Canteen Menu

This week the Church celebrated the 

Feast day of the Ascension of Jesus Christ.

So, what does that mean to us, it is written that 40 days after Jesus was resurrected He ascended into Heaven. Leaving no body to bury and probably a little confusion. Why 40 days? The number 40 is always a significant timeframe in the bible and it represents a generation or completion of a cycle, Moses was 40 years old when he led the Israelites out of Egypt, he spent another 40 years in the desert. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, there are 40 days of Lent and 40 days leading to the Ascension, there are certainly more that I won’t go into today. Jesus spent the 40 days teaching, talking, eating and preparing His disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit and His departing.

Before the Ascension Jesus informs His Apostles that sorrow and grief will be a part of their lives.  This is a very sober but realistic statement on the part of our Lord.  It’s an act of love, on His part, to be upfront with His Apostles about the coming hardships they will face.

The good news is that Jesus follows this statement with the hopeful news that their “grief will become joy.”  This is the most important part of what Jesus says.

The same is true in our lives.  Jesus does not promise us that our lives will be free from hardship and pain.  He does not tell us that following Him means that all will be easy in life.  Instead, He wants us to know that we will follow in His footsteps if we choose to follow Him.  He suffered, was mistreated and ultimately killed.  And this would be tragic if He did not ultimately rise from the dead, ascend into Heaven and transform all prior grief and pain into the very means of the salvation of the world.

If we follow in His footsteps, we need to see every bit of grief in our lives as potentially a means of grace.  If we can face the hardships of life with faith and hope, nothing will ultimately keep us down and everything will be able to be used for God’s glory and will result in great joy.

Have a peaceful return to full time face to face learning,

Steve Robinson

Religious Education Coordinator

We have installed 15 automatic hand sanitiser dispensers around the school for students to use throughout the day. Students are being encouraged to be mindful of their hygiene and continue to wash their hands regularly. The dispensers are placed around the school so all students have access between lessons and at break times.

We have had a number of enquiries regarding buses and transport for students. We have contacted the bus companies and they have confirmed that students will not be left at bus stops and school buses will continue to run as normal. Social distancing announced for public transport does not apply to school bus runs. Students are encouraged to still be mindful of hygiene on public transport, maintain social distancing if possible and sanitise their hands when they arrive at school.

We understand that there are students, or family members living with students, who have medical conditions that make it unsafe for them to return into the community at this stage. As long as we have medical evidence of these conditions, students will be marked as "Flexible attendance" and can continue learning from home. Parents who are uncomfortable sending their children to school at the moment can also make the decision to keep their children home and this will be marked as "explained absence". They can still complete their learning from home. A key difference from our remote learning model is that there will not be zoom lessons available, but there will be learning materials available in google classroom for students to complete. Students should contact their teachers if they are having trouble with this work and we will do our best to ensure all students can continue with their learning.

A form was sent to parents last week to indicate if you were going to keep your children at home and the reasons for this. We will update our records based on this information. We will require the medical evidence to be able to mark students as 'flexible attendance'. In some cases we already have this evidence and in many cases we will require evidence. If you are unsure please contact Mrs Healey in the office to discuss.

Given the presence of COVID-19 coupled with the commencement of the influenza (flu) season, I wanted to brief you on what to expect if your child presents unwell at school. The first symptoms of COVID-19 and flu are similar, in that they both can cause fever, cough, sore/scratchy throat and shortness of breath.

Throughout this period, I ask that you keep your child at home if they are unwell. In the event your child is unwell at school the normal processes apply: Your child will be cared for at school in the sick bay by a qualified first aid officer, while they await collection from an appropriate parent/guardian/carer.  

Schools have Personal Protective Equipment in order to support students and staff. The student will be provided with a medical mask to reduce the risk of transmitting droplets or respiratory fluids. The first aid officer who is assisting the student will also be wearing a medical mask and gloves. The student’s temperature will be taken using a non-contact thermometer to assess severity of presenting symptoms (note that regardless of the child’s temperature, all students who present unwell will be sent home). 

When the parent/guardian/carer of the student collects their child from school, a letter will be provided to them, which outlines the steps required for the student to be able to return to school. These steps include gaining a medical clearance certificate (where possible) and only returning to school once the student has fully recovered.  

I am advising you of these measures in advance so that you may discuss them with your child in the event this situation arises. 

I thank you for your support in keeping our school community safe.

SPORT REPORT TERM 2 - Week 4 UPDATE

Our Wollongong Diocese Sport remains quite clear for this term and is outlined below:

• NO inter - school sport in term 2 (No MISA)
• NO re-scheduling of events cancelled in terms 1 & 2 to be placed on calendars in terms 3 & 4 this year.

School Sport Australia (SSA) advises that due to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent restriction on school sport programs, SSA has cancelled all Championships for 2020. See link for the full list of events cancelled:

http://www.schoolsportaustralia.edu.au/blog/2020/03/23/ssa-announces-cancellation-of-2020-championships/

CSNSW are still undecided as to what events in term 3 will run which then impacts locally on our Diocesan events and school based team competitions. The ever changing nature of government restrictions and guidelines is a barrier to making decisions and hence a reluctance to do so.  Any decisions for Diocesan sport will be made in consultation with CEO leadership (team leader Paul McCann) and prevailing government guidelines. See link for the full list of events cancelled:

https://csnsw.sport/news/events-suspended

So what about our Diocesan Events coming up in early term 3?

At this time no firm decision has been made on the two events listed below. There is a major doubt about our secondary athletics carnival going ahead, as like most other Dioceses, schools will just not have the chance to run their carnivals. There is no certainty that NSWCCC athletics will go ahead in term 3. If NSWCCC athletics does go ahead it may be invitational rather than Diocesan based teams. Potentially if Wollongong requires an athletics team we may run a selection trial event only. Again all pending higher level decisions and advice from our CEO leadership.

Early term three events in question:

• Monday July 27 (week 2, term 3) - Athletics 
• Wednesday July 29 (week 2, term 3) - Secondary Netball Championships 

Sport @ John Therry

At the start of Term 2, the Sport and PDHPE faculty launched the 1000 Point Challenge to encourage physical activity in isolation. The Challenge is run virtually, through the website link below.

https://jtccpdhpesport.wixsite.com/jtccpdhpechallenge

There is a  range of challenges worth 50, 100 or 150 points. The challenge is to hit 1000 points by the end of week. Each week, enter your activities in the score sheet which will give you the chance to be on the leaderboard, score house points and win prizes. Points are tallied each Sunday and the leaderboard updated on the Monday. Each week we also see a staff member offer up a Teacher Challenge, with students able to earn 300 bonus points for a submission of their attempt. We have had max push ups, skipping, ping pong skills and this week is a Wall Sit Challenge. Every Tuesday afternoon there has been a Zoom Fitness Session, run by Mr. Tannous. 

From Week 5 and for the remainder of the term we will see a modified schedule for Sport. Year 7-10 will rotate through different activities each week, following guidelines from the Department of Education and NSW Health. Further information will be posted on Compass on Monday 25th May. The Sport and PDHPE faculty will be following hygiene and distancing guidelines for all practical activities. 

Conolly House taking on the Wk 4 Wall Sit Challenge