Star of Peace

St Patrick's Marist College

Newsletter - Number 6 - May 25, 2021

From the Principal ....

Term 2 continues to be busy, with many activities, excursions, debating, winter representative sports, Year 10 camp, our inaugural SRC General Council meeting and our Athletics Carnival.

We have been waiting for the appointment of Fiona Donnelly, our new Marketing and Communications Officer. The current admin team has been covering this area, which has seen a delay in the publishing of this newsletter. I thank you for your patience and I am happy to say that Fiona began with us this week.

Last Monday as part of our prayer and reflection Mr Paton shared a reflection by Br. Michael Green on the three violets: HUMILITY, SIMPLICITY AND MODESTY. It is a wonderful piece that I would like to share with you.

We all know the three little violets, but what do they signify? From where did the symbol come? Let us take a look at this fundamental Marist symbol.

The idea was in fact Marcellin’s, and it has been part of our Marist tradition from the earliest days. His proposal was that the type of Christian discipleship he wanted Marists to nurture would be underpinned by three basic spiritual attitudes: those of “humility”, “simplicity”, and “modesty”. These are the heart of what it means to be a Marist.

There was nothing novel about his choosing humility as the first of the three. From the times of the desert fathers and mothers, this has always been recognised as the most fundamental and primary disposition for anyone serious about progressing in the spiritual life. It is to recognise God as God. It is to be awestruck, indeed humbled, before the immensity and infinity of God, God’s omnipotence and unfathomable mystery, God’s unshakeable mercy and fidelity. It is to trust in this. The proud don’t know God – they just can’t – the self-righteous, those caught up in their own power and importance, those blind and deaf because they don’t allow themselves to see and hear. The metaphors for the spiritual journey often use terms such as thirst, hunger, yearning, dryness – it is for God they seek, but more importantly, know that they need to seek. "Blessed are the poor in spirit", is Jesus’ opening line in Matthew 5, "for theirs is the reign of God".

Simplicity was more novel as a spiritual attitude. St Francis de Sales – one of the key sources of Marcellin’s developing spirituality – was someone who emphasised this. It is to be oneself before God – openly, genuinely, trustingly, vulnerably. It is to hide nothing, to pretend nothing, to mask nothing. It is to not kid oneself or presume to trick God. It is to have an uncluttered relationship with God, something direct and transparent like any genuinely loving relationship – one not in need of lots of augmentation, or props, or proofs. No secrets, no game-playing, no hidden agenda. It is to use language and symbols that are accessible, even affective and intimate. Some would say that simplicity is the most quintessential of the Marist traits. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

And modesty. Some people trip up on this because they confuse it with lack of self-assurance or poor self-esteem. Nothing could be more opposite. Modesty is about having a self-concept that is secure and mature enough not to feel any need to intrude or impose myself on another, not to shout them down with my voice, to crowd them with my presence, to use them to satisfy my emotional needs, or to serve my ends. It is rather, to put the other at the centre – respectfully, selflessly, and non-possessively. It is to be focussed on them rather than myself. Where humility is recognising God as God, modesty is allowing God to be God, and to act in my life as God. It is to work to learn about God, to be alert to God’s quiet and subtle presence and movement in my life, and to allow myself to be affected by that, even transformed by it. Blessed are the meek.

One of the greatest mistakes that Marists have made – including among them some of Marcellin’s early Brothers – was to think that humility, simplicity and modesty had something to do with behaviours that straight-jacketed or diminished the full human expression of whom each of us is as a person. Not at all. They are not behavioural guidelines but, rather, spiritual attitudes. Of course, if we nurture them in our faith lives – in the way we approach God – then they are likely to be mirrored in our ministry. That is to say, we will approach young people and our colleagues, and everyone, in the same way that we approach God: with the respect that comes from humility, with the genuineness that comes from simplicity, and with the desire to allow them to shine that comes from our modesty. We approach them with an apron, basin and towel. To love and to serve.

For a symbol to represent all of this, Marcellin turned to the little flowers that grow wild in that part of France. These flowers are not ones that shout out through their colour, their size or their scent: “Look at me! Look at me!” No, they are small – tiny purple flowers scattered in green fields. But when discovered, they can be seen to have their own beauty, their own integrity, and their own quiet statement of who they are. And the fields are different, as a result.

