Volume 7, 2024

Christianity and Our Digital World

‘But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires’ (Romans 13:14)

Our faith is a faith of action, we are called to be active in prayer, reading of scripture and service to others. Through our faith we should not be coasting through life like jellyfish floating around in the current of contemporary culture. We are to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and set our course based on the guidance of the word of God.

It can be so easy to pick up a device and scroll through life, immersing ourselves in what our society values and what the latest ‘trends’ are. This is not to say that our devices are not helpful, but only that the current of our society can be so strong that very quickly we can be dragged out to sea. So, what can we do?

Be aware of the hook of constant curiosity. Our digital age allows us never-ending discovery, which can be great, but can distract us from the very moment before us. It surprises me how often I catch myself doing exactly what I have been wanting to do and yet going on my phone to look at other things, missing the exact thing I wanted to enjoy.

The virtual world is somewhat empty. Amazingly we can spend so much time and effort into virtual spaces that may not provide any real connection. We have one life to live, all our gifts and abilities are given by a real God, to be used in a real world.

The chase for created things, rather than creator God. For me this is the real trap, how often do I look at someone’s curated social media post and think ‘oh, that would be nice’, ‘I’d like that’ or ‘why do they have all the luck?’.

St Paul says in Roman in the passage that we are to ‘make no provision for the flesh’, that we are to not let contemporary culture – which can be very attractive – distract us from the relationship we have with God. Our digital world can increase our awareness of the beauty of God’s creation, however; it must like all things point direct our gaze towards the creator God.

Class Masses

This week class masses recommenced at the College, with students from Year 7 and Year 8 having the opportunity to celebrate mass with our local Parish Priests. Class mass is a valuable opportunity for our students to connect with the faith and develop an understanding of the personal relationship that they can have with God through the liturgy of the word and celebration of the Eucharist.

In 2024 we have been blessed to have a number of Parish Priests who are assisting in supporting the College. This week we welcomed Fr Sebastian (All Hallows Five Dock), Fr John (St Martha’s Strathfield), Monsignor Henryk (Holy Innocence Croydon), Fr Joti (St Vincent’s Ashfield), Fr Kim (St Joseph's Enfield), Fr Paul (St Mary’s Concord) and Fr Michael (St Mark’s Drummoyne) to the College.

Winter Sleepout 2024

On Friday, 14 June the College will be holding its Winter Sleepout. The event provides students with an opportunity to gain insights into homelessness and a taste of the challenges faced sleeping ‘rough’ during winter.

A letter was sent to families last week outlining the event in which students will be asked to fundraise/donate to secure a position (limited to 150 spots) on the night. All monies will be used to purchase items to make up packs that will be donated to Streetheart, a charity that supports individuals on the streets of Sydney.

Beanies for Brain Cancer

Also on Friday, 14 June, our Year 12 students will be running a ‘Beanie for Brain Cancer’ fundraiser. Students have the opportunity to purchase a beanie via the Parent Portal and collect the beanie on Friday, 14 June. All monies will be supporting the Mark Hughes Foundation.

Please see the letter sent to families for more information.

Term 3 Weekly Representative Sport Sign Up

Sign ups are now open for Term 3 weekly Representative Sports. Sports offered by the Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Sport Association are: AFL, Rugby 7s and Tennis. All sports are offered to both boys and girls. Students who are interested in trying out for one of these teams must sign up via TASS Extra Curricular by 3pm Wednesday, 29 May. The sign up must also be approved by a parent and submitted to school before the closing date.



Term 2 Representative Sport Teams off to a Strong Start

Term 2 sees over 250 students across our Representative Football (Soccer) and Netball teams compete in the Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Conference 2 Competition each week. With clear training commitment, our teams are focused and ready to face any opposition. This has been reflected in the strong results from all teams so far, despite the wet start to the season. Congratulations to all teams for the teamwork and camaraderie they’ve shown so far and we look forward to seeing them continue to improve throughout the season.



On Tuesday, 14 May, 20 students represented Rosebank at the Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Conference 2 Table tennis Championships at the Sport Centre, Sydney Olympic Park. In what was a highly competitive day, our teams showed their dominance and that their hard work at training paid off. Congratulations to all students for their efforts throughout the whole season, particularly at the gala day.

• Boys Junior 1st Place - Isaac A & Luca S
• Boys Junior 3rd Place - Ethan A & Ethan B
• Boys Intermediate 2nd Place - Alex Q & Jacob W
• Girls Intermediate 3rd Place - Gabrielle D & Isabel W

Based on results, the following students will now go on to represent Rosebank at the SCS Table Tennis Sydney Championships on Tuesday, 4 June: Isaac A, Luca S, Alex Q, Jacob Wong



Sydney Catholic Schools Team Selection

Recently, Rosebank has had a number of students selected to trial for a position in a Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Sport team. Selection to trial is highly competitive as it brings together the best athletes from all of the Sydney Catholic Schools. Congratulations to all students who were selected to trial and a special mention to the following students who were selected into the SCS team. This is a fantastic achievement and they will now go on to represent SCS at the NSWCCC (NSW Combined Catholic Colleges) Championships.

