Dear Parents & Friends of St Clare’s

Welcome to the first newsletter for the 2021 school year.

I hope you and your family and friends had a restful and enjoyable holiday period and all your family are fit and well.

It has been wonderful to welcome our students to the school and a real joy to hear them reconnecting with friends and staff.

Our new Year 7 students have made a great start and are settling in really well, thanks to some excellent preparation by the Year 7 teachers and the leadership of Year 7 Student Coordinator, Marian Parvin.

I wrote earlier in the week regarding the processes we have in place to ensure that we are operating within COVID safe guidelines.  This week’s Opening Mass and Dux Assembly had a very small live audience limited to Year 12 and the parents of the seven award winners.  The rest of the school population watched the Ceremony as a live stream which will be edited and uploaded for wider community access early next week.

My thanks to Fr George (Taree), Fr Terry (Krambach) and Fr Anthony (Forster on behalf of Fr Greg) for their presence and leadership at our Opening Mass.  The Parish Priests are important partners and contributors to the wellbeing of families and life of the school.  It was wonderful to have a Priest from each of the Parishes that St Clare’s serves across our region.  A special thanks also to Assistant Director of Catholic Schools Office, Mr Steve Lemos for attending and assisting in the Awards Ceremony.

Congratulations to our award winners:

Award Course Name

Diocesan First in Course – Drama:  Clare Chapman
Diocesan First in Course – German Continuers:  Angeline Jordan
Diocesan First in Course - English Extension I:   Elise Rourke
ATAR 90+ Higher School Certificate 2020 & Dux of Year 12 2020 - Lyall Last 94.2
ATAR 90+ Higher School Certificate 2020 - Elise Rourke 93.4
ATAR 90+ Higher School Certificate 2020 - Clare Chapman 90.75

Clare Chapman & Elise Rourke 

Academic Achievement Year 10 - Yolanta Gutheridge
Academic Achievement Year 10 - Seren Everingham
Academic Achievement Year 10 - Bradley Brincat

Seren Everingham, Bradley Brincat & Yolanta Guthridge 

The effort in maintaining a constant vigilance towards the pandemic can be very wearing but is necessary to ensure the health and wellbeing of all in our community and I thank all students, staff and visitors to the school for their support and willing compliance with the government’s COVID-19 guidelines.

A few reminders from the school calendar:

Friday, 12 February:  St Clare’s Swimming Carnival.  A reminder to all for the need for sun smart dress, hat and block out.  Special COVID-19 guidelines will be given to the students in Year Level meetings next week.

Monday, 15 February is a pupil free day as staff continue their professional development around the influence trauma and anxiety has on learning. 

Wednesday, 17 February:  School photos will be taken.  All students are expected to be in full school uniform for the photos.

Compass Logins have been mailed to all new parents to the school.  We expect that all should arrive by the end of the week.

Thank you to all in our community for your continued support of students and staff.

God bless

Peter Nicholls
Principal

St Clare’s has registered with Service NSW to obtain a QR Code.  This means that when signing in at the front office or any school function, you simply need to use your phone, scan the code, follow the instructions to check in to the school.  In order to make this easier, please download the Service NSW App onto your phone.

Mass Times

Forster-Tuncurry Catholic Parish

Holy Name Church current Mass times are:

Saturday – 5 pm
Sunday – 8 am, 10 am and 12 noon

Due to current restrictions regarding the number of attendees we can have at Mass, attendance is by registration only.  To register, phone 6554 6401 or email forster-tuncurry.parish@mn.catholic.org.au.  Please provide names of those attending, address, phone, email and preferred Mass time.

To watch the 8 am Sunday Mass live stream please send us your email address to receive the link. 

The Holy Name Church is open from 9 am- 3 pm Monday - Friday for private prayer.  

Further updates can be viewed on the Forster-Tuncurry Parish Website:

Taree Catholic Parish

Our Lady of the Rosary Church Taree current Mass times are:

Saturday - 6 pm
Sunday – 9:30 am

Saturday

6:00 pm Taree Mass
6:00 pm Harrington SCAE

Sunday

7:30 am Old Bar SCAE
7:30 am Wingham Mass
9:30 am Taree Mass

COVID-19 Mass Attendance Regulations:

1. Parishioners need to book via the Parish office, 6552 1084 Tuesday to Friday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The volunteers at the church door can tick your name if attending the following weeks service.  It is a legal requirement to provide name and contact details.
2. If you are unable to attend you will need to rebook via the office.
3. Please do not attend the SCAE or Mass service if you are not feeling well.

QR Codes:  There are QR codes placed in every entrance of the church.  Please kindly scan the QR code before entering and show the confirmation details to our volunteers at the door.  People who are unable to sign in using QR code may do it manually.  Our kind volunteers are willing to assist.

