I was reminded of Matthew's Gospel (Chapter 5:13-16) recently when I received, on behalf of the College, a salt lamp from CRC St Albans to commemorate their 40th Anniversary. This lamp sits at Principal Reception alongside a statue of Jesus and the marginalised, a gift from Fr. Michael. There is no better way for us as a Catholic school to be 'salt of the earth, light of the world’ than to respond to the needs of those people without a home to go to, without a dinner to be shared, or a warm bed to sleep in.

Can I encourage all members of our school community to support the Annual St Vinnies Winter Appeal which is happening in Parishes now, and also our Annual Sleep Out which will be held in early August.

VCAL

A Year 11 Work Related Skills VCAL class spent last Thursday applying their learning in context. Some staff members from Bunnings and Taubman’s taught them the skills of preparing and painting a room.

Room G141 was a great size for all the students to be able to show their ‘hands-on,’ and employability skills. The students reported that they enjoyed the day and would like to continue this type of learning.

Semester 2 Subject / Electives Changes

All requests for Year 9 and 10 Elective changes have now closed.

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.

Mid Year Exams & Timed Assessment Tasks

The College has set out a 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.

Year 9

Year 9 students will undertake assessment tasks beginning Tuesday, 14th June. Elective assessments (TATs) will take place in normal scheduled class times. Exams in Mathematics, English, Science and Humanities will take place in the Osma Centre on the following dates.

Year 10 & 11 Exams

Year 10 & 11 students will undertake exams from Thursday, 14th June to Friday, 22nd June.

• All Year 10 & 11 exams will take place in the Padua exam centre
• Students are only required at school when they have exams
• Supervised study rooms will operate for students who need or wish to be at school during non-exam periods
• Students will be expected to wear full college uniform when present for exams
• Students need to be at the College at least 15 minutes before the published starting times to ensure smooth entry into the exam venues
• Friday, 22nd June is allocated as a catch up day for any students who need to complete a missed exam or not completed subject outcome

Years 11 & 12 - VCAA General Achievement Task (GAT)

All Year 12 VCE Students and any Year 11 students undertaking a Unit 3/4 study must sit the GAT on Wednesday, 13th June as below:

Year 10 Vincit and Year 11 & 12 VCAL students will follow their normal programs during the exam period.

Resilience Project – Parent workshop

The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, providing evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience and happiness. The Resilience Project has delivered programs to over 500 schools around the country, through presentations, wellbeing journals, school curriculum, teacher diaries and the TRP app. The Resilience Project seeks to help all Australians become mentally healthy through the values of Gratitude, Empathy, Emotional Literacy and Mindfulness.

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 the staff later this term. As part of our involvement the team will present student workshops early next term and a parent workshop on 25th June.

The parent workshop will deliver a presentation that provides practical strategies to help you build their son/daughters resilience. An invitation will be sent out this week through CareMonkey. The 1 ½ hour workshop begins at 7:00pm and will be presented in the Performing Arts Centre.

Find out more information on their website https://theresilienceproject.com.au/schools/ and the science and research that sits behind the four principles that they teach in their programs https://theresilienceproject.com.au/resources-references/.

Visit https://www.trybooking.com/WIPF to book tickets.

This Speech Box Strategy outlines the RIDER strategy that is used to help students retain information. RIDER stands for read, imagine, describe, evaluate and repeat. By following this technique, students should have opportunity to gain a better understanding of what they are reading and increase their probability of retaining the information.

Narelle Layton

Curriculum Coordinator

The cast of eighty students are working hard in preparation for their Showcase performance at the start of term three (26th and 27th July). Charismatic teacher Mr C and his diligent students travel through the history of the performing arts in Catholic Regional College's 2018 Showcase. We travel from Greek Theatre to Casablanca to Flashdance to Beyonce and even to this year's hit- the Greatest Showman; hence our title 'The Greatest Showcase'. Sit back and relax as our talented students sing, dance and act their way through history.

Adult tickets $15, student tickets $10. Tickets available only at https://www.trybooking.com/WDXX.

Jess Godwell

Production Coordinator

Winter sleep out and appeal 2018

Did you know that there are approximately 300 people that are homeless on any given night in Melton?

“Are you ready to step up?”

On Friday 10th August we are hosting our very own Winter Sleep Out at school. Our aim for the night is to raise awareness and some vital funds to help those experiencing homelessness in and around our community. A school sleep out also gives students the opportunity to understand the realities of homelessness by sleeping “rough” for one night.

During the night we will hear from some guest speakers, discuss the issues around homelessness and share a small meal together before setting up our “bed” for the night in the hall. Several staff will be in attendance and appropriate security measures will be put in place to ensure that our night is a success.

Participants in the event are asked to raise between $75 –$100.00 through sponsorship. The money raised will be passed onto St. Vincent De Paul and Hope St. Melton who provide many valuable services for the homeless in Melton and the surrounding areas.

Students wishing to take part are able to obtain the necessary forms from the student office. They should be returned as soon as possible to the office or to Ms. Rowe-Watts. If you have any concerns please email me at mrowe-watts@sfcc.vic.edu.au

Winter coats and blankets are urgently needed.

Each year Vinnie’s feeds and houses thousands of families doing it tough through winter. They urgently need good quality winter clothing particularly Coats, blankets, sleeping bags, hats, gloves and scarves.

We will make sure these get given out to those that need them.

Marg Rowe-Watts

Social Justice Coordinator

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

Carer KaFE is running a training session specifically designed for Carers & Foster Carers.

During this session you will:

• understand the inner working model of those who have experienced abuse and broken attachments that lead to challenging behaviours
• recognise how to gauge the emotional maturity of a child or young person
• learn how to assess when a child is switched on to what you have to say
• appreciate the impact of stress on the ability to make good choices

Click on the attachment for more information, or visit https://www.fcav.org.au/news/training.

The Teenage Holiday Program will be running from 2nd July til 14th July. Customer Service Bookings open Wednesday 20th June at 10:30am. Don’t delay the bookings as spots get filled up fast and may result that you will be put on the waiting list.

See attached flyer for more information.

Melton City Council