28 February 2020 - Newsletter (Vol 37 No 3)

The Magic Pebbles

Michael Carniato
Principal

Thanks to the families who have been using the student pick up zone correctly over the past two weeks. While the weather conditions continue to be less than conducive to the smooth running of traffic flow, patience and the willingness to following the rules, will allow everyone to get home safely.

I would like to draw your attention to an article penned by Michael Grose in the ‘Parenting Ideas’ publication that is available to all families of the College. Mr Grose writes that anxiety is the most common mental health concern among our children. He suggests that a variety of approaches can be used to help children through these times in life. These approaches include:

Defusion - where students distance themselves from negative thoughts and opt for a more positive line of thinking.

Mindfulness and deep breathing practices – what do we have to be thankful for?

Exercise – releases endorphins that increase our feelings of wellbeing.

Counselling – the College has two highly qualified people who can offer other strategies.

The article is well worth a read. Alternatively, follow this link to view the presentation.

The first parent webinar is on 18 March 2020 at 8:00pm. The topic is “Future Proofing your Child”. Interested parents are urged to login into the Parenting Issues website and use the voucher code ‘Future’ to avoid having to pay the $37/view costing.

Until next time:

‘It is during our failures that we discover our true desire for success’ - Kevin Ngo

As we have now passed the ‘orientation and return to school’ phase of the academic year, I would like to encourage students and parents to review what should now be effective study habits.

Our students will by now have had an Assessment Meeting within their Year Level to be made aware of the NESA course requirements, the College’s Assessment Handbook and relevant Google Classroom in which all students can access vital curricula information.

I would expect that all students in Years 7-12 would be working on impending assessments, have an organised plan in how to meet these commitments and have begun some effective study habits for each school night.

To support this, the College has engaged Elevate Education to support parents and encourage students to get the most from their learning experiences beyond classroom. This process involved parent nights for Junior/Senior parents as web resources to support students.

I would like to further this by encouraging parents to peruse the following website that the College now subscribes to. The following resource will be used as a support for our current HSC students but is available for all students and parents at St John Paul College.

Our College’s subscription details to Study Skills Handbook (click here) are -

Username: stjohnpaul
Password: 89success

STUDY SKILLS TIP FOR Term 1: How Much Time Should You Spend on Schoolwork?

In secondary school if you do not have any specific homework or assessments to work on, you are then expected to spend some time that night on independent learning. This is where you ask yourself, what else COULD I be doing that will help me understand my subjects better and improve my results? Examples of independent learning are: reading ahead in your textbook, making a mind map about what you have been learning, doing extra research on a topic that interests you, making study notes, reviewing work you find difficult… the list is endless. 

However, schools do not expect students to spend ALL of their time on schoolwork! We want you to play sport, see your friends, spend time with family, do activities you enjoy and have some rest and relax time as well. If you work effectively, then you can do your work for school, but still have a life! So given this, how much time are you expected to spend on schoolwork?

It depends on your year level, your school, your parents and your own abilities and goals.  First, check your school diary or ask your teacher what is expected at your school. Then discuss these outlines with your parents and see if you can both agree what is right for you. 

As a general rule, expected time to spend on schoolwork at home:

JUNIOR YEARS: In the first years of high school students usually do at least half an hour to an hour each day. In many schools it is around 1-1.5 hours on average or 7-10 hours of home learning over the whole week.

MIDDLE YEARS: In the middle years of high school it should be at least an hour. In many schools the average is around 1.5-2 hours or 10-14 hours of home learning over the whole week. 

SENIOR YEARS: In the final years of high school students do at least 1.5-2 hours a day and this will increase as students approach the end of their schooling. Most Year 11 students do 2-3 hours per day (14-21 hours over the whole week) and in Year 12 around 3-4 hours (21-28 hours over the whole week).

Remember this is just a guide. Some parents and some schools will expect more (or less!) so treat these as guidelines.

What about the weekend? The amount of time students need to spend on schoolwork on the weekend will depend on their current workload and how much work they complete during the week.

You also need to ensure you are getting enough sleep.

I hope the above information will be helpful at this point of the academic year and wish students well for their upcoming assessments.

James Furey
Assistant Principal
Learning and Teaching

The season of Lent is upon us. In this newsletter article I thought it would be timely to look at what Lent is and how we can make use of this time to let go of those shortcomings we all have, in order to realign ourselves to God and to let go of the spiritual baggage that sin brings in its wake, weighing us down.