YEAR 10 CAMP

We've just had our Year 10 Camp, or should we say finally had our postponed Year 9 camp. It was great to see them working through challenge activities, being tested both mentally and physically. There were lots of laughs and great comradery and we were so impressed by students facing their fears and the way students rallied around each other in support. This year we are doing additional overnight excursions, our Year 10 camp and Year 12 retreat. This places an additional burden on staff. I would like to thank the staff for their willingness to be away from their families for 3 days, especially those who have attended both camps this year. I thanks Ms. Basha for her organisation, Mr. Paton for leading the camp and to Ms. Tredinnick, Mr. Sayegh, Ms. Mayday, Mrs. Beach, Mr. Gray, Mr. Frede, Mr. Caravella, Ms. Brown, Mr. Boulous, Mrs. Botto and Ms. Handsley-Delves for their attendance and support.

SRC

Last Wednesday afternoon after school, I was privileged to be part of the inaugural SRC Council meeting, bringing all of our student leaders from years 7 to 12 together. I am excited to see this next step in our student leadership, it is important that our students are represented and play an authentic role in our College. Our motto for students this year is “Your Voice Matters”

NAPLAN

Over the past week we have been engaged in the Naplan testing. Regardless of the outcome, Naplan is just one set of data that we use to work with our students. Every single day our teachers engage in formative assessment to determine next steps in a student's learning. As always if you have any concerns about your child’s progress or additional information that would support us in our work, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Athletics Carnival

How wonderful to be able to run our Athletics Carnival. We had some concerns about the threatening rain, however, despite a short shower after lunch, the carnival went ahead. Student attendance was high and the participation by all students was very pleasing and commented on by many staff. It was a wonderful community event and I thank Mr Ryan James for his organisation and all of the staff for their work on the day. We still have a few Championship events to finish. Mr James will share information with you.

CONCERNS

At times you may be concerned about your child’s progress at school. If it relates to the classroom I strongly encourage you to make contact with the specific teacher so that you can discuss your concerns directly with the teacher. As always if there are issues, our College diary has a list of the College Leadership team, Pastoral and KLA Leaders of Learning that you can contact.

PARENT HUB

Last week we were privileged to have Susan McLean come and speak to our parents about cyber safety. Susan is Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and was a member of Victoria Police for 27 years. Widely known as the ‘cyber cop’ she was the first Victoria Police Officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety and young people. I have to say, that after listening to her, I am pleased that my children are grown, and I am not having to navigate this digital world with a teenager, or indeed younger children. Susan shared her deep knowledge of the digital space and the many social media apps, including Tik Tok and shared examples of how predators online are extremely savvy at luring children and young people in. There have been a number of articles recently, one last weekend in SMH about this very issue. I encourage you to read it.

She talked about the difference between online friends and real friends. Often young people friend someone because their friends of friends, when ultimately no one really knows who they are. Susan’s website https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/  has a number of short videos that cover what she shared with us. Please take the time to visit her site, and become more aware of the digital world within which our kids are living. She also made the suggestion that there should be no technology in bedrooms or bathrooms at any time.

A big thank you to Chrishani Cogger our P&F president and Mr Paton for collaborating to bring this to our families. Our next P&F meeting is coming up on the 2nd of June. You should have already received an email.

If you have any concern or have questions please contact us, so that we can support you.

Yours in Jesus, Mary and Marcellin,

God Bless

Angela Hay

Principal Leader

PRINCIPAL'S ASSEMBLY

At our recent Principal’s Assembly, our Junior Leaders gave a great update of the work they are doing, particularly their Toilet Beautification Project. They are working well together as a leadership group. Our French students recently participated in a Languages competition and received their awards. We saw our first group of Duke of Ed students presented with their Bronze and Silver awards, our Year 11 social justice group chance for change spoke about our Ekklesia food bank and we were entertained by some of our music students who wowed us with another amazing performance.

