Star of Peace

We have had a wonderful start to 2021. This week we began the season of Lent. We are reminded as we begin the Lenten season that lent is a time of reflection, a time of renewal and repentance and a time for prayer.  It is a time of preparation for the most important time of our church calendar, Easter. We understand that we are here in community because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we work each and every day to encourage our students to be witnesses to Christ, to be Christ like and understand that they are the faces of Jesus. 

Christopher Wells from the Vatican news provides a wonderful summary of Pope Francis’s Lenten Message for 2021, where the Pope calls on the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.”

Grounding his reflection on the Paschal Mystery, the Pope says, “This Lenten journey … is even now illumined by the light of the resurrection, which inspires the thoughts, attitudes and decisions of the followers of Jesus.”  This journey of conversion, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, “makes it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope, and effective charity.”

The Holy Father explains “accepting and living the truth revealed in Christ means, first of all, opening our hearts to God’s word.” Through fasting, 'experienced as a form of self-denial,' we are able 'to rediscover God’s gift and recognise that, created in His image and likeness, we find our fulfillment in Him.' Fasting, too, by helping us recognise our own poverty, helps us to love both God and neighbour.

“Lent is a time for believing,” the Pope says, "for welcoming God into our lives and allowing Him to ‘make His dwelling’ in us.” He relates the virtue of hope to the ‘living water’ that Jesus promises the Samaritan woman at the well. This is not the physical water the woman is expecting, but rather the Holy Spirit who is given through the Paschal Mystery. Although hope may seem challenging in fragile and uncertain times, “Lent is precisely the season of hope, when we turn back to God, through “recollection and silent prayer.” The experience of hope in Lent, “means receiving the hope of Christ, who gave His life on the Cross and was raised by God on the third day.”

Love is the highest expression of faith and hope. “Love is a leap of the heart,” says Pope Francis. “It brings us out of ourselves and creates bonds of sharing and communion.”

He again emphasises the need for “social love” in building up “a civilisation of love.” “Love is a gift that gives meaning to our lives,” he says. Love helps us to see all men and women as our brothers and sisters. Charity is multiplied when given with love, as we see not only in the Scriptures, but in our own lives, too, when we give alms “with joy and simplicity.”

“To experience Lent with love,” says Pope Francis, "means caring for those who suffer or feel abandoned because of the Covid-19 pandemic.” He invites us to “speak words of reassurance, and help others to realise that God loves them as sons and daughters.”

After reminding us that “every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping, and loving,” Pope Francis concludes by saying:

"The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer and sharing of our goods, helps us – as communities and as individuals – to revive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the love flowing from the merciful heart of the Father."

Enrolments for 2022 are open and close on the 19th March. First round offers will be made on the 31st March. I encourage families to remind family and friends of these dates. If you have any queries about enrolment please contact the office.

There will be a number of opportunities for existing and new families to visit our new learning spaces. Next week our Year 7 parents, during the Parent Information Evening, will be able to view the spaces and we will also be organising some short after school tours for existing families during Catholic Schools Week as well as for potential families on Open Day. Registration for Open Day tours is currently available through our website and further information regarding further tours will be communicated shortly.

ANNUAL REMINDERS: 

• St Patrick’s Marist College prohibits the use of corporal punishment in any situations by any of its staff.

• As part of our WHS, we ask that parents coming to the front office enter via the front gate and do not enter the playground during school hours.

• From time to time, we have issues that often stem from social media, and on occasion a parent who is frustrated by what is happening may feel inclined to join in the messaging or message another child directly. Can I please implore you to allow us to manage these situations, it is not appropriate for an adult to make contact with a child on social media or at all. Any threat made to a student is reported by us directly to the police. A reminder that no social media group should have the school name or crest on it, other than those created by the College.

• The College communicates in a number of ways: through our newsletter, through the Skoolbag App (search Skoolbag St Patrick’s Marist College), email and Facebook. 

God Bless

Mrs Angela Hay

Principal Leader

On Wednesday 10 February, our community celebrated with the High Achievers from our HSC Class of 2020. Each year we invite back the Year 12 Students who excelled in their HSC, especially those who received an ATAR of 90 or above. We also celebrated students who received a State placing in their respective courses and our “All Rounders”, students who achieved 5 or more band 6 results. Whilst we were required to hold a more intimate celebration than our usual traditions, we were able to invite ten of our Year 12 students back to celebrate their successes and achievements. We could only celebrate with these ten students present, but they ably represented their classmates, friends and their families. It is important to acknowledge that the Class of 2020 faced some of the most challenging of circumstances at the end of their schooling. They were brave and determined and it makes their results even more impressive.