• Madeleine M (Year 10 Vaughan) - SCS 15s Netball Team
• Elise S (Year 11 Vaughan) - SCS Opens Netball Team
• Mikayla D (Year 11 Hayes) - SCS Opens Girls Football (Soccer) Team
• Laura E (Year 11 Cassidy) - SCS Opens Girls Football (Soccer) Team
• Mia M (Year 10 Hayes) - SCS Opens Girls Football (Soccer) Team
• Matthew K (Year 10 McLaughlin) - SCS Opens Boys Football (Soccer) Team
• Aidan R (Year 11 McLaughlin) - SCS Opens Boys Football (Soccer) Team
• Alexander T (Year 11 Cassidy) - SCS Opens Boys Football (Soccer) Team
• Rhiannon B (Year 11 Dwyer) - SCS Opens Girls Rugby League Team
• Lee H (Year 12 Adamson_ - SCS Open Boys Rugby League Team

Hockey Success for Rosebank Students



Over the weekend on 11 and 12 May in Taree, Dylan U (Year 8 Caulfield) and Oliver H (Year 7 Vaughan) participated at the U14s Boys NSW State Championships. Representing SEHA (Sydney East Hockey Association), the boys put forward strong performances all weekend. In the group stages the team finished second (4 wins and 1 loss) losing to Central Coast. This meant they had to play the winner of pool A in the semi final. This game was by far the team’s best performance the boys simply out played the team from Parkes to take a 2-0 win. In the final match, SEHA took on Hunter Hockey Association. The team proved they wanted to take home victory early. They attacked them relentlessly but the Hunter defence was solid. Hunter came out strong and scored the first goal in the second half. SEHA fired back a few minutes later, 1-1. After that neither team was willing to concede another goal, meaning both teams have been crowned joint champions. This great result for the team now sees them get promoted into division 1.



Rhiannon B Signs With the West Tigers

Rhiannon B of Year 11 Dwyer, has just signed a development contract with West Tigers Harvey Norman Cup Women's Rugby League Team. She is the youngest on the team and even though she is too young to play this year, she will train and develop with the squad. This is a clear pathway to the NRLW and a major achievement for someone of Rhiannon's age.

Also, after competing in the Lisa Fiola Cup for West Tigers against 13 other teams, Rhiannon not only made the final, but was also selected to represent the NSWRL City Under 17's Women's Representative Team who play the Country Team on the 19 May.

We are very proud of Rhiannon's achievements and wish her all the best as she embarks on this next phase of her Rugby League career.

Great Results for our Theatresports Teams

Some may say that Theatresports is not a sport, but they would be wrong. Whilst not a transitional sport it involves elements of physical activity, skill and competition that is governed by a set of rules. It focuses on creativity, spontaneity and teamwork, where the players of the team are involved in creating entertaining, improvised scenes for an audience. They create scenes with interesting characters around a storyline that has a complication and a resolution. Not an easy feat. It requires fast thinking, adaptability, teamwork, communication, and comedic timing. With three judges assessing entertainment value, narrative skill and technical ability, and an audience watching from the edge of their seats, Theatresports definitely provides a challenge for players.

Intermediate Theatresports Team
On Friday, 3 May, our Intermediate Theatresports Team, Carlo C, Moses L, Sidnee R and Charlotte R competed against nine schools at Danebank College. In this cutthroat competition, teams must make the top 4 or the season is over. Rosebank’s team fought hard through each of the four rounds, creating scenes of hilarity and meaning. At the end of the evening the students we placed 2nd, moving on to the semi-finals.



On Thursday, 16 May, the team faced their semi-final competitors at Tara Anglican School. Nine teams of talented, energetic and highly enthusiastic competitors took the stage creating imaginary worlds where a talking car is the norm and a portal to another world is a possibility. With only two teams moving forward to the grand final at the Enmore Theatre, the pressure was on as the team faced each round with anticipation. They earned 5th place on the night and ended their pursuit with their heads held high.

Senior Theatresports Team
On 8 May, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral School Jack B, Elizabeth D, Isabella G and Nicholas K took to the stage, confident and ready to compete. During this highly competitive heat, reminiscent of the grand final last year, students ‘accepted offers’ and created scenarios of joviality, receiving many scores of 5/5. 



