Newsletter 19 2021 - 26 Nov 2021
What do we long for during Advent?

What do we long for during Advent?

One of the most haunting hymns for Advent is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Often sung as a processional, it is a hymn of longing for the return of Jesus into the world and more importantly into our hearts and into our lives. We prepare with longing for the birth of a child whose love is unfathomable.

This year has been a difficult year and a year when we too have experienced longing:

  • longing for the pandemic to end;
  • longing for restrictions to be lifted;
  • longing for a return to school and to work;
  • longing for a return to “normality”.

Even today as I write this our Premier has tantalised us with the next set of restrictions being lifted – 95% vaccinated or the inclusive 15 December – and we continue to long… 

I imagine that some believe that longing is a negative aspect of the human condition but let us not forget what the longing of COVID-19 has inspired in many people. Their new normal is to change their priorities:

  • family before work;
  • visiting elderly relatives before self;
  • forgiving old grudges;
  • being kind; and
  • being more generous. 

Our longing during Advent is an invitation to a radical realignment of our priorities.

What do we long for at Christmas?

To have more or to be more!

This is the message that is sometimes hidden in the preparations during Advent – preparations that sometimes absorb us so that we miss the opportunity of Advent to reassess our lives.  

While Advent is a powerful liturgical season in its own right, because it is more subtle than Christmas and comes with less drama than the Easter season, it can be missed as a time of preparation not only to receive the love of Jesus again but to share the love of Jesus overflowing through our hearts to others. 

Some days when I have been weary I have longed for an end to the school term, an end to the competing and challenging priorities that are a necessary part of the dynamic of a large secondary College.

I look again and find again that longing that will lift my heart and soul and say O Come, O Come Emmanuel, come and be born in my heart.

Advent begins this weekend… the invitation is there for each of us. 

May the longing for Christ deep in your hearts and homes prepare you and your loved ones for the love that only our Emmanuel can satisfy. 

Mary Leask
Principal
A season of hope and expectation

A season of hope and expectation

The first Sunday of Advent

A few words on Advent in general. Advent transports us back to the longing of the prophets of Israel for the coming of a Saviour. The Saviour has come! But salvation is not complete. We proclaim, ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen’, and then add, ‘Christ will come again.’

Why? Because there is so much ‘unfinished business’ in the work of redemption. Our world and even the lives of believers still appears very ‘unredeemed’. Our salvation is still being worked out.

The first generation of Christians believed that the Lord would return very soon to complete his messianic work. They were dismayed when some believers began to die and still he had not come (1 Thess 4:13-18). The later writings of the New Testament, the four Gospels included, all address this problem. It may be that the Lord will not come tomorrow, next year or even before this generation dies out. But come he will – in a time known only to God (Mark 13:32).

Meanwhile, this time of waiting is not devoid of meaning – like time spent waiting at a bus stop. This ‘in-between’ time is a sacred time, a time for the Church to proclaim the Gospel to every nation (Mark 13:10; Acts 1:6-8). It is a time to make sense of the present, while never giving up the hope that God’s Messiah, Jesus, will have the last word.

Advent is the season that honours and celebrates this waiting aspect of the Christian life. Because we live in the time following the first coming of the Saviour, the prime focus of our waiting and our expectation is upon the second coming of the Lord. But because salvation is not complete, because we are so conscious of a world still ravaged by suffering and violence, we can identify with the prophets and the holy men and women who hung upon the promise of salvation before the first coming of the Lord. Their cries express our own longings and hopes for a liberated and just world.

The second coming of the Lord

The Gospel (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36), taken from Jesus’ long instruction on the future (21:5-38), again focuses upon the second coming of the Lord. It is full of the kind of apocalyptic descriptions and portents that have always excited the fundamentalist religious imagination. They create real difficulty for preachers today. The important thing, I think, is to focus upon the basic intent of such discourse, which is to address the sense of dismay and challenge to hope that calamities of various kinds present. While God may appear to be silent or absent, somehow all these things are held within the divine purpose, which will ultimately win through. The reference to the coming of Jesus as ‘Son of Man’ catches up the vision of Daniel 7:13-14, a text which played a very significant role in early Christian messianic hope. Jesus will come ‘with all his saints.’ The ‘communion of saints’ that unites the Church on earth with all who have gone before us to the Lord and with all those holy ones who lived before his coming, will, at last, be revealed.

