Next Sunday 5 June is the day of Pentecost, celebrated seven weeks after the resurrection of Jesus; the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those followers of Jesus who had gathered together in Jerusalem. In Pentecost, God pours out the Spirit upon all who put their faith in Jesus Christ and become his disciples (see Romans 8:1-11).

Christians are meant to live in the presence and power of the Spirit of God. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us to confess Jesus as Lord, empowers us to serve God with supernatural power, binds us together as the body of Christ, helps us to pray and even intercedes for us with God the Father. The Spirit guides us helping us to live like Jesus.

Pentecost presents us with an opportunity to consider how we are living each day. Are we relying on the power of God’s Spirit? Are we an open channel for the Spirit’s gifts? Are we attentive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Pentecost offers a chance to confess our failure to live by the Spirit and to ask the Lord to fill us afresh with his power. We pray that the Holy Spirit empowers us to truly live and enact our College motto of ‘Live Fully Act Justly’.

Staffing News:

We wish Abbigale Hoole all the best as she begins her maternity leave next week.
We thank Abbigale for her contribution to the College this year and wish her all the best for the future.

New Staff

It is with great pleasure that I welcome the following staff members to the CRCCS school community:

• David Sammut (Technologies and Religious Education teacher)

• Megan Rolls (Science teacher)

• Kirsten Spiteri (Physical Education teacher)

As always, when a new staff member begins, they bring a diverse range of knowledge, gifts, and talents to share with our school community. We wish David, Megan and Kirsten all the best as they begin their journey at Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs.

National Reconciliation Week 27 May TO 3 June

The National Reconciliation Week 2022 theme, “Be Brave. Make Change.” is a challenge to all Australians— individuals, families, communities, organisations and government—to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians.

Last year Reconciliation Australia encouraged all Australians to take action; not just in National Reconciliation Week but every week of the year. We saw unprecedented response to our suggested actions for everyday and for braver action. This year we are asking everyone to make change beginning with brave actions in their daily lives – where they live, work, play and socialise.

The dates for NRW are the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

27 May 1967 On this day, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise them in the Census.

3 June 1992 On this day, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands. This decision paved the way for Native Title.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. National Reconciliation Week—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.

Find out more about National Reconciliation Week

Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday

Please note that Monday 13 June is the Queen’s Birthday public holiday. Students will return to school on Tuesday 14 June. Please place this return to school date in your calendars.

Prayer on the Feast of the Ascension

Lord Jesus, you became man and came to live among us. For love of us, you suffered and died for us. Because you are God, you conquered death and rose on the third day. Today you return to your Father and our Father, but you promised to remain with us till the end of time, and to send us the Holy Spirit. We rejoice and thank you, Lord Jesus. Come Holy Spirit, purify and transform us, kindle within us the fire of your love.

Amen.

The Feast of the Ascension

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2), 40 days after Christ’s Resurrection (Easter Sunday). The truth of the Ascension is that God loved us so much that He humbled Himself taking our nature in the form of Jesus. Jesus is the truth, love, mercy, and justice of God for us who demonstrated this in action. Jesus is our roadmap to heaven, how beautiful is it that we can share in his fulfilment.

Beyond The Horizon

Beyond The Horizon is a group set out with the intention of delving deeper into the Catholic faith beyond the R.E Classroom. Students meet every fortnight to discuss the philosophical and theological aspects of the faith. We will continue to meet every fortnight in Term 3. Look out for opportunity to join within the next couple of weeks.

'Beyond the Horizon is a great experience to get to not only know more about God and religion, but make new friendships and bonds through this amazing experience here at the school. It's open to all no matter our opinions.'
Charlotte Attard – 7 Wonga

Gospel Focus

The Ascension of The Lord C

Luke 24:46-53

A number of staff at CRC Caroline Springs were privileged to attend the Women in Leadership Dinner at the Sofitel Hotel on May 12. This event is an opportunity for a number of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools to come together and celebrate the amazing women that work in education and contribute to the learning and wellbeing of our young people. As a new member of the College, I felt very blessed to be attending this occasion with a range of staff from all areas of the school. This has become a signature event organised by the VCSSDPA and is now celebrating its 25^th year. We were fortunate to hear from guest speaker Kate Roffey, President of the Melbourne Football Club. One thing that stood out in her speech when she was discussing how to be an effective leader is to look at “surrounding yourself with diamonds, so you can look brilliant.” This was a timely reminder of the importance of working together and the impact positive working relationships have in our school environment.

