Pastoral Care News

A warm welcome back to school to all our Marian families; new and old. I trust that everyone is settling in and adjusting to the new school year. For the families that have just started at Marian I hope your child is finding the experience positive and not too overwhelming. The transition for students from primary school to high school is extremely significant. They are no longer the big fish in the little pond; but now the complete opposite. Even as an adult change can seem quite daunting but there is plenty of support available if you or your child have any concerns or questions.

My role as Pastoral Care Worker at the school is to provide additional support; including practical, social or emotional. I am not a teacher, but a youth worker, therefore, the students address me by my first name and see me involved in many activities; both within the classroom and the playground.

My main role at the school is to facilitate the Community Action Team aka “The C.A.T.”. This program is a structured and active body of students (Year 7 to Year 10) within the school community who aim to make a difference to those who are poor, disadvantaged and marginalised. The team follows the guidelines and Christian values as identified by the St Vincent de Paul Youth Conference and through small acts of kindness; hope to make a positive impact and show those who are less fortunate, that somebody does care about their well-being. The group meets regularly and provides an opportunity for students to be exposed in a structured way to SEE, THINK and DO for those within the community. The “C.A.T” also provides a wonderful opportunity for students to socialise with like-minded people and strengthen and develop relationships with their peers across all year levels.

Activities we have previously been involved with include creating personal care packs for those who are; or at risk of being homeless, conducting a canned food drive, cooking for CAREVAN, knitting blankets to be distributed to those in need in third world countries as well as continuing the MCC tradition of donating Christmas hampers to St Vincent de Paul which are distributed to families in need within our local community.

We have also established a uniform clothing pool of quality garments generously donated by MCC families to be given to those in need. Currently I have many older sport uniforms in a range of sizes and in great condition. If anyone would like to access these please contact me. If you require other items please let me know and I will pass them on to you if/when available.

Whilst the “C.AT.” is the driving force behind many of these activities it is through the generosity and support of the whole school community that we have been able to successfully achieve our goals. This week students in year 10 were invited to attend an information session at lunch time in the hope that they would be encouraged to nominate for the positions of office bearers and lead the team for the year.

As well as those in leadership positions we need enthusiastic members to help deliver all our programs or activities. We will announce our 2020 Leaders early next week and invite ALL interested students (Yr 7 to 10) to attend a meeting, lunchtime Wednesday 12th to meet our team and become involved; particularly any new students who would like to find out a little bit more about what we do.

We are always excited at the beginning of each year when we get to meet a new, enthusiastic group of students who wish to get involved with social justice and are passionate about making the world a better place for all.

Sue Hone

Pastoral Care Worker