Assistant Principal - Innovation, Teaching and Innovation

Assistant Principal - Innovation, Teaching and Learning

NAPLAN

Over the last two weeks students across Australia have been undertaking the NAPLAN tests. Our Year 7 and 9 students have now just completed these valuable snapshots of their literacy and numeracy. These tests help inform teachers how to best meet each student’s needs in the classroom and with their learning. For SPMC, NAPLAN has now moved online and students are to be commended in the way they have adapted to this change. It has been encouraging to witness how our students approached these tests and applied themselves throughout the NAPLAN period. I'd like to thank Ms Hagarty and Mrs Wadih for their organisation of NAPLAN at the College.

Year 11 Parent Teacher Interviews

The next Parent Teacher Interviews for Year 11 will occur on 1 June for Year 11 from 4 to 7pm. Parent Teacher evenings are held twice a year to ensure that there is an opportunity for parents, teachers and students to discuss their learning, refine their strategies, reset goals and refocus engagement. This Parent Teacher interview will also provide the opportunity to discuss skills and knowledge that students will need to consolidate in preparation for success in the Year 12 courses. The Parent Teacher interviews are compulsory to attend and students must attend in full College winter uniform.

Mrs J. Starkey

Assistant Principal, Innovation, Teaching and Learning

Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

Headspace - Parent and Carer Webinars

All Australians have had to adapt to major changes in the way we live, study and work due to coronavirus (COVID-19) which has challenged the mental health and wellbeing for many. As a parent and carer, it can be difficult to understand how to support your young person through this period of change and uncertainty whilst maintaining good mental health.

Victorian Headspace Centres, in partnership with Headspace National are hosting a series of webinars for parents and carers supporting young people impacted by COVID-19.

Information provided in the webinar will:

  • Strengthen your understanding of mental health and the impacts of COVID-19

  • Build skills and strategies to support the mental health of your young person, including their transition to work and study

  • Build awareness of local, state and national supports available to young people

  • Showcase your local Headspace Centre community resources

See a list of upcoming webinars or for more information, contact headspaceSchools@headspace.org.au



Business Manager

Payments (other than for school fees)

Our school fees include most of the required resources that your child(ren) need. 

Items that are NOT included in school fees are: formals, rep sport uniforms, boys’ ties, hats, replacement items e.g. diaries, ID cards, etc. Tthe preferred method to pay for these items is via our EFTPOS facilities at reception. We can also take credit card payments over the phone. 

We are moving to cash-free transactions, and will be finalising the introduction of the new app soon, for these items. Details to follow once it has been set up. In the meantime, if you need to pay cash, you MUST include the correct money in an envelope with the student’s name, homeroom, amount and what it is for. We are not able to easily give change.

Once the app is available to families, we will only accept cash for small fundraising appeals such as Lenten, mufti, etc.

WHS Emergency Drills (lockdown & evacuation)

An important part of our WHS compliance routine practice is to ensure all students and all staff are: aware of our emergency procedures, know what to do and where to go. Our procedures are designed to keep students and staff safe while emergency services deal with a real situation (if it were to occur). It is a CEDP requirement that we practice at least one drill each term, at different times of the day. 

In term 2, we will be organising an evacuation drill, so that students become familiar where to assemble and how to get there. All new staff are inducted into the school site soon after they commence, so they are already familiar with the Emergency Assembly Point. As part of our evacuation procedures, all the external gates are locked and selected staff are stationed so that the gates are only accessible by emergency vehicles. We are planning for our next drill to be during period 5, however, we need to consider logistical issues such as buses arriving into the bus bay, etc.

For terms 3 & 4, we are considering conducting drills during one of the breaks (recess or lunch) so that the logistics of having students out of classrooms are also practiced. Of course we will allow appropriate time sot that students will have time to eat, drink and have a break.

Canteen 

We encourage students to pre-order their lunch (i.e. before homeroom). Lunch orders are handed out first, so students who have ordered, do not have to line up and so have more time to have a break!

The canteen introduced Flexischools (https://www.flexischools.com.au) an online pre-ordering app at the beginning of this year. This app allows parents/students to order and pay online at any time (e.g. the night before). Just download the app and register as a user, then order and pay online and students can then pick up their lunch without having to line up. Unfortunately, the number of online orders to date have not been enough to make it financially viable for the canteen. Unless the numbers of orders pick up during term 2, it is likely that they will have to withdraw this facility.