Over forty days starting on Ash Wednesday, which we observed on Wednesday just gone, through to the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (the Easter Triduum) starting on the evening of Thursday 9th April and concluding in the evening of Sunday 12th April this year, Lent is our primary penitential season where we can say sorry for those aspects of our being where we have fallen off the path that leads us to God. One of the best things about being Catholic is that you are never on your own. Lent is no exception, as a community we are encouraged to reflect on our shortcomings and we can support one another as together we journey through this liturgical season.

It is the season that reflects the forty days that Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the temptations Jesus experienced over those forty days reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah; He is not an aloof entity separate from us, but rather ‘a high priest…. who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning’ (Heb 4:15). The devil tempted Jesus using the three levels of temptation we ourselves experience: sensual temptation (food, drink, gratification), egotistical temptation (pride, esteem, putting ourselves at the centre of everything) and the temptation of power. There is some reassurance that there is nothing that we go through in our human lives that Christ did not encounter himself in his own.

Lent is the season where we take stock of those areas within ourselves where we have let ourselves and others down in the eyes of God. None of us are perfect, we all have our shortcomings. Lent provides a time of healing for us where we can take spiritual responsibility for ourselves and commit to improving ourselves so that we can restore our relationship with God, realigning ourselves spiritually in order to live not just in the moment of today, but so that, in the words of St John we ‘may have life, and have it abundantly.’ (Jn 10:10).  

Most importantly Lent is a season of hope. If we are willing to open ourselves up to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we can become spiritually cleansed and healed. If you aren’t sure where to start, perhaps take a few minutes to reflect and take stock of the week just gone:

What form does temptation take in your own life?

What does this temptation keep you from?

What is the cost of it to yourself?

What is the cost of your temptation to those around you?

Take this realisation of sorrow and offer it up to God through prayer or make use of the sacrament of Reconciliation and experience the healing power of Christ as you unload yourself of the emotional baggage that sin carries. Once you’ve identified the area that is causing you grief, make a commitment to develop within yourself one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit - charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control or chastity. Find opportunities to put into action one (or more) of these fruits and see how abundant your life becomes.

Until our next catch up, God bless and may the peace and love of Christ guide us all.

Caroline Doyle
Leader of Learning – Catechesis

As promised last newsletter, I will keep you abreast of Curriculum issues across the College, along with links to current Educational research and advice. After numerous conversations I have had in the last week, it is timely that we delve into the process of Procrastination!

Procrastination = The action of delaying or postponing something.

Procrastination has been thoroughly studied in student populations, where it has been associated with increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue as well as poor academic performance. Studies have also shown that goal setting, interest enhancement and energy reduced procrastination.

“Procrastination is more likely when the task is meaningful and the individual cares about doing it well,”

Devon Price, a social psychology professor at Loyola University, explained in 2018.

More often than not, the underlying reasons for procrastination fall under two categories: fear of failure or confusion about the first steps of an assignment.

3 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE your children NOT TO PROCRASTINATE

1. Help your child to get organised

You can't do any work if you don't know what assignments need to be completed. Invest in a planner or start using the calendar app on your phone. This makes it much easier to keep track of individual assignments and important due dates. 

Elevate has student planners that are very useful and easy to download.

2. Set simple, achievable goals

Part of the reason we procrastinate is because the task at hand seems too daunting. It’s a lot easier to get started on a project when you establish simple, reachable goals rather than a big, vague plan. Encourage your child to set clear, specific and achievable goals. This makes the goals less intimidating and more attainable. 

3. Create a timeline/schedule

After goals are set, create a visual timeline to complete them. This could be a study schedule for an assessment or mapping out an essay that needs to be completed (“On Saturday, I'll write the introduction and conclusion”). Breaking an assignment into small chunks over time makes it much more manageable. 

Don’t forget the Elevate Education Student portal to find other strategies that can be implemented with great success.

Password = rondo

Last week I met with Year 9 students to outline the College’s Assessment Policy and Guidelines for Stage 5 students, along with the NESA (New South Wales Education Standards Authority) requirements for obtaining RoSA . I was impressed by their  respectful behaviour and willingness to listen. It can be a scary time for Yr 9 students as they move into a more rigorous and challenging level of schooling.

The Stage 5 Assessment Policy is very different to the Stage 4 policy in a number of areas, especially in regard to the paperwork required if assessments have been missed or require rescheduling. This link is the presentation they viewed.

It is important for students to involve their parents in this process. The Assessment Handbooks for all Year groups can be found on the College extranet.

Students should download the Assessment Booklets containing the guidelines and read the document with their parents. They should also access their Assessment Calendar and place the information on their family calendar. These are Google calendars which allow easy access and the setting of reminders.

The College offers many support structures, all of which the students can access with ease. Please encourage your children to access these support structures.

