Dear Parents, Students and Staff 

The start to Term 3 has been very busy for our school with several large-scale events on our calendar.  Already this term we have hosted our St Clare’s Athletics Carnival, a Subject Selection evening for Year 11 2025, Year 9 Trip to the Snow/Canberra, the start of our Year 12 Trial HSC exams, and a number of sporting events and class excursions. 

This term is a very significant one for our Year 12 students as it sees them finish their formal lessons at school.  Throughout this term they will be involved in Trial HSC examinations, they will complete their major works for the HSC and their formal school assessment, and they will be involved in farewell ceremonies to mark their end of schooling here at St Clare’s. 

For our Year 11 students this term also marks the end of their Preliminary Year, giving them the foundations for their HSC year which begins in Term 4.  For students in Years 7 – 10, continued efforts are required inside the classroom and at home to ensure that significant progress is made in their learning this term.  Added to this, many students will be involved in various sporting teams and cultural groups that will represent the school this term.  Also, later this term, students in Year 8 will have the opportunity to make some decisions about elective choices for 2025.  These major activities will be coupled with many daily activities that will, I’m sure, make the term not only busy but also extremely rewarding for the students.  We wish all our students the very best for another very productive term. 

Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop 

On Thursday, 8August, we celebrated the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.  This special day allows us to remember the important role she played in making education accessible for children in our country.  Mary MacKillop devoted her life to ensuring a holistic Catholic education for children mainly from rural and poor families.  Our Year 7 students will mark this event with an excursion to Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Taree.  

Mary MacKillop Prayer

Ever generous God,
You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
to live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and constant in bringing hope and encouragement to those who were disheartened, lonely, or needy.
With confidence in your generous providence and through the intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust, and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
 

Feast Day Celebration for St Clare 

The Feast of St Clare is celebrated in our Church calendar on Sunday, 11 August.  While Sunday will be a significant day for our school, in recognition of our Patron St Clare, we will wait until Friday, 23 August to celebrate this Feast Day as a whole school community.  This will allow our Year 12 students to join in our celebrations after they have completed their Trial HSC examinations.  More details about our Feast Day will be communicated to parents and students in the coming week.

Year 12 Trial HSC Examinations 

We wish all Year 12 students the best of luck as they sit for their Trial HSC exams, which commenced on Monday, 5 August and conclude on Monday, 19 August (Week 5).  These exams make up an important component of the student’s assessment marks for their HSC.  They also serve as a valuable indicator of student progress towards their actual HSC exams in October/November.  The rest of the school community can support our Year 12’s over the two weeks of the exams by praying for their success and by being considerate towards them by keeping noise levels down around the examination rooms.  Many of these Trial HSC exams run throughout recess, lunch and after school, so being mindful of keeping noise down at these times will help the Year 12’s to maintain concentration throughout their exams. 

St Clare’s Athletics Carnival 

We held a very successful St Clare’s Athletics Carnival last Tuesday.  After many washed-out attempts to host our carnival, we finally succeeded, albeit on a very cold and windy winters day.  My congratulations go to the competitors who participated and challenged one another on the day and to the staff who supported and ran the variety of activities and events at the carnival.  A special thank you to Mr Rowe for all his organisation of the carnival and a big congratulations to our winning house from the carnival, Gordon House.

Respectful Relationships 

A reminder about our Respectful Relationships events that are occurring over the coming weeks.  Detailed information has been shared on Compass for the event for parents and carers, as well as the student sessions. 

Parents and Carers are invited to a special event hosted by St Clare’s on Monday, 19 August, starting at 6 pm.  Our guest speaker will be Melinda Tankard Reist. 

Melinda is a renowned author, speaker, media commentator and advocate for young people.  She will be discussing ‘Navigating a sexed-up world:  How can we help our young people resist harmful messages from media and pop culture and aspire to respectful relationships’. 

For any parents or carers who would like to attend on Monday, 19 August we ask that you register your attendance via the following link Melinda Tankard Reist parent event RSVP - TAREE 

God bless and best wishes for the coming weeks.

Tony McCudden
Principal