Lowes Uniform Shop, Carlingford

I regularly meet with our Lowes rep to review their stock balances of all uniforms, sports uniforms and school/sports bags held: in-store at Carlingford, in their warehouses and on order, to ensure they are sufficient for our seasonal needs. 

Stock is constantly being reviewed by the store and requests submitted for items to be brought in from warehouses. However, at times, stock may not have yet arrived into the store at the time that families need to purchase items. If any item is not in the store, please ensure that the store takes your details, so they can call you back when it arrives.

Lowes customer info/feedback/complaints email address is: customercare@lowes.com.au for customers who require information, or have a problem that cannot be solved at the store level. If you feel that stock shortages are an issue, please use this email address to say so. Feedback is monitored by our account rep.

Lowes prefers online orders (if possible). Home delivery is available for your convenience. 

Onsite uniform shop (part of the “Book Room”)

Our onsite uniform shop is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays (before school and during recess & lunch breaks). 

We currently sell: 

  • Sports bags – we have limited remaining stock on-hand (as these are now sold by Lowes); 

  • Hats – from 2021 will be distributed to Yr7 together with the stationery packs at the beginning of the year (included in school fees). All new students need to purchase a hat. Replacement hats can also be purchased.

  • Boy's ties – boys in Yr10, Yr11 and Yr12 wear the senior tie all year, while Yr7, Yr8 and Yr9 wear the junior tie in Terms 2 & 3 only.

  • Rep sports uniforms – are sold as required and organised by rep sports coordinator.

We also sell good quality second-hand uniforms.

As mentioned above, our preferred payment method is via our EFTPOS facilities at reception or credit card payments over the phone. If you need to pay cash, you MUST include the correct money in an envelope with the student’s name, homeroom, amount and what it is for. We are not able to easily give change.

Lost Property

We tend to accumulate a lot of lost property. If your child’s uniform is labelled, we can contact them to come to the office to collect it if it's misplaced.

At the end of each term, any unclaimed uniform items are added to our second-hand uniform stock. Other items e.g. water bottles, lunch boxes, umbrellas, etc. are discarded. 

Ms V. Fraser

Business Manager

YEAR 10

Year 10 Camp 

Three days of no school work, no homework and no assessments. Just time away with friends and teachers on Year 10 camp, taking part in exhilarating activities such as the survivor challenge, sea kayaking, high ropes, the giant swing and many more. The instructors on the camp were amazing, taking us through all the activities with ease to experience the most enjoyment possible. One of the highlights of the camp was the first night activity ‘Commando’ where the students were sent into the dark bush to try and find ‘golden bricks’ at bases. Almost like a horror movie, the teachers were on the prowl, looking for students to send back to base. It was a great night and the golden bricks were substituted into hostages (some lucky students) in a second game. Overall, the camp was a great escape from the pressures of school work and will be dearly remembered.

Takoda Cheng 10 Paul

YEAR 8

Well done to the vast majority of Year 8 students who have reached the halfway point of Term 2 with great credit. There is some wonderful learning happening and this requires cooperation and self discipline from our students.

We have spoken about the importance of respect towards fellow students and staff and The Golden Rule - treat others the way you want to be treated.

There is an optional Keeping Track Afternoon each Wednesday in the library from 3.20pm – 4.20pm which students are welcome to attend. It is an opportunity to use the resources to work individually, in groups or with a member of staff. Students have found this very useful in the past and we encourage them to make use of this. Students must attend for the whole session and must remain in the library.

Mr P. Quigley

Leader of Learning Pastoral

Key Learning Areas

Languages

LANGUAGES CHAMPIONSHIPS ON EDUCATION PERFECT

The annual Languages Championships on Education Perfect took place in March this year. Students from Year 8 and Year 10 participated in this competition in which they had to answer a multitude of French questions.

As a school, we placed 253rd overall, out of over 2000 schools participating worldwide.

I would like to congratulate those students who achieved a significant achievement in the competition. 

Firstly, those students who achieved a Credit award, placing them in the top 20% of 208,000 competitors from around the world.

From Year 8:

Ahrah Cho

Jonah Fenech

Alani Grohs

Jessie Liu

From Year 10:

Ciara Murphy

Arli Pan

Secondly, those students who achieved a Bronze award, placing them in the top 10% of the 208,000 competitors from around the world.

From Year 8:

Dunja Grudic

John Nikolaidis

Mary Vasiliev

Beatrix Yan

From Year 10

Malcolm Manu

 Finally, I would like to recognise and particularly congratulate the 2 students from Year 8 who achieved an Emerald award, placing them in the top 1% of the 208,000 competitors from around the world. Thomas and Erene are promising linguists with real talent. This is an outstanding performance which reflects Erene and Thomas’ excellent work in French.

 Félicitations!

 Cécile Dunston

 Leader of Learning - Languages

Languages Credit Awards

Year 7 Art

Year 7 have been learning about different ways that emotion is communicated in artworks. They have explored the emotions felt when they listen to different music, and expressed this in a self portrait. Students focused on realistic proportions of facial features, and achieving effective tonal gradients with use of grey lead and coloured pencils. Some outstanding examples from our current art classes are shown below.

Ms Rachel Duff

Visual Arts Teacher

Visual Arts

Stage 6 Visual Arts Excursion

Artexpress @ The Armory

22nd April, 2021

Students in Years 11 and 12 Visual Arts were offered the opportunity to experience HSC excellence first hand, by attending the 2020 Artexpress Exhibition. Bodies of Work from each of the Expressive Forms were represented. St Pat’s students were receptive, curious and attentive to the material, technical and conceptual aspects of the artworks on exhibition, and is reflected in their quotes, below:

“I’m grateful for the Visual Arts excursion to Artexpress. Being able to see how other HSC Bodies of Work are crafted gave me insights. The talented students whose works are exhibited are truly inspirational.”

“The excursion was great because I was able to get new information and gather inspiration for my Body of Work.” 

“Having the opportunity to view HSC artworks directly inspires me to work hard.”

“The Artexpress excursion was valuable as it allowed me to seek further inspiration for my Body of Work.” 

“All the Artexpress exhibited works are remarkable.”

“The excursion was very good and showed me the high quality of work in the HSC that I can aspire to.”

“Artexpress was very revealing for me and has helped me to gain insights to generate more creative ideas for the material and conceptual practice for my Body of Work.”

“The artworks we saw today at the Artexpress inspire me with the amount of time they all put into their works and the amazing outcome they all demonstrated.”

Ms Handsley-Delves 

Visual Arts Teacher

SPORT

On Friday 21st May, St. Patrick’s Marist College held its annual Athletics Carnival on the college grounds. The weather was tricky at times, but we managed to get through the full program on the day,  which was full of spirit, colour, athleticism and comradery.

The level of participation and house community spirit was extremely impressive with many students displaying solid performances in both track and field events. Students participated in a range of championship and non championship events on the day as well as novelties to allow for all levels of student engagement. Championship events that took place at the carnival were the Shot Put, Discus, Javelin, 100m, 200m, 400m as well as House relays. The remaining events will take place over the next week which will finalise the Age Champions and overall House Champion for the 2021 Athletics Carnival.

Our students embraced the day and all who attended are to be commended for the way they represented themselves and our college.

Well done to all athletes for your efforts on your ability to run and throw in your events as well as participate in novelty activities on the day; this is a credit to your dedication and support of the carnival.

Thank you to staff and students for your support of the athletics carnival. It was a wonderful day that showcased not only our talented athletes but also our great community at St. Patrick’s Marist College. A special mention to the many students who assisted at the carnival in a variety of roles. We look forward to announcing the Athletics Age Champions and Champion House in the near future.

Ryan James

Sport Coordinator

Sport Achievement

We would like to acknowledge the impressive diving achievements of Zac Aubry (10M) . Zac has represented the school in the CSNSW Diving and achieved first in Springboard and first in Open Platform. Zac was selected to represent NSW at the Nationals which were held from 11-18th April. He competed in the 1metre Springboard, 3 metre Springboard Platform and Synchro. He achieved two 2nd place positions, and a 4th place position. 

We congratulate Zac on these amazing achievements, a testament to his talent and ongoing hard work and determination. 