During this ceremony we acknowledge a range of achievements of our Year 12 students, based on the recognition NESA awards students in the HSC. It is at this time that we also announce our College Dux placings.

The following students are recognised as High Achievers for obtaining an ATAR of 90 or above:

• Joseph Arabit

• Claudia Ball

• Gabriella Bovino

• Bethany Bayeh

• Tamsyn Brown

• Harry Chen

• Janika, Fernando

• Imogen Harrigan

• Gavin Li

• Leo Lim

• Eve Watson

NESA also acknowledges those students who achieve five or more Band 6 results in their subjects (or E4 for extension courses). These students receive the All-Rounder Award:

• Gabriella Bovina

• Gavin Li

Top Achievers are students who achieved one of the highest places in a HSC course or a VET examination in the HSC. They also received a mark in the highest band. Most impressively one student achieved the following outstanding results:

• Joseph Arabit: 3rd in English Advanced, 6th in English Extension 1, 9th in Studies of Religion (2unit)

The College Dux is determined by ATAR results. Gavin Li was named as College Dux for the HSC Class of 2020, with Gabriella Bovino and Joseph Arabit joining Gavin to round out the top three ATARs for 2020.

The afternoon concluded with a light lunch where family, friends, staff and the award recipients had the opportunity to catch up and talk about their next steps. Our current Year 12 then had the opportunity to meet with our award winners and ask questions about the secrets to their success.

As so many of our community were not able to hear from our College Dux, who thanked the College on behalf of Year 12, or Gabriella Bovino who shared her insights of the HSC, we have included their speeches below.

The final message from the HSC Class of 2020, for the HSC Class of 2021; if you work hard, and work together, you too, can achieve fantastic results. Positive attitudes bring about actions that impact deeply upon your learning. Set your goals, set them high, set them now, and if you need help, ask for it.

Gavin Li's High Achiever Speech:

"Hello Mrs Hay, staff, students and other members of the college community, I am speaking to you on behalf of the recently graduated Class of 2020.

As we all know, 2020 is a year like no other. Coronavirus disrupted our society, our economy and our daily lives. Quarantine was no joke. Suddenly home became school, and school became home. So to our parents, hats off for putting up with us and a new sudden routine in what is arguably the most important year of our lives so far.  We were grateful that you’re always there to hear our cries and laughs even though we might be too busy to hear yours.

Despite the surrounding global pandemic, the year was filled with ups and downs  - peaks and troughs.  And for that, we as the graduates of 2020 would like to thank the school for providing an environment that nurtured us both academically and spiritually in the toughest times of our 6 years journey here. Thank you for shaping us into the young men and women that we have become, the adults of the future.

With school comes the teachers. Thank you for being there, in person or in Zoom, to guide our learning so we can achieve our potentials. Although your camera and mic may not be the best of quality and cuts every 5 minutes, it gives us a sense of unity that we are all in this together.

And how could we forget each other. Our cohort. We will always cherish the moments we made in this reminiscent year - the memories, the laughter and the banter. No matter where we go or where we end up, how could we forget it all? It won’t go away. So shout out to my friends, cheers for this epic journey and can’t wait for more to come. 

To the graduating class of 2021 and those in year 11, it sounds cliche but the time is now. This is the adage I’ve heard in 2020 - an adage that I eventually realised the truth in.  It’s never too late to start now. Establish a balanced routine that fits your activities and hobbies - and remember, make sure your time is allocated equally to all your subjects. 

Never forget to ask yourselves the central question - why am I doing this? Link every point on your notes back to the seemingly trivial module questions. If a concept or a theory is central to this module, then write it as many times as you need so that it sticks to the back of your mind. Slightly change what you have to memorize so that your mind is inclined to remember it for longer. But remember to not rote learn for the sake of copy and paste, but rather flexibly adjust the concepts to exam questions. Always keep in mind that what you’re learning is the textbook version of real life applications.

