Delany College - Granville

Newsletter Term 1 Week 5

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Last week was a great week at the College. We celebrated our Ash Wednesday with Fr Andrew and then finished the week with our college swimming carnival. Both events were good opportunities for students to show their community spirit and pride in being part of our college. A special thank you to the 2021 Seniors that attended and led by example at both events, encouraging and supporting younger students.

This week, we launched our Opportunity Class - Academy 1:5:1 program for students in Years 9 and 10. The Academy 1:5:1 program will give students the opportunity to enrich their learning by participating in a specialised program that focuses on deepening knowledge, skill development and provides mentoring by expert teachers. A letter was distributed to students in Stage 5 on Monday outlining the program together with an expression of interest form. Parents and carers seeking to enrol their child in the program are required to attend the Information Evening at the college this Thursday at 5:30 pm. The program will commence from the beginning of Term 2, 2021.

Now that we have completed almost 5 weeks of schooling it is a good time to discuss with your child how they are going with their learning. All students have completed at least one piece of assessment per subject and have received feedback from their teachers. What we should be seeing from every student is:

  • Established study habits and patterns of working at home - Year 7 students should be doing at least 1 hr per evening with Year 12 students committing to at least 3 hrs of regular study at home. 

  • Regular attendance, participation and punctuality to classes. These, along with being prepared for each lesson, are not negotiables for student success. 

  • Use of their diaries to record homework and dates assessment items are due. These should be signed each week by parents / carer.  

Teachers will regularly make notes and comments in student diaries and these are important tools for communication with you as parents/carers. These things are the building blocks for future success at school and beyond. Please be active in assisting your child in developing good habits.

Finally, it is with sadness that we ask you to pray for the soul of Br Mark Ryan. Br Mark passed away last Sunday, 21 February 2021, and we send our prayers to his family and the Patrician community.  

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

God Bless.

Mr Paul Easton

Principal

Assistant Principal


There is, on a periodic basis, a debate that appears in the media between the positions of single-sex and co-educational (co-ed) schools. There are valid arguments on both sides, and I don’t intend to enter the debate here. Personally, I have spent most of my career working in boys’ schools, and my five years at Delany has been my only work in a co-ed school. However, I have spent my entire adult working life in co-ed jobs! In other words, your child’s Delany classrooms are a preparation for the family and work experiences of their future.

During the past few weeks, and not for the first time, we have heard reports of a culture of workplace bullying and discrimination from the halls of our federal parliament. It is certainly not the only example. It is more shocking to have heard the allegation of sexual assaults that may have occurred in parliament. Sadly it has taken the courageous story of Ms Brittany Hughes, and now others who have spoken out, to shine a light on this behaviour. An important element that is apparently missing from federal Parliament is a clear process by which to report such experiences.

My experience at Delany College  demonstrates the importance of young women and men working together in a “normal” environment.  In between all the academic learning that occurs at school there are a tremendous number of learning opportunities that relate to developing and maintaining healthy and respectful relationships. It is a pleasure to see the way our students interact in classes and activities in exactly the way we all should - with confidence and safety. 

We also acknowledge that adolescence is a period of significant change in a young person - emotionally, physically and socially. These changes also impact on the relationship between young men and women. Friendships come and go, and even the occasional relationship flourishes then end - all of which is not only normal but another important element of learning. These changes require the skills of resilience and sometimes courage.

I don’t suggest for a moment that bickering doesn't occur;, bullying is reported and bust ups emerge. One measure of success is how often these events occur. From our perspective, a key to minimising these events is the speed with which we respond to an incident, the restoration of positive relationships after the event, and the confidence in the support a student receives to be resilient - get up and start again.

The College has policies and procedures that address bullying, and these are available to read on our website. We have four outstanding House Coordinators who work with, teach and support students when they need a hand. Every one of our teaching and administration staff also offer support, a listening ear or a suggestion to help in tough times. And we have Mrs Kate Roberts, who is well known by the majority of our students, who is a second-to-none counsellor.

Regardless of policies and procedures, good friends or capable staff, there is one essential ingredient in responding to inappropriate incidents. It is the key ingredient that has empowered Ms Higgins to speak up about her ordeal, and the same for our Australian of the Year Ms Grace Tame. It is courage to tell someone. We learn sometimes that a student who reports bullying has waited for a long time to say anything. If we don’t know we can’t help. 

