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Welcome back to Term Two, our Pentecost Term. In the Catholic tradition, Pentecost marks the start of the Christian faith as we know it. The Pentecost event was transformative for all those who were gathered in that room over 2,000 years ago. What was once a group of frightened, disillusioned, uncertain individuals, now experienced something that transformed them. They, collectively, realised what they were called to be and drew upon their strengths, their capacities, their knowledge, their identity to enrich the lives of others with their story – that we are called to serve with love and justice, using our gifts to bring hope and change to the world.

It is this message that we aim to bring to life every day in our students’ lives. We are certain that each and every one of us brings something unique to the Thomas Carr Community. Our Time to Shine Program, that runs every Tuesday at the start of the day, encourages our students to develop their strengths, their capacities, their knowledge, and their identity to enrich and enhance not only their learning journey, but the life of the Community as a whole. Our Time to Shine Program focusses on developing in our students social, emotional, spiritual, and academic attributes for success. Through explicit teaching, collaborative and experiential learning, and through the application of these learnings, our students are able to learn ways to let their light shine.

From exploring the notion of generosity to engaging with cyber-safety; from using our character strengths to build our community to learning how to organise and manage our learning time; from developing skills for respectful interactions to acquiring effective study skills, our Time to Shine Program addresses explicitly the personal skills and attributes our students need to not only ensure better life outcomes, but to also bring light and hope into the world.

In the coming weeks we have many opportunities for our students to “shine”. The more engaged our students are with the co-curricular life of the College, the more connected they are, and the stronger their mental health and academic outcomes are. Joining clubs and connecting with club members improves low mood and creates a space for support should the need arise. This article from familyaware.com explains the many good things that can come out of connecting through clubs. Our Luminosity Program offers myriad groups and activities for our students to engage their skills and attributes so that they can have fun, learn something new, connect with others, bring their gifts and talents to the forefront, and make a difference in our community. Please take the time to encourage your child to take up these opportunities so that their school experience is one of breadth and depth.

As we move ahead during this long term, know that the College community is always reaching out and finding ways to ensure our young people can not only engage and connect, but also flourish and thrive. As always, if you have any concerns about your child’s learning journey then please contact their Pastoral and Learning Mentor to begin the conversation. In this, our Pentecost Term, we focus on the gifts we bring to the Thomas Carr Community and find ways we can all spread the Good News that we are all loved as and called to be our authentic selves. Our goal is to not “play small” but to shine so we can best “serve the world”.

Ivanka Spiteri
Deputy Principal, Student Engagement and Wellbeing