Try your best, grind each assignment and there will be nothing to worry about. It’s ok to feel disappointed despite knowing you’ve tried your best. Remember, the HSC is a marathon, not a sprint. Ask for help - from your teachers, your parents or your peers. Use every feedback of your work to your advantage and don’t forget to help those around you. In this way, 2022 will be your year to shine. Make the most of what 2021 has to offer and as always, Esto Fidelis - Stay faithful."

Gabriella Bovino's High Achiever Speech:

Good afternoon staff and students, I am pleased that I was asked to speak to you today regarding the HSC and study in general. One of my role models - Elle Woods from legally blonde once said; “it is with passion, courage of conviction and a strong sense of self that we should take our next steps into the world.”

Commitment to study or let alone anything worth achieving in life takes courage to pursue your own conviction, the strongest sense of self belief that you can achieve whatever you put your mind towards and a passion to grow and learn. 

Personally, I aimed to take my steps through HSC with said courage and passion. Talking to me on a general basis many think that my head is made of air - which is completely understandable given my erratic thoughts that I always feel the need to announce. However, if I had taken the light-hearted jokes to heart and listened to what others said , I can assure you that I would not be standing here today. 

Instead, I remember sitting in the position you're in now and deciding that one day I would be featured as a ‘high achiever’, setting myself a goal of 90. With determination, focus, discipline and the humility to ask my teachers and peers for help, I exceeded my goals that I would have thought impossible. 

An important factor to success is to disregard your worry for what everyone else is doing and focus on bettering yourself. At times i worried about not having a tutor like many others or a smarter older sibling’s notes but what you lack in tools and natural ability can be made up for with extra determination and discipline to put in the extra effort where others don’t which is a good approach to carry throughout life. 

However, it is important to know that HSC shouldn’t mean that all social and personal activities of enjoyment must be sacrificed. With organisation you shouldn't have to give up anything, it's all about prioritising your time. Rather than scrolling through tick tock and social media, I prioritised the time to be saved in order to go to the gym, out for dinner with friends and every party that covid would allow. After 9pm i never did any more school work, allowing myself time for netflix, even the night before exams. 

Evidently, HSC is actually an exciting chance to use all your prior schooling years of preparation into something that matters. In saying so, I would like to sincerely thank the college and support staff for providing amazing support and tools to achieve success. Teachers have a drastic impact on a student’s life. The extra effort and motivation they provide is well beyond their job description. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for the mountains of feedback and editing of work given at all hours and the engaging presentation of content that made me want to learn. I would also like to thank my parents for their endless support and apologize if I ever let my stress out on them which I don't think I did. 

Goodluck to all undertaking the HSC and just remember to ground yourself in the fact that it isn't the be-all and end-all and to use the support given to you. 

And for the younger years, my advice to you is to embrace highschool and get involved in everything. No one is ever too cool for participation, trust me, i participated in everything, because high school can only be experienced once so take the opportunities given to explore what you like. Thank you. 

Mrs J. Starkey

Assistant Principal - Innovation, Teaching and Learning

Following this notice you will be able to access the most recent information in relation to bus services for St Patrick's Marist College. These timetable details relate to all school special services and 'regular' state transit bus services that stop near the school (i.e 545). Included for all of these services are a timetable and a map showing the bus route and also locations for drop-offs and pickups. For further information in relation to bus services, please use the State Transit site linked below 

Bus Routes following include:

521 - Parramatta to Eastwood

545 - Parramatta to Macquarie Park

583w - Badajoz and Quarry Roads to Marist Sisters, Woolwich

599w - West Ryde Station to St Patrick's Marist, Dundas

600w - St Patrick's Marist Dundas to Ryde Shops

601w - Ryde to St Patrick's Marist, Dundas

602w - St Patrick's Marist, Dundas to Parramatta Station

603w - St Patrick's Marist, Dundas to Ryde Shops

604w - St Patrick's Marist, Dundas to Eastwood Station

605w - Westfield, North Rocks to St Patrick's Marist, Dundas

606w - Baker and Pennant Hills Road to St Patrick's Marist Dundas

607w - St Patrick's Marist, Dundas to Westfield North Rocks

608w - Parramatta Station to St Patrick's Marist Dundas

611w - Macarthur GHS to Stewart Street and Kissing Point Road, Dundas

703w - Ryde Secondary College to Twin and Goulding Roads, North Ryde

730w - Baulkham Hills High to Westfield, North Rocks

Lastly, our bus services are calculated on the number of students who use these. This is done by the students who 'tap on', especially from school. Please remind your child to have their Opal card and tap on each time they use a bus service. These numbers determine how many buses we are assigned each year. If they do not have an Opal card or have lost their original card, please use the State Transit site (linked above) to obtain a new card.