Miss Chanel Basha

Year 10 Leader of Learning Pastoral

HOSPITALITY

Hospitality VET

Ms Kasmer and Miss Tripodi took the Hospitality students into the city last week to conduct our Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee competency for our Certificate 2 In Hospitality VET course. We were all successful in achieving the competency which was run by the CBD College, at the Dymocks Building, Sydney. It was an amazing experience for the whole class because we weren’t allowed to go last year due to COVID. We had time to practice skills in an environment set up for all the steps needed to make an industry standard coffee beverage. We spent 3 hours learning about and making different coffees and learnt things like e.g., “what are the 4 main milk based coffees?” they are: Cappuccino, Flat white, Latte and Mocha. We had a machine to ourselves and were taken through all the steps from setting up to cleaning down and everything in between. We are now super excited to bring these skills to our college Coffee Shop, currently operating on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Afterwards, as a bonus extra, we were treated to a high tea in the Queen Victoria Building. One class went to The Palace and the other class, The Tearoom. We all chose our own teas and referred to the tea wheel to see what kind of sensory tea we each chose. We are still learning about detecting the various ‘notes’ in the different teas. We had amazing views from the window but the best part were the gorgeous cakes, pastries and sandwiches ... some of us couldn't eat it all, so they gave us a little box to take home. We are going to copy some of these ideas for the upcoming staff morning teas.

What a great day; coffee, tea and delicious morsels of food, and all in the syllabus!!! On the way home, we took in the city sights. The weather was so warm and perfect.

The Year 12 Hospitality students would like to thank St Patrick’s Marist College for allowing us to experience such a fun, relevant and delicious learning experience. 

Kaitlyn Brain 12 Edwin

ENGLISH

ENGLISH NEWS - HSC PREPARATION NOTIFICATION

Dear Parents/Caregivers of Year 12 students,

The English Faculty has implemented a pre-trial examination as a part of the HSC teaching and learning experience: to prepare students to write under examination conditions, to write to unseen questions, to awaken students to the necessity of effective ongoing revision and  essential examination preparation. Sections of the paper will be marked externally and internally.

The rationale of the Pre-Trial examination is to encourage students to assess their exam readiness and level of achievement under examination conditions and to identify gaps in their learning. Transferring knowledge and skills of previous learning into examination responses is an extremely challenging feat. The pre-trial examination should facilitate more effective post-assessment task revision and encourage students to compare and contrast their assessment task responses with their examination responses. The pre-trial examination should enable students to evaluate the effectiveness of their application to past papers and practice responses.

Year 12 students are expected to attend the pre-trial examinations.  No catch-up examinations will be organised. Students are to arrive at The Lavalla 10 minutes before their scheduled examination. Students should have their student numbers with them.

Here is the timetable for the following courses:

12 Extension 1  12 Advanced   12 Standard   12 Studies 

Term 2 Week 10B        

Monday 21st June, 2021 9am - 11.30am

Standard + Advanced:  Paper 2  Reading time: 5 minutes/ Working time: 2 hours

Studies: 10 minutes Reading time.  2 hours 30 minutes Working time.

Tuesday 22nd June, 2021 9am - 11.30am

Extension 1:  Reading time 10 minutes. Working time 2 hours.

Term 3 Week 1A - Tuesday 13th July, 2021

Period 3+4 - during class time

Standard + AdvancedPaper 1  Reading time:10 minutes.  Working time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Please do not hesitate to email me at sgraham5@parra.catholic.edu.au for further clarification.

Ms Shannon Graham

Leader of Learning, English (2021)

The English Faculty recently organised an excursion for the winners of a creative writing competition. 12 students were successful and their prize was a day out to attend the Writers Festival at Parramatta Riverside Theatre. Thanks to COVID, only Australian speakers presented their books. This was a ‘blessing in disguise’ because students adored the exposure to unique and contemporary Australian perspectives.

Throughout the day, writers inspired and challenged our students through a thoughtful discussion of literature and ideas. The program was designed to grow students’ enjoyment of books, writing and reading by providing them with new perspectives, insight into writing processes and encouragement to consider their own creative pursuits.