Enrolment applications are now open to Year 5 students who will be starting Year 7 in 2024.

You can download the application form from our website. Applications close Friday 19 August 2022.

Please note that parents/carers who already have children attending the College and who have a sibling in Year 5 will still need to complete an enrolment form.

Math Support is an after-school program designed to assist students in developing their numeracy skills. These sessions are facilitated by Math teachers at the College and are an excellent opportunity for students of all capabilities to receive tailored numeracy support and develop their confidence in all areas of Math.

This program is offered to all students at the College and will run from 3:20pm – 4:20pm in MM1 most Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students are not required to attend for the entire hour and, as such, can choose to leave after they have received the support they seek.

Below is the timetable for Term 2 which indicates the date as well as the teacher facilitating the session.

If you would like any further clarification, please feel free to contact me at the College at nlesnjak@crccs.vic.edu.au.

We will be holding our inaugural Winter Music Concert on Thursday 2 June in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) starting at 7:00pm. This event will feature performances from the College Choir, Chamber Choir, School of Rock Bands and the first performance from the Beginner Concert Band.

There will be several featured soloists and small groups. It promises to be an exciting and entertaining evening.

Tickets are free, but limited. Book your FREE ticket today: https://www.trybooking.com/BZWEB

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (the National Data Collection) is an annual collection that counts the number of school students with disability and the level of reasonable educational adjustment with which they are provided. The National Data Collection will count students who have been identified as receiving an adjustment to address a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. College funding in support of learners is determined by this collection and submission of data. Further information, in both English and Arabic, are attached for parents/carers.

NCCD Information Sheet - English

NCCD Information Sheet - Arabic

“Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” Philippians 2:1-2

Through scripture we are often reminded to not only focus on our own personal interest but more importantly on the interest of others. This is one reason why the Uganda Project is near and dear to our hearts. In the above verse Paul proposes to the Philippians to “make his joy complete”, you may ask yourself, how can this be done? In Christ all is possible. When we share the same love, count others as better, work with one mind and lookout for others, together we make the impossible possible. To do this, we should turn to Jesus as our role model, as His Humility was a symbol of love for all.

These wonderful images are shared with us, with messages of gratitude and appreciation for all that our community does. No effort goes without notice, big or small.

Our term for Uganda has the Social Justice team collaborating and thinking of ways we can make a better world for our brothers and sisters. Below, a few of the Social Justice representatives shared a short reflection on the term for Uganda.

The focus of the Social Justice Team this term is Uganda. Especially helping St Francis, Kizinga which is our sister school. We encourage you to participate in the donations that the Social Justice Team have in plan. This could be donating in casual clothes day, or the $20 donation all proceeds would go to Uganda. Your generosity is deeply appreciated by our school community. - Leighanna Baluyut (10KO)

Term 2's focus for social justice is the Uganda appeal and supporting our sister school St Francis, Kizinga in the district of Rakai, in southern Uganda. We encourage you to donate generously to this cause and help make a positive difference to these communities who are less fortunate than we are. With the support of our college community, we can continue providing hope to our fellow Brothers & Sisters. - Ivanka Portelli (10CO)

The Social Justice Team aims to raise funds for our sister school, St Francis, Kizinga to make a positive difference to their daily lives. By doing this, we can all aspire to make the lives of those less fortunate, better. As people of strong Catholic faith, we can allow ourselves to help transform the lives of those living in more vulnerable communities. We highly encourage you to generously donate funds to this cause. - Christina Stanford (10KO)

This term, we have continued in our efforts to raise funds for our Uganda project. Our first Uganda fundraiser was a success, with a total of $2,690.00 raised. All money raised is going towards helping children of St Francis Primary School in Kizinga, have a better life. Raising money for this worthy cause has been a significant goal in Social Justice, as it is important to help those in need and provide equal opportunities and access to education to everyone.  -Irene

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians" 3:16

Rehearsals for the 2022 College musical are well underway with students excited to be back on stage for this musical production of Mamma Mia. The cast of Mamma Mia have been working hard to put on an incredible musical, which will open in late July. Students have been rehearsing after school, on weekends and during school holidays to bring this incredible musical to life. The story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show.

