Dear Staff, Parents and Friends of the College,
We only have 12 more school days left of Term 1. Because it is an exceptionally long term of 11 weeks, students are looking tired and teachers too. The stresses and strains of school life amidst the ongoing background of Pandemic legislation and compliance has added to the strain on all schools across Australia. This strain is causing more and more teachers to take leave or look for other areas of employment outside of teaching. The nation is predicting a short fall of 4000 teachers over the next few years, which means that less and less subjects will be available and more and more pressure will be placed on the teachers who are still available.
This is one of the reasons why our school has faced an unprecedented 10 weeks of relief teacher shortage and staff absence due to exhaustion and illness. The staff who have remained, have had to cover additional classes while still trying to find time to prepare and run their own classes. Over the past 3 weeks two of our staff have been hospitalised but neither for Covid related reasons. I am relating this information so that parents understand the pressure schools are under. I am asking for an increase in prayers for our teachers who are doing a tremendous job but are struggling under the weight of the cross God has sent us to bear during this Lent.
On a happier note, parents may remember that I made a promise in my Principal’s address last February that I would work to reduce the consolidated fees charged per student. I am pleased to announce that we have already been able to achieve a significant saving for parents. The Government is offering funding to run camps this year.
Our school has qualified for this funding, so the three-day Secondary camps, that we will be running in May, will be entirely funded by the Government. This equates to a saving of $300 per student. I need to remind parents that attendance at these camps is not optional and therefore all Secondary students are required to attend.
One more bit of good news is that we are hoping to resume 8:40am Masses at school from Term 2 onwards. Due to our students having classes during the time of these Masses, the scheduling of these Masses will be determined by the availability of men to serve each Mass. In other words, we will only be able to resume 8:40am Masses at the College to the degree that faithful attend in reasonable numbers (10 or more) and men are available to serve each day. If the 8:40am resumes again at the College, it may well replace the 8:40am Mass at Corpus Christi Church. The school would appreciate an indication of support for this undertaking. If you would like to support it by your attendance or availability to serve the Mass, please email the College at office@stac.vic.edu.au
Sincerely yours in the Two Hearts,
Father Andrew Cranshaw
Principal