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FEAST OF ST MARCELLIN CHAMPAGNAT

On 2^nd January 2017 we celebrated the bicentenary of the founding, by St Marcellin Champagnat, of the Marist Brothers and the commencement of Marist schools. So this year we celebrate 105 years. Marcellin lived from 1789 to 1840 and his statue is on the College grounds near the Textiles room. He was a man for his times and his spirit lives on today. This spirit is alive in the men and women, boys and girls who adopt the Marist spirituality, a spirituality that comes from Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary’s typical response to life was as the ‘servant of the Lord’ (Luke 1:38). Marcellin was also very much a family man.

Champagnat Day, Monday 6^th June, reminds us of this vital French Priest’s abundant life – whether as the builder of the Hermitage or negotiator with the French government to obtain approval for his ‘Little Brothers of Mary’ to be able to teach the poor country children of rural France. Only the upper classes were educated at that time and the country people were seen as workers only. Marcellin had a different vision where all were educated and all were introduced to Jesus. So his mission was to make Jesus known and loved.

His first posting as a Priest was to the small village of La Valla. He loved to visit the hamlets in the nearly French countryside. Marcellin’s commitments included working in the Parish in the wake of the turmoil of the French Revolution. As always, the Church was proposing that the people live with faith. Alternatively, the revolution was proposing that the people live by reason, not faith. It was a dangerous time with many Priests killed.

Whatever Marcellin took on, he did so with dedication and thoroughness. Those of us that follow him today cannot but be touched by his energy and dedication to the Church and to Catholic Education. He would be delighted to know that today’s Marist schools achieve the same high standards educationally as the first Marist schools, while at the same time valuing and nurturing the faith and life of the local Church community. We ask St Marcellin to pray for us. We look forward to our College Champagnat Day celebrations.

EASTER SEASON

We are currently moving through the Churches season of Easter, with last Sunday being the 6^th Sunday. The season of Easter is the 50 days following Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus. The Easter season finishes on the Feast of Pentecost, on June 6^th. On this day the Holy Spirit appeared to the Disciples and urged them to go forth and proclaim the word of God. This is sometimes called the birthday of the Church.

On the 40^th day of the Easter season we celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven (Thursday 26^th May). He had risen from the tomb and continued to appear to those he loved. Both of these events are special for us as Catholics and I urge all to attend their local Church on these days 

Week 5

Friday 27th May - Industrial Action - Teachers Strike - limited onsite supervision

Week 6

Monday 30th May - Staff Development Day - Wellbeing Focus

Friday 3rd June - Athletics Carnival

Week 8

Monday 13th June - Queens Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 14th June - P & F Meeting and AGM (6:30-7:30pm)

Friday 17th June - Curtain Call Performance Showcase (6-9pm)

YEAR 11 2023 COURSE PREFERENCE

YEAR 9 2023 ELECTIVES PREFERENCE

National Sorry Day, or the National Day of Healing, is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May since 1998. The event remembers and commemorates the mistreatment of the country's Indigenous peoples, as part of an ongoing process of reconciliation between the Indigenous peoples of Australia and the settler population. The date was selected because on that date in 1997 the Bringing Them Home report was published.

The Bringing Them Home report, which was tabled in Australian Parliament, was the result of an inquiry into government policies and practices during the 20th century that caused Aboriginal children to be separated from their families, with the intention of assimilating them into white Australian culture. This resulted in what became known as the "Stolen Generations", with the effects of these traumatic removals being felt by succeeding generations even today. The report made many recommendations, including that state and federal governments should issue formal apologies and that funding should be provided to help deal with the consequences of the policies.

John Howard, who was prime minister at the time, refused to issue an apology, but Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008 issued a formal apology on behalf of the government and Australian people.

John Therry students attended the Sorry Day Service on Wednesday 25^th at the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Church in Minto, in support of Sr Kerry. Our students performed dances and played the didgeridoo while other schools read poems and performed music. Overseen by Fr Aloysius and Pastor Michael, it was a wonderful and prayerful occasion. 

In the second half of week four, this term, John Therry Catholic College had 36 year 11 PDHPE students take on a challenging camp experience in the Royal National Park. The camp was designed to build resilience and test character with multiple physical and mental challenges. The first involved, after leaving school at lunch time, a 9km hike with all their gear. This included backpacks containing sleeping bags, food, cooking equipment, tents and a lot of unnecessary comforts. The tracks were very wet and muddy and while some students did manage to find themselves on the ground they picked themselves back up and pushed on. The day concluded with students setting up their tents in the dark and having a well deserved self cooked meal which they had planned for during PDHPE lessons in the weeks prior to departure. 

The second day involved more exhausting challenges with a 17km hike. One group set off from the Big Marley track which was pleasantly dry while the other marched through the mud for the first 3 km from the Curra Moors loop track. Both groups ended up meeting perfectly on time at Wattamolla for a quick regroup and a boost in morale. Both groups finished strongly even with a wrong turn here and there. The day concluded with initiative games which focused on leadership and teamwork amongst the groups. A challenging day for all students with blisters and bruises but students persevered and rose to the challenge.

For our final day of great weather, students had a slower morning packing up their campsites and ensuring we left the environment as we found it. Our last activity was a small walk along Jibbon Beach to Aboriginal engravings which are over 1000 years old. Amongst a special and sacred site the students reflected on their camp experience and showed true gratitude for the experience they had all shared. 