Ticket sales will open during the upcoming school holidays. The show will be running between the 28 and 30 July. There will be three evening performances and one matinee performance, taking place in our state-of-the-art Performing Arts Centre.

We are very excited to present ‘Mamma Mia’ to our whole school community.

Stay tuned for more information – we hope to see you there!

Round 1 – 27 April

Girls Netball – Eagle Stadium, Werribee Vs Mackillop – Lost 35 - 7

Boys AFL – Mackillop Football Oval Vs Mackillop – Won 86 - 27

Girls Basketball – Keilor Stadium Vs CRC North Keilor - Lost 47 - 41

Boys Basketball – Keilor Stadium Vs CRC North Keilor – Lost 34 - 25

Girls Soccer – Keilor Park Synthetic Pitch Vs CRC North Keilor – Lost 2 - 1

Boys Soccer – Keilor Park Synthetic Pitch Vs CRC North Keilor – Won 7 - 2

Girls Volleyball – Keilor Stadium Vs CRC North Keilor – Won 3 - 1

Boys Volleyball – Keilor Stadium VS CRC North Keilor (Bye)

Round 2 – 4 May

Girls Netball – Caroline Springs Leisure Centre Vs Penola – Won 29 - 24

Boys AFL – CRC Caroline Springs Football Oval Vs Penola – Won 108 - 6

Girls Basketball – Caroline Springs Leisure Centre Vs Penola – Lost 18 - 17

Boys Basketball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs Penola – Won 34 - 28

Girls Soccer – City Vista Reserve, Plumpton Vs Penola – Won 16 - 1

Boys Soccer – City Vista Reserve, Plumpton Vs Penola – Won 8 - 2

Girls Volleyball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs Penola – Lost 3 - 0

Boys Volleyball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs Penola – Lost 3 - 0

Round 3 – 11 May

Girls Netball – Caroline Springs Leisure Centre Vs Salesian - Lost 60 - 10

Boys AFL – CRC Caroline Springs Football Oval Vs Salesian – Lost 64 - 0

Girls Basketball – Caroline Springs Leisure Centre Vs Kolbe – Lost 65 - 20

Boys Basketball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs Kolbe – Won 40 - 17

Girls Soccer – City Vista Reserve, Plumpton Vs Marymede – Won 6 - 0

Boys Soccer – City Vista Reserve, Plumpton Vs Marymede – Won 5 - 3

Girls Volleyball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs Kolbe – Lost 3 - 1

Boys Volleyball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs Kolbe – Lost 3 - 0

