Newsletter Term 3, Week 4 2020

Dear Families of SJC

Within the Catholic faith from the time of its establishment following the death of Christ, one of the main cornerstones of our faith has been the importance of community. The source and summit of our belief the being 'in communion' with our God and our fellow believers when we attend Sunday Mass and engage with the Blessed Eucharist. As such, we believe in the presence of Christ in all humanity and that 'we are all made in the image and likeness of God' (Solomon 2:23). 

It was, therefore, such an important moment last Friday when our College community came together to celebrate being as one with our annual Athletics Carnival. Given the times we have and continue to face, I was so pleased to see so many of our students and staff enjoying part of what it is to be a member of the Joey's community. I thank the students who attended (72%) and offer congratulations to Hanley House on their stunning victory over Reynolds. Thanks to Ms Madeline Ilic and her team for all of their hard work to organise and run the event. 

Improvement Surveys

I would like to thank the families who have recently completed our school improvement survey and the very quick survey relating to the Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews. As an organisation, we are always striving to improve and ensure our students are provided with the best opportunity to reach their potential. Results and findings will be shared with families when they are presented back to the College.

You would also know that my fourth-year appraisal is currently being conducted and August 20 will see panel members in the College to interview staff and myself. Members of the SJC community will be invited to attend an interview if they wish. All families were emailed a link to my appraisal survey and I thank those who have taken the time to complete it. I look forward to engaging in the feedback provided so I can improve in my role as the principal of this great College. It has been an honour and privilege to serve during this time. 

We are also currently in the middle of completing mid-contract appraisals for all our staff members in leadership positions. Staff have been providing feedback for our leaders so they can be affirmed in their practice and provided considerations in seeking personal improvement.  

Professional Learning Days 2020

As a result of all recent disruptions, our planned professional learning days were postponed or cancelled. It is a requirement that staff receive a certain number of development opportunities across a year and to this end, SJC has two days remaining to complete. It has been decided that these will run on September 25 (final day of Term 3) and October 12 (first day of Term 4). These days are on the College Calendar. Please ensure you have made appropriate care arrangements for these days.

Community Expectations

Later this week, a document will be shared with all members of our community outlining a number of areas staff will focus on across the remainder of the year. The goal is to ensure learning time in classes are maximised and disruptions are kept to a minimum. Whilst the overwhelming majority of our students ensure they are engaged and respectful in all learning situations, some students make choices that are not in line with College expectations. There will be repercussions for the students who make such choices and I want parents to understand what will occur if these expectations are not met. Please follow the app to access the information.

Graduation and Leadership Assembly

I am currently awaiting direction from the CSO regarding how these important upcoming events may look. Given the current restrictions, they will be very different in appearance. Year 12 parents received a letter a number of weeks ago and can expect a further update this week. My underlying message has been that we will ensure the best experience for our students under the restrictions imposed upon us at the time of each event.

I hope you are keeping well and safe during these times and please be sure to keep the people of Victoria in your prayers.

Kind regards

Mr Scott Thomson
Principal

NAIDOC Week 2020 Celebrations at SJC (10-14 August)

Each year we celebrate the rich and thriving culture of our first nation’s people during  NAIDOC Week, the theme for this year is ‘Always Was, Always will Be’ Throughout this week we will celebrate Our Country's oldest culture by holding some fun and interactive workshops each day for students and staff.

The week will start with a whole school NAIDOC Assembly - Celebrating this year's theme with local guest, Mr Luther Cora from the Yugambeh Aboriginal Dancers.

We will then hold the following activities at lunchtime in the COLA for students and staff. Please come along, bring your lunch and have some fun whilst learning about our local Bundjalung culture.

Monday 10 August
Story telling
Learn our local Bundjalung dreaming stories centring around some of our prominent local landmarks. Along with some language and interesting facts about our Bundjalung nation.

Tuesday 11 August
Movie day
We will be showing some short interesting films about Indigenous heroes and communities.

