Wednesday, 8 June 2016 Dear Parents, Champagnat s Feast Day As I am sure everyone in our community knows, Monday 6 June was the Feast Day of St. Marcellin Champagnat. We celebrated a beautiful Mass in Fourvière. So what does all this mean? Why is it relevant to us? From a history perspective the life of St Marcellin is important to us all. Put simply, had he not begun the Marist Brothers then our College would not exist. But let us look deeper than that. Marcellin wanted Jesus to be known and loved. Initially this dream was for the poor boys in rural France. As time went on his dreams grew and by the time of his death he had expressed his wish for Marists to be in every diocese of the world. In many ways Marcellin was an ordinary man. He was from a poor country family and he received a very limited education. However, his faith in God and his determination enabled him to create a life that made a difference to so many people. His faith enabled him to create a family of brothers that 200 years later is working in schools and ministries all over the world. We belong to that Marist family. The Catholic Church has saints to enable us to have examples and inspirations for us in our own lives. Marcellin is an example for us all. It is important to note that our focus of adoration is not Marcellin. This was clearly not his intention either. Marcellin was clear to all that Jesus must be the focus of our attention and that Mary was the ideal disciple whose example we should follow. His desire was to lead everyone to Jesus, through Mary. This remains our focus. That is why, on Monday, we celebrated the Eucharist. Yes Marcellin is our inspiration. But he is merely the entry point into the greater story, which is the story of Jesus. On Monday we celebrated our place in the worldwide Marist family. We thank Marcellin for his dream and commitment and we fulfil his wishes by focussing on Jesus. I think Marcellin would like the beginning to our College prayer: Jesus our friend, Guide us in our search for wisdom. Year 5 & 6 Transition On Tuesday we had over 80 students from Year 4 and Year 5 enjoy a Transition Day with us at Marist. It was an excellent day and the feedback from the students as they left was very positive. A significant highlight of the day was the way our Year 8 students led the day. All the activities were run by students and they were superb in their manners and kindness. At the end of the day each student received their enrolment form. These are due in by Tuesday 21 June. It was pleasing to stand on the Avenue and welcome so many of our current families with a younger sibling in hand. I really enjoy seeing our current families content, involved and committed to the model of learning we are developing and the sense of community they are helping us to build. La Trobe visit Our Year 7 students had a really enjoyable day visiting La Trobe University on Tuesday. The day provided our students with a chance to explore the Bendigo campus and speak to students about what they are currently studying. I hope for most of our young students that the day is the initial spark in considering studying at university at the end of Year 12. La Trobe are very clear that the partnership is not to be an advertisement for just La Trobe. The clear hope is that students become inspired to further study at university whether that be here in Bendigo or one of the many universities across Australia. Please find time to talk about the experience your child had and what doors it may have opened in their thinking. Perhaps explore together what jobs they could have by going to university. It may seem a long way away for a 12 year old, but the research shows us that ambitions to study further help motivate students in their early secondary years of learning.
