6 November 2020 - Newsletter (Vol 37 No 18)

Michael Carniato
Principal

College Student Leadership Induction

Last Wednesday's College Assembly was an opportunity to confirm the College Student Leadership teams for St Vincent de Paul, College House Captains and Student Representative Council. Congratulations to these students as they begin to be the student voice for the remainder of 2020 into 2021.These honourable positions that the students have undertaken will not be taken for granted. They have vowed to work for all students of the College.

I recently read an article written by Lee J. Colan, Ph. D. who is co-founder of The L Group, Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based consulting firm that has been equipping and encouraging leaders since 1999. His thoughts regarding Jesus as a leader, can be related to the new roles that have been accepted by our new school leaders for 2020/21. Below is an excerpt from “4 Powerful Leadership Lessons from Jesus”

‘Why was Jesus Christ a great leader?’

Putting religious and spiritual beliefs aside, no one in history has been discussed more, worshipped more, had more songs and books written about and inspired more artwork. He also created one of the world's most sustained organizations (the Church). So, Jesus was certainly a leader from whom lessons can be learned and applied in today's world. Here are timeless, powerful leadership lessons.

Great leaders lead from the inside out. Jesus focused on personal leadership first -matters of character. At the core of these matters of character is integrity. Without integrity, no one will follow you, and if no one is following you, you are not leading.

Leadership is truly an inside job. Your leadership skills will only take you as far as your character will allow. Jesus had a pure heart and unfailing character. The more you work on your heart and your character, the more others will want to follow you.

Great leaders are great servants. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples even during his most trying time. Great leaders today see themselves as serving their teams -equipping, encouraging and coaching them to realise their potential. Leadership is about others, not you.

Great leaders balance conviction with compassion. Jesus held strong convictions and values while still showing tremendous compassion to others who did not share these same convictions. Likewise, today's great leaders are clear about their values and expectations while being sensitive to those they lead.  This balance engages people's hearts and minds.  

Remember, you don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.’

We wish our new leaders all the best in their journey and want them to know we will be with them all the way.

Parent Ideas Webinar

The final FREE Parents Ideas webinar for the year is on Wednesday 11 November at 8:00 pm. “Parenting like a cat and dog” explores two diverse styles of parenting in an effort to nurture and build relationships with children. Parents should register on the Parenting Ideas website and use the voucher code METAPHOR at the checkout to avoid paying the $37 viewing cost. If it is anything like previous webinars through this organisation it will be well worth a look.

Until next time:

‘But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant’ Matthew 20:26

Year 11 Course Awards

This week saw Year 11 students gather for their Awards Ceremony to celebrate the individual achievements within their Year 11 subjects. This year was unfortunately COVID-19 affected and parents and carers were unable to attend and celebrate their sons’ and daughters’ achievements. As a small consolation, the College will add a large number of pictures from this ceremony to Facebook. 

I would like to acknowledge and congratulate the major award winners. Below are photos of them accepting their awards. My thanks to the Executive Staff members who presented awards, our Homeroom Teachers who support Year 11 each morning and our Administration staff who work tirelessly to make sure these ceremonies are successful celebrations of student achievement. In particular I would like to thank Mrs Berrisford for photography and Mrs Stocks and Mrs Reeves for their organisational prowess. 

The following were major award winners for 2020:

Study Skills:

Visit www.studyskillshandbook.com.au to learn more about how you can make your life easier by being a more effective and efficient learner:

Username: stjohnpaul
Password: 89success

In addition, our subscription to Elevate Education may assist in this area.

This online platform contains resources and useful study tips that all SJPC students will find effective. We encourage them to access this Student Portal and try some of the strategies. Students have the password to this site. The password can also be found on the Curriculum Noticeboard.

James Furey
Assistant Principal
Learning and Teaching

Architecture Online Work Experience

Halliday Fraser Munro is a UK-based architecture firm that has launched an Online Work Experience Program for students who are interested in architecture and design and would like to explore what this exciting industry is all about. The program involves completing two tasks that mimic what a real architecture brief would look like. The tasks are self-paced, and they have also provided resources and tutorials to help. Find out more at this link : Architecture Online Work Experience

New Diploma in Engineering available for Semester 1 2021

This is a one year program and students will receive up to 80 units of credit towards an undergraduate degree and guaranteed entry into all disciplines of the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree.