Wednesday 12 August
Our annual Indigenous Allstars Vs Non Indigenous Allstars Touch footy match
See our students play for the title whilst enjoying a sausage sizzle BBQ out on the oval. For those brave enough we will have some kangaroo snags to taste test.

Thursday 13 August
Learn to play Didgeridoo (bidayoomundoo)
Following cultural lore of Bundjalung Country we encourage our male students and staff to come and learn the basics of playing the didgeridoo by Mr Anthony Cora.

Learn to Weave (This workshop will be held in room 109)
A beautiful workshop for the ladies of SJC, learning the basics of traditional weaving.

Friday 14 August
Bush Tucker Walk
Meet in the COLA for a short presentation, then come for a walk around St Joeys to learn about our local bush tucker and resource plants. Don't forget to bring your hat and your lunch.

Happy NAIDOC week everyone!!

Mrs Lexene Busbridge
Indigenous Education Worker

It has been busy at the College with a number of Ministry events being held for our students. On Thursday and Friday, students were provided with the opportunity to attend a Girls or Boys lunch. Each of the events had a specific theme and a guest speaker from NET ministries. This wonderful opportunity allowed students to further develop a community and share another person’s perspective on living a life with Christ. 

On Friday evening, the College’s first Vivet Live was held. This is a new initiative at the College which aims to provide students with a safe environment to interact with one another and participate in ministry at the school. Our theme for the afternoon was ‘Connected’ and students worked in teams in our ‘Minute to Win It’ challenge. Students also spent time privately reflecting on their life after our guest speaker from NET Ministries shared with the students. We finished the night with fellowship of Pizza. Thanks to all the teachers and students for our wonderful afternoon.

This Saturday we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary, having completed her earthly life, was in body and soul “assumed” into heavenly glory. The Gospel emphasises that Mary’s greatness comes from her participation in God’s plan. Mary is a wonderful model for Christians to follow and learn how to trust in God. 

Mr Ryan Campbell
Assistant Principal - Mission

Term 3 Reflection Days for Years 7-10

In the first week of term our Years 7-10 students attended Reflection Days. The days were facilitated by Dave from Project Hatch and Chris Doyle from Karis Ministries.

These days provide an opportunity for students to reflect upon their lives, as well as some of the deeper questions and issues in life. It was evident from these days that the students were able to grow closer as a year group as well as see how they can add value to their own lives plus those that they encounter along the way. Below are some reflections from the day:

Last week on Thursday year 7 had a reflection day. It was a day to remember as it was filled with laughs and enjoyment. We enjoyed listening to Chris sing with our peers. The year 7's loved the sausage sandwiches and soft drink. The whole of Year 7 was extremely engaged in the activities and Chris expressed himself amazingly. He taught us an amazing life lesson. On behalf of year 7, I would like to say thanks to Chris for teaching us all about respect and responsibility. I can’t wait for the next Reflection Day with Chris!

For the Year 9 Reflection Day, Chris Doyle came to SJC. Throughout the day we participated in many activities including singing songs, team activities, attending a tribal ceremony and creating a tribal dance. Chris shared many stories and jokes with us that came with good advice and life lessons. At lunchtime, we were provided with a sausage sizzle accompanied by drinks given to us by the Youth Ministers and the SRC. We had a wonderful time and this experience has brought our year group closer together. We are so thankful we had this opportunity and hope that there will be more like this in the future.

Reflection day was a great learning experience to help us see who we really are as a person and help us discover our true identity. Through all sorts of games and activities, we learnt more about ourselves and our fellow classmates. Dave Jorn, who hosted the event, taught us valuable life lessons to guide us through our lives. One of the many activities that I really enjoyed was at the end where we took turns standing up and saying what we aspired to be, it was a calming moment and made everyone reflect and truly think about who they are. Overall it taught me lots of important lessons and information and helped me aim to achieve greater things in life.

Ms Sara Reynolds
Acting Leader of School Evangelisation

HSC Readiness Seminars for Mathematics

The Mathematics Staff have organised HSC Readiness Seminars for all Year 12 Mathematics students.  These sessions will be hosted at the College via Zoom with Mr Stuart Palmer, an expert consultant from the Mathematics Association of NSW (MANSW).

These sessions will be focused on how to best answer particular types of questions based on some of the new and challenging topics in each of the mathematics courses.  After the trial exams next week, we will determine which topics will be covered.  

The session timetable is as follows:

Term 4 Week 1

** Students only need to attend the days for the course(s) that they study.

Please put these dates in your calendar to ensure that your student does not miss out on this valuable experience.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Melinda Thompson or your student’s teacher.

Mrs Melinda Thompson
Leader of Learning – Mathematics

Study Skills Handbook - Tips for August

Making the Most of Your Learning

Learning is not just what you do in the classroom. Study is not just what you do the night before a test. Both of these are ongoing activities that are enhanced by the correct pre and post activities. See which of these 5 Ps you do.

PREPARE: This is the stage where you ensure you have all of the materials you need for learning and have completed any pre-tasks such as reading sections of your textbook in advance or any other activities your teacher asks you to complete prior to the class.

PARTICIPATE: Engaging in your learning is the best way to start to embed it in your memory and ensure you understand. Having the opportunity to discuss and interact and complete different styles of learning activities really helps your brain to process what you are learning.

PLAN: Take the time to look at the assessments for the course and plan when you will start, work on and complete tasks. Anytime you are asked to complete work for class, plan when you will do it and even better write your plan into your diary or online planner.

PRACTISE: One of the best ways to learn is to do practise questions. When you apply what you have learnt to actual questions, you will engage retrieval and cognitive pathways in the brain and reinforce your learning and uncover areas that need extra study.

PINPOINT: After a test or assessment is returned to you, celebrate your successes but also use it to pinpoint areas of weakness. This allows you to then spend time building your strengths in these areas without the pressure of an exam looming.

Our school’s subscription details are –
www.studyskillshandbook.com.au

Username:    sjc
Password:     24results

Mr Carlo Trimboli
Leader of Pedagogy

Year 9 Elective History students have been studying Archaeology and the processes undertaken by a variety of professions such as Archaeologists and Geo-archaeologists to uncover the evidence of human activity which has gone before us. Over the next few weeks, students will be getting their ‘hands’ into history!

Step 1: it’s Archaeology in reverse! Students had fun creating their own artifact (paint a terracotta pot).

Step 2: destruction, erosion, deposition and looting to happen. Stay tuned next newsletter for more steps as they are ‘uncovered.’

Mrs Rebecca Green
Elective History Teacher

Athletics Carnival Results

Congratulations to HANLY who were crowned HOUSE CHAMPIONS at our Athletics Carnival in week 2. The carnival was very competitive with only 32 points separating 1st and 2nd, which is a credit to the high levels of participation that came from each of the houses. 

HANLY - 1217
REYNOLDS - 1183
HOADE - 1169
DALTON - 1078

Students who attended the carnival clearly had a fun-filled day as seen in the photos below whilst participating in the variety of championship and novelty events with their friends and housemates. It was great to finally have a whole-school community event, something that has been a rare occurrence this year. 

A big thank you to the House Captains who worked hard not only throughout the day with setting up and getting teams organised for relays but also in the lead-up to promote participation and create carnival cheer, you did a fantastic job. 

Congratulations to all Age Champions on their success at the carnival with a special mention to Fallon Twindley (Year 7) who was the recipient of the Billy Hardy Memorial Shield earning a massive 76 points throughout the carnival. Congratulations also goes out to Jack Field who won the Serone Sprint, which is a 100m handicap race of our best 8 sprinters from the carnival, held at the end of the day.

Ms Madeline Ilic
Coordinator of Sport

Monday to Thursday afternoons in the College Library (3:15-5:00pm)