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School Reception: Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm
Phone: (03) 8099 6000
Email:info@sfcc.vic.edu.au
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A reading from Matthew 22:34-40 (NRSV)
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him, “'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
We pray that every day we ask the question "Who is my neighbour?" and challenge ourselves to show respect and dignity with good actions toward them. Let us look around during this special season of Lent and see more "neighbours" in those we encounter.
We make this our prayer through Jesus our Teacher.
Amen
Australia’s first Catholic school was established in Parramatta, New South Wales in 1820, marking the beginning of Catholic education and a system that has catered for millions of students over two centuries in this country.
In his book titled Discovering the Catholic Church in Australia, author Maurice Ryan describes how the first Catholics arrived in Australia with the first fleet in 1788. However, no priests arrived with this first fleet and for many years, those first Catholics sustained their faith by relying on each other.
In 1803 the first convict priest arrived, Father James Dixon, who had been transported for his part in an Irish uprising. He conducted the first public mass in Sydney.
In 1820 Father Therry and Father Conolly arrived in Sydney and set up the first permanent Catholic school in Parramatta. With the help of several different Orders, such as the Sisters of Charity, The Mercy Sisters, and Christian Brothers, Catholic schools were established across Australia.
Things were not always smooth in Catholic education. In the 1960s, the Goulburn Schools Strike highlighted the tension between state-funded and Catholic schools. In 1962, after the State Government refused to fund the renovation of facilities in Catholic schools, several in Goulburn closed. Students were sent to find places at local state schools, which were unable to manage the vast jump in enrolments. This led to the beginning of a change in the way governments fund Catholic schools.
Today, we are grateful for the financial support provided by governments. State and Federal grants have seen the development of state-of-the-art facilities at Catholic Regional College Melton. Most recently, the College applied for a grant to replace the original 40-year-old B Block building.
Many successful students have emerged from our College, having been educated in a Catholic community. This week, I would like to share with you a story about one such student.
Jonathan Leiataua graduated from Year 12 at Catholic Regional College Melton in 2019.
Having completed his Victorian Certificate of Education, Jonathan was looking for an apprenticeship in landscaping. At the same time, the College wanted to expand its grounds and maintenance team and so it was that Jonathan commenced his Certificate III in Landscaping. He attends TAFE every Monday and then works at the College with our maintenance team from Tuesday to Friday.
Jonathan is mentored by our experienced groundsman Sam Schembri and has just completed his first solo project in the gardens outside the Arts buildings.
Jonathan is an unassuming young man with an outstanding work ethic. He arrives each day with a smile on his face and a welcome to everyone. He is an asset to our College and is an example of the fine young people that graduate from Catholic Regional College Melton.
Principal
| Dates to remember | |
| Wednesday 3 March | Year 7 Immunisations |
| Monday 8 March | Labour Day Holiday |
| Monday 15 March | Year 7 camps begin |
| Thursday 18 March | Year 9 Rite Journey Calling and Departure ceremonies (girls and boys) |
View the full College Calendar
The annual College Swimming and Multisport Carnival was held across three sites yesterday with some fantastic competition and sportsmanship shown as students fought to earn points for their house.
Melton Waves hosted the swimming carnival where our Year 7 students took part in their first big event on the College calendar while our Year 12 cohort provided plenty of colour and entertainment during their traditional fancy dress in house colours. And yes - there was some serious competition in the pool as well.
Over at Eagle Stadium in Werribee, Year 8 to 11 students took part in and one-day Volleyball or Netball competition and as the pictures below show, there was plenty of action on both courts. Basketball, soccer and esports competitions were held on site at the College.
A full list of results will be featured in next week's newsletter.
The College will begin its Tutor Program this week to target learning gaps following the interruptions caused by distance learning in 2020.
Funding for the program has been made available through a government initiative.
The tutors will help students improve their decoding, reading, writing for sense and number skills. Students from Year 7 to 10 who require assistance will work in small groups with their tutor on the lesson activities for English and or Mathematics, focusing on literacy and numeracy skills.
The impact of the strategies and intervention will be monitored. Once the required standard is reached, students will continue in their regular learning environment. Our Literacy Coordinator, Ms Victoria Moore, coordinates the program with input from our Domain Leaders.
Last week, I was lucky enough to attend part of the Year 8 camp in Anglesea.
The students engaged in many different outdoor activities, with surfing, canoeing and high ropes among the highlights.
Along with many physical benefits, students also developed independence and problem-solving skills, learnt how to co-operate and work in a team.
Such experiences are invaluable to the development and progress of each student. All the skills can be transferred to their learning in the classroom.
The camp program again shows that learning does not just occur within the four walls of a classroom. Important, life-long lessons can be learnt by being outdoors.
I would like to thank our Year 8 Coordinators, Jordan Reithofer and Lauren Whitford, for the successful organisation of the Year 8 camps.
Our Year 8 students enjoyed a two-night camp in Anglesea last week.
Canoeing lessons, a high and low ropes course, climbing wall and archery were among the camp activities. Instructors from Go Ride A Wave also provided surfing lessons, giving students an opportunity to enjoy the beach.
Congratulations to Year 12 student Zoe who was awarded a Community Achievement Award for 2021.
Zoe has been recognised by the City of Melton for her contributions to the community through Access and Inclusion.