It will provide students with a taste of two discipline areas within the 12 engineering specialisations, and prepares them with the appropriate academic literacy, research, science, mathematics and introductory engineering skills required for further study.

Applications for this program are via UAC (489920). It would be a great stepping stone for those students interested in Engineering but may not get the required marks for direct entry into an Engineering program.  

You will find more information about this  new diploma here:  UNI Newcastle Diploma Engineering

School to Work aims to inspire, increase the confidence of and motivate students with disability and their families to make a start on the road to meaningful, paid employment in the community. These free, introductory webinars are now open for registration. 

Once registered, the webinars will be available to view up to 14 days, so that you can view at a time that suits you, but only to those who register. Please register by following the link below for these webinars in November and December. You are welcome to attend more than one (School to Work Registration Form) is the same for all of them).

Imagining Work - Getting Started in Years 7 & 8
• Tuesday 17 November 12-1pm
• Wednesday 25 November 12-1pm

Discovering Work - Getting Started in Years 9 & 10
• Wednesday 18 November 12-1pm
• Thursday 26 November 12-1pm

Discovering Work - The Next Steps in Years 9 & 10
• Wednesday 2 December 12-1pm

Finding Work - Getting Started in Years 11 & 12
• Tuesday 24 November 12-1pm
• Monday 30 November 12-1pm

Finding Work - The Next Steps in Years 11 & 12
• Tuesday 8 December 12pm-1pm

For more information visit: Resourcing Inclusive Communities

Paul Corsalini
Careers Adviser

League Tag

We are lucky to have 8 teams representing the College in the upcoming NRL Values Shield High School Gala Day at the Geoff King Oval on Friday 27 November. Students have been training and undertaking trials for a couple of weeks and many of the teams have been selected. Students selected in each of the teams should have taken a permission note home this week with all the information about the day. Any student without a note is asked to see their coach or collect a new note from the Palace ASAP as the permission note and payment is due by Friday 13 November. Apologies for the quick turnaround, but due to the COVID rules only changing at the start of the term there was no way to move the process along any faster. Included in the cost are a pair of school sport socks which will be kept by the student. Please remember, that due to COVID restrictions, no parents are allowed to attend.

Friday Night Basketball

Students who are currently participating in the Friday night Basketball Competition and who have hired College singlets are reminded that ALL team singlets must be returned to the College before the end of the year in order to receive your bond back.

Year 8 and 9 Parents

Sport selections for Term 1 2021 have now closed. Invoices are currently being generated for those students undertaking paid sports and will be emailed home to parent emails next week. Students need to pay for their sport by Friday 27 November; BPay is preferred, but payment can also be via credit card or cash. If you are unable to pay by this date please contact the Finance department ASAP to arrange an alternative option on email: cofhs-finance@lism.catholic.edu.au or Tel: 6653 3155.

Coming up

Danielle McAra
Leader of Learning - Sport

St John Paul College has committed to developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Our RAP aims to support our school community in developing an educational environment that fosters higher levels of knowledge and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions. Through our RAP, we will commit to strengthening relationships, respect and opportunities in the classroom, around the school and with the community. Our RAP will give us amazing opportunities to turn our good intentions into real actions.

Developing our RAP is a long-term commitment that will require ongoing consideration and collaborative effort. Within our community, there is unique knowledge and valuable experience that we would love to see reflected in the Actions that we commit to in our RAP. Therefore, to ensure our RAP creates meaningful and sustainable change, we would like to seek your support. This article is a call to action for staff, parents/carers, students and community members to express their interest in helping to drive our RAP development and implementation journey.

If you would like to be involved in any way with the development and ongoing implementation of our RAP, including being part of the RAP Working Group or the RAP Support Network, please let us know by completing this RAP Google form.

To learn more about Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali program and RAP development process, you may also like to visit: Reconciliation Australia's Narragunnawali Program.

Next week, the College marks NAIDOC week, a chance to recognise and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country. We will start and finish each day with music from a range of Indigenous artists including Baker Boy, Yothu Yindi, Thelma Plum and Isaiah Firebrace. We hope you enjoy the selection made by India and Hunter Flanders, Matt Fowler and Vicki Filewood.

Tyrown Waigana, a Perth based artist and designer, has been named as this year’s winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC Poster Competition.

For more information regarding NAIDOC week please visit: NAIDOC 2020 

Greg Keith

Leader of Learning - History

Uniform Shop

Last day of trade for 2020

Thursday 19 November

First day of trade for 2021

Monