Newsletter - T2W10 - 1/7/22

From the Principal

​​Dear Parents and Carer’s,

To say that we as a community have experienced trauma and hardship, particularly over the last three years, would be an understatement. These last weeks in particular have tried and tested the Casino community in ways I couldn’t previously comprehend. On Monday, I spoke with our students and staff at the assembly about how we are feeling about the events of the past weeks and I want to share with you some of what was said.

Be kind to yourselves, be kind to each other, wrap each other in love and support. Recognise and acknowledge how you feel and recognise and acknowledge how the people around you are feeling. We are all experiencing this differently, but never forget, we are experiencing this together. Together we will support and love each other, and together we will heal.

I believe compassion, determination and resilience are the strengths of our school and broader community. I ask that you take time during these school holidays to be kind to yourself. Take a moment to reflect, to feel and to heal. I have included a flyer in this newsletter with some hints on how to support your child’s wellbeing during the school holidays including details of support services available if your family needs support.

We continue to hold our students, families, staff and the Casino community in our hearts on prayers.

Tracy Robinson
Principal

Upcoming Dates

Week 1
Monday, 18 July - Student Free Day
Friday, 22 July - FNC Girls Rugby 7’s (U15, U17), Wollongbar
Friday, 22 July - Ballina Cinema S6 English Studies

Week 2
Tuesday, 26 July -  Dio Touch Gala Day (U15), Ballina
Tuesday, 26 July - Katrina Fanning Cup North Coast Final (U18 Girls Rugby League), Coffs Harbour
Tuesday, 26 July - Northern Rivers Careers Expo, Lismore
Friday, 29 July -  FNC Boys Rugby 7’s
Friday, 29 July - Year 7 Grandparents Day Mass

Parish Mass Times

Weekend Mass
 5.00pm (Sat) ; 8.00am (Sun)

Mass ONLINE

Weekdays
Monday 9.00am
Tuesday 8.00am
Wednesday 8.00am
Thursday 9.00am
Friday 9.00am
Saturday 9.00am
 
Reconciliation
Saturday 8.30 am - 9.00 am

Country Mass
10.30am Sunday, 10 July at Tabulam
 Masks are recommended in the Church

From the Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Year 12 University Entrance - UAC and QTAC Information Night
On Tuesday, 2 August, the College will be holding an information night for year 12 students and their parents.This night will have information on the following topics:

• UAC
• QTAC
• University Entrance and offers
• Early Entry
• Schools Recommendation Scheme
• Gap Year suggestions and plans

Speakers for the night will be AP Learning and Teaching Mrs Nadine Connolly and Careers Advisor Mrs Michelle Went.
The night will begin at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall. There will be time to answer any questions students or parents may have about university, ATAR or gap year.

Nadine Connolly
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

From the Assistant Principal - Mission

This weekend our Gospel tells of Jesus informing the disciples to enter homes and say “Peace to this household” (Luke 10:5). During this difficult time, it is our hope that all our families are able to use these upcoming holidays to find time to reconnect with each other and find a sense of peace and belonging in the family and home. As we continue to build the “Kingdom of God” (Luke 10:9) in our College, we also desire this for our families in their lives. 

NAIDOC Week Celebrations
This week we have celebrated our own NAIDOC week at the College. We have held a homeroom competition decorating our homeroom doors, a liturgy held during assembly period, Goori Games at lunch today, and a special focus on our First Nation Peoples in our curriculum. It is wonderful to celebrate our cultural heritage and identity with our College community. 

Facial Piercing
Just a reminder that students who get a piercing these holidays will be required to remove this piercing when they return to school in Term Three. While students are wearing their College uniform, they are expressing our shared beliefs and standards, it is therefore important we are representing ourselves and our families to the best of our ability. 

Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission

From the Leader of Curriculum

Subject Selections - Year 10 into Year 11 2023
The Year 10 into 11 Subject Selection process has now commenced we will be following the schedule listed below:

Session 1 — Term 2, Week 8 - Period 2

1. Student Information on Compressed Curriculum, HSC, ATAR, non-ATAR & VET
2. Lines sheet issued for discussion and to be completed by Session 4

Session 2 — Term 2, Week 8 - Evening

1. Parent Information on Compressed Curriculum, HSC, ATAR, non ATAR & VET as well as English & Religious Education
2. Lines sheet issued for discussion and to be completed by Session 4

Session 3 — Monday, 25 July, Period 1 - 2 (Term 3, Week 2)

1. Students discuss choices & have them signed off by relevant LOLs
2. Subject selection Google Form made available & to be completed by 5pm Friday 29. July (Term 3, Week 2)   

Session 4 ~ Wednesday, 10 August, 8:00am - 5:30pm (Term 3, Week 4)
1. SETP Interviews

The website St. Mary’s Stage 6 Subjects (or bit.ly/stage6subjects) lists all available subjects as well as information about each one.

Electives Selections - Year 8 into Year 9 2023
The process for these selections will commence in Term 3. The timeline below is meant as a guide for planning:

• A general talk to all Year 8 about what electives may be available and any conditions that need to be met to enrol in some of them, will be on Tuesday, 26 July, Period 1
• The above will be followed by a session for parents that evening, starting at 6:30pm
• All students & their parents/guardians will have access to a Google Site that has information
• about all the electives on offer.
• At a yet to be set date, a Google Form for Electives Selections will open up and students will need to complete that by a set date (also to be specified).
• Whilst students enrol in only two electives, they will need to pick three to help ensure they get most if not necessarily all of their choices.
• Please be mindful that if the numbers are too low, some subjects can not run. The cut-off will depend on a number of considerations.

Important Files & Links for Year 10 - 12
Students in Year 10 - 12 need to know the following to ensure that they can access their e-Record, ROSA (Record of Student Achievement) or HSC timetable.

• NESA Student Number - This number is required in order to access StudentsOnline which allows students to access the above mentioned resources

Please note that ROSAs are not issued by schools but by NESA themselves and are available via the above linked to StudentsOnline site at certain points during a year. If a ROSA is not available, the e-Record is equivalent for the interim periods.

Michael Woerner
Leader of Curriculum

From the Leader of Pastoral Care

Social Media Detox: Why Taking a Break Helps Your Mental Health
Our friends from Safe on Social have shared an article written by a young 15 year old student who is passionate about online safety and has some helpful tips for our students about taking a break from social media. Please take some time to read this with your child. Taking a break from social media might just be the detox we all need!

https://www.safeonsocial.com/post/social-media-detox-why-taking-a-break-helps-your-mental-health 

4 Corners: Vape Haze
On Monday night 27th June, The ABC show 4 Corners presented an interesting segment on Vaping entitled Vape Haze. I recommend you have a look at this presentation.

 https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/vape-haze:-the-new-addiction-of-vaping/13948226 

Michele McCaffery
Leader of Pastoral Care

From the Sports Coordinator - External

Upcoming Dates
Term 3 Week 1
Friday, 22 July - FNC Girls Rugby 7’s (U15, U17)

Term 3 Week 2
Tuesday, 26 July - Dio Touch Gala Day (U15)
Tuesday, 26 July - Katrina Fanning Cup North Coast Final (U18 Girls Rugby League)
Friday, 29 July - FNC Boys Rugby 7’s

Athletics Carnival
The 2022 Athletics Carnival was held on Thursday, 23 June at Queen Elizabeth Park. The day was extremely successful with a great showing of attendance and good numbers participating in events throughout the day.

Congratulations to Champagnat who were able to pinch the top honours from MacKillop in the final event of the day, ending MacKillop’s five year dominance of the athletics carnival.

We had three long standing records broken on the day by Angus Lawler (2) and Zubaida Soliman. An overview of the results can be found below.

Thank you to all staff for their efforts on the day and particularly Mr Andrew Bartlett for his tireless work in the lead up to the Carnival.

Students who placed in the top two of each event have qualified for the Diocesan Athletics Carnival to be held in Coffs Harbour in Week 6 of Term 3. A list of these students can be found on the sports noticeboard. More information on the Dio Carnival will be distributed after the holidays.

My New Gallery

Bill Turner Trophy Rd 3 - U15 Girls Soccer
Our Bill Turner girls played their third round match against Richmond River High recently, going down in a tough loss 3-1, after leading 1-0 at half time.

Whilst this sees the end of their 2022 campaign, the girls should be proud of themselves for making it this far into the competition and the way they represented the College.

Thank you to Mr Aaron Kennedy and Miss Keely Maguire for coaching the girls. 

Bill Turner Cup Rd 3 - U15 Boys Soccer
Our Bill Turner boys also recently played their third round match, facing Summerland Christian College at Alstonville. In what was a long awaited game, the boys dominated the majority of the first half but were unable to capitalise on many scoring opportunities. Against the run of play, Summerland were able to score a goal in the dying minutes, leaving us trailing 1-0 at half time.

The second half got off to a controversial start with Summerland bagging their second after what appeared to be a handball in the goal box. This was the beginning of the end for our boys, as Summerland were able to score a further four goals, seeing the final result 6-0 in their favour.

Despite what the scoreline suggests, the match was much closer and the boys should be proud of their efforts throughout the entirety of the competition.

Thank you to Mr Andy Fitness for coaching the boys. We look forward to seeing what they can produce in 2023.

Country Cup - U13 & U15 Boys Rugby League
Following what seems like an eternity of rain, we were finally able to get some local footy in with our U13 and U15 boys competing in the Country Cup Rugby League Competition last Friday in Casino.

The U13 boys had a tough day out, going down to both Kyogle High and McAuley Catholic College. The U15 boys had a loss to Casino High in the local derby and a win against Ballina Coast in a hard fought match. Unfortuantely neither team were able to progress to the finals but nonetheless, they were happy to get out on the field and finally play some footy with their mates.

Thank you to Mr Paul McCaffery for coaching the U13 boys and his assistance on the day.

Katrina Fanning Cup - U14, U16 & U18 Girls Rugby League
On Tuesday it was the girls’ opportunity to play. For some, this was their first experience playing contact sport, others were seasoned veterans. We entered teams in each of the three age divisions, giving us the strongest representation of any school on the day.

Our U14 girls were both excited and nervous to get out there, with only one having ever played tackle prior to the day. Unfortunately they went down in each of their two matches to Kyogle High and St Joseph’s, Banora Point. Although a little battered and bruised, you could not wipe the smiles off their faces, and I am sure this is not the last time we will see each of these girls playing rugby league. 

The U16 girls got off to a great start, beating St Joseph’s, Banora Point in their opening match. After a couple of injuries, they were down on troops heading into the second game against the competition favourites, Ballina Coast. They ended up going down in a one-sided affair, losing a further two players to injury throughout the contest. Despite the result, the girls never gave up and should be proud of the way the conducted themselves.

The success story of the day was the U18 girls. With only one other team showing up on the day, following a late withdrawal, the girls played Kyogle High in back to back matches. From the opening whistle our girls showed their dominance, winning the opening game 3-1. In the second meeting between the two teams, the girls ran away with it, scoring a further two tries. This sees them progress to Coffs Harbour for the North Coast Finals in Week 2 of next term. We wish the girls the best of luck and look forward to how they go in Coffs.

Thank you to Ms Mahaila Day and Mr Andrew Bartlett for coaching our girls. I know that they were very appreciative of your time and dedication.

NSW All Schools Rugby 7's - Kali Ainsworth
Congratulations to Kali Ainsworth (Year 11), who has been called into the NSW All Schools U18 Girls Rugby 7's team. Kali recently trialed as part of the NSWCCC team and has earnt herself a position in the All Schools team, who will take on QLD and ACT next week in Sydney. On behalf of the entire SMCC community, I would like to congratulate Kali on this outstanding achievement and wish her and her teammates all the best next week.