While the basic message is one of comfort and reassurance, the second part of the Gospel adopts a more admonitory tone. Believers must be like people expecting visitors but unsure as to when exactly they will arrive. The time of waiting requires attentiveness and a sharp spiritual sense. Anything that dulls the spirit (like not praying and deepening our faith) or causes it to be distracted (absorption in the material excesses of life) must be avoided.

Advent is a time for examination in such areas. It is also a time for exploring our deepest longings and desires and allowing them to surface. They can ride up, so to speak, on the rich Scripture texts that the Church puts before us at this time.

God’s only wish in our regard is to communicate to us the life and love for which we long. Each Advent should expand both our longing and our capacity to receive the gift of God.

Prayer for the week

Advent: A Season of Hope and Expectation

Advent, a time of waiting. A time of year-end busyness. 

Advent, a time of preparation.  A time of hectic tidying up. 

Advent, a time of prayer.  A time of crazy shopping. 

Advent, a time of meditation.  A time of frantic partying. 

Advent, a time of rest. A time of running around meeting deadlines. 

Advent, a time of calm.  A time of cooking special menus. 

Advent, a time for love. 

A time for making space, clearing away the clutter in our hearts, 

Getting rid of bitterness, letting go of grudges, making space for others, 

Making room for the coming of Jesus.

St Angela Merici  ~  Pray for us

St Ursula  ~   Protect our future

Amen.

 

Julie Monk
Religious Education Coordinator
Reminiscing on 200 years of Catholic Education

Reminiscing on 200 years of Catholic Education

Reminiscing on the past 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia this year has been insightful. This milestone reminds us all that, while we are able to fondly reflect on the momentous events of the past, we are also urged to consider what the future of Catholic Education in Australia has the potential to look like. With this in mind, we reached out to our College Principal, Mrs Leask. 

We are so blessed to attend a school that has been built upon Ursuline values. The honour lies with our teachers and leaders who embody the very qualities of our Patron Saint Ursula. When reflecting upon our school with Mrs Leask, it came to our attention that our College culture epitomises the very values that Saint Ursula and Saint Angela sought to inspire the world with. Mrs Leask reflected that it seems to her that our students and teachers at St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove enjoy coming to school. They are here because they are happy to be. 

A bright future for St Ursula’s

Our discussion transitioned beyond the past and present and ventured into the future prospects of the College. Mrs Leask reflected upon her wishes for the future of our school, involving not only the education we receive but the insights we will accumulate about the world beyond our College gates. Our education will be innovative, respective to the individual student and will strive to appeal to all in the ways that we are open to. Mrs Leask is hopeful that our learning will shift from a grade-centred focus to one that is more enlightening and thought-provoking, and which challenges us to consider how our education will serve us outside our school walls. Similarly, Mrs Leask has the vision of integrating our learning so that we do not isolate our subjects from one another but are able to benefit from the amalgamation of each subject’s specialities. 

Ultimately, speaking with Mrs Leask left us feeling very hopeful for the future success of our College. While we are so fortunate to be granted the opportunities we currently have access to, we are also blessed enough to be surrounded by teachers who seek to improve upon our College in every aspect. It is with this in mind that we can concurrently reflect upon how far we have come in the last 200 years and the extent that Catholic Education will continue to excel in the next 200 years.

Sophie and Siena
Year 9 Students

 

Social justice at St Ursula’s in Term 4

Social justice at St Ursula’s in Term 4

The Mirrabooka Student Leadership Team is coordinating the Term 4 Social Justice Outreach Program in support of the Kingsgrove Conference of Vinnies. In consultation with Bernie Deady, Conference President, we are supporting three Vinnies’ services.