Sports Tuesday was also a busy day on the sporting front with Marist having students represent us in badminton, soccer and netball at Years 7 and 8. Whilst none of our teams progressed to the next stage our students all had an enjoyable day. Thank you to the staff and parents who attended to support and to coach the teams. Last week our cross country students participated in the regional finals. Congratulations to Lily Gautum and Jack Fry who have both qualified to represent us at the state finals. Building updates The last few weeks have seen some visible progress on both building sites. The Year 9-12 building has much more framework up and the elevator shaft is now at its full height. The contractors who build our signature rammed earth walls are on site over the next few weeks and this will begin to show the spectacular nature of this significant building. The joint use facility also has extensive framework going up and the dimensions of the indoor court are starting to become evident. The height of the building is also beginning to become clearer. The main oval has certainly benefitted from the recent rains. Both these projects remain on target for completion by January 2017. Staff professional learning On Thursday night all staff will attend the second session of professional learning as part of our partnership with CAMHS. After this second full staff session the focus then moves to our facilitator working with all the 1:14 Educators in small groups over a number of weeks. A reminder that Friday is a student free day. 1:14 Educators will use this day to focus on corrections and preparations for the upcoming learning circles. Positions of leadership and staffing Now that our enrolments are starting to be finalised our planning attention moves to staffing recruitment for 2017. This includes developing our positions of leadership structures to provide the best possible learning environment over the coming years. We intend to advertise for Educators for next year in two weeks. This will enable us to have all these positions finalised by about week 7 of next term. Long weekend I hope our families all enjoy the long weekend and our students return on Tuesday refreshed and ready for two strong weeks to finish off Term Two. Yours sincerely, Darren McGregor Principal IMPORTANT DATES 10 June Student free day Correction Day 10 June Foundation (prep) enrolments close 13 June Queen s Birthday Public Holiday 16 June Learning circles 20 June Learning circles 21 June Year 5 & 6 2017 enrolments close 24 June Last day term two 95 Golf Links Road Maiden Gully VIC 3551 Postal: 39 Pata s Road Maiden Gully VIC 3551 Tel: 5400 1252 Email: principal@marist.vic.edu.au ABN: 48 218 856 996 A Member of Marist Schools Australia
Notification to Parents Changes to Country School Bus Travel Crusoe College interchange Effective Wednesday 15 th June 2016 Dear Parent \ Guardian, As from Wednesday 15 th June there will be a temporary change (approximately 12 week period) to the interchange at Crusoe College due to roadworks at the intersection of Mackenzie St West and Olympic Pde. The function of the Crusoe College interchange will be relocated to Collin St, 70 metres from the Crusoe College site in a safe location. Temporary changes as follows; Students accessing buses by Floods, Christians and Godkins are to use Collins St. Students accessing buses by Houlahans, Davies and Maffesconi s are to use Olympic Parade There will be 2 Supervisors engaged at Collins St to ensure the safety of students interchanging and waiting for their respective buses (1 supervisor at either end of the temporary interchange to supervise the students whilst they are awaiting their bus). Regards Lynn Bus Coordintation office Bendigo Region buscoord@bse.vic.edu.au Phone: 03 44 334317 Fax: 03 54 434362
8 June 2016 Dear Families, This year Marist College Bendigo will be participating in the RACV Energy Breakthrough competition in Maryborough. The Energy Breakthrough began in 1991 when the Country Education Project began seeking new ways to engage young people in regional Victoria with a wider range of challenges. The program encourages participants to examine and use the latest technology while considering its impact on the environment and the way people live locally and globally. School groups work throughout the year to design, build and test vehicles or machines within detailed specifications. It requires a team effort and an across-the-curriculum approach. These groups then bring their vehicles and machines to Maryborough in November, for a huge celebration in which they can demonstrate and trial them in action. We are looking for sponsorship to provide our Energy Breakthrough team with supplies for the event, leading up to the event and our trikes. To be specific, some of the things we will need are: Marquees Food supplies Uniform Gear (drink bottles, cleats, etc.) Material & resources needed to make vehicles If your business decides to sponsor the Energy Breakthrough team it will benefit your company in many ways. Your company logo will be represented on the trike, uniform and in the school newsletter. In previous years it is estimated that 20,000 people attended the event which means that 20,000 people will see your company being advertised. We have many different levels of sponsorship depending on how much you are willing and able to offer. The level of sponsorship will influence the amount and prominence of advertising of your business. $3000+ = Platinum Sponsorship trike named after company, name on shirt (back & front of shirt), name in newsletter. $1500 - $2999 = Gold Sponsorship name on trike (large font), name on shirt (back of shirt), name in newsletter. $500 - $1499 = Silver Sponsorship name on trike (medium font), name on shirt (back of shirt), name in newsletter. Under $500 = Bronze Sponsorship name in newsletter and name on trike (small font.) If you would like to sponsor the Marist Energy Breakthrough please contact the EBT fundraising representative Tia Chapman: TChapman75@marist.vic.edu.au Kind regards, Tia Chapman and the Marist Energy Breakthrough Team. 95 Golf Links Road Maiden Gully Vic 3551 Postal: 39 Patas Road Maiden Gully Vic 3551 Tel: 5400 1252 Email: info@marist.vic.edu.au ABN: 48 218 856 996 A Member of Marist Schools Australia