Zoe is the senior head coach at Specialist Hoops Basketball, a disability inclusion program allowing children and young adults with disabilities to participate in sport.
Zoe has held this role since 2018 and has been an integral part of the club and the participants' development. Zoe also referees basketball and coaches within the City of Melton for Falcon Rebels Basketball Club.
Truly selfless acts that deserve recognition. Well done, Zoe.
All students are invited to join our second Youth Connect event tomorrow, Wednesday 3 March from 4pm to 6pm at the College.
Youth Connect give students an opportunity to meet new people and support friends in their journey with Christ. It is led by CRC students for CRC students.
The meeting will include prayer, music, and an opportunity for reconciliation. Our reflection talk will feature Fr Marcus Goulding, who will speak about making this the Best Lent Ever.
For more information, contact Sr Mary Sarah via email at smarysarah@sfcc.vic.edu.au.
Last week Year 9 Outdoor Education students travelled to the You Yangs Regional Park in Little River for an introductory mountain bike session led by Geelong Adventure Specialists.
Trainer Jeremy put students and staff through their paces on some of the almost 50km of mountain bike trails at the You Yangs.
Students learnt how to use a mountain bike safely in preparation for their upcoming camp to the Lorne region next week.
After the riding session, students completed the Branding Yard orienteering course at the park, with 300 points on offer for those who communicated well with their teammates and demonstrated excellent map reading skills.
Guided by only a compass and map of the area our students managed to make their way through the course without getting lost, which was a great effort.
All had an enjoyable day and we now look forward to the upcoming camp.
Year 9 Outdoor Education Coordinator
The team-building skills of Year 9 students were put to the test last week when they began the first of many challenges as part of the Rite Journey program.
Students worked on balance, coordination, focus, leadership, resilience, perseverance, active listening, consideration for others, and self-reflection in the Stave Challenge.
They took part in a Bothmer Gymnastics session, a method of spatially oriented exercise that enhances movement skills through sports, games and gymnastics.
The Rite Journey program is designed to support the development of self-aware, responsible, respectful, resilient and resourceful adults. There are many physical, emotional, social challenges throughout the year-long program.
Students are encouraged to reflect on each challenge by considering how they dealt with it, how they cope with success and failure and what they learnt from it.
Rite Journey teacher
We’ve hit the ground running in mathematics this year. Classes are working through their first units and some are onto their second. Our aim this year is to fill the gaps in students’ understanding that resulted from COVID-19 while also exploring new mathematics content.
Our senior students are working through the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) study design in their chosen mathematics subject. Our Year 7 to 10 students are busy learning maths’ fundamental skills and building on their knowledge.
Below is a snapshot of what our Year 7 to 10 students will cover this semester.
We have many programs to run throughout the year to support our students with their learning.
One of these is our weekly Wednesday lunchtime session, which will begin tomorrow (Wednesday 3 March). Students can attend to complete their work or seek assistance with a maths teacher present.
We also have a tutoring program through which pre-service teachers have been employed to give small groups one-on-one support. There are numerous opportunities for students to develop their mathematical knowledge with teachers’ help, and I encourage students to utilise this. I look forward to seeing our students succeed in mathematics this year.
Learning how to study is a skill our Year 7 students were introduced to during a seminar by Elevate Education at the College last month.
Taking notes, creating mind maps and memorisation techniques were among the skills covered in the session, designed to help our Year 7 students transition to secondary school.
Parents and guardians can talk to their children about what they learned and encourage them to use their skills when studying at home.
Our students had some good things to say about the seminar:
“Overall, it was fantastic! The presenter Tien made it enjoyable. He got involved with us, was funny and made it very entertaining. At the start we were confused and did not know what we were going to do. But once we got more into it, the information made a lot more sense. We learnt about how to take notes quickly and how to understand our notes. We also learnt about how to get important parts out of a text. The whole lesson was great and we learnt a lot about taking notes.” Chelsey Hadley and Arna Maloney 7D
“The program was a really helpful experience. They talked about homework and how to manage your time to make the most of your notes. Timesaving is hard to do so having a young speaker who faces similar modern-day problems every day was good. Overall, the program was extremely useful and I can see how we can use the skills every day.” Alannah Trovato 7R
Monitoring and managing the time your child spends on a device is something many parents struggle with, but Elevate Education's next webinar may provide some useful advice.
Technology devices and self-regulation strategies will run live online from 6pm to 7pm on Wednesday 10 March. Registration is essential and is free for CRC Melton parents and guardians. It includes a live question and answer session so you can ask the presenter questions directly.
Elevate also works with our students, delivering workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation.
CRC Melton parents and guardians have exclusive access to Elevate Education’s Parent Webinar Series for Term 1, 2021. You can register for one or all of the free webinars using the link below.
Elevate Parent Webinar Series Registration
If you missed last week's webinar on Time Management it is available to view here until next Wednesday 10 March
Successful students do not spend long hours studying. Rather, they develop good habits to make the most of their study time and do well.
As Alexander Graham Bell said: “Preparation is the key to success”.
Younger students will need help to prepare a plan but learning how to plan is an important key to success.
Parents, guardians and educators can have the greatest influence on a student and participate in their successful growth. Encouraging students to value themselves, identify their strengths and think ahead will help them build good study habits.
Below are 10 good habits of successful students.
Keep up to date with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.
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