Week 5

27 February 2026 

Dear Parents/Carers

Our students have embraced the Lenten season and understand its importance to the Catholic faith. Lent is a 40 day period of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that helps Catholics prepare for Easter by focusing on spiritual discipline and self-control. For teenage boys, it’s often seen as a “spiritual reset” or a challenge to drop distractions. In addition to giving up meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, for most young people, the sacrifice takes on a more modern form of sacrifice such as giving up soft drink or sweets, gaming or social media. 

The reality is, the sacrifice is not designed to be a weight loss initiative or to hurt or punish people, but rather intended to create more time and make more room for God. Lent is deeply important to Catholics because it mirrors the time Jesus spent fasting in the desert, allowing believers to unite their small sacrifices with His. Ultimately, the season is about growth and turning away from bad habits to become a more selfless, intentional version of oneself. How great would it be to live in a world where we encounter selfless and other person-centred individuals in all aspects of our lives?

Our youth sometimes get a bad rap in the media, often labelled as selfish or disrespectful. Over the past 5 weeks, my experience with the students at Marist College Eastwood has been invigorating. I have witnessed countless examples and had many encounters with our boys that have highlighted their kindness and welcoming nature. I would like to congratulate the parents for the boys they are raising. I would also like to thank the staff for their support as co-educators to reinforce the importance of the kindness and welcome they share with others.

Respice Finem

Mr David Sullivan

Principal 

Illness & Misadventure Application Process

27 February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers of Years 7–12 Students,

Illness and Misadventure Application Process

This is a friendly reminder about the Illness and Misadventure Application process for assessment tasks. As shared previously, the application is now available through an online form, making the process more accessible and efficient. This applies to any student in Years 7–12 who is unable to complete or submit an assessment task on time due to illness, misadventure, or other approved circumstances. 

To assist with navigating these procedures, we have developed a clear, question and answer style Assessment Procedures Guide for Years 7–12. This one-page resource outlines common scenarios, what action is required, and the consequences of not following the process. We encourage all families to review this document to ensure they are familiar with the expectations around assessment tasks.

Key information to remember;

• If a student is absent or unable to submit or complete an assessment task, an Assessment Illness/Misadventure Form must be submitted by a parent or carer using the online form.
• Documentation must be submitted when completing this form:
  • Years 7–8: A signed parent/carer note is required.
  • Years 9–12: A Doctor’s Certificate or official documentation must be submitted.

• The form must be submitted within five school days of the task due date.
• Students must be prepared to submit or sit the task on their first day back unless advised otherwise.

We thank you for your support in ensuring that all students are given a fair and consistent opportunity to complete their assessments. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

 Ms Monique Brame
 Director of Curriculum and NESA Accreditation

Happy Families Webinar Link

27 February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers

Anti-Fragile: Building Resilient Kids Through Life’s Challenges

As noted in my previous letters. Dr Justin Coulson hosted a webinar on Wednesday evening, “Anti-Fragile: Building Resilient Kids through Life’s Challenges”.

If you were unable to log on or wish to view again, a recording of the webinar has been provided by Happy Families and can be accessed via this link.

There will be another webinar on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, Cultivating Confidence and Character in your Teenage Son.

A reminder that you can find more information about Dr Justin Coulson and other Happy Families resources from the Happy Families website.

Kind regards

Ms Linda Codamo

Director of Wellbeing

Years 7 & 9 – 2026 NAPLAN Testing

27 February 2026 

Dear Year 7 and 9 Parents/Carers

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy 2026

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2026 for Years 7 and 9 students will be held in March. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. 

All students are expected to participate in the NAPLAN tests. During the test window, catch-up tests will be available for individual students who are absent on test days. 

NAPLAN will be run in an online format. NAPLAN Online will provide better assessment, more precise results and faster turnaround of information. NAPLAN Online features ‘tailored testing’ which gives students questions that are more suited to their ability – resulting in better assessment and more precise results. Support can be arranged for students with disabilities if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks. 

The College will administer NAPLAN in Week 7 and 8 of this term. The testing will start on Wednesday 11 March to Tuesday 17 March. Below is our  timetable for this testing period. 

To ensure test security and to prevent student access to the internet and spell-check applications during NAPLAN Online, your son will install the NAPLAN Lockdown Browser on his laptop on the first day of testing. All students are required to have a fully charged laptop and bring headphones for each of the tests. 

Later in the year, you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. More information about the tests is available NAPLAN Online – information for parents and carers 

Kind regards

Ms Monique Brame

Director of Curriculum and NESA Accreditation

Year 11 – Week 8 Alternate Program 2026

27 February 2026 

Dear Parents/Carers

Year 11 – Week 8 Alternate Program Information 2026

As your son now settles into the workload of the Preliminary course of the HSC, the College has developed an alternate program for Week 8 for all Year 11 students. The goal for this program is to provide students with a variety of different skills, learning experiences and preparation time for their first upcoming assessment tasks. 

