CRC Federation Mass Day

Families are asked to note on their calendars that this Friday, 1st June is the CRC Federation Mass day where staff from all five Catholic Regional Colleges come together for Mass.

The Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Mark Edwards at St Albans and it is a special year as it's 40 years since the establishment of CRC St Albans.

The morning will be used for our staff to participate in Camps and Excursion Procedures, First Aid Training and Welfare meetings. Please note the College Office will be closed on Friday afternoon from 12:30pm.

Great News from Brother Beausang School

Brian Nzuki, Dux of Br. Beausang in 2016 has been awarded a scholarship to Harvard University. In the words of Principal Peter Shanahan, "Brian is a Champion!"

Brian started at Br. Beausang in what is called Baby Class when he was 3. This was down at the old Primary School in a tiny room next to the Head of Primary School's office. Mothers who were struggling to cope had some connection with the school (e.g. were helpers or readers to the children) were able to leave their babies and todlers for much of the school day. Brian did all his schooling at Br. Beausang - Baby, Secondary, 15 years.

Brian lives a few hundred metres from the school in downtown Embulbul. His father is a tailor and his mum sells vegetables in a small stall on the side of the road.

Brian was the top student in the KCPE exams (end of Primary) which he completed under great stress, as there were some major family challenges at that time. His score was good but not outstanding, but he really shone in Secondary and maintained an A average all the way through including the KCSE final exams (end of Secondary). He was the top student in KCC and hence DUX of the School in 2016.

Parents & Friends Meeting

The next Parents & Friends Meeting will be held on Wednesday 30th May at 7:00pm. All welcome.

13 Reasons Why

When Season 1 of '13 Reasons Why' was released there was significant demand on the mental health sector, and concerns from schools and families across Australia about the show’s content. The Netflix program directly exposes viewers to very risky suicide content that may lead to distressing reactions. National and international research clearly links the impact of harmful suicide exposure to increased risk and possible suicide contagion.

In preparation for Season 2, Headspace and Netflix have collaborated to develop resources and discussion guides for young people, parents and schools to assist them to have safe conversations about the confronting themes associated with suicide depicted in the series. Headspace seeks to ensure that Australian viewers of the show, many of whom are members of school communities, have access to resources that will assist them to be safe and informed. The resources provide information on how to safely watch the series, self-care, help-seeking.

For further support, refer to the information on the headspace website https://headspace.org.au/news/the-launch-of-13-reasons-why-season-2/ or contact your child’s Level Coordinator, our counsellors or psychologists.

Advice for supporting adults, children or young people who are vulnerable or have expressed concerns about their own mental health is available from:

Lifeline 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service (24/7) 1300 659 467

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

eheadspace 1800 650 890.

Resilience Project – Parent Workshop

Recently all students were invited to complete the Resilient Youth Survey as part of our commitment and engagement of the Resilience Project Team this year. The results will be presented to staff later this term. As part of our involvement the team will present student workshops early next term and a parent workshop on June 25.

The workshop will deliver a presentation that provides practical strategies to help parents build their sons/daughters resilience. You will be invited to attend through CareMonkey in the coming weeks.

Find our more information on their website https://theresilienceproject.com.au/schools/.

Emergency Response Drill

As part of our Emergency Response process, this Thursday afternoon we will undertake a Non-Discrete Lockdown drill. During this time, no student will be able to leave the College grounds nor visitors enter. The importance of these drills cannot be over emphasised.

First Aid Policy

A reminder that the College Policy strongly recommends Family Ambulance cover as in many situations, an Ambulance will be called as part of our First Aid Response protocol.

Semester 2 Subject / Electives Changes

All Year 9 and 10 students will receive copies of their Semester 2 electives this week. After reviewing with parents, request for changes to Semester 2 electives must be emailed directly to myself at jchristie@sfcc.vic.edu.au between Monday, 28th May and Friday, 8th June. In the email, students need to nominate the electives they wish to change from and change to, along with a reason. I will then email students times to follow up on requests. Note that all changes are subject to blocking clashes, class sizes and selection requirements.

Year 11 students will be able to investigate Unit 2 subject changes from Tuesday, 12th June. Students must first talk to their subject teacher before requesting a time to meet with Mrs Dickson, Pathways Coordinator. Once a pathway plan has been approved, students can complete a 'Change of Subject' form. All changes must be applied for and processed by Thursday, 28th June.

VCE Unit 3 / Year 12 VCAL Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews

A Parent-Student-Teacher Interview evening will be held on Thursday, 7th June between 4.00pm to 7.00pm for VCE Unit 3 & Year 12 VCAL students. These Interviews will be booked through our Parent Access Module (PAM)which will open on Thursday, 31st May. Normal classes will operate during the day.

It is expected that students attend interviews with their parents/guardians.

Mid Year Exams & Timed Assessment Tasks

Last week we published the College’s formal assessment schedule that will operate across Years 7 – 11. Below is a reminder of the first of these. Year 9 – 11 Exams begin on Thursday, 14th June.