The Y Space Parramatta Pop-Up is a place for young people to learn new skills; connect with peers in a safe and inclusive environment; chat with youth workers and local support services. This space was shaped by the voices of young people, meeting a range of needs and interests. We offer creative and skill-building workshops, wellbeing sessions and more. Young people can drop-in between 12.00pm-3.30pm, or book in for a workshop from 3.30pm-5.30pm Monday-Saturday. See the space in action here

Thanks to the support of Westfield Parramatta, City of Parramatta, and NSW Department of Communities and Justice, all programming is free and accessible to young people aged 12-24. 

We have plenty of free accredited training and workshops to support your young people. Feel free to refer anyone you think would benefit. I am happy to come out and share more information at an assembly, or provide information to include in your school newsletter. See a guideline of our workshops below:

Weekly Skill-building Workshops and Wellbeing Sessions 

Bus Bay Congestion

There are a number of buses that drive into the bus bay each morning, as well as a number of parent cars.  However, we seem to have quite a bit of traffic congestion at the exit Gate B as buses and cars attempt to turn right onto Kirby St.  We have also noticed some dangerous moves by some parents sneaking in front of buses!  This is a major safety issue.

Please consider our neighbours and other road users and only use the bus bay if you intend to turn left at the exit or if you are entering early, i.e. before the peak. 

Also. please consider dropping off your children a little further up Kirby Street and they can walk the short distance to the school, or if possible, they can catch a bus. Other than the buses that drive onsite, many other public buses stop at Kissing Point Road. We have staff supervision in the mornings and in the afternoons.

Don’t forget, parents are not allowed to drive through the bus bay in the afternoons, as some buses arrive early and need to wait until school finishes. They cannot wait on Kirby Street.

Maintenance Work During the Holidays

• Other than the usual behind-the-scenes maintenance by our maintenance team, we had multiple tradespeople in to do all the background servicing, repairs and maintenance work to ensure the school continues to function safely and is clean, neat and tidy.
• We also had the front of office building and the basketball courts pressure washed, the older demountables were painted, new blinds installed and new furniture from the new demountables were bought in, the staff study was re-furnished and re-painted, the staff lunchroom was re-furnished, an outdoor TV installed for sports/other communications, large audio/visual project in La Valla was completed, the music rooms were started with creating additional rehearsal spaces, we set up a specialised VET Business Services room and are about to set up the specialised VET Retail room.
• Replacement of underground hydrant pipes – the plumbers have finally completed this massive job. They will be conducting the final pressure flow test on Monday but are confident that everything is working properly.
• New concrete pathways – we started the first stage of replacing our concrete pathways at the front of the school.
• The first stage included widening one of the new pathways coming from the new building towards the bus bay.
• The next stage will be done during the April school holidays and will include the main pathway up to reception (including an accessible ramp) as well as the large pathway up to the junior breezeway.
• I am already planning ahead for the pathways including the one that leads up to La Valla from the bus bay.
• Irrigation work – irrigation was installed in the rose garden and around the statue of Marcellin at the front of the school. And additional taps were installed in the large front gardens. We will be planning for irrigation to be put into the back soccer oval soon.
• Gardens at the front of new gates – repair work was required as the drainage that was installed needed corrective action.
• All these works resulted in quite a bit of damage to our beautiful front lawns. However, we can now start to re-turf, top-dress and/or otherwise work on them.
• Gate E – is our new electronic gate with intercom on Kirby Street in front of Reception. At the moment, it is not working (due to the repair work done on the gardens). However, this gate would normally be locked during the day (except for the morning entry and afternoon exit), so parents/carers/visitors should buzz the intercom for access to the school.
• Gate F – is another new gate in front of the new building. It is opened and closed at the same times as all of our other gates ie for student entry in the morning and student exit in the afternoons.

WHS Emergency Drills (Lockdown and Evacuation)

These are part of our WHS compliance routine practice 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 was to occur).