The camp proved a metaphor for the students’ upcoming challenges towards their academic goals. In the same way that achievement in their studies is the first step on a pathway to continued success, when on a long and tiring expedition the next step is always the hardest. But, finding the way to make that step is the only way to progress. 

Well done to everyone who attended and a special thanks to the staff who attended and ensured the experience was the best it could be. 

From the PDHPE team

Here are some of the students reflections on our camping experience:

"I pushed the boys to participate in all the games when they really didn't want to and had no effort to continue but they ended up doing it and having fun".

"On our hike and camp, there were many ethical considerations that needed to be taken into account when walking through the National Park.  Many, which revolved around locality and having respect for the area in which we were in, this was highly important to ensure that we are not damaging the native vegetation, as well as the local wildlife.  It was also necessary to recognise the importance of respecting the land that we were on to acknowledge that we were there to appreciate outdoor recreation and the location".

"A time when someone enhance group cohesion was when Mrs White turned music on in the bus.  Everyone was singing along to the songs played and having a good time made everyone happier".

"The puzzle during the initiative game required us to communicate and work together to find the correct positions for each piece, on the walk when we switched bags to manage the weight and load one person was carrying at a time to reduce the difficulty of the first 9km, and when the other group we collaborated with could not start their gas cooker so we gave them a demonstration and helped them begin cooking".

I spoke too soon last week - the rain has returned. On Monday we had a small team of our top runners participate in the Diocesan Cross Country Carnival. Originally scheduled for a few weeks ago down at Willandra in Nowra, it was moved to Narellan Sports Hub due to wet weather and poor ground conditions. Our runners represented JTCC with pride and integrity and gave their best effort. We have had 5 students successfully selected in the Wollongong Diocesan team to compete at NSWCCC Cross Country on Wednesday 7th June. A report including our successful students is outlined below. 

Unfortunately CEDOW has cancelled all non-pathway sporting events for term 2. This means Diocesan Hockey and Diocesan Volleyball have been cancelled for 2022 and will not be rescheduled.

Reminder - our JTCC Athletics Carnival is coming up - Friday 3rd of June. This is a compulsory school day and an awesome school event. Consent for this event is required via the Compass Parent Portal.

A few general reminders:

• Students who missed out on MISA or DIO teams , there are many future opportunities to represent JTCC, keep an eye out on the Compass Newsfeed. 
• Any students that would like to request to change groups for 9/10 REC - you need to see Mrs. Roberts at her desk. You must do this prior to Tuesday lunch time. 
• A reminder that consent for all sporting events must be given via the Parent Portal on Compass. Please ring the school if you have issues logging in or accessing Events. 

Some actions shots from Year 7 and 8 activities on the courts on Tuesday 

On Monday the 23rd of May John Therry sent their best runners to Narellan Sports Hub for the Diocesan Cross Country Carnival. After a date postponement and late venue change, it was great to actually go ahead with the event. 

 Going into the day with optimism and high spirits our small team tried their best showcasing some of our elite athletes at John Therry. Some new strong runners joined the JT cross country team showing some real pace with Noah, Davonne and Blake all finishing in the top 6 and progressing to the next level. Along with these three outstanding efforts we also had Darcy Wilson and Dominic Baker finish in the top 6 of their events both progressing to the next level. Unfortunately our ladies were outpaced for the most part of the carnival up against some quick runners from other schools. Some determined efforts from Bridget and Khloe saw them narrowly miss selection for the CCC cross country. 

A tremendous effort by the team from each and every student proudly representing John Therry. Good luck to those who will compete next month at Eastern Creek. 

(Mr. Webb)

JTCC Wollongong Diocese Representatives

• 12 years boys - Davonne Plaatjies (3rd), Blake McKenzie (4th), Noah Donovan (6th)
• 16 years boys - Darcy Wilson (5th)
• Junior boys multi-class - Dominic Baker (2nd)

(Back Row) Luke Dennis, Beau Tones, Kalan Nau, Thomas Augustine, Darcy Wilson, Jayden Cook, Lachlan Vacchini, Jack Griffiths(Front Row) Davonne Plaatjies, Khloie Wolf, Caprice Fleijsman, Elise Southall, Kyra Crews, Maahir Boonzaier, Bridget Shearer

UPCOMING

Our Diocesan calendar has been heavily impacted by wet weather, seeing cancellations and postponements for a number of diocesan events. An individual selection trial will be held for Diocesan Opens Football instead of the competition carnival usually held. 

NSWCCC Teams

*There have been a lot of NSWCCC Event postponements - please go to the website to keep up to date with these. 

Remember that there is a new way to nominate individual sports for NSWCCC. This information, including registration closing dates can be found on the website:

https://csnsw.sport/

Please note that some sports are selected by individual trials, and these can be held throughout NSW. Individual nominations require students to make their own way to and from selections. 

Selection in the following sports: Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics, Touch Football, AFL (Boys) and Football are done through the Wollongong Diocese carnivals by way of representing John Therry at these respective carnivals.

Selection in the following sports: AFL (Girls), Baseball, Basketball, Cricket – Girls,  Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rugby League, Rugby, Softball, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball will need to be done via individual nomination and selections.

If your child has had an outstanding high level  sporting achievement outside of school, we would love to hear from you. Please email me so we can celebrate  their achievements with the JTCC community. 

Yours in Sport,

Mrs. Georgia Roberts 

(RobertsG03@dow.catholic.edu.au)

Please find below a link to the latest parish bulletin