Prayer Point:  5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – 7 February

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 1: 29-30

On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew.  Now Simon's mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him about her straightaway.  He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up.  And the fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils.  The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.

In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, 'Everybody is looking for you.'  He answered, 'Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.'  And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Is it “Ordinary Time” in our little world?  Certainly not!  We’ve just started back into “School Time”!

There are so many rich images in this Gospel.  I love ‘seeing’ Peter’s mother-in-law being sick.  But then Jesus cures her and she can go back to ‘waiting on them’ - very ordinary in the extraordinary.

I can see the whole town crowding around the door begging to be cured, and he did.  Again ordinary/extraordinary!

But then, in the night, he goes to a lonely place to pray.  That’s extraordinary!  For him, though, that’s ordinary and gives him the courage, energy, love and the means of hope for the Galileans.

Jesus gives us hope in the midst of our ordinary life.

Have a great week.

Denise Ryan
Ministry Coordinator

Careers Corner

Welcome to 2021 and our first edition of Careers Corner for the year.

Hopefully 2021 will be a year of fewer challenges than 2020!

This year Chatham High is hosting the Country University Roadshow on Thursday, 11 February.

Year 12 students from St Clare’s, Chatham and MVAC will attend this joint presentation by UNE, Charles Sturt University, Southern Cross University and Newcastle University.  The presentation runs between 1 – 2 pm in Room 106.

There will be information provided about:

How to apply?
ATAR only
Getting to University without applying for, or without qualifying for, an ATAR
TAFE Certificate III or Certificate IV
Early Entry
Other pathways

How much does a university education cost?

Deferrable cost (HECS)
Text books
Accommodation
Transport
Food
Activities
Ways to meet costs (part-time work, scholarships, student loans, Abstudy, Centrelink benefits including Youth Allowance and Relocation Allowance)

Brief details of each of the four regional universities.

On the same day as the School Swimming Carnival, Friday, 12 February, Year 12 students will be having their first and only full Careers Day at school.  The purpose of this Careers Day is to enable students to embrace the complexities of Year 12 and to develop a timeline in order to avoid excessive stress levels.  The program will address issues such as:

• Goal setting
• Personal Strengths and skills
• Apprenticeship and Traineeship pathways
• TAFE pathways
• What is an ATAR?
• What is UAC?
• What is EAS?
• Checking NESA information and details
• Scholarships
• Subject bonus points (now known as adjustment factors)
• Flexible/Alternative Entries
• Early entrance
• School references
• Resumés
• Study time tables
• Student Careers Profile

There will be several guest speakers including TAFE personnel.  The venue will be the Josephite Learning Centre (Room 106).

Within the next month (Tuesday, 10 March 12:30 – 2:45 pm) any Year 11 and Year 12 students who are interested in a Health Careers pathway post-school will have the opportunity to attend the University of Newcastle Health Learning Centre in High Street, Taree.  I will be asking for expressions of interest to attend this excellent presentation.  There is a limit of 30, so it will be first in best dressed.  Information will be on hand regarding nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, speech therapy, radiography and medicine.  To be able to access this information in Taree is wonderful.  A bus will be provided for those students interested.

On Wednesday, 3 February several Year 10 and Year 11 students completed a White Card course at St Clare’s run by Men At Work.  Anyone who is considering either working or doing Work Experience in the Construction Industry must have a valid White Card in order to enter a building site.  They must complete a course in a “face to face” environment for the card to be valid in NSW.

It has been very exciting to hear that several of our 2020 Year 12 students have been successful in gaining scholarships for 2021.

Congratulations go to Elise Rourke who has been the recipient of one of the prestigious Ma & Morley Scholarships at Newcastle University.  This is a great honour.  Congratulations Elise!

Work Experience 2021

Work Experience (W/E) in 2021 at St Clare’s will be available as targeted work experience.

W/E will be for the following students:

• Transition to work students identified by Learning Support
• Students in Year 10 interested in leaving school to find employment at the end of 2021
• Students in Year 11 and 12 who need W/E as part of applications for courses, scholarships and employment.

W/E can be done in the following forms:

• 1 day a week – transition to work programs for Work Studies students
• 1 day/week for 5 weeks OR 1 week organised in conjunction with the school calendar for students looking to leave school
• During holidays for Year 11 and Year 12 students, and for Year 10 students - ONLY if two supporting St Clare’s teachers are available as monitors

Work Placement (W/P) for VET students will continue as normal in designated weeks.