The winners who attended the festival were:

Kaelyn Louie (Year 9)

Finn Bowly (Year 11)

Mikayla Donaldson (Year 11)

Mia Northwood (Year 9)

Luca Pellegriti (Year 11)

Olivia Podmore (Year 10)

Alexandria Boumalhab (Year 11)

Shirley Zhang (Year 9)

Ayden Bottos (Year 9)

Chelsea Ceely (year 11)

Ria Iyer (Year 11)

Olivia Podmore (Year 10)

The winners of the competition were amazed and delighted to hear from writers about their craft. The exposure to this unique experience enabled students to carefully consider and critique all the points of views offered by different Australian authors on the creative writing process. 

Our students truly gained a new appreciation of the importance of literature to their lives.

Mrs Hajra Soomro,

English Competition coordinator, 

English Faculty

 

 

Debating 2021

Thank you to all our Debaters this year. Our first two rounds were at home against Holy Cross Ryde on the 30th April and Gilroy on the 7th of May. We have had a pleasing mix of wins and losses for each Year group. Our Year 7 team have really enjoyed the experience of debating. Here are some comments from the Round 1 Debaters:

Debating is such a great activity to get involved in! It’s a great way to make friends, learn more and use your skills in a fun, effective way. I definitely recommend trying out for the debating team in the future as it is really enjoyable and a great learning experience.

Shannon Rawat - 7 Paul

I am so lucky I had my schoolmates, teachers and Principal there to support my debating team with kind and motivating words.

I would like to thank the school for letting my teammates and I participate in this wonderful learning activity.

I hope debating becomes more popular because it really should be shared with more students.

Isabelle Brimicombe - 7 Paul

My name is Aahana Sharma and I am part of the Year 7 Debating Team.  I was the second speaker for the Round 1, Year 7 debate and we competed  against Holy Cross College. Our team consisted of Isabelle Brimicombe and Shannon Rawat.

After an hour of planning, then writing and speaking, the Adjudicator announced that we had won.

Isabelle, Shannon and I jumped with joy. We all felt a rush of excitement, satisfaction and delight. After we heard we won we went over to the opposition to congratulate them for their hard work and effort they put into their speech. 

Even though we won and regarding it as our first debate we went to the Principal to give us some feedback that we could improve on which could help us in future debates. We had numerous people congratulate us on the win and feel confident going into the next round. I am very grateful that I had a supportive team to motivate us all.

 I am so thankful that I have my friends, schoolmates, teachers and Principal there to support me and my team. I really hope that debating becomes more admired so more people can share what I am feeling through this article.    

Aahana Sharma - 7 Xavier

 Well done everyone!

Mrs Malone

Acting Assistant English Leader of Learning

 

MATHEMATICS

Minimum Standards – Year 10 Numeracy component

Dear Year 10 Parents/Guardians,

All year 10 students will sit a Minimum Standards online test on literacy and numeracy. Please watch the following video to assist your child prepare for the Numeracy component of this online test. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1268GMNsl0uotF_yenqP8-WiVQ_kOKRNz/view?usp=sharing

Please click the following link from NESA to get more information about the Minimum Standards test.

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard/online-tests



Wellbeing

On the 12th of May, the College Junior leaders volunteered to make sandwiches for the homeless in an initiative called the Western Sydney Night Patrol. This initiative is run by St Vincent de Paul and serves the Greater Western Sydney area. The students were tasked with making 81 sandwiches, with different toppings, including ham, cheese, tuna, and tomato. It took about 1 and a half hours, but in the end, the sandwiches arrived on time to feed the hungry. All in all, it was a great effort from the students and an enriching experience as well.

Ayden Bottos 9 Paul

Junior Formation Captain 2021.

From the Library ...

Community News

Year 11 and HSC Maths and Science seminars - Parramatta Library

City of Parramatta Libraries in conjunction with the Board of Studies will be presenting Maths and Science seminars for Year 11 & Year 12 students during the school holidays.

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Anne Poole 9806 5192 or Sarah 9806 5152.


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Council's National Tree Day Celebrations

City of Parramatta is celebrating National Tree Day with a series of planting events. Please find attached a digital flyer promoting Council’s National Tree Day event series.