We usually schedule our first lockdown and evacuation drill on the first day that all students return to school, each year. Whilst we were able to practice our lockdown drill, on Friday 29th January, due to the wet weather, we had to postpone the evacuation drill. This will be re-scheduled as soon as possible, so that all students are aware of where to assemble and how to get there. All new staff have been advised of our evacuation procedures and have been shown the assembly point during their induction into the school.

It is a CEDP requirement that we practice at least one drill each term. The WHS Committee will meet soon and determine the schedule for the remaining terms.

Cleaning and COVID-19

Other than our normal weekly/holidays cleaning, we continue to provide:

•  Sanitise in every classroom, sanitising alcohol wipes for musical instruments and other shared laptops or equipment. Science labs have sinks with hand soap.
• Sanitisation stations inside the main reception and Wiyanga’s reception as well as in junior breezeway and in the main courtyard
• Our cleaners are continuing to disinfect touchpoints in every classroom/learning space and every office, every night!
• Students are being sent home if they are unwell. They cannot simply stay in sick bay.

Payments of School Fees

CEDP will be posting school fees statements soon. The best way to pay for school fees is online via BPoint (using the reference on your school fee statement) or to take up the flexible payment options as mentioned on your statement.

Alternatively, payments can be made via credit card over phone or by EFTPOS at reception. However, if you want to pay school fees in cash, please go to local post office to pay by BillPay (using the reference code found on your school fee statement).

Other Financial Payments

Our school fees already include most of the required resources that your child(ren) need. So, there are minimal additional costs to pay. Items that are NOT included in school fees are formals, rep sport uniform, hats/ties, replacement items, etc.

We are moving to cash-free transactions, as is similarly reflected in the current retail world due to COVID. We already have EFTPOS facilities at reception and can take credit card payments over the phone. And, we will be introducing an app soon, for these items. Details to follow.

We will only accept cash for smaller fundraising appeals such as Lenten, mufti, etc.

Canteen

We encourage students to pre-order their lunch (ie before homeroom). Lunch orders are handed out first, so students who have ordered, do not have to line up.

The canteen operators have introduced an online pre-ordering system called Flexischools. This will allow parents/students to order and pay online at any time (eg the night before). Just download the app and register as a user, then order and pay online and students can pick up their lunch without having to line up.

Lowes Uniform Shop, Carlingford

I will resume regular meetings with our Lowes reps in next few weeks. We discuss stock balances of all uniform and sports uniform items held in-store, in their warehouses and on order, to ensure they are sufficient for our seasonal needs. Lowes also sells school bags and sports bags.

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

Lowes customer info/feedback/complaints email address is customercare@lowes.com.au for customers who want to know information, or have a problem that cannot be solved at the store level.

Onsite Uniform Shop (part of the “Book Room”)

In 2021, our onsite uniform shop is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays (before school, during recess/lunch break). We currently sell:

• Sports bags – we have limited remaining stock on-hand;
• Hats – from 2021, these will be distributed to Year7 together with the stationery packs at the beginning of the year (included in school fees). All other new students need to purchase a hat. Replacement hats can also be purchased.
• Boys Ties:  boys in Year10, Year11 and Year 12 wear the Senior Tie all year, while Year7, Year 8 and Year 9 wear the Junior tie in Terms 2 and 3 only.
• Representative Sports Uniforms – are sold as required by rep sports coordinator.

We also sell good quality second-hand uniform.

Lost Property

We have a lot of lost property. At the end of each term, any unclaimed uniform items are added to our second-hand uniform stock. Other items eg water bottles, lunch boxes, umbrellas, etc are discarded. 

If you label your child’s uniform, we can contact them to come to the office to collect it.

Ms Vicki Fraser

Business Manager

The first instalment of the School Fees has been mailed to all families this week from the Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta.  Please contact me if you do not receive your statement by the end of next week or have any concerns regarding your fees.  Fees are due by 17th March unless you go on a formal payment arrangement.

A new payment arrangement needs to be organised for the 2021 fees. 

The payment options are included in your first statement.   Payment of fees can be paid by:  Bpoint (credit card), direct debit, cheque, bpay, billpay (post office), Centrelink payments and over the counter eftpos.  If you are paying with cash this can be paid at your local post office using billpay.