Years 7 to 10: Vinnies Christmas hampers and the Marian Centre

Working with our local chapter of the St Vincent de Paul Society, Years 7 to 10 will be packing Christmas hampers. These hampers will be distributed by the OLF Kingsgrove Mini Vinnies.

Year 10 will be collecting items for those supported by the Marian Centre. This is a crisis accommodation and case management service for women with children who have experienced domestic/family violence and/or homelessness. They provide safe, shared accommodation with individual bedrooms. This is a wonderful way to live their Ursuline value of ACT.

Year 11: Liverpool Men’s Centre

Year 11 will be collecting items for those supported by the Liverpool Men’s Centre. This centre is a crisis accommodation and case management service for unaccompanied men. They provide safe, shared accommodation with individual bedrooms. We have been supporting this centre with meals each Wednesday evening for the past year as part of our One Meal Kingsgrove service.

I thank you for your support and look forward to keeping the Serviam spirit alive for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Antoinette Nader
Assistant Religious Education Coordinator
Year 8 show their gratitude in creative ways

Year 8 show their gratitude in creative ways

After a productive Pastoral Care session on gratitude, where students chronicled how grateful they felt about their lives in ‘gratitude journals’, Year 8 visited Dowsett Park to enjoy each other’s company and participate in a special ‘welcome back’ activity.

Students were asked to bring in a large picnic rug for their PC group and decorate it with food items that represented their PC letter. Well done to 8L, the winners of the decorating competition. 8B placed as the runner-up group.

Overall, this was an excellent chance for Year 8 to celebrate being back with each other and their PC teachers.

Steven Baker
Year 8 Coordinator
Year 10 feed their families with fine dining

Year 10 feed their families with fine dining

As part of their assessment task for Basic Methods of Cooking, Year 10 Hospitality students recently prepared a 3-course fine dining takeaway dinner for their families. The students planned their courses and spent the entire day in the kitchen cooking up a storm for 80 people! 

Emma Smith
TAS Teacher
Year 8 artists make their mark with charcoal

Year 8 artists make their mark with charcoal

Since their return from remote learning, Year 8 Visual Arts students have been discovering the art of making marks with charcoal and learning the century-old technique of Chiaroscuro. This is a technique where artists create dramatic light and dark in a drawing. Our Year 8 artists looked at macro images in nature and successfully recreated these images in charcoal. Well done, everyone!

Suzanne Montague
Visual Arts / PVDI Teacher
Year 7 Drama let their imaginations run free

Year 7 Drama let their imaginations run free

Year 7 Drama is part of the Physical Activity Rotation. On Tuesday, my Year 7.4 class unpacked all the props and costumes in the Drama Room to create fantastical worlds within which they could create improvised scenes. The students were excited to drag out all of the props, costumes and anything else they were able to find in the Drama Room to help bring to life their scenes.

Plenty of fun was had by all, with lots of learning taking place as they explored time, place and situation through theatre.

Tania Smeaton 
Drama Teacher
Visual Art student’s big win at the Lockdown Arts Festival

Visual Art student’s big win at the Lockdown Arts Festival

We are very happy to announce to the community that Year 11 Visual Arts student Jessica Taouk has been awarded First Prize in the Visual Arts Sculptural – Upper Secondary category of the Lockdown Arts Festival, which was facilitated by Sydney Catholic Schools.

We congratulate Jessica on her stunning achievement and her wonderful artwork titled Just One Chance.

You can enjoy seeing and reading about her artwork by going to the Sydney Catholic Schools’ Lockdown Arts Festival website here.

 

Mary Hayman
Visual Arts Coordinator
 

 

 

Year 9 enjoy a neighbourhood stroll and picnic

Year 9 enjoy a neighbourhood stroll and picnic

Due to COVID-19, our regular sports activities could not go forward as scheduled. Instead, Mrs Mott planned for our Year 9 Year Group to spend some time walking around the local neighbourhood and having a picnic at Dowsett Park.

