Issue 8, 23 May 2023
Contents
- From the Principal, Mr Damian Smith
- College Birthday
- Catholic Education Awards
- David Pedler
- ChatGPT
- Community Night - Save the Date
- From the Leader of Catholic Identity, Chloe Shanahan
- Spotlight on Mary
- National Reconciliation Week - Be a Voice for Generations
- Learning and Wellbeing
- Careers Education
- Pastoral Care - Buddy Class
- Year 11 Integrated Learning
- Out and About
On Wednesday 17 May our college community celebrated its 152nd birthday. This special occasion marks the day the founding Sisters of St Joseph held the first lessons in a shed on the Port Augusta Wharf on 17 May 1871. To mark the occasion, the students gathered to sing happy birthday and enjoy a cupcake under St Mary's Shelter. We do this every year and I am not aware of this custom happening in any other school. It is unique and special, and a great way to pay homage to St Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph as the founders of our school community.
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As part of Catholic Education Week, an awards ceremony was held to celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions to Catholic education by staff and volunteers throughout South Australian Catholic schools and Catholic Education Offices.
We are delighted to again feature in the list of recipients for an award. Congratulations to Nathan O'Brien who was awarded the Early Career Teacher Award, which acknowledges the significant impact he has had in our school community in his first five years of teaching.
This award is fitting acknowledgement for Nathan who is consistently committed to meeting the needs of his students both academically and emotionally. He authentically connects with the pastoral care approach to working with students in the community. Nathan's calm, supportive, and genuine nature is admired by staff and students alike. More detailed information about his achievements can be found on the Catholic Education SA website.
We can be very proud that Nathan's achievement speaks to the strength and impact of our College's vision, mission and its commitment to Catholic education in Port Augusta.
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The Caritas College community was saddened to hear of the passing of David Pedler, a highly respected past Deputy Principal. David began at Caritas in 1989 and was Deputy Principal for 7 years before leaving at the end of 1997 to take up a position at Xavier College in Gawler. David is remembered as a very kind person, with a sense of humour and a deep understanding of the importance of Catholic education. During his time at Caritas College, he had a very positive impact on staff and students alike and he is remembered with great affection and gratitude. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
The use of artificial intelligence is certainly testing schools in new and different ways. There are a range of views about it in any school community or educational setting. They stretch from "ChatGPT should be banned because it allows cheating and raises ethical concerns" to "schools should embrace this technology and teach students how to use it". Perhaps elements of both these extremes are true.
Wherever we are on the spectrum of 'for or against', we are going to be grappling with this issue for a while. In the meantime, I have asked teachers to support students to know and understand when ChatGPT could be used to enhance their learning and when it should not be used. Importantly, students also need to know that they can't 'outsource' their thinking to ChatGPT. Schools and universities are not concerned with what information artificial intelligence can recall, rather our imperative is to support and develop students' knowledge, understanding and critical thinking skills. This will allow them to become thriving people, capable learners and leaders in our schools and communities. Watch this space!
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Familes are encouraged to save the date for a whole school event on Thursday 10 August (Week 3, Term 3). Our college will be hosting a Community Night. This event aims to:
- celebrate the diversity of our college community and broader Port Augusta community;
- enable students, alongside their families, to participate in a range of fun, interactive activities being facilitated by students across all learning areas; and
- build our sense of community at Caritas College, strengthening partnerships between staff, students and families.
The event will run between 5.00pm - 7.30pm onsite at school. To support this whole school event, and provide time for staff to set up and prepare for the night, students will be dismissed from school at 12.45pm on Thursday 10 August. Supervision will be provided for students who are unable to be dismissed until 3.00pm.
We are very much looking forward to celebrating this event. More information will be shared with families over the course of this term.
May is the month of Mary and our Year 3 students have spent the last couple of weeks learning about her and developed their letter writing skills by writing her a letter. Students considered what else they would like to know about Mary by developing some wonderful questions and statements about our mother. It was heartening to read the depth of their knowledge and how much they know about Mary. Enjoy these snippets! "How was it to have Jesus?" "How much did you cry when your son got crucified?" "I love how you help us support us. Keep being the awesome mother to Jesus with your halo shining bright" "Was Jesus naughty when he was a kid?" "How is it to be a Saint?" "I've been curious to know are you proud of Jesus?" "We should all thank you for the things that you have done and that we should all have respect for one another" |
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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 2023 is Be a Voice for Generations. Our community has been exploring this theme through the lens of Jesus healing the mute man (Matthew 9:32-34) and how we can be a voice for those who don't have one and to speak up for those who can't speak up for themselves. This passage will be the gospel focus for our Whole School Liturgy on Thursday 1 June (Week 5). Classes are busy discussing what Reconciliation means to them and developing a pledge that summarises how they will live this out in our community.
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An ongoing priority is to guide our senior students in determining possible post school pathways. Last week our Year 10s participated in the Post School Pathways camp to Adelaide where they were given a glimpse of university and trade options at Flinders University and PEER along with other organisations including SAMHRI, the Space Discovery Centre and Parliament House. Old scholars offered insights into their post school journey and we caught up with a few familiar faces and met many more when we visited Aquinas College for dinner.
The culmination of the camp was the Careers and Employment Expo. The Year 11 cohort and Year 12 Workplace Practices class travelled to Adelaide and met us at Wayville to explore the 160 exhibitors offering post school possibilities. This 'Big Day Out' was rounded out with visits to the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide Oval, The Central Market, MOD and Adelaide Tree Climb. Finally, some more old scholars took groups on a quick tour of the University of Adelaide and UniSA's North Terrace Campus.
Further support of career education will continue this term with visits from The University of Adelaide, Flinders University and Aquinas College in the next few weeks. 12 students will travel to Whyalla on Friday to participate in Flinders University Assessment Centre. The Year 11 cohort are also in the final stages of preparing for work experience, to take place in Week 10 of this term.
An excellent resource 'Student Careers Hub' can be found on the school website under the 'Learning and Wellbeing' tab (Careertools). Caregivers are encouraged to use this site with their children to research and discuss what they may be interested in and how they can best prepare for the next step in their life journey. Students and their caregivers are always welcome to also make contact with college staff to discuss options.
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Last week our older students spent their Pastoral Care lesson working with, and getting to know, their buddy class. Our littlest learners especially love these classes with the older students and spent time playing games.
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Our Year 11 students, through their Stage 2 Integrated Learning, have been exploring in depth the stories of Project Compassion for 2023. Students have considered their group case study (exploring Nepal, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Australia), the challenges that others undertake to have the necessities and resources that we can easily obtain and made connections to our Catholic Social Teachings and Sustainable Development Goals. Students were then tasked with creating informative and interactive booths, inviting classes from across the college to come see the product of their learning. The Year 11's have demonstrated their call to community in following in the footsteps of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop by deeply considering their response to those most in need.
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Important Dates
R-2 Assembly (2G)
Years 10-12 Assembly
Caritas Cubs Reception Transition Program
National Reconciliation Week (27 May - 2 June)
TAFE - Construction
National Reconciliation Liturgy
SAPSASA Girls Football/Boys Netball
Caritas Cubs Reception Transition Program
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