Lumen Christi Catholic College in Pambula Beach has vouched to go plastic-free in the school café as part of a bigger campaign to create a culture that encourages enviro-friendly practices, builds relationships and promotes health and nutrition in the wider school community.

The school has removed all unhealthy food products from their ‘Seaspray Café’ and introduced fresh, healthy options including ‘nourish bowls’ that are made from the school’s seasonal permaculture garden produce.

Meals are served in biodegradable paper packaging with wooden forks that are then composted in worm farms, and food tins from the café are repurposed as planters for the students to grow plants and fresh herbs.

Students have up-cycled locally sourced chairs and repurposed wooden pallets to build café furniture, each featuring succulents and musical instruments. However, recycling at Lumen Christi goes far beyond the Seaspray Café.

Filtered water stations encourage students to refill reusable water bottles, and classrooms are equipped with paper recycling bins and worm farm bins in an effort to reduce waste.

Students take pride in tending to the garden that works hand-in-hand with the café to help put theory into practice when learning about health and nutrition in the classroom.  

School Principal Steven Centra hopes that through educating the students, teachers and parents, the café will be completely plastic-free in the near future.

“There is a way to go here, but we’re on the right track,” he said.

On Wednesday the 18th of July four lucky students from St Monica’s Primary School Evatt and St Gregory’s Queanbeyan represented the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn at a choir recording that will feature on Andrew Chinn’s latest album, “Rise Up!”.

Jennifer, Charlize, Trisha and Louise were joined by 23 students from surrounding Dioceses who had been selected personally by Andrew who had heard each of the children sing at their school or parish over the past two years.

The students recorded vocals on seven songs at the Robertson Brothers Studio in the Blue Mountains and their parents also had the opportunity to record, singing on a song “With A Father’s Heart, With A Mother’s Heart”, inspired by a conversation Pope Francis had with a young boy, Emanuele, whose father had passed away.

“It’s always an amazing moment to hear these voices, from all over the state, sing their first
notes together,” said Andrew Chinn.

“They were a very sweet choir and very efficient. It took us less than two hours to record all seven songs. It was also a lot of fun, plenty of laughter and smiles.”

The album will be released digitally and in CD form in December this year. Recordings in
Melbourne and Adelaide are to follow in July and August.

Catholic Education Director Ross Fox has presented Louise Osborne-Goldsbrough with the ‘Louise Welbourne Prize for Religious Education’ at the ACU Canberra Scholarship Ceremony.

The prize funded by the Catholic Education office is awarded to the highest achieving graduating ACU student in religious education for the Bachelor of Education (Primary) and marks Louise Welbourne’s long and distinguished service to Catholic and religious education, especially in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.

Congratulations Louise, and we wish you all the best in your future studies.

Well done to our dedicated Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn sporting representatives who competed in the NSWCPS/CCC Cross Country on Friday the 13^th of July. You did us proud! 

Primary students that qualified to run at the NSW PSSA Championships are:
Isabella Evans - Lumen Christi, Pambula (2nd)
Matthew Hannan - St Joseph’s, Goulburn(3rd)
Oliver Henderson - McAuley, Tumut (2nd)
Lochie Wilson - St Patrick’s, Gundagai  (5th)

Our NSW All Schools qualifiers who will compete are:
Shayne Hargraves - Carroll College, Broulee (1st)
Ian Tomsett - Carroll College, Broulee (3rd)
Annabel Turner - Hennessy Catholic College, Young (9th) 

NSWPSSA and NSW All Schools Championships results: 27th July 

Shayne Hargraves from Carroll College, Broulee had a podium finish winning the Bronze medal from 203 runners. Ian Tomsett also of Carroll College finished in 28th out of the 84 runners and Annabel Turner from Hennessy Catholic College finished in 87th from the 182 runners in her event.

In the primary schools event Oliver Henderson of McAuley Catholic Central School Tumut finished in 16th Place from the 78 runners, Isabella Evans from Lumen Christi Catholic College finished 24th from 78 and Matthew Hannan from St Joseph’s Goulburn finished 36th from the 75 runners.

Well done to all students. We are very proud of you all!

