News

Lent and our Ecology – Awareness is great. Action is better!

Our community is developing a range of communal actions during the Lenten season to bring about change in our world.  Fundraising throughout the six weeks of Lent will contribute to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion Campaign “For a Just Future.”  It throws a spotlight on our global challenge and how our aspiration for true justice can transform lives.  We are encouraged during Lent to move beyond awareness to action that changes us, others and the world around us. 

During this time of Lent we also express a commitment “to give up something” and forgo one, or some, of our usual pleasures as a commitment to personal discipline and renewal. Prompted by my children to think about what I will give up for Lent, my mind turned to what I and we as a family could do better in the area of caring for our planet. How could we give up some behaviours that are undermining our planet’s ecology?  

At Tenison Woods College our commitment to care for our planet is inspired by the hope that our children will learn to do the right thing for themselves, their families, our global community, now and for the future. It is important to realise that our commitment to ecological conversion and sustainability also expresses our Catholic identity to stand with the poorest in our society, walking tenderly and living justly for the benefit of our human family. Why do we say this? Because we know that often in situations where our planet is hurting, those affected most by this are the marginalised people, the poor and those with least power to effect change. This therefore seems to me to be a wonderful area for further discussion, reflection, and renewed commitment during Lent.    

As a school, we are working on “giving up” in a whole range of areas that are captured in the progress of the following initiatives: 

• College Waste Management Facility to handle all forms of waste, recycling and reconstituting
• Measuring and reducing power usage
• Lighting replacement and efficiency monitoring
• Solar power commitment and generation
• Paper usage reduction – 30% in 2018
• TREES Innovation Academy

Our commitment is to become a school site and organisational system that preferences the care for our planet in a very deliberate and nuanced way. We are tackling this very intentionally and enthusiastically during Lent, but this platform is a body of work that will keep us busy this year and beyond.

So I ask all families to consider the question: “What could we do better at home that helps us care for our planet? As I move around the school, I look forward to having those conversations with students, parents and staff.

Make your vote count for your child’s education

As we head towards a State Election, parents are encouraged to consider how each political party is promising to support our Catholic schools.

Shaped by our Catholic faith and in partnership with families, our schools are communities which create opportunities for encountering life to the full – in all its personal, religious, political, ecological and cultural richness. We make a significant contribution to the vitality of our State educating 46,000 students. We:

• Help young people to thrive
• Develop capable and competent learners in the pursuit of academic excellence
• Nurture creativity and encourage our students to become good citizens and leaders who strengthen our community

Catholic Education South Australia has asked Political Parties to respond to a number of issues that are important to ensure that every child receives the best education possible.

All six of the major parties have acknowledged the significant contribution of Catholic Education SA and respect the right of parents to choose the school that best meets the needs of their child. 

Please go to the Catholic Education South Australia website to:

• Compare what each party is offering
• Read the full statement supplied by each of the six major parties
• Explore other resources

Be My Witness – Renewal in our Community

In our Sunday Parish Bulletin this week Father Dean Marin wrote:

“The Parish Councils of both Mount Gambier and Millicent, with other parish leaders gathered during last week to begin the Be My Witness renewal process for parishes. The program which comes from Renew International in the USA is based on the first Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, the Joy of the Gospel. It embraces his vision in calling us all to a “renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ” as his disciples and then to renew our parishes, again in his works, “as centres of constant missionary outreach.” The first phase of the program is the formation of parish leaders who will work on a Parish Vision for the renewal of our parishes and then lead us all to confidently witness our faith in new ways in our families, with our workmates, neighbours and all in the broader community. As disciples we are called by Jesus to “make disciples of all nations” and we are always on a mission to evangelize others and lead them to Christ.

This program is the next step for us as part of the renewal that is happening in the whole of our Archdiocese and incorporates most of the 8 Characteristics of Parishes on the journey of renewal.

After Easter we hope to formally launch the program at Sunday Masses so as to engage with everyone in the process. In the meantime, please continue to pray for the “renewal in faith of all the members of our parish communities.”

We are delighted as a school community to be supporting Father Dean and The Parish Pastoral Council in this significant initiative for our local Catholic community.

BYOD at Tenison Woods College

Thank you to the Senior School families who have supported the Bring Your Own Device approach this year with all the challenges and successes that it has brought for the family.  I remind families, for more information about the BYOD program, obtaining free Microsoft Office software and device options, please visit the Portal@TWC help site. It is a wonderful resource prepared and curated by our committed ICT Support Team.

Skoolbag

The College communication application, Skoolbag, is making a difference to busy families, by helping them stay abreast of all the critical information to support their children. Skoolbag is a school mobile app that communicates directly with iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows phone devices to provide instant school notifications and information at your fingertips. It enables the College to easily inform you about school news, events, cancellations, notices and also provide access to the weekly newsletter. 

While many parents are choosing to access Skoolbag on their mobile device, if you don’t use a smartphone, the same information will also be accessible by viewing the Skoolbag app section of the College website home page.

Board Annual General Meeting

I remind parents and caregivers of the Annual General Meeting of the Tenison Woods College Board, which will be held on Wednesday 28 March at 7:30pm in the Pam Ronan Centre.  Nominations are sought for people interested in serving on the Board this year.  The associated correspondence has been forwarded to families by email.

The AGM follows the annual Twilight Tour which will take place at the College at 6.00pm.

Community Feedback Greatly Appreciated

Late last year families were asked to complete our annual Satisfaction Survey and then recently this year parents were asked to complete a Communication Survey. Thank you to the many people who took the time to offer their thoughts about how they have experienced the College. This feedback is critical to us and assists us in developing our strategies, policies and processes going forward as a community committed to the highest quality service to our families.

Parish Planned Giving Rebate

I remind families that parents contributing to the St Paul’s Planned Giving may claim a rebate from Tuition Fees of 50% of their contribution up to a maximum claim of $750. Official Parish receipts are to be presented to the Business Manager after the 30 June 2018 for a deduction to be made.

Enrolment of Students

I am very pleased to see that the College is experiencing significant demand in relation to enrolments. To assist with our medium and long term planning I encourage parents to lodge an enrolment form with the school as soon as they have made a decision to enrol their child at the school. For some families this decision is made very early in the newborn’s life and contacting the school at this time, no matter how early it may seem, will assist us to plan in the best possible way for your child’s experience of education in our College community.  Should you wish to discuss this further please contact our College Registrar, Tracey Davey via email or on 08 8725 5455.

God Bless.

David Mezinec | Principal

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