Any family experiencing financial difficulty can contact me confidentially on – 8841 7955 Monday to Thursday or email rwadih@parra.catholic.edu.au or  PATS-DNDSFees@parra.catholic.edu.au .  The College is always happy to assist any family requiring more time to pay off the fees.

Ms R. Wadih

School Fee Administrator

Dear Year 7 Parents

We would like to invite you to the Year 7 Parents Welcome Night. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your 2021 cohort and also meet parents in your child's homeroom.

This year's night will be held on Friday 12 March at 7pm in the Harrington Courtyard.

Please RSVP via the following link https://www.trybooking.com/BOWRZ

For catering purposes RSVPs need to be in by Monday 8 March.

This is a free parent only event.

Please note that this event is subject to change and is dependant on COVID-19 Government regulations at the time of the event.  A reminder if you have visited a hot spot, awaiting COVID-19 test results or have any COVID-19 symptoms that you do not attend this event.  Please ensure you follow the COVID-safe protocol including hand sanitising and social distancing at the event.  We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at pandfstpatsdundas@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you all!

St Patricks Marist College and P &F

PARENT / COLLEGE PARTNERSHIP

At St Patrick’s Marist we value our teacher/parent/caregiver partnership. To enable good communication, please find below email contacts of our Leaders of Learning, both Pastoral and Key Learning Areas (KLA). Timely communication builds strong partnerships with parents/caregivers and teachers to support each student with their learning and to develop ongoing strategies to experience success, both at school and at home. Please contact our Leaders of Learning if you have any concerns, require information or further clarification about College life.

Leaders of Learning Pastoral   

Leaders of Learning - KLA

College Communication

Our newsletter, ‘The Star of Peace’ is published fortnightly on our website and a link is emailed to parents through the Skoolbag App. The newsletter highlights the latest news and achievements from our students, staff and our Marist community.  If you do not receive the emailed link to the newsletter, please contact the College Office on 8841 7900 to rectify.  It is important that an up-to-date email is on file at the College to ensure that not only the newsletter but other important information is delivered to parents/carers in an accurate and timely manner.

If you wish to provide feedback, let me know of your son/daughter achievements outside of the College or if you have any concerns around communication here at the College please do not hesitate to contact me at clemottee@parra.catholic.edu.au 

Mrs C. Le Mottee

Communications

Reminder to all parents that the P&F AGM and General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 23 February at 7.30pm (Venue to be confirmed)

If you have ideas, feedback or would like to be involved in serving please send an email to pandfstpatsdundas@gmail.com

St Patricks Marist P&F Executive

A reminder that the P&F 2021 AGM and Term 1 General meeting is on this Tuesday 23 February at 7.30pm. Please meet in the Harrington Courtyard and we will decide where we will meet based on our numbers.  

Opportunities to serve this Term:

• Year 7 Parents Welcome Night, Friday 12 March at 7pm. 

The College together with the P&F are proud to be launching a new initiative in 2021.  Our aim is to gather our parent community and encourage growth in knowledge and insight into various areas of parenting. It is also to build relationship and connection with our parent body.

Below are some dates for your diary.

Parent Seminars

Hosted by St Patricks Marist College but the invitation will be extended to parents from feeder schools and other schools in the Diocese.

Celebration Events

These events are for the St Patrick’s Marist College community.

The Council of Catholic School Parents CCSP is a peak body representing parents and carers of children and young people in Catholic schools. I encourage you to follow this group, they have a range of resources that you may find useful. I am very impressed with their latest publication “Supporting Diverse Learning in Catholic Schools - A guide for parents by Parents. It is available on or to download at:   ccsp.catholic.edu.au/students-with-diverse-learning-needs

Year 7 were involved in a Google Suite Bootcamp this week. Where they learnt many skills which will help their learning at College. The students were so well behaved and engaged in the day.

We have a Google Classroom for Year 7, where important information is given. A soft copy of any notes are placed here in case students misplace their note and a copy can be printed.  Students are expected to check this twice a day, in the morning and evening. 

Camp is on the horizon in Week 6. Parents and students are reminded that all medications for students must be labelled and given to myself or Mrs Wadih on the morning we leave in the Harrington Courtyard.

Keeping Track starts this Wednesday, from 3.20pm to 4.20pm in AG03. Students can only attend if they have returned their permission slip.