I encourage you to keep asking your child about their day. What did you learn today? What was most interesting? What was funniest or frustrating? Who are your friends? What learning teams are you in? What is most challenging, what is most enjoyable? And I encourage you to empower your child to be open and honest with their teachers - whether that’s friendship problems, social media or learning challenges. Our response will not be to just give all the answers, but rather to use these conversations as teaching and learning opportunities through which we develop resilience as well as skills.

We are teaching and learning for success at school, but more importantly, success for the future families and workplaces our young people will lead.  If we are successful, they will lead with compassion, courage and resilience.


St Patrick, pray for us.


Mr Anthony Blomfield

Assistant Principal

Religious Education

Shrove Tuesday 

With the commencement of lent on Wednesday 17 February , the Year 12 leadership team celebrated Shrove Tuesday with the school community. Shrove Tuesday, also known as pancake day, is the last day before the period of lent begins. Lent is a time where adherents fast off something of their choice in remembrance of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. As such, the leaders, with a special thanks to Miss Katrib and Mrs Sahyoun, sold delicious homemade pancakes with all proceeds raised going to Project Compassion. 

School Captain, Naomi Habib 

Ash Wednesday 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Every year at Delany College we celebrate this important event on liturgical calendar. Despite the unprecedented circumstances,  we were fortunate to be able to hold a liturgy on school grounds and joined together as a community. Ashes were sprinkled to commemorate the event by the formation leaders and house coordinators. During the liturgy, project compassion was launched and blessed by Father Andrew to begin a new journey of charity with the Delany spirit. 

 Formation Leaders, Maggie Fahed & Julie-anne Habib 

Fill your Cup

Fill your cup is a social justice initiative that was started in Term 4, 2020. This event was run by the formation leaders, Maggie Fahed,

Julie-Anne Habib and school captain Naomi Habib, together with Mrs Stow and Miss Guillaume. Teachers and students from all grades are welcomed to join the gathering each week on Tuesday morning before school to discuss certain topics and raise awareness within our community. Topics such as racism, discrimination and even homelessness have been discussed. We've also had members of ‘Youth off the Streets’ by Father Chris Riley, make an appearance, which further enhanced the discussion. 

We invite all students and teachers to attend or continue to attend, on Tuesday mornings from 8am. See you there!

Formation leaders, Mira Fahed & Bianca Wehbe 

Lifted

an event held on the Wednesday 24 February by Catholic Youth Parramatta that included many schools across the Parramatta Diocese and beyond. Stretching from the Blue Mountains to Ryde, LIFTED invited leaders to connect together in an online Zoom conference to explore the theme ‘Be More’ and included some formation around the ‘art of accompaniment’ as a tool for Christian leadership. The day allowed the Year 12  Delany Leaders the chance to network with other school leaders, share ideas and consider several opportunities for Delany’s future. We were fortunate enough to have musician Gen Bryant perform multiple Catholic songs live at the conference which engaged all schools in a virtual concert. We also celebrated a milestone of 200 years of Catholic Education this year! LIFTED concluded the day with a message to all schools: To have “Faith in our Future.”

Brandon Zaiter, Delany School Captain

Morgan Chen & Jerry Chen - Year 7

Students Morgan Chen & Jerry Chen, who are twins in Year 7 have taken out major awards in the 2020 Young Archie Awards run by the Art Gallery of NSW. 

It is also worth mentioning both students won and were listed as highly commended in our own Monsignor McGovern Primary School Art Awards in 2019.

Photo: Jerry with Johnny Romeo - Winner Year 5  (Holy Family)

2019 Monsignor McGovern Portrait Prize 2019 and his brother Morgan's work ( highly commended). 

We are very happy for & proud of Morgan & Jerry and congratulate them on their drive & focus and for pursuing their passion.

Well done !!


Mrs L Broue 

Creative Emergence & Design Leader

We ask all parents/carers to be mindful and considerate of our neighbours when dropping off and/or picking up students. Please DO NOT park across anyone's driveway. Fines can apply.


Thank you 

Delany College

Families have now received their 2021 Fee Statements. Any outstanding 2020 fees have been carried forward to Term 1, 2021. The first payment is due by Wednesday, 17 March.

Fee relief is available to support families who are experiencing financial hardship.

There are various ways parents/carers can apply for fee relief. For more information please read the attached letter from the CEDP.