It was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with our friends and it was a great, relaxing way to finish the day off after having a test in the morning. After the 40-minute walk, it was great to see everyone having a giggle and enjoying quality time with their friends. We almost forgot that we had to go back to school. This shows that this activity was a huge success and I would recommend doing this more often.

 
Joyee Rozario
Year 9 Student

 

Learning new skills and embracing physical activity

Learning new skills and embracing physical activity

Sport is not only good for our physical health but also leaves a positive impact on our wellbeing and improves social health, as it gives us the opportunity to have fun socialising with our classmates. After missing out on group sports during the lockdown, it has been enjoyable to experience different types of sports in our physical activity outings over the last couple of weeks. 

My Year 8 class and three other classes are participating in Rugby League skills at Gilchrist Park. The NRL instructors set up four stations that focus on the different aspects of the game, some of which include ball work (passing/kicking the football), tagging, speed skills, footwork and COVID-safe tackling skills using a bag. The experienced instructors make the activities fun and exciting. Everyone is given the opportunity to get involved and perhaps experience a sport that they may not have had the chance to be involved with before. I am looking forward to learning more about the game and developing my skills.

Jasmine O’Connor
Year 8 Student

 

Online Newman Symposium

Online Newman Symposium

In 2021 we are celebrating the talents of our Newman students a little bit differently. 

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will once again be presenting our Newman Symposium online.

The theme for this year’s symposium will tie into our College theme for the year – “Chase the Change”.

Each Newman class has to put together a 2- 3 minute film clip / video or presentation which represents students’ reflections on their learning and extension work in their Newman class this year.

All presentations will be collated onto a Newman Symposium website and will able to be viewed by the College community on Wednesday 1 December. A notification will come out via Compass Newsfeed.

We love this photo (main image) from a past Newman Symposium – these girls are now in Year 11 and one of them is our College Vice Captain in 2022!

Jo McKeown
Leader of Teaching and Learning Innovation
Amadeus Music Education Program

Amadeus Music Education Program

This week Sydney Catholic Schools launched its ground-breaking Amadeus Music Education Program, the biggest and most ambitious investment in music education ever undertaken in Sydney schools.

Amadeus is being rolled out to all 150 Sydney Catholic Schools after a successful pilot in 2021 and we are thrilled to announce that our Years 7 and 8 students will get to experience this high-quality music program from 2024. Amadeus will provide students in Years 7 and 8 with a string, woodwind or brass instrument to learn, as well as classroom music lessons. This program will be delivered by specialist music tutors, as well as classroom teachers.

Amadeus enables access and equity to music education for our students, regardless of abilities and music backgrounds. It is underpinned by research that proves that learning an instrument and playing in a musical ensemble strengthens neural pathways in the brain and can significantly improve academic success and student engagement. 

The scale of Amadeus is enormous and the numbers tell the story: 52,000 instruments, 270 specialist music tutors and 33,000 students across 150 schools. It is a monumental project to roll out a program of this scale, which is why it is being launched in stages across the Sydney Catholic Schools’ network. We are so excited that Amadeus will be coming to our school and we will be able to provide you with more detailed information about the program, how it will run and the specific instrumental opportunities for our students next year.

In the meantime, you can find further information about the scale and ambition of this innovative program on the Amadeus page of the Sydney Catholic Schools’ website where you will find a brochure and other details on the program.

Uniform shop in-store sales – 27 November 2021 to 1 February 2022

Uniform shop in-store sales – 27 November 2021 to 1 February 2022

From Saturday 27 November 2021 until Monday 1 February 2022  in-store sales at the Taleb Uniform Shop in St Peters will be by appointment only.

In this way, Taleb hopes to eliminate the waiting time for customers on busy days and provide a COVID-19 safe environment. 

We recommend making a booking to purchase your uniforms before school returns.

Customers who come to the uniform shop without an appointment will be asked to wait until there is a gap in the booking schedule. 

Customers also have the option to shop online.

Please visit schooluniformshop.com.au to make a booking or shop online.