Dear Members of the Trinity Family,

In the past week the Church has celebrated the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. These feast days are often overlooked in large parts of our society despite “Halloween” celebrations growing in popularity year-on-year. These events in the life of the Church are often reduced in popular culture to dressing up in zombie outfits and ‘trick-or-treating’ throughout the neighbourhood.

Our 2025 Student Leaders’ Commissioning and Year 11 Academic Assembly fell on the Feast of All Saints this year. This was a fitting context in which to recognise and celebrate the “good works” of our students, and also a timely reminder of the Christian call to sainthood. This call to sainthood often sits awkwardly with us; it is lofty and beyond our reach as human beings - or so we think. 

The Saints are always calling us back to our Christian roots. The Saints were real human beings; they had their own personal problems; they grappled with their ordinariness and achieved extraordinary things in their lives. We should not leave them as lifeless statues or stained-glass windows. The very fact that they were human - like us - is a reminder that, even if we are flawed and imperfect persons, we are all called to be Christ-like.

In my address to our incoming student leaders I used St Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans, as a case in point. His life, particularly his commitment to the poor, can inspire us all. He is often quoted as saying the following: “preach the Gospel and only if necessary use words.” This reflects perfectly our College motto “In Word and Deed” and serves as a powerful reminder that our students, like all of us, will be measured by our actions more so than our words.

Having attended the recent Captains’ Camp at Lennox Head I am confident that our student leaders for 2025 will shine as beacons for our College community, and their ordinary gifts and talents will make the next twelve months at Trinity extraordinary.

Outstanding Contribution to Marist Education Awards

On the weekend of 26-27 October members of staff and some of our 2025 Student Leaders attended the Marist Schools Australia Regional Mass and Dinner at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane. This event brings together student leaders and Leadership Teams from across Northern NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory. As part of this event, awards are bestowed upon nominated staff in recognition of their Outstanding Contribution to Marist Education. This year Trinity was pleased to have nominated two staff: Mrs Robyn Schober and Mrs Sharyn Gill-Andrews. It was a pleasure celebrating their contributions and I sincerely thank both Robyn and Sharyn for their dedication and hard work over many decades. 

Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment Survey

Thank you to the parents/carers and students who completed the DISA survey.  Your feedback and input is greatly appreciated for our strategic planning purposes and will assist us to accurately identify our areas of strength and areas for improvement.

2025 Fee Schedule

The College Finance Committee has recommended, and the College Council has approved, the 2025 Tuition Fee Schedule which you can find here. Like all families and organisations, the College is not immune to the financial forces of our time but takes seriously its commitment to keeping tuition fees as low as possible. Parents/carers wishing to discuss their financial arrangements are encouraged to contact the College’s Finance Department proactively.

Student Enrolments

Some enrolment vacancies exist in some year levels.  All enrolment enquiries are best directed to our Enrolments Officer via email - enrolments@trinitylismore.nsw.edu.au - or phone: 02) 6627 6647. Applications can be made through our College website. I am respectfully requesting that we are informed if any family knows their child(ren) will not be returning to the College in 2025. This is vital information for our planning.

Child Safeguarding

The College, like all child-safe organisations, is investing significant time and resources into the implementation of the Child Safe Standards. Our website contains our Statement of Commitment and further policies and procedures that inform our approach to this important work.

Free e-Safety Webinars for Parents in Term 4

These live webinars give parents and carers the knowledge, skills, and tools to support their child/ren in having safe online experiences.

Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into high school. This webinar explores the social pressures, peer influences, and technological challenges young people face as they transition into high school. It also offers practical strategies for navigating online friendships and connections to help minimise negative experiences. It is suitable for parents and carers of children in upper primary school (ages 11 to 12) and Year 7.

Thursday, 28 November, 12.30 pm
Registration link 

eSafety 101: how eSafety can help you. An overview of The eSafety Commissioner and supporting programs and resources for parents and carers, children, and young people. It is suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary and secondary school.