Claudia Brown
Leader of Curriculum

Enrich Your Child's Learning Environment

The research clearly demonstrates the significant influence that parents have on their children’s engagement with learning, and on their children’s educational achievements. Children are more likely to value education if parents prioritise learning at home. One way to send this message is by making your home a rich environment for learning.

Being active in your child’s learning via dinner conversations, trips, games, reading time, family sports, appropriate supervision, home organisation, and daily routines, all contribute to your child’s academic achievement at school. Here are some tips on how to create an environment in the home which is conducive to learning:

1.Designate an area for learning
2. Minimise clutter
3. Make the space functional
4. Establish a “no tech” rule - Unless your child is required to work with a computer, or tablet, keep these devices out of reach. If technology is necessary, set an appropriate time limit for your child to use the device.
5. Set daily routines
6. Pay attention to learning gaps - It’s important to note when your child starts avoiding a particular task or homework subject. Once an issue is identified, it can be addressed through communication with your child and the classroom teacher.
7.Provide healthy meals and snacks - Meals and snacks containing antioxidants, omega-3 essential fatty acids, and whole grains are all essential nutrients for brain power.

Leanne Gennat
Leader of Pedagogy

Students in Year 10 History are busily researching a soldier from the First World War using archival records, with many interesting and surprising stories being discovered. I recently spoke with one of our Year 12 students and we were discussing this task. It was her opinion that out of all the assessments she had done in her junior years, this one gave her the most enjoyment and satisfaction. Year 10 students are getting the opportunity to engage with a real person and their wartime experience, enabling them to gain a deep appreciation of what it was like to go to war 100 years ago.

To support their learning about the war, Year 10 have spent a lesson with their History teacher and Teacher Librarian Sharon Brennan examining artefacts from World War 1 (some of which are reproductions). Students developed their skills as historians, interrogating the evidence and coming up with judgements about the purpose of each object examined. We also had some students experiencing the uniform of a WW1 soldier – seeing these young people in the uniform of the AIF was actually quite moving, because it puts you in mind of how a mother, or father, or other relative, might have felt seeing a loved one dressed in such a way, ready to go to the other side of the world to fight, and sadly for 60,000 Australians, to be buried in foreign soil. For students going to Canberra, this understanding will be developed even more.

Year 9 History students are also interrogating evidence surrounding a more recent event in History – the death of Azaria Chamberlain. Parents and caregivers might remember the long running controversies surrounding the disappearance of nine week old Azaria from Uluru in 1980. The students are conducting a CSI, using a variety of evidence, to come up with their version of what happened.

Year 7 and Year 8 students are learning about Ancient and Medieval societies respectively, again through the use of evidence. In Year 8 we are particularly focusing on improving the literacy skills of the students as they write up their findings about the Vikings in an extended response. Editing and checking their work before final submission is an important part of the process, so it is possible that they may ask you to read over their Viking story before they hand it in.

Canberra 2020

The second installment for Canberra was due last week on February 19. Some students have not paid this as of Wednesday, 26 February.  We will check on Monday that this second payment has been made. If not, the College may begin offering places to students who are on the waiting list. Any problems meeting this payment date, please contact Mrs Traci Jones (in the front office) or myself.

Bridget Punch
Leader of Learning - History

Year 10 Work Experience in 2020

Work Experience is an integral part of the Career Development Program at St John Paul College. In 2020, the Work Experience Program for Year 10 will take place in Week 3 of Term 2 (May 11th – 15^th 2020).  It is expected that all students who are not going on the Year 10 History Trip to Canberra will participate.

Work experience provides the opportunity for students to gain experience in the workplace through meeting and working with adults who are unfamiliar to them and understanding what is required of them personally in a work situation.  Furthermore, students will be able to use this experience to help them make decisions concerning HSC courses, TAFE or work at the end of school.  Students will also use the opportunity to assess their interest in and suitability for particular careers.

In the past, local employers have been exceptionally co-operative in allowing St John Paul College students the opportunity for work experience.  It is anticipated this co-operation will continue this year.   Our students in past years have played a large part in building a reputation with employers as reliable, enthusiastic and well-mannered young people.  

Students have been informed that they must return their completed work experience documents to our school office no later than Friday April 3^rd 2020 

Gap Year in the UK

If you’ve been thinking of travelling, Letz Live has great gap year programs where you can earn while on holidays. Applications for their 2021 program are open now and will be closing on March 20^th. Find out more here. 

Australian Defence Force GAP year

Applications for the ADF GAP Year program will open in March. Over the years we have had numerous students participate in the program. You can register your interest here.  

Coming Events

Mar 5 :               Botanical Gardens Careers Expo. (Years 9 – 12)

April 3:               Year 10 Work experience documents due in at school office

May 5 – 6 :         Sydney Universities Tour (USYD, UNSW and Macquarie) (Year 12)

May 8 :               UNE Open Day (Year 12)

May 11 – 15 :     Year 10 Work Experience block

June 4 :              Coffs Coast Careers Expo (Year 10)

Paul Corsalini
Careers Adviser

Belonging Day and Belonging Night

Nick Haworth

Year 7 Coordinator

A wonderful day was had by all on Friday 21st February, when our College community gathered to compete in our annual school Swimming Carnival. Despite wet weather in the lead up to the carnival, the Lord blessed us with a heavenly day of sun.

Massive congratulations to Kelly House who took out the carnival this year, preventing Casey House from winning 10 in a row! Placings for the houses are as follows: 

The number of entries in each event was pleasing with many swimmers contesting the Age Champions awards. Based on their swimming results on the day, the following students were named Age Champion:

Two long-standing records were broken at our carnival this year. Jacob Pratt (Year 7) broke the 12 years 50m Backstroke record which has stood since 1995, while Alexander Main (Year 7) broke a record from 2000 in the 12 years 100 Freestyle record by a massive 7 seconds. Outstanding work by these two swimmers.

Thank you to all the wonderful staff who organised swimmers, timed our events, supervised students, provided much needed sustenance, encouraged team spirit and ensured the day ran smoothly. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the help and contributions of Mrs Tanya Slaviero, Mrs Tricia Stocks, our maintenance men Mr Kris Kent and Mr Rogan Hickey, our Sport Trainee Hunter Flanders, the magic that is Mr Ron Verbruggen’s spreadsheets as well as our two wonderful new Assistant Principal’s, Mr Michael Stubbs and Mr James Furey. Without the input and support of these people, the carnival would not have been the day it was.

Diocesan Carnival

A 36-person strong team will represent SJPC at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival on Thursday 5th March in Lismore. In order to make the team, these students needed to have one of the two fastest times in an event in their age group. Our team will take on the 11 other Colleges in our Diocese.  We wish our team well. 

Diocesan Football, Touch Football and League trials

Touch football applications are closed and the League and Soccer applications to trial close on the Lismore Diocesan Sport website soon. Successful students will be notified via email in the near future. Parents are to notify the school if your child is accepting their place at the trial and will be away from school for Touch in Coffs Harbour (3rd March) and for Soccer and League in Lismore (17th March). Transport to and from the trial is the responsibility of the family.

Coming up Term 1 2020

March

3          Diocesan Touch Football representative trials, Coffs Harbour

            Closing date CCC Baseball (Individual - register with NSWCCC)

4          Diocesan Winter Sport (Football and League) representations nominations

            due (Individual - CSO website)

5          Diocesan Swimming Carnival, Lismore

6          Closing date CCC Tennis (Individual -- register with NSWCCC)

12        Closing date CCC Water polo (Individual -- register with NSWCCC)

16        Closing date CCC Hockey (Individual -- register with NSWCCC)

17        Diocesan Tennis Championships, Tweed Heads

            Winter sports trials (Football and League), Lismore

18        Girls League Tag, Coffs Harbour

            Closing date CCC Golf (Individual -- register with NSWCCC)

31        NSWCCC Swimming Championships, Homebush

April

1          Diocesan Open Soccer, Kempsey

2          Diocesan Senior Basketball Championships, Coffs Harbour

9          Potential AFL Gala day, Coffs Harbour

Danielle McAra
Leader of Learning - Sport

Students get your dancing shoes on and your "NEON themed" outfits ready for SJPC's first Student Social for the year!

Tuesday, 3 March in the school hall - 7 pm-9 pm (Years 7, 8 & 9) & 7 pm - 9.15 pm (Years 10, 11 & 12)

Pre-sale tickets for $5.00 are going on sale during recess and lunch from the Canteen on Friday, 28th February, Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd March. Tickets sold on the night $8.00.

Looking forward to another fantastic event. 

Michael Stubbs                 James Furey            Fran O'Shea
SRC Committee

Kawalazi African Experience September/October 2021

St John Paul College offers students the opportunity to travel to Africa to work on projects at Kawalazi, our charity outreach school.

Kawalazi is located in Malawi, and our students will be able to meet their sponsored students and experience village life.

Students also have the opportunity to travel through other parts of Africa, experiencing game reserves and visiting one of the natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls.

This fantastic trip has been running for 13 years and students gain a wonderful insight into another culture.

An information night about this trip will be held in the school library on Monday
9 March at 7 pm. We would love to see you there.