Mike Ryan
Sports Coordinator - External

From the Sports Coordinator - Internal

Weekly School Sport
Students were given the opportunity over the past few weeks to choose four preferences for term 3 weekly sport. Term 3 sport lists have now been finalised and have been posted on the sports noticeboard outside the staffroom for students to check. A number of students did not select their preferences for sport so these students have been placed in a sport that had room leftover as a result. In future it is imperative students take the time to fill out the google form with their sports preferences in order to have the highest chance at getting a sport they will enjoy participating in for the duration of that term. If you or your child has any questions about weekly sport, please contact me directly via email.

Homeroom Footy Tipping update
To help enhance our College community spirit, for the duration of the NRL season, each homeroom class is participating in a ‘Homeroom Footy Tipping Competition’. There are loads of house points up for grabs as well as a pizza party for the winning homeroom. We are just over two thirds of the way through the season and this is how the table is shaping up thus far:

Andrew Fitness
Sports Coordinator - Internal

From the Leader of School Evangelisation

Street Retreat
Four students and Mrs McCaffery attended Street Retreat last week at Brisbane.  Our students joined with 60 other students from the Lismore diocese participating in a range of social justice initiatives. The students reported this was a highly valuable experience. Students attended a Refugee Rally, shared meals with people experiencing homelessness and grew both personally and spiritually. 

Naidoc Week 
This week we celebrated Naidoc Week at SMCC. Homerooms took part in a door decorating competition displaying this year's theme of ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’. It was great to be able to celebrate our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture within our school community. 

Year 9 Reflection Day
Last Tuesday, 22 June the Year 9 reflection day was held. The focus of the day was centred around the gospel message of the last, the lost and the least. Michael urged students to look beyond their own self and notice the people around them and seek to build an inclusive community. Students were pushed out of their comfort zones and some were even brave enough to join Michael on the microphone. This was a really important day that brought the year 9 cohort together in unity. 

Grandparents Day Mass
Year 7 students will be attending Mass on Friday, 22 July at 9:00am with the St Mary’s Parish to celebrate our Grandparents. Grandparents or significant mentors of year 7 students are invited to accompany students to mass. This will be a wonderful opportunity to show our appreciation of the grandparents in our community. 

Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation

Canteen

Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers to assist in the Canteen. Please contact the Canteen via the College office if you are available at any time to help.

Flexischools
Flexischools is a well-established organisation allowing you to easily place all your canteen orders online at any time.

Download the Flexischools app from the App store or Google Play. Click here for details on how to set up your account. 

Once registered, you can start placing orders immediately.

Please note that sushi orders will need to be placed before Tuesday afternoon at 1pm as Sushi will only be available for Wednesday orders.

There is a charge of $0.29 per order for using this service.

If you have any questions, please contact the Flexischools Customer Service Team via their website contact page.

The normal process of ordering from the canteen (cash, eftpos, morning lunch orders) is still available.

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop Opening Hours
Tuesdays         3.15pm to 5.00pm
Thursdays        2.00pm to 5.00pm

Payments of cash, cheque or EFTPOS are welcome.

Orders can also be placed via the Flexischools service. No fees are charged to families for using this service.

Please note the following information for orders made via this service:

Tuesday Orders
- Cut off time is 12noon on Monday
- Pick up available from the College office on Tuesday afternoon from 3.30pm - 5.00pm

Thursday Orders
- Cut off time is 12noon on Wednesday 
- Pick up available from the College office on Thursday afternoon from 3.30pm - 5.00pm.

Orders not collected will be given to the student the following day to take home.

Whilst all care will be taken to ensure that stock availability is correct at the time of ordering, there may be some items that are not in stock at the time of packing the online orders. In this case, you will be contacted to advise of an estimated time of arrival for new stock of that item or given the option of a refund processed through Flexischools.

All uniform shop order enquiries can be emailed to: cash-uniform@lism.catholic.edu.au

Second Hand Uniforms

Sustainable School Shop is an online shop dedicated to buying and selling of second hand uniforms. For more information ring 1300683337 or visit www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au.

 Please note that this facility is available for use with the new College uniforms only.

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