Term 4, Week 2B- Monday 20th October, 2025

What's On This Week

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers, 

In today’s fast-paced, digitally saturated world, it’s timely for our school, students, and families to reflect on the deeper purpose of school education. As technology becomes increasingly central to our lives, we must pause and consider the enduring value of Catholic education—especially for young minds navigating a world of instant access, constant stimulation, and engineered convenience.

Our children are growing up in an environment where information is immediate, gratification is instant, and digital tools are always within reach. While these advances offer many benefits, they also present challenges to learning, relationships, and personal growth.

Last year, the NSW Government introduced a mobile phone ban in schools. The results were compelling:

• 81% of students across 1,000 schools reported improved learning.
• 86% of principals observed better social interaction among students. These findings reinforce the importance of creating learning environments that prioritise presence, focus, and human connection.

Technology has brought about three significant shifts that affect our students:

• Cognitive Offloading: Devices now perform tasks like summarising, drafting, and composing—core processes of human thinking. But they cannot replace the mental discipline of writing or the intellectual rigor of debate and dialogue. Catholic schools offer a sanctuary for deep thinking and reflection.
• Engineered Intimacy: Many students turn to technology as a substitute for friendship—tools that are patient, non-judgmental, and always available. Yet real relationships require challenge, vulnerability, and growth. Catholic schools foster authentic human connection through rituals of community such as storytelling, and face-to-face communication.
• Synthetic Artefact: Cultural experiences are increasingly curated through screens, distancing students from shared traditions and lived meaning. Catholic education reconnects students with the richness of faith, heritage, and belonging.

At St Raphael’s, we believe that education is about more than academic achievement—it’s about forming the whole person. We believe that technology should serve human flourishing—not define it. Our educators lead with heart and purpose, guiding students in the development of the whole person: intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. Our Catholic school is a haven of human belonging, where students are encouraged to be anchors of authenticity in a world that often cocoons them in artificial realities.

We lead with heart and purpose, ensuring that technology serves learning—not replaces it. Our educators guide students in intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social development, rooted in faith and community.

Catholic education is not just relevant—it’s essential. In this technological age, it offers what no device can: formation grounded in values, wisdom, and the dignity of the human person.

God Bless, 

Michelle Deschamps - Principal

Parents - please follow this link for information regarding social media age restrictions and your family, as provided by the eSafety Commissioner
Students - follow this link for infomation on how the social media age restrictions will affect you if you're under 16

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal

Welcome back everyone to Term 4 and I hope your holidays were restful or invigorating - whichever one you preferred. The start of Term 4 is synonymous with the start of the HSC. By the time of writing this article the students have already finished their first week with two English papers and a Music exam already completed. Anecdotal evidence in talking to the Year 12 students as they finished these exams was mostly positive with students answering all the questions and were overall happy with what they had produced. We wish them all well for the remainder of their exams and look forward to celebrating with them their Graduation festivities on Saturday the 22nd November.

With one Year 12 cohort finishing, we have another cohort starting and it was wonderful to acknowledge our new leadership team at the Leadership Mass on Friday of Week 1. It is always wonderful to witness these important occasions and whole school masses and to watch the whole school community coming together to celebrate who we are and what we stand for. Fr Thao in his homily, spoke about being a leader and how it can be daunting but he stressed with the backing of God we should never feel alone and we should go for it! This deeply resonated with our leadership team and has inspired them for the coming year.

Coming to the end of the year does not mean we lessen our efforts and slacken off in any way. We have Junior Secondary exams coming up in Weeks 5 and 6 as well as assessment tasks for Year 11 at the end of the term. We maintain our standards for our uniform, with all students expected to wear full summer school uniform and if outside wearing a hat. Our expectations within the classroom continue with students expected to follow classroom expectations at all times. We have positive reward days coming up for those students who have achieved the appropriate levels. We maintain our standards and maintain our expectations of what a St Raphael student is and what we stand for at all times.

David Wickham - Assistant Principal

Faith, Mission & Learning

Yesterday’s Gospel focussed on our need to pray. There is a famous saying about prayer.

“Be consistent in being persistent”

There are many different forms of prayer, from the formal prayers recited during Mass to the quite meditations that occur in the privacy of one’s home. Some people find solace in the repetition of traditional prayers like the Rosary, while others prefer to pray in their own words, expressing their thoughts and feeling directly to God.

Prayer might seem like a complex and somewhat mysterious ritual. However at its core, prayer is a deeply personal way to connect with God. It’s a way to express gratitude, ask for guidance and seek solace in times of need.

This week, I invite you to pray for our students sitting their HSC exams. You might like to use this pray with your families this week.

Heavenly Father, 

We bring before you our HSC students. Give them the gifts of wisdom, right judgement, knowledge and courage. Bless them with calm hearts and clarity of mind as they sit for their exams. May they be affirmed in their efforts and may they know that you are there with them. We pray that they will stay calm under pressure and work to the best of their ability. May they feel your loving presence in their lives, now and always, and may they be strengthened by the prayerful support of us, their school and parish community. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen

Bishop Michael's Visit to Cowra

We are delighted to welcome Bishop Michael to Cowra this Wednesday, where he will celebrate Mass with our whole school community. Parents and families are warmly invited to join us for this special occasion and stay for morning tea following Mass. Bishop Michael will also spend time visiting classrooms and meeting with staff and we are excited for the opportunity to share our faith and learning with him on this special visit

Nicole Twohill-Scott - Leader of Faith, Mission & Learning

Key Notices

Morning Delivery of Children
Safe morning delivery of your children needs consideration and co-operation among all motorists.  Please take note of the following points:

• Till 9:30am the drop-off zone out the front of the school is “No Parking” so you cannot leave your car. It is literally, 'Stop, Drop and Go'!
• Please drive to the front of the available drop-off zone to enable others to pull up and deliver their children behind you
  
• Deliver your children and move away from the drop-off  zone carefully and promptly.
  
• It’s illegal to park in the Bus Zone outside the hours of 9:30am and 2:30pm
• It is illegal to park across the driveway
• If you wish to walk your child to the school gates, please park outside the zone and walk to the front of the school with your child, making sure to use the pedestrian crossing on Liverpool Street if required.

Library News

Book Fair

The book fair is in full swing. Last week all primary students were able to come and window shop and create a wishlist. Our Year 7 & 8’s also came to have a look.

This week students may purchase from the Book Fair during their Library Lesson or other allocated day (see below). They can also come at lunchtime.

The Book Fair is a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping. It also is great for our School Library as we get new books for our Library from the sales we make. This year, we also requested books suitable for our Secondary students. Secondary students are most welcome to come to the Library and browse the Book Fair and purchase books too. If any parents or carers would like to come and purchase books, they may do so before or after school until 4pm during this week. There are eftpos facilities available :)

Book Fair Timetable

Monday - 2 Gold, 1 Gold & 6 Gold

Tuesday - 4 Green, 2 Green, 1 Green and 3 Green

Thursday - 3 Gold, 4 Gold, 5 Gold & 6 Green

Attendance, Wellbeing & Enrichment

Click here for Students achieving 100% ATTENDANCE FOR WEEKS 5-10 T3

Let’s turn up the volume for kids with hearing loss! 

Friday, the 17th of October, marked Loud Shirt Day, a vibrant celebration dedicated to raising awareness and support for children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. While we may not have worn bold prints, our voices still matter.

By acknowledging this day, we stand in solidarity with children navigating the world of sound in their own unique way. We honour their resilience, champion inclusive communication, and commit to creating environments where every child feels heard, whether through speech, sign, or supportive silence.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Awareness doesn’t need a loud shirt, just a loud heart ♥️

St Raph's P&F

Meeting Tonight

Please join us for our St Raph's P&F Meeting tonight - 6:30pm in the Boardroom.

Have your say - St Raph’s Parents and Friends

Would you like to get involved as a parent or friend of the school? Please follow the link to access this short, anonymous survey. Have your say about the P&F. The survey is open until Friday 31 October.

Canteen

Council of Catholic School Parents

Community Connections

RAD Gym Strength & Conditioning classes 

Start Date: Wednesday 22nd October 2025, the weekly to follow

Time: 5pm to 6pm

Location: Outdoor - TBA (permitting weather, then RAD GYM)

Cost: $10 / session.

You may also be eligible for discounts to supplements or sauna/compression boots services offered by RAD GYM.

Trainer: Kodie Benkoe of RAD GYM (Level 1 Certified S&C Coach through ASCA).

Who can attend: Anyone above the age of 12 years (possible exceptions for younger children who demonstrate higher skill levels in their sports).

Address: 48 Young Road, COWRA NSW 2794

Mobile: 0488709839

Email: radgym2023@gmail.com