Round 4 – 18 May

Girls Netball – Cobblebank Stadium Vs CRC Melton – Draw 22 - 22

Boys AFL – Arnold’s Creek Recreation Reserve Vs CRC Melton – Won 103 - 21

Girls Basketball – Recwest, Braybrook Vs Caroline Chisholm – Won 29 - 8

Boys Basketball – Recwest, Braybrook Vs Caroline Chisholm – Lost 44 - 41

Girls Soccer – Macpherson Park, Melton Vs CRC Melton – Won 5 - 1

Boys Soccer – Macpherson Park, Melton Vs CRC Melton – Won 5 - 1

Girls Volleyball – Eagle Stadium, Werribee Vs Thomas Carr – Lost 3 - 0

Boys Volleyball – Eagle Stadium, Werribee Vs Thomas Carr – Lost 3 - 0

Round 5 – 25 May

Girls Netball – Latrobe University, Bundoora Vs St Monicas – Won 26 - 14

Boys AFL – Latrobe University, Bundoora Vs St Monicas – Lost 45 - 22

Girls Basketball – Keilor Stadium Vs CRC St Albans – Won 60 - 4

Boys Basketball – Keilor Stadium Vs CRC St Albans – Lost 34 - 33

Girls Soccer – Latrobe University, Bundoora Vs St Monicas – Lost 5 - 0

Boys Soccer – Latrobe University, Bundoora Vs St Monicas – Lost 12 - 1

Girls Volleyball – VU Whitten Oval Vs CRC St Albans – Lost 3 - 0

Boys Volleyball – VU Whitten Oval Vs CRC St Albans – Lost 3 - 1

Round 6 – 1 June

Girls Netball – Caroline Springs Leisure Centre Vs Emmanuel

Boys AFL – CRC Caroline Springs Football Oval Vs Emmanuel

Girls Basketball – Bye

Boys Basketball – Bye

Girls Soccer – City Vista Reserve, Plumpton Vs Emmanuel

Boys Soccer – City Vista Reserve, Plumpton Vs Emmanuel

Girls Volleyball – Bye

Boys Volleyball – Bye

Round 7 – 8 June
Bye

Semi Finals – 15 June

Grand Finals – 22 June

Across all year levels in Food Technology the students have been unpacking designs briefs, in hope of producing a product according to the various elements they were instructed to research and investigate.

At Year 10, students were busy coming up with a healthy snack idea for 4 to 10-year old’s. The snack was required to fit into the current trends in the market.

The Year 9 students were learning about the history of the Cornish pastie, as they were required to produce a gluten free pastie for a dinner party. The pastie had to consist of three vegetables, meat, and a range of flavouring ingredients.

The Year 8 students on the other hand were instructed to produce a substantial breakfast, the ideas were vast and varied, from bacon on pancakes, to Acai bowls, fruit smoothies and the classic bacon and egg roll with EXTRA bacon.

Finally, for our precious Year 7’s this was the first time they put their personal palates on the plate. They walked in all prepared and ready to produce a burger, “Grilled” beware they shouted as they walked into the kitchen.

The photos speak for themselves! Well done, Foodies!

“God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

On Monday 16 May, fourteen students from our school participated in an inter-school Chess tournament which was held at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar. Overall, ten schools and ninety students competed in this tournament, with each student playing seven games. Our students showed outstanding sportsmanship and performed admirably.

It was exciting to see that three of our students received bronze medals in their respective categories. Congratulations to: Oscar Nguyen, Ethan Tu and Jessica Jepson. Jessica also qualified for the State level championships (within the Northern Star Chess organisation).

Additionally, Oscar, Ethan and Joaquin Santos were awarded “Credit” certificates, with everyone else receiving a Participation certificate.

Well done to all the students who competed in this tournament!

On Monday 23 May, we sent our intermediate futsal teams to LaTrobe University in Bundoora to compete in the SACCSS Futsal championships. Our Girls team were defending champions in division 1 and the Boys newly promoted to division 1 after winning the inaugural division 2 title in 2021.

Our girls were strong all day, with a number of wins against Kolbe, Marymede and CRC St Albans. Our girls lost just the one round robin match and had a draw against CRC North Keilor. In the end we ended up tied for second place on the ladder but unfortunately missed out on the final on goal difference. Our girls played exceptionally well together as a team, played the sport in good spirits and should be proud of the effort they put in during training and on match day.

Our boys team faced tough competition with the step up into division 1 but this didn’t faze them. We had a tough game against Marymede in the 3^rd match of the day but stayed focussed on the ball and worked well to achieve a 4-1 win. Further wins against other contenders Mackillop and CRC North Keilor put us in the final against St Monica’s. Unfortunately, they were too strong for us in the final and ran out 7-1 winners. As with our girls team, our boys should be incredibly proud of their efforts. They played with pride and were fair and competitive all day.

Thank you to all involved in the day, we look forward to the Junior Futsal Intermediate in Semester 2 and competing again for the intermediate title in 2023.

The library was a hive of activity last week with many students enjoying the lunchtime activities and displays which were organised for Library Week. The featured genre was “Horror “along with the slogan “Reader beware, you’re in for a scare.” This allowed the library to be turned into a giant haunted house, full of monsters, ghosts, skeletons, and gravestones, all promoting the library collection of Horror books.

One of the features of Library Week was a Book Fair, where students had the opportunity to purchase quality, discounted books. It was very gratifying to see how many students purchased books and we thank parents for their support. We hope that the students enjoy reading their newly purchased books.

Other activities included a piñata, movies clips, jelly treats, anagram puzzles, scratch art cards, music and a Kahoot.

Students were also invited to enter a competition to write a scary, short story. Congratulations to the winner:  Charleen Andre, (7 Coranderrk) and the runner-up: Lily McFarlane, (8 Barak).

Sincere thanks to everyone who helped during the week, especially the Learning Support Team and the Book Club students.