This program will include seminars to cover challenging course content, specific skill requirements of HSC courses. individualised feedback from class teachers in preparation for upcoming assessment events, the completion of assessment tasks as well as class work set for students to complete. 

This program has been designed to develop independent learners capable of managing their time and requirements. It provides structure for students while also offering the flexibility for students to explore areas of need and priority. These sessions are all compulsory and require students to attend in full school uniform and continue to uphold the College grooming expectations.

During Week 8 students will be afforded flexible timetable privileges, which allow students to leave the College once they have completed their scheduled session for the day. However, students will need to stay on College grounds if they have a scheduled session in the afternoon.  It is expected that students will go straight home at the completion of their sessions and use this time to complete set tasks or to prepare for upcoming assessments. If any student behaves in a manner not aligned with College expectations, their privileges can be revoked. If a student does not have a session scheduled on a particular day, he can stay home to study. 

The College has organised an area for students to conduct private study, before or after timetabled sessions in the library. A detailed timetable of the Week 8 program can be found here. Students will resume regular scheduled lessons on Monday 23 March.

Kind Regards

Ms Monique Brame                                                               Ms Emily Mattick

Director of Curriculum & NESA Accreditation                   Leader of Wellbeing – Year 11

Sport Report

It was head‑to‑head Eastwood A vs Eastwood B across both Basketball and Touch (Junior and Intermediate team). A special mention goes to Lucas Piper (Year 12) and Levi Palfrey (Year 12) for stepping up to referee the Junior teams in their respective sports. Due to the rain, our European Handball was cancelled. We hope the extra training time provides our teams an advantage on the court in the next round.

Basketball

Touch Football

NSWCCC News

We wish the following students all the best for trialling to qualify in the CCC in their sports: 

Michael Elkorr – U15  Rugby League 

Krishav Behl – Tennis

Congratulations to Morrison Van Der Westhuizen Year 12 who has been short listed to attend the NSWCCC Baseball selections on 4 March. 

We also wish Baldip Singh Year 12  and Hamilton Seoung Year 11 next week at the NSW All Schools U/19 Cricket Championships. 

Upcoming events

Wk 6 – Tuesday 3 March SCS Conference 2 Swimming 

Kids Giving Back

When a Joke Becomes a Crime

Happy Families – Dr Justin Coulson

Reminder – Year 10 – Year 10 Vaccinations – 18 March 2026

20 February 2026 

Dear Parents/Carers

Year 10 Vaccinations

NSW Health will offer the following vaccinations to Year 10 students at our College.

–         Meningococcal ACWY on 18 March 2026

If your child is in Year 10 you can provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations. Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. 

How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://engage.health.nsw.gov.au/engage and login using your ServiceNSW details. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. Refer to Service NSW to create an account if you don’t already have one.

2. Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required.

3. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child. 

Read a step-by-step guide on how to provide consent online. Translated guides are available in Arabic, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese.

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card or access, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form. Please contact the office if you require a paper form.

The benefits of providing consent online:

• Easily update your child’s details
• Receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
• Faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination .

If you require information in your language, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx

Kind regards

Ms Melinda Alvarez
Assistant Principal

Reminder – Year 7 2028 Prospective Students

20 February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

Attention Parents of Year 7 2028 Prospective Students

This is a final reminder that the application deadline for Year 7 enrolment in 2028 is fast approaching. This includes siblings of any current students.

We strongly recommend submitting your son’s application by 27 March 2026.

Applications received after this date will be placed on the waiting list.

Don’t miss this opportunity to ensure your son’s application is considered for our main intake.

Save the Date: Open Day 2026

We also invite you to join us for our Open Day (3:30pm-6:30pm) on 3 March 2026. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience our College community firsthand.

We encourage you to share this information with family and friends or via your social media networks for anyone interested in joining the Marist College Eastwood family.

Kind regards

Mrs Varteny Khoudesian

Enrolment Secretary

Careers

MCE Careers Website Link mcecareers.com

Uniforms

2nd Hand Uniform Shop – Next open: Thursday, 26 March (Week 9) from 1.30pm-3.00pm. Cash & EFTPOS accepted.

Please note:

• As the school has changed uniform suppliers, uniform sizing has changed and is no longer consistent with previous sizes
• We strongly encourage parents to bring their own measurements when purchasing from the second-hand uniform shop
• The second-hand uniform shop is not responsible for sizing issues, and all sales are final — no refunds or exchanges are available

Donations to the Second Hand Uniform Shop can be dropped off to the College Front Reception during normal school hours. Year 12’s your blazers would be very much appreciated after you graduate.

For more information, please refer to Compass > Community tab (2 heads) > School Documentation > Parent Information and Forms > Uniform Price List & Second Hand Uniform Shop Information