Process for Work Experience

• Students in Year 10 wishing to be involved in a work experience program in 2021 will need to collect and fill in an application form (See Mrs McCann).
• Each application will require an interview with the Careers’ Adviser and a written reason for wanting to be part of the program supported by parents.
• All students will need to complete a “Work Ready” booklet which is in the W/E pack
• All students will need to complete “Go2workplacement”
• Year 11 and 12 students need to contact the Careers Adviser if they wish to participate in work experience
• An annual insurance fee applies to all students involved in W/E or W/P programs.

Important Dates

17 February 2021 School Photo Day - individual photos for Year12 students are appended to NESA registration for validation of HSC Examination identity- it is ESSENTIAL that students attend school on this day.

Please check the Careers section of the St Clare’s School website as there will be news about apprenticeships, traineeships, jobs as they come to hand and of course other important Careers information.

If anyone wishes to contact me about any of the above matters or anything to do with Careers or VET please email me at school (karen.mccann@mn.catholic.edu.au) or ring the school to talk or make an appointment.

Karen McCann
Careers/VET Adviser

Hi all, welcome back to the start of a new year!

I would like to use this time each fortnight to relay information to parents/caregivers and students about all things mathematical.

I will start by welcoming new students, Year 7 or new to the school.  We are always here to help students on their mathematical journey and hope it is a good one.  On that note, please remember, or take note, that each Wednesday in Room 10 at lunchtime, the mathematics teachers are available for any assistance needed by students to help them prepare for tasks, tests, or just get different perspective from another teacher on how to complete their homework.  You may bring your lunch and eat, come along for all of lunch, or just for a few minutes.  We take a roll so that we can assist parents wanting to know if their child has attended.

As well as a hello to all, can I please ask parents/caregivers to make sure that students have the correct equipment in class.  We all want to ensure that students do their best, and this is assisted when students have the correct equipment, those being:

• Ruler, glue & scissors;
• Pencil, red & black biro;
• Workbook and;
• Calculator

If there is a problem please let me, or the appropriate pastoral coordinator know, and we can remedy the situation.

That is all for now.  As I said, I will relay more information as the year unfolds.

Have a great year everyone.  Take care.

Mr Mark Fletcher
Studies Coordinator - Mathematics

Term 1 2021

NSWCCC Selection and Registration Process 2021

Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) Sport Selection process:  Any student who wishes to trial for CCC selection must follow a specific registration process.  CCC trials are for students who excel in their chosen sport and who wish to trial for a position to represent the Combined Catholic Colleges.  Students should inform the Rep Sport Coordinator of their interest in trialling and students must be approved by the school to attend these selections.

The following sports require Individual online registration which takes you straight to NSWCCC selections:  AFL, Baseball, Basketball, Cricket, Diving, Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rugby League, Rugby, Softball, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball.

Selections for these sports occur at different times throughout the year and these details are outlined on the following new website www.csnsw.sport.  Instructions on how to login to the new portal are outlined below:

• Existing parents in old system: Click on LOGIN, Click on Forgot Password.  An email with a link will be sent to your e-mail address (this address MUST be the e-mail address used on old website). 

• New Parents: Click on REGISTER and follow the prompts to set up a new account. 

• Once logged in, parents will be able to see very clearly in their child’s profile –REGISTER FOR A SPORT.

To be eligible to trial for CCC selection in Athletics, Cross Country, Swimming, Football and Touch the process begins from being selected in the school representative team, then trialling for the diocesan team before proceeding to CCC selections if successful.

Any queries about the process should be directed to Mr Laurent Gonfond or you can access the website listed above.

Laurent Gonfond
Representative Sport Coordinator

We would like to acknowledge the amazing accomplishments of Year 11 student Alex Cross.  Alex was awarded The Manning River Times-Ken McDonald Memorial Sport star of the Year award for her achievements in Cycling.

Last year she was selected in the NSW under 17 women's team and was the youngest member of the squad.  We are very proud of Alex and look forward to hearing of her future success as she continues to train and compete this year.

Callam Howard
Creative Arts Teacher

Mathematics Workshop provides the opportunity for every student to obtain assistance and support in improving their understanding of mathematics.  In the lead up to Yearly Exams in Term 4, a number of Mathematics Teachers are available each week to explain the concepts you are finding difficult or give assistance to enable you to complete your homework, assignments or any work that you may have missed due to absence from class.

WHEN IS IT ON?  Wednesday lunchtime

WHERE?   Room 10

Bring your lunch!

We hope to see you there!

Mr Mark Fletcher
Mathematics Coordinator

School Zones

A reminder to all our parents that school zones remain in place for the safety of our children and families.  School zones operate on all gazetted school days, which are all days the school is open, even pupil free days.  School zones for our school will end on Thursday, 1 April and resume on Monday, 19 April 2021.

Complaints Resolution for Parents and Carers

Vaccination Program

ASPIRE

Sport Registration

Saver Plus Program