Dear Parents & Friends of St Clare’s

Welcome to Term 2!  I hope you and your family were able to find some peace and quiet amongst the trauma and chaos caused by our recent floods and that you and your loved ones are fit and well.

Our Professional Development day at the start of term was very successful.  Staff worked with facilitator Mark Spencer to highlight the core values that they want to see reflected in our vision and mission statement which underpins relationships in our community.  Father Greg Barker gave up his day off to be with us and contributed some significant and thoughtful insights into the conversations that were held throughout the day.  We are close to producing a draft document that will be circulated to the school community for further consultation towards the end of term.

Last week Year 12 students attended the Senior Retreat which is held annually at The Francis Retreat Bonny Hills.  Feedback from the students and staff about the retreat has been exceptional, with all participants finding much to consider as they took time out to examine their core values, how they nurture respectful relationships and their relationships with God.  The sharing between students and staff was deep and caring aided by the attendance of Fathers Greg and George who added their wisdom to the three days.  I thank Fr Greg, Fr George, staff and students for their attendance and willingness to share their personal stories of love and hope.  A special thank you to Ministry Coordinator Denise Ryan and Year 12 Student Coordinator Tim Masters whose collaboration brought the retreat to life.

Sunday saw St Clare’s very well represented by students and staff at the Taree ANZAC Day celebrations.  School Captains Patrick Guthridge and Hannah Van Arendonk led the town gathering in prayer and Vice Captains Lachlan Oliver and Edie Gillis laid a wreath on behalf of the school community.

It was moving to see the young people wearing the medals of family members and letting them tell the story of how the medal came to be part of their family history.

Harley Bunyan, Year 8

My thanks to Marian Parvin and other members of the school executive for their work in organising the students to attend and the many parents and students who transported the young people to the march.

We followed Sunday’s celebrations on Monday with the first whole school assembly for a very long period of time.  Our Assembly celebrated ANZAC history, acknowledged the St Clare’s fallen and asked students to consider how they could form right relationships and be of service to those around them.  We were proud to welcome RSL Sub-Branch President, Charles Fisher and committee members:  Dulcie Balderstone, Allan Pool and Ted Hill from the RSL and Colonel Edward McCann and St Clare’s own Captain Phillip Chalmers to the gathering which was organised by the St Clare’s Year 11 Modern History Class, under the tutorship of Marian Parvin.  It was wonderful to be able to gather to acknowledge the commitment and courage our service people have shown over the past 100 years.  As usual, our students, your sons and daughters were exemplary in their attitude and behaviour and the organising group showed wonderful maturity and leadership throughout the assembly.  Thank you to all involved.

 Charles Fisher, Allan Pool & Ted Hill

On Friday, I had the privilege of attending an Aboriginal Cultural Day at Saltwater, organised by Aunty Michelle Case and members of the St Clare’s community.  During the day visitors from the Diocesan Office experienced aspects of aboriginal culture and spirituality and learned about the significance of Saltwater to the local Biripi people.  My thanks to Aunty Michelle, Sandy & Simon Basile, Laurent Gonfond, Cheryl Kingsford, Alyce Sky and students Kyron Donovan, Luella-Rayne McCormack and Kulan Roberts for their work in supporting the day.

Over the past few months, many of us have been heartened by the gradual movement towards a more usual approach to life as the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control in our country.  Like the rest of the state, St Clare’s is subject to the process and procedures of the State Government and Catholic Schools NSW.  We are excited to be re-engaging with parents and other community members, but also committed to ensuring the health and safety of all in our care.  It is a fine balance and I ask that you continue to keep your sons and daughters home, even if they are only a little off colour.  Staff continue to administer hand sanitiser and clean to ensure the health of the young people in our care.  Thank you for your ongoing support in this matter.

God bless

Peter Nicholls
Principal