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Welcome to Week 9. Today our Parent Student Teacher Conferences are being held online. It is wonderful to see so many families taking advantage of the opportunity to talk to teachers to check on their child’s progress and to discuss areas for further growth.
At last night’s Community Council Meeting a decision was made to hold a community movie night rather than a walkathon for 2022. The focus of this evening is more about community connections rather than fundraising. Watch this space for further details as they are finalised!
At our student assembly this week many awards for Australian academic competitions were given out for History, Geography and Science. It was pleasing to see so many Distinctions and High Distinctions. Of particular note was Charlie Tuckfield who was awarded First Place in Australia in Year 11 in the Science ICAS Competition. These competitions are voluntary but are a good guide for students, parents and teachers of the standards of achievement on a national scale.
Continuing this theme, I spoke to the students about my mantra that ‘Country Kids Can Do Anything’ and we watched a short slide show of past students and their achievements. It is quite impressive when you see the range of careers and businesses our students have moved into. This slide show will be shared on social media tomorrow afternoon and will be repeated with different students later in the year. Please contact the College if you know of any great stories about any of our past students.
As COVID guidelines change we are once again able to visit and help out at our various feeder schools. Students have been particularly busy helping out at St Mary’s Young, Trinity Murrumburrah, Young North and St Joseph’s Grenfell next week.
Thank you to everyone for being vigilant with COVID symptoms and abiding by isolation guidelines. Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any queries or if you require further RATs. An email will be sent out today with the latest COVID guidelines.
The last day of term 1 is Friday, April 8 and school resumes for students on Wednesday, April 27. Best wishes for a peaceful and happy break.
An Easter Prayer
Lord of life
We pray for all who bring your word of life
As a light to those in darkness
For those who bring your word of peace
To those enslaved by fear
For those who bring your word of love
To those in need of comfort
Lord of love and Lord of peace
Lord of resurrection life
Be known
Through our lives
and through your power
Christ the Lord is risen to-day
FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
We have had a busy term and have navigated all the challenges that COVID has thrown at us - a particular thanks to our amazing teachers who have proved, once again, to be flexible and innovative when it comes to designing learning tasks. Our students have shown themselves to be agile learners and are to be commended for their willingness to work with the changes throughout the term.
This term we have been focussing on developing success criteria with staff so that students will know when they have learned a key concept or skill. More information about these can be found at:
Mrs Holding and myself have also been meeting with each KLA leader to discuss how the HSC data from 2021 can inform our practice. These have been very insightful and the Leaders are now working with their KLA teams to further examine the different results per question of the paper as well as student growth. This has led to many enlightened discussions about what the data teaches us as professionals.
We have also had numerous teaching commence the Catalyst program which looks to embed specific instruction along with a range of strategies to improve learning experiences. Mr C Quinn and Mr Mergard are also undertaking the Lead Catalyst program as a follow on from last year's training.
Some highlights from the Term
- Year 12 are now half way through their HSC course - only one major round of assessments to go before the Trials
- Year 11 have begun their assessment schedule and will continue to learn from the experience
- Year 10 have completed All My own Work and have started on the NESA Minimum Standards
- Year 7 and 9 have sat the NAPLAN Trial so are ready for the real deal next term.
- Year 8 have settled well into the new year and the classes I have seen have been delightful.
We have another week to go but then please enjoy the break and have a joyful Easter.
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF STUDIES
With the Easter Holidays on the horizon, it is easy for students to already switch off and get into relaxation mode. This is a risk because the brain, like any muscle, loses strength when it is not used. So over the school holidays students should definitely relax but also reflect on the term that has just passed and think about the term to come. Here are some activities that students can do to keep their brain engaged with their studies so that it is ready to go again in Week 1 next term:
- Create a study plan with reasonable goals
- Study in small chunks
- Catch up on notes
- Revise what you learned in the previous term
- Get ahead for next term
- Study with a friend
- Focus on long term goals
- Prioritise studying over events
- Relax! (1 or 2 chill days a week)
For more details about maximising your learning during the holidays, go to the excellent online resource from Matrix Education: https://www.matrix.edu.au/9-must-know-tips-to-study-effectively-in-the-holidays-and-stay-motivated/
SHARON HIBBERT IAN MERGARD
Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning Director of Studies
As we draw the term to a close, we reflect on the wonderful achievements our community have made throughout the past 9 weeks. Our students, staff and parents have worked extremely hard in returning back to a year with many new routines.
I have been impressed with the way students have committed themselves to their studies and to the opportunities that they have been presented with in the College. There have been many opportunities in sport, spirituality, academics and religious life that students have taken up with much enthusiasm that have really embodied our theme of Live Spiritually this year.
I spoke this week at an assembly about the importance of pride in uniform. As is outlined in the uniform policy, Term 2 indicates the beginning of the Winter Uniform for students. A reminder in particular about the appropriate school jumper (only jumper permitted with the school logo) and a plain navy jacket (no logos etc). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further clarification.
In last Sunday’s Gospel reading we heard of the Prodigal Son, the returning of a Son, the jealousy of a brother and the mercy of the Father. These emotions are definitely ones that we connect with regularly, if not on a daily basis. Along with these emotions there are so many lessons to be learned. The one lesson that has always stood out to me is that of the jealousy of the eldest son, how he felt he was never offered the same conditions as the youngest son and the unjust feelings of all of that. In the same way I reflect on the feelings of the eldest son, I notice a slight difference, the youngest son asked for his share, in the same way that we today ask for what it is we would like, whereas the eldest son did not ask. There are times where, like the youngest son, we may ask for what we receive, and it does not turn out the way we would expect it to or lead us to the outcome we so desire, however we have tried and now, knowing we have tried, we return home to a merciful father. Let this be our theme as we head into the Easter season, we have tried and asked, not always leading in the right direction, but always returning home to the Father.
"Year 10 students have spent the day at Temora Aviation Museum learning about possible careers in engineering. They have completed workshops and listened to guest speakers from the industry about different career pathways they can take in the future."
Our Year 7 & 8 Art classes have had a very productive term. Year 7 have been exploring and experimenting with Aboriginal Dot Art, while Year 8 have been learning the process of lino printing. Below is a sample of some of the amazing pieces created this term.
Over the last few weeks in peer support we have been focusing on resilience and team building activities such as a newspaper dress up competition. Students have been taking part in a range of problem-solving activities to develop strategies in building resilience. They have also taken part in a range of sports where they have been working with different groups of students to continue to get to know each other and adjust to high school life as the end of term 1 approaches.
For our final session in week 10 next Monday, the Peer Support Leaders will be organising an Easter egg hunt for their groups. All students have had a fantastic experience with the Peer Support Program this term and we hope they have made new connections, developed resilience, antibullying strategies, and relationships with their peers
Last week both the Hospitality and Sports Coaching classes were assessed on their practical first aid skills as part of their VET course. You’ll be pleased to know that all students passed with flying colours. Thank you to Mr Gary Harton for traveling across for the day.
The Year 10 Hospitality students prepared Chicken en Papillote which was no easy feat. En papillote is a French term for ‘enveloped in paper’ which is a cooking technique whereby the students fold the chicken in baking paper before placing it in the oven to be baked. This results in built-up steam and a delicious moist dish.
Year 8 Food Tech had fun cooking pork stir fry using some vegetables from the garden beds.
This Wednesday Rice House held a sausage sizzle to raise funds for Caritas. The senior students cooked up a storm that was thoroughly enjoyed by students and staff.