It was an exciting day for students and teachers on the 3rd of July when Ss Peter & Paul's Primary School Goulburn made the journey to Canberra to visit their sister school, Sts Peter and Paul Primary School Garran. 

A group of 28 Year 11 Hennessy Catholic College students immersed themselves into Cambodian culture these school holiday that built partnerships and changed lives in the process.

Over nine days the students helped build two village houses, supplied a school with laptops, taught English at an orphanage and explored Cambodia’s history as part of the annual school program.

In the eight months leading up to the immersion the fundraising efforts of the students was able to provide building materials for the homes they would go on to build in Siem Reap.

During their stay in Phnom Penh students visited the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison and the ‘Killing Fields’, discovered Ankor Wat Temple, cruised down the Mekong River and visited local temples.

Students were able to experience the Royal Palace and partake in some shopping in Phnom Penh’s famous central and Russian markets.

In-between construction and sight-seeing, students spent quality time getting to know the local children and spent their final day playing with orphaned children at the Sisters of Mercy’s mission.

Hennessy would like to thank the communities of Young, Harden, Boorowa, Cootamundra and Grenfell and also Mitre 10 Young for their continual support of this program.

St Clare’s College Social Justice Captain, Casey Horan, has been named as the winner of the Future Leaders, Future Justice Award for 2018 that recognises Year 12 students across Australia who have shown leadership and initiative on intergenerational equity. 

Casey has displayed signs of being a future leader throughout her time at the College by putting the needs of her peers first and looking at what she can do to better the lives of others.  In Year 10, Casey initiated a Year 10 social justice campaign to support the Share the Dignity charity. Thanks to Casey, the student body donated hundreds of women’s hygiene products and developed a real awareness around the cause.

Last year in her role on the SRC, Casey identified a need for companionship for senior citizens while visiting a local aged-care facility. She set up a Pen Pal initiative between her peers and the senior citizens. Casey continues to develop the relationship with the nursing home and intends to invite the residents to a student-run morning tea later this year.

On her recommendation for the award Principal Brad Cooney said, “Casey approaches all that she does with intelligence, showing a depth of research and humility in her approach to all projects," 

"I believe Casey will continue to be a giving and socially conscientious member of society beyond her school years.”

Casey was presented with the Future Justice Award at the St Clare’s College Semester 1 Senior Award Ceremony on the 25 July 2018.

“At the heart of this place is the Heart of Christ” – the St Thomas Aquinas School Song.

 When the St Thomas Aquinas Year 6 Social Justice Leaders met to discuss the issue of homelessness in their community they turned words into action.

The Social Justice leaders have been very busy not only promoting awareness of this problem but also raising money to support the St Vincent de Paul Society in their work with those who do not have a place to call home.

A small band of students, parents and teachers braved the minus five temperatures to hold a sleep-out to support St Vincent de Paul’s in the school hall. Soup was prepared by many willing hands and after evening prayer, Wes Raymond from St Vincent de Paul talked about the needs of the homeless in Canberra.

The following day the school held “Wear Something Blue for Vinnies Day” to raise funds to assist the Vinnies Night Patrol. The students posed many questions when visiting the Night Van and have since started a lunch time club to provide assistance to those who need a hand-up in West Belconnen.

President of the Archdiocesan Principals Association for Canberra Goulburn and Principal of St Gregory's Primary School Queanbeyan, Claire Frazer, provides us with an introduction to the 2018 Recognition Awards.

We encourage you to make a nomination to recognise the many people in our schools who go above and beyond for the best learning outcomes for our students. To nominate, please click here. 

The Catholic Education community gathered on Friday the 6th of July to celebrate NAIDOC Mass at St Christopher's Cathedral. Thank you to all who attended, and a big congratulations to our 2018 NAIDOC Award recipients.

Sacred Heart Primary School in Pearce celebrated the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander peoples during NAIDOC week through a number of wonderful events that nurtured hearts, minds and spirits.

A prayer celebration was held to showcase the theme ‘Because of her, we can!’, with 3/4 Silver accompanying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in sharing their research about influential Aboriginal women.

Tjupurru from The Didjeribone Show Inspired Sacred Heart students with his musical talents and at assembly, 1/2 Navy acted out the dreamtime story of Tiddalick the Frog, which was a very fitting closure to their inquiry on sustainability.