In the Theatresports world, magical journeys full of mysteries and curiosities are common. Our team travelled through a desert, used a soap bar covered with letters to help at a spelling bee and visited a magical hairdressing salon. With skill and imagination, the team worked together to achieve one of the highest scoring heats in Theatresports history. Placing equal 2nd with St. Aloysius College and St. Andrews College, they now move through to the semi-finals on Thursday, 23 May at 7pm at St. Patrick’s College Strathfield. Tickets are available at the door ($15 adults/$10 concession) and all are invited.

During the April holidays, 20 students, accompanied by Mr Moreira and Ms Taggart, got the opportunity to visit Central Australia as part of the Red Earth Immersion. Over the nine days, we learnt a lot about the Dreaming stories of how the various rocky landscapes in the area, such as Uluru, were formed and shaped. We went for many hikes to explore the beautiful scenery at Kata Tjuta National Park, Kings’ Canyon and Uluru. After our first night of sleeping under the stars at Yulara, we were welcomed to Sandy Bore Homeland (also known as ‘Tali Walpa’, meaning ‘Wind on the Sand Hills’) by the Traditional Owner, Syd. We spent the three days at Sandy Bore participating in fun activities such as hunting for witchetty grubs, making clapping sticks and baking some delicious damper. 



Some of us definitely stepped out of our comfort zone and were quite pleasantly surprised when we tried eating the witchetty grubs and kangaroo tail. Each night, we reflected by the campfire on our day and heard Syd’s insightful opinions and stories. As we travelled from Sandy Bore to our next homeland, Rodna, we passed time on the bus with lots of singing, chatting and enjoying the amazing views. We drove through Alice Springs and spent a few hours at Telegraph Station, eating lunch, playing footy and enjoying the peaceful park. At Rodna, we were welcomed by Benji, who had many fascinating Dreaming stories to tell us by the campfire. We were lucky enough to do a big walk around Rodna and visit a beautiful waterhole, part of the Finke River, that very few people have access to. 



This day was definitely a highlight, as we ate sausages cooked on the fire by our Group Leader Ray, played a competitive game of volleyball in the river and soaked up the sun. The next day, we visited Hermannsburg Historic precinct where we walked around the Lutheran mission and learnt about its impact upon the local community. Then, we got to visit the local Ntaria school and sit in on a classroom of Year 6, 7 and 8 students. We spoke to the children, learnt some of their language, and very quickly made some new friends. Out in the playground, we played dodgeball, soccer and basketball which was so much fun. 

We were very sad to leave Rodna but we returned to Yulara for our last night and got to witness a stunning sunset over Uluru. In the morning, we got up early to do a sunrise hike around Uluru and then pack up the campsite and go to the airport. We said our sad farewells to Ray, Gav and Jesse (the Red Earth leaders) and then got the plane back to Sydney. Overall, I think we can speak for everyone when we say that this immersion was an experience of a lifetime. We all got something out of it - whether it was stepping out of our comfort zone, disconnecting from our mobile phones and social media, making new friends, learning about the Indigenous cultures or simply enjoying the natural beauty of Central Australia. We are very grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip and would definitely recommend it to anyone. I believe that the connections that we made and the memories we shared will stay with us forever. 

On Wednesday, myself and my fellow Culture and Identity Service Group leaders Kristen and Anthony attended the Homebush Boys Prefect Afternoon Tea. Our intention was to meet with other leaders from various schools within our area, and learn about the types of initiatives and ideas they’ve utilised within their own school communities. The afternoon included numerous engaging activities like trivia and a newspaper fashion show, ensuring we were all entertained while making connections with the people in our assigned groups. As the afternoon progressed, we became closer to our assigned groups and gained more knowledge about the events and initiatives that occur within other schools that we hope to instil within Rosebank.

Photo from last year's Trivia Night.

Our highly anticipated annual Trivia Night to be held on Saturday, 24 August is the main fundraiser for our College. As part of this exciting evening, we are holding an online auction which relies on the support and generosity of our community.

Donations are welcome from individuals or companies and can be gift cards, vouchers, spa products, electronics, gift hampers and more!

If you or someone you know is in the position to donate a prize, big or small, please fill out our donation form. If it's an online prize, please email it to pandf@rosebank.nsw.edu.au and if it's a physical prize, please drop it off at our General Office.

Please note, donated items must be new, in their original packaging and will be accepted at the College's discretion. This letter may be used to assist your efforts.

More information about our Trivia Night is coming soon. Watch this space!

Volunteer Opportunities

If you are available to volunteer your time to assist on the night or would like to help behind the scenes with the online auction, please email our Community Engagement Liaison, Tina Carbone pandf@rosebank.nsw.edu.au, for more information.