Thank you

Christine Marji

Senior Finance Officer

Maths Matters

The Delany Gambit

It appears while on duty in the library at lunch, a massive influx of students have taken up chess. A mesmerising strategic game, if you understand what is happening (I certainly do not!).

Do we have any students or staff interested in starting a chess club at Delany? I will be the first to sign up!

Science

Year 11

This week we had a practical lesson in Investigating Science measuring the pH of different household chemicals using a pH meter and pH paper. 

Year 8

Measuring volumes during science class and trying to mix and measure different volumes of coloured liquids was the practical lesson Year 8 students participated in this week. 

Ms Grace Hey 

Science Leader of Learning

Science club is happening again this year-

Thursday afternoons from 3:15- 4:20pm.

If you would like to attend please talk to your Science Teachers. 

Come along if you would like to participate in Science competitions, perform some different experiments or get some help with Science. 

Swimming Carnival

The annual Delany College swimming carnival was a real blessing for our students in 2021. After a year where many whole school activities had been cancelled (particularly those that involved sport) we have learned what a real privilege it is to come together in events like this and celebrate our community by competing in swimming races and other water-based activities.


The most heart warming thing about this event every year is watching some of our students conquer their fears and show real courage by attempting to swim a full 50m, with very little swimming experience prior to the carnival. What makes it more fantastic is watching the response from other students as they encourage them to complete the race. It really shows why our community is so special.

 

The day started poorly in terms of the weather, with some relatively heavy showers in the morning, but this disappeared very quickly once the students entered Granville Swimming Centre. Our year 12 students treated the rest of the school to a parade of their costumes that had been organised for the day in order to represent their respective house colours in a fun and engaging way. Thank you to the Year 12 student leadership team for coordinating this.

 

After a day of tough competition from all houses, Tierney (green) came out on top as they took firm command of the Delany College House Trophy for 2021. The win was mainly attributed to Tierney students participating in every event - including the 50m races.

 

Special congratulations must go to the students listed below who are our recognised age champions from the day. These students earned the most points for their houses in the 50m individual races:

- U12 Boys: Taonga Tembo-Sievers

- U13 Girls: Leti Taufa'ao

- U13 Boys: Jack Perrin

- U14 Girls: Maddy Hughes

- U14 Boys: Sebastian Roughley

- U15 Girls: Ofa Taani

- U15 Boys: Daniel Heuving

- U16 Girls: Claressa Bechara

- U16 Boys: Joshua Roughley

- Opens Girls: Christina Awad

- Opens Boys: Krish Shrestha

 

Well done to these students and thanks to all staff who helped ensure a fun and eventful day for our students.

 

Alexander Peronace

PDHPE and Sport Coordinator

Fun at the carnival

Holiday Fun

Vaccinations 2021

Updated Health Care Plans & Medical Information

If your child has any type of allergy or Asthma please make sure you have an updated Health Care Plan or Asthma Action Plan from your doctor.

Without this Health Care Plan the school can not provide the appropriate medical treatment should your child become ill. The school updates their Excursion Risk Assessments from the Health Care Plan you provide to the school.  

If your child takes medication on a regular basis the school will also need a letter from your local doctor or specialist indicating the medications taken, recommended dosage and time of the day this medication is consumed.

This is to ensure that should your child need to be treated by an ambulance or doctor in an emergency situation, the school can provide the relevant details.Please hand in all Health Care Plans to the Administration office and request that the plan be passed onto Mrs Collimore.

Mrs K Collimore
Diversity Leader

If something happens to your child,

we need to be able to contact you.


Please make sure all your details are updated, if you're

not sure please do not hesitate to contact our Administration

Office on 8633 8100.

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is open every Tuesday from 8am to 2pm.

For your convenience, uniforms can be ordered online via

www.noone.com.au/school/delany-college/shop


Thank you 

Uniform Shop

Blazers

Important Dates

Pupil Free Day Friday 26 February

Year 7 Patrician induction day

(selected students)

Friday 5 March
 College Open dayThursday 11 March
 Year 12 Parent/student/teacher interviews (zoom)Tuesday 30 March

Don't forget, you can use the SkoolBag App to add events directly to your phone's calendar! 

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We ask all parents/carers to please download the SkoolBag app. We use it as one of the main ways to communicate with you. If you need help downloading it, please contact our Administration Office on 8633 8100.