoor Education
GRIP Leadership Conference
Out and About

From the Principal, Mr Damian Smith

Catholic Education Week

This week we mark Catholic Education Week! It has a core focus on celebrating teaching and learning and what it means to be part of a Catholic school community.

At Caritas College we invite children and families into an environment that is centred on faith, values, and academic excellence. We endeavour to foster a strong sense of community. Our school is situated in a broader network of Catholic schools across South Australia who all share a common purpose – to create opportunities for students, in partnership with families, to live life to the full. How blessed we are to be part of a system that has 101 schools with 8,500 staff supporting more than 52,000 students and their families all working together.

I hope we can use Catholic Education Week is an opportune time to celebrate the many blessings and gifts in our wonderful school community.

College Birthday

Today, our college community celebrated its 153rd birthday. This date marks the day the founding Sisters of St Joseph held the first lessons in a shed on the Port Augusta Wharf in 1871. To mark the occasion in our customary way, we share birthday cake with students and staff. We do this every year and it’s a special way for us to remember St Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of Saint Joseph as the founders of our school community. In addition to the birthday cake, Mr O’Brien and the SRC organised party games for the students to engage in at lunch under St Mary’s Shelter. Lots of fun was had by all.

Post School Careers Excursion

Our Year 10 students had an enjoyable and fruitful trip to Adelaide last week for the Post School Careers Excursion. They engaged in lots of events and activities to help them explore and learn about potential future pathways beyond school. From all accounts, the visits to the Careers Expo, potential employers, training organisations and universities gave the students a great range of experiences and insights into future possibilities.

SAPSASA & SSSSA Sport

Over the past week we have had a good number of our students represent our College at SAPSASA and SSSSA sport events. The Year 5/6’s participated in a Football and Netball Carnival last Friday at Central Oval which was a well-run event. We also had three teams of Year 7/8 girls compete in a Netball Carnival earlier this week. Our new extra-curricular team sports uniforms were on display which we are very proud of. In addition to our new Netball and Football uniforms, we also look forward to unveiling our Basketball uniforms later in the year.

National Reconciliation Week (Week 5)

On Thursday 30th June we will hold a whole school assembly to reaffirm our commitment to promoting justice and reconciliation for Australia’s First Peoples. The theme for National Reconciliation Week this year is 'Now More Than Ever'. It invites us to stand up for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In solidarity with this theme, we seek to build stronger connections with each other through showing respect and taking action. Students will be engaged in a range of activities throughout the week to celebrate National Reconciliation Week.

From the Leader of Catholic Identity, Chloe Shanahan

Spotlight on Mary

Throughout May, we celebrate and honour Mary, the mother of Jesus and the mother of the Church. She was the first disciple, and we hear of her triumphant “Yes!” to be the mother of Jesus when she was visited by the angel who came to deliver the new. Mary continues to be a model of discipleship and holiness for us all today. Students across our community will have the opportunity to engage with the story of Mary and a variety of Marian prayers, artwork and songs throughout May. Mary is Mother – your mother, my mother, everyone’s mother – and she cares deeply for all of us, day in and day out without fail, interceding for us, even in the tiniest of matters.

Sacraments - First Eucharist

A number of children in our school and parish community have begun their formation and preparation sessions to receive their First Holy Communion later this term. This is an exciting time for these children and we continue to pray for them and their families as they continue their faith journey. The next session for these children and their families will be next weekend, Saturday 25 May at 6:30pm or Sunday 26 May at 10:30am at All Saints Church.

National Reconciliation Week - Now More Than Ever

National Reconciliation Week is 27 May – 3 June and it is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for 2024 is 'Now More Than Ever'. To prepare for our Whole School Liturgy in Week 5, students are exploring this theme through the lens of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) and how we are called to look out and care for those who may be unable to do this themselves but also how we can use these teachings of Jesus to continue working towards Reconciliation now, and into the future. Classes are busy discussing what Reconciliation means to them and developing a pledge that summarises how they will live this out as salt and light in our community. Last year, our Australian Catholic Bishops in their Social Justice Statement, have invited us to Listen. Learn. Love. to the stories of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, so that we can listen, learn and love, just as Jesus did.

Laudato Si' Week, 19-26 May

Back in 2016, Laudato Si’ Week began as a way to celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. This Laudato Si’ Week and Pentecost, let us gather in community to contemplate and nurture seeds of hope for our “suffering planet” (LD 2). Written in 2023, Laudate Deum is a reminder about the urgency of the Laudato Si’ message and the need for both personal and cultural transformation amidst our ecological and climate crises.

This year’s Laudato Si’ Week theme is inspired by the symbol for Season of Creation 2024, “first fruits.” Let us be seeds of hope in our lives and our world, rooted in faith and love.

The following resource, developed by CESA and the Family Faith Formation team, are a great way for families to explore ways of caring for God’s creation.

Teaching and Learning

Year 2 - Religious Studies

Did you know that May is the month of honouring Mary? To celebrate this, our Year 2 students created an altar dedicated to Mary with flowers, candles and a picture. They then created a replica stain glass window of our Blessed Mother Mary.

Year 11 - Outdoor Education

The Year 11 Outdoor Education students have been practising cooking different meals with the Trangia. They have made pizza and a lentil bolognese so far. They will use the Trangia for their upcoming Canoe Trip which will take place at Swan Reach.

GRIP Leadership Conference

A number of students recently attended the GRIP Student Leadership Conference. They along with students from many other Mid-North schools, participated in the conference which focuses specifically on training students for their role as leaders within a school community. This experience, along with many others embedded in the curriculum, forms just part of the learning that students are provided to support them to become leaders in our school and community.