Years 7 & 8

Apart from Timed Assessment Tasks that will operate in normal class time, all Year 7 & 8 students will do a Timed Assessment Task in Mathematics and English blocks at the same time. These assessment tasks will take place in their Homeroom Groups in their normal scheduled class. See below.

Any student undertaking a Unit 3/4 subject will be required to sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday 13th June from 10:00am – 1:15pm. The GAT will be held in the Padua Building and students are to wear full Winter uniform on this day.

All students are required to stay in the examination room until the completion of the GAT at 1:15pm, even if they finish early.

Students need to be at school no later than 9:15am and are to assemble in the rooms in the Sienna building prior to the exam. There will be no access to Year 12 lockers as this building will house the exam, but students can leave their bags in one of the classrooms in Sienna as the room will be locked.

No Unit 3/4 classes will be scheduled on this day. Year 11 students are permitted to go home following completion of the GAT. Buses will be running as per normal.

Approved materials for the GAT include:

• Dictionary (but minus a thesaurus)
• Pencils (for multiple choice questions) – 2B or HB
• Pens (blue and/or black)
• Water bottle (label removed and no larger than 1500ml)

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please contact me at the College or via email at clock@sfcc.vic.edu.au.

Carissa Lock

VCE Coordinator

On Thursday, 10th May the students of Year Seven had a chance to express their learning through arts and crafts, stories, models and even food – which was highly appreciated by the audience during the expo. These students showed their talents through creative ways and entertained people passing by their stall. It was a fantastic way to display our research during Humanities.  

People were amazed by the Year Sevens’ ability to create their own things, or bring some in, to show the crowd. Everywhere you went, you could catch at least three stalls with a herd around them, engaging their audience with special items they brought in and things they’ve found out through their research. Adults, toddlers and students around the building were looking at different stalls after leaving another.

Kaiden, one of the students from St. Catherine’s who visited the Expo, had said that the event was especially great. He went around the building, spotting some tables and asking questions, then moving off to another that seemed impressive.

One that caught his eye was one that held a replica of the Great Wall of China made completely out of Nutrigrain. He knew that the Year Sevens were going to bring in new interpretations for this unit, but he didn’t expect the Great Wall to be made out of one of his favourite cereals!

Another perspective that should be noted is the actual Year Sevens. One student showing her creations to the audience said that the thing she had enjoyed the most was being able to see everyone’s individual projects. It was astonishing to see the creativity and how others worked independently. They were all very different and held their own special qualities.

My Humanities teacher told all the students participating that they had incredible works. She went around and applauded everyone on their creations, telling them everything she adored about them. She was very proud of the projects shown to other students, parents and children around the community.

Everyone had fun showing off their projects and visiting other classrooms. By the end of the Expo, the food was gone, people were going home with their parents who had stuck by to see the event and most of the students were proud of what they had achieved.

Needless to say, the 2018 Ancient China Expedition was a huge success.

Khallea Vanguardia

7M Student

The Unit 1 Legal Studies class travelled to Barwon Prison in Lara. Barwon Prison is one of Victoria’s maximum security male prisons. 33 students were very excited to be visiting the prison as it really is a “once in a life time experience”.

Students had the opportunity to meet with 5 prisoners and ask them questions and listen to their stories. Students heard about the prisoners childhoods, what crime they committed, their addictions, why they committed the crime, how they felt towards their victims, their families, their plans for the future, their life in prison and what it was like to be a parent and a prisoner. There were many other topics covered through our educational session.

We look forward to our upcoming year in the Legal Studies class as we further explore issues surrounding justice in Victoria.

Daniela Harrington

Humanities Domain Leader

On Thursday 17th of May, the Year 8 IS MASP group went to the Jewish Holocaust Centre.

The day was divided up into three parts; an educational talk with the centre educator Lisa about the impact of the Holocaust, a guided tour of the museum, and our day concluded with a special talk from Holocaust survivor Vivienne. We discussed how the Jewish were treated, and how important it is to not distinguish people into groups because of their Race or Religion.

We were honoured when the day ended with an opportunity to talk to Vivienne, since we will be the last generation to have a chance to listen to a survivor’s story as a primary source. A couple of students were able to enter the Memorial room with Vivienne and place a lit candle next to three others in honour of those who passed away during this period of time.

Ultimately, it was a very moving experience to be able to see artefacts and hear stories about World War II, and it taught us to appreciate what we have today.

Sarsha Kerton & Sara Mantilla Mesa

IS MASP Students

The College is planning to take a small group of Year 10 - 12 students to the Ignite Catholic Youth Conference, for young people from all over Australia during 27th September – 1st October 2018 (middle of the September school holidays).

More information is available at https://igniteyouth.com/conference18/.

If you are interested in your child attending, please email me at sanastasia@sfcc.vic.edu.au or contact the College office on 8099 6000.

An Information Evening will be held in the College Library on Thursday 21st June at 7:00pm.

Sister Anastasia

Religious Education Teacher