We remind parents that it is important to know what your child is doing on social media and monitor all activity. We have recently discovered that there is a snapchat group with over 100 students in our year. We have advised all students to leave the group immediately.

We also remind parents and students that they are expected to sign the front of the diary to show that they have read our policies and expectations. Please discuss our Hands Off Policy with your child on page 11. There is to be no physical contact of any sort as this will result in a detention.

A few important dates:

Parent Information Evening - 23 February:   It is an expectation that at least one parent from each family attends.

Year 7 Parents Welcome Night - 12 March @ 7.00pm: Don't forget to book your tickets! RSVP via the following link https://www.trybooking.com/BOWRZ

For catering purposes RSVPs must be in by Monday 8 March 2020.  

A reminder that no students are allowed to attend this event.

Mrs N. Padden

Pastoral Leader of Learning - Year 7

On Tuesday 16th February, Year 7 students attended a Google Suite Bootcamp. Students learnt specific skills for using the Google Suite, which is important for learning at the College. Support resources are available to students via the Bootcamp Google Classroom so they can refer back to the slides and instructions for performing tasks such as:

Google Classroom

• Joining a class

• Understanding the Stream and Classwork tabs

• Submitting tasks

Gmail

• Organising emails using labels

• Deleting emails

• Appropriate language and structure of emails

Drive

• Creating folders and organising files

Slides and Docs

• Using slides and docs to complete tasks (and submitting these on the Google Classroom)

The resources are also available online for all students to access here.

Thank you to Year 7 students for their focus during the bootcamp - there was a lot to learn and students worked hard!

YEAR 7 and YEAR 10 PEER SUPPORT

Since the commencement of the new school year, Year 10 Peer Support Leaders have been grouped together to work alongside our new Year 7s. Our first session focused on helping the Year 7s to become more familiar with their surroundings, peers and to be able to locate classes. As Year 10 Peer Support Leaders we worked together to create a safe and comfortable environment for the new students so that they can have an easy transition into high school life; which starts with finding their way around school. 

Our second session was based around values. We demonstrated what it means to value ourselves and others. We spent time acknowledging the importance of self and group morals by allowing the Year 7s to rank which values are most important to them.

What we have enjoyed most about being Peer Support Leaders is having the chance to connect and chat with another age group. Ultimately, we have really appreciated being a source of support for the new high schoolers. 

Lillyan Ward and Chelsea King

Year 10

My name is Paul Quigley and I am the Year 8 Leader of Learning Pastoral for 2021. I have already met with the whole of Year 8 on a number of occasions.

We have recognised there are many positives about this group of young women and men. We spoke about the need to be in good habits with regards uniform, grooming, attendance, punctuality and study. We also spoke about keeping life in balance in terms of diet, exercise, study, relaxation and sleep.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me either by email pquigley@parra.catholic.edu.au or phone 8841 7900. I look forward to a wonderful 2021.

Mr Paul Quigley

Pastoral Leader of Learning - Year 8

2021 House Captains:

12 Chavoin:  Ben Gosper and Marcus Brown

12 Edwin: Natasha Goldsmith and Thomas Reicher

12 Ludovic:  Beth Langford and Matthew Raish

12 Mackillop:  Alisa Dybal and Jake van Rooyen

12 Paul: Holly Lowery and Jarod Elias

12 Xavier: Camille Delos Reyes & Sehan Samaragunarathn

The Year 12 assessment schedule for 2021 has now been shared with the students. It is important they refer to the schedule to know when they have assignments coming up and to help reduce stress and anxiety, as well as to further their organisational skills.

A reminder that if Year 12 students are driving to and from school, they must get a driving form from me that parents/guardians have to sign.

Have a great week!

Mrs Cécile Dunston

Pastoral Leader of Learning - Year 12

YEAR 9 POETIC REVOLUTION 

Year 9 have begun their inquiry learning about the power of poetry. To begin their learning, students experimented with a style of poetry called Blackout Poetry. These poems are made when a page of text is completely blacked out, except for a select few words. These few words then make a brand new poem! Year 9 loved the challenge of creating these poems, some even included illustrations to reflect the contents of their poem. Here are some wonderful examples from 9EN1/9EN2. 

Mrs Emily Beach

English Teacher