Wednesday, 4 December, 12.30pm
Registration link

Key Dates for Term 4

Year 12 Graduation Evening - 8 November

Emerge - CAPA showcase - 27 November

Year 7 2025 Information Evening - 2 December

Year 7 2025 Orientation Day - 6 December

Dance Fusions showcase - 11 December

Christmas Liturgy and last day of Term 4 - 18 December 

Thank you for your ongoing support of the College. May Venerable Nano Nagle, St Marcellin Champagnat and Mary our Good Mother continue to watch over our Trinity community.

Jesse Smith

I am pleased to say that the beginning of Term 4 saw the distribution of Locker access for those that had applied earlier in Term 3. The students utilising these have reported that it is helping to ‘lighten their load’ as they move around the Campus. We have some additional lockers available for the remainder of Term 4, if you would like your child to have access to one of these please complete the application form below.

Dear Members of the Trinity Community,

In welcoming students and families to Term 4 much has already happened for learning and teaching.

PSTI

Thank you to parents/carers for attending the parent/student/teacher interview opportunities that was held in Week 2 and for engaging with your student/s individual class teachers.  The connection between home and the College is essential for the overall development of each student.  Please keep the lines of communication open and we thank you for your ongoing support.

HSC Exams

As we enter the final stretch of the HSC exams we take this opportunity to commend Year 12 students on their attendance, positive attitude and conduct throughout the exam timetable.  We look forward to sharing with you the Graduation Evening on 8 November.

Update: Changes to Our BYOD Preferences and Recommendations

We would like to inform you of a change to our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) preferences and recommendations. Chromebooks have been removed from the approved type of device list. This decision is in response to the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) no longer supporting Chromebooks with the required lockdown browsers for Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN, as well as Year 10 HSC Minimum Standards testing.

Please note that there is no immediate need to replace a fully functioning Chromebook. However, when your child’s Chromebook needs replacing, please refer to the updated type of device information available on the College website and the Lighthouse Parent Portal.

Year 11 Academic Assembly & Student Leaders Commissioning

On Friday, together with parents and carers, we celebrated the academic achievements of our Year 11 students for 2024.

We congratulate all of our Year 11 students for their hard work and dedication to their studies throughout this year and we wish them all the very best as they start their Year 12 studies this week.

 First in Course Awards

Special Commendation Awards

Grace Randle             NSW School of Languages Principal's Award for Korean Beginners

Leila Hunt                    Wayne Dean Award for Industrial Technology Timber

Maeve Heart               Modern History Excellence in Historical Research Award

Georgina Cappe         Ancient History Excellence in Historical Research Award

Annabel Davis            Certificate of Scholarship from Southern Cross University

Abbey Corrigan           Citizenship Award

Year 10 Australian Defence Force Awards

Darcy Healy                Australian Defence Force Long Tan Leadership and Teamwork Award

Angus Thamm            Australian Defence Force Future Innovators Award

Year 12 2025 

All Year 11 students started their 2025 HSC courses this week. It is important that all students and their families are familiar with the HSC rules and processes so that no academic penalties are applied. Please see the 2024/2025 Year 12 Assessment Handbook on Lighthouse for more details.

2025 Essential Book List Items

In preparation for the 2025 school year, the Essential Book List Items can be found on the Lighthouse Parent Portal under the Resources for Parents tile.

We wish all students and families well for the remainder of Term 4.

Alison Unwin - Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching

Tracy Benfield - Director of Learning

Amy Pascoe - Director of Teaching Excellence

Dear Trinity families,

Welcome to Term 4 and what will be a busy time for Mission.

Exuro Discipleship Event

On 22 October, ten students from the Year 10 CSYMA (Youth Ministry) class helped to facilitate Exuro, a Ministry Day for Year 5 students across the northern part of the Lismore Diocese. The Year 10 Ministry class have been consolidating their ministry skills as small group leaders and assisting in ice breakers/activities.  Staff from the primary schools involved were impressed with this talented group of Year 10’s who helped model for younger students what it means to live out your faith.

Marist Schools Australia Student Leaders Summit & 2025 Captains Council Camp

I was privileged to attend this Summit in Brisbane over the weekend of 26 October through to Monday 28 October. Over three days our Year 12 2025 Captains Council and SRC members were provided with the opportunity to network with their peers from QLD & NT MSA schools and develop their leadership skills through various activities.  The students were also supported by Mr Adam Mayes, current Leader of Year 11 who will lead Year 12 in 2025.  Highlights of the weekend included the way our students were able to show how the Marist characteristic of presence is demonstrated at the College and the enthusiastic way our team involved themselves in all aspects of this important gathering.   

Following on from Brisbane, the Captain's Council Leadership Camp was held in Lennox Head on 1 and 2 November.  Our Captains, House Captains and Year 12 SRC  departed at lunch time on the Friday after formally being Commissioned and receiving their leadership badges.  Throughout the weekend students explored the notion of sharing their gifts with others, servant leadership, building community and belonging by providing many enjoyable activities for our students in 2024-5. A big thank you to Mr Adam Mayes, Mr Tony Flood, Ms Alissa O’Reilly and Mr Jesse Smith, who facilitated and supported students in this important formation experience over the camp weekend.  Our College is in very good hands in 2025!

St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal

Each year the College supports the SVDP Christmas Appeal through the donation of gift cards. Our Ministry Captains, Zach and Olivia will launch the Trinity Christmas Appeal at our Nagle Day Liturgy on 21 November. I hope that our families will be able to support such a worthwhile initiative this Christmas.

Term 4 Mission Events

• St Carthage’s Student Leadership Day - 10 CSYMA students - 7 November
• Nagle Day Liturgy- 21 November
• Christmas Liturgy - 18 December

Annette White - Director of Mission

Our focus in the Year 7 pastoral program continues to be on building connections with each other and developing an understanding of important relationships in our lives.

The program we’re adapting is developed by a charity called Peer Support Australia, who specialise in providing peer leadership opportunities that create positive social opportunities between students of different ages. Usually run at the beginning of the year, we’ve adapted the program to support our Year 7s in an area of need that we’ve identified as we’ve got to know them.

Our focus is on building positive connections and confronting bullying through small group discussions and activities led by Year 10 mentors. They’ve discussed positive and negative interactions, developed an understanding of how relationships can be perceived differently, and learnt ways in which they can work through conflict. The Year 10s have done an amazing job of creating a safe space for their Year 7 groups and are proving to be exceptional role models.

This week during our pastoral time we did something different. Still with the idea of building connections, we ran an escape room competition in which tutor groups were broken into six teams who were each given six challenges to unlock a six-digit code. It was loud, chaotic and loads of fun. Challenges included singing and dancing the Lighthouse song, counting stairs (after solemnly swearing not to run or jump or shove, etc), word searches about the College’s traditions and House mottos. They sang, danced and competed with gusto. They had so much fun, it’s a day I’m sure they will remember in five years when they complete Year 12. Shared memories like these are really important in building a strong and close community.

Shane Thamm - Leader of Year

Year 8 Technology

Year 8 Technology students produced a Japanese-style lunch box  focusing on creating a perfect balanced meal for an adolescent consisting of many different foods and ingredients. The students' skills and knowledge of design, sketching, preparation techniques, hygiene and safety were put into practice. The creation of the bento was a smashing success providing students the opportunity to produce an appetising and healthy lunch.

Year 10 Child Studies excursion to Wilson Park School - Student Reflections

• I enjoy learning about the students' needs and school based programs. Being able to interact with the children has helped me realise what I want for my future.I find it truly amazing,the work they do and the impact they have. 
  
  
• I enjoy Wilson Park School because the staff are so great with the children. The children all just come up to you and want to show you everything they are learning.
  
  
• The staff are very welcoming and the children are so kind and smart.
  
  
• I love the children’s positive attitudes and they are always happy.
  
  
• The teachers and children are very welcoming and make you feel appreciated.
  
  
• The teachers are very welcoming and will talk to you and answer any questions that we have.

Year 9 Child Studies

Year 9 Child Studies students would like to thank Bumblebee Early Education Centre and Southern Cross Children's University Centre for the opportunity to engage with the children and learn from the educators this Term. The students have been able to build their understanding of the centre's practices, child nutrition, health and wellbeing of children.