Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox College - Newsletter

Kindergarten & Year 7 2021 - 2025 Enrolments

All parents are advised that vacancies for both 2021 Kindergarten and Year 7 have been filled, completed and closed, with 2022 enrolled to a approximately 50% at this stage. 

For 2021 all Primary and most Secondary years are closed.  Positions therefore will only occur once students from respective years withdraw to create a vacancy.

Again this year, it has come to my attention that there are possibly some existing parents that have yet to enrol their Kindergarten child for next year, thinking that as they are existing parents their children are automatically enrolled. 

Whilst this is partly correct, all existing families WILL get given first priority …. however, All families still need to apply and register their children well in advance.  The school cannot assume you are going to enrol your child even if you have other children here as parents sometimes make the choice for alternate schools depending on their circumstances.  

Any further Applications will be placed on the Waiting List only.  As vacancies occur, offers will be forwarded accordingly according to a date recorded priority order so that equity is afforded to all on the Waiting List in same/similar situations.

So, I encourage ALL families to please Apply and Register your children at your earliest convenience to avoid being informed that your child will have to be placed on a Waiting List as I cannot remove a Registered child from the class list just to place the late applicant’s child in.

Applications and Registrations are currently being taken for KINDERGARTEN & YEAR 7 - 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 

All SMC Year 6 students are automatically enrolled in Year 7 2021 at the school.  However, if you are not considering continuing at SMC for Year 7, PLEASE advise the school at your earliest convenience in writing as available vacancies are limited for external applicants.

It is with great pleasure that following an extensive process of external and internal interviews and assessments of applicants, I am able to announce the successful appointment of Ms Mary Williams to the position of Head of Secondary Students, effective commencement of 25 May, 2020 and in action from Term 3 onwards.

This is an exciting addition to our College and school Executive and comes from an initiative and decision from the previous Board last December 2019 who wanted to assist and improve our College with a further focus on the College's pastoral program by establishing an executive position whose responsibility will be purely centred on the overall pastoral and behaviour management of secondary students along with pastoral development implementations.

The position will also drive suitable and complimentary programs to be implemented that would enhance and relate closely to the ethos of the College, and in line with the focus of the position, be accountable and respond to student issues in a thorough, timely, and a manner that would reinforce the values of the College and what we all want and expect within our values. 

Possible student disciplinary measures therefore are within this position's brief and as a member of the Executive, that these measures are delivered with a just and fair outcome taking all aspects into account including procedural fairness.  Whilst the position is permitted to issue discipline measures as required, including suspensions there will continue to be consultation with the Executive on more serious and severe cases.

In accepting this promotion position, there will be some adjustments made to Ms Williams' Mathematics classes and also her current position as House Patron St Marina.  Regarding the latter, we offer our congratulations to Mrs Tarazi who will replace Ms Williams as House Patron St Marina commencing next term for the remainder of the Semester 2 2020 period.  The College is currently working on a Year Coordinator/Stage Coordinator structure to be introduced for the commencement of the 2021 academic year.

We sincerely thank the previous Board for this initiative and know that the addition of this executive position will enhance the College substantially.  We ask you to join us in congratulating Ms Williams, one of our own dedicated Staff who was successful in this position on merit from a bank of amazing applicants from within SMCOC, and external from the College under the direction of our educational consultant, Mr David Bartlett of Resolve Education Services.

Feast of the Pentecost

On 7 June 2020, Orthodox Churches celebrate the Feast of Pentecost (Fiftieth day); One of the Seven Major Feasts of our Lord is the descending of the Holy Spirit on His holy disciples. On this day, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples as tongues of fire, through which they were able to speak in different tongues and preach the good news entrusted to them by our Lord Jesus Christ.

This gift is the promise of the Father to the human race. After the Son reconciled the Father with the human race by giving Himself up as a sacrifice on the Holy Cross, and after giving our human body the capability of living with God through His Ascension, God the Father poured on us the grace and blessings of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to live by the Spirit with God while we’re still on earth.

The feast is called “the Feast of Pentecost (Arabic: Ansara),” a Hebrew word that means, “feast.” Originally this day was a Jewish feast, which was one of their three major feasts: the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year (cf. Ex. 34:22). On this day, the Jews thanked God for the ingathering, and they came from various countries around the world to Jerusalem for this feast (cf. Acts 2:5).

In the New Testament, the Church celebrates this day by commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples: “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts. 2:2-4). In the Dioscolia (chapter 31), it is written: “After ten days from the Ascension, let there be a great feast, for on this day, in the third hour, our Lord Jesus Christ sent us the Paraclete, and we were filled with His gifts and spoke in new tongues.” Also, in the Canons, it is written: “Do not work on Pentecost day, for the Holy Spirit descended on the believers through Christ.”

This day commemorates the institution of the Church and its true beginning, and it marks the beginning of the true service and the preaching of the Apostles and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, the day has a special place in the life and rites of the Church

Sources

(St. Mary Church, S. St. Paul, Minnesota).

http://www.suscopts.org/resources/literature/139/the-holy-spirit-in-the-mysteries-of-the-church/

Dear family and friends,

The wonderful staff at SMCOC have allowed us the privilege and blessing of coming on board to spear head a new Pastoral Care program for our High School students.

We are really excited to work with the College to implement a program that encourages honest and candid conversations with the students that may traditionally be considered as taboo or shameful. The aim is to broaden the students understanding on a variety of topics and themes in a safe and comfortable environment, linking all the issues to our Christian ethos. 

For those who do not know who we are, Exodus Youth Worx (EYW) is a non for profit youth organisation incorporated in 2007. Our organisation consists of highly trained and experienced youth workers, counsellors and teachers who work very closely with Coptic Christian families as well as servants, parish priests and bishops.  

For over 14 years, we have supported thousands of young people and their families by providing them with a community they can trust. We aspire to empower our clients by providing services that support and encourage emotional, physical, mental, social and spiritual growth. We provide access to casework, counselling & psychology, art therapy, social meetings and outings, assistance with food & accommodation, employment training, education workshops and advocacy services.

Many of the families that Exodus Youth Worx serves, face an array of challenges such as domestic violence, trauma, neglect and abuse, drug and alcohol dependency, exclusion from school, unemployment, homelessness. We support young people and their families as they work to turn their lives around to overcome these immense personal challenges. 

Majority of our clients have faced judgement and exclusion in very toxic environments that have made them feel worthless and uninspired. We encourage an extremely inclusive community that is not only informative but filled with the love and acceptance that our Lord Jesus Christ exemplified in His time among us. Practicing unwavering compassion for one another is what we dream for our young Coptic people who are the future of our beautiful ancient culture.    

The Exodus Youth Worx Pastoral Care program removes all stigmas and misunderstandings around who or what society tells our children they should be. Together with families, friends and educators joining forces, let us build a young nation of pioneers who can be bold and courageous in a tumultuous world.

"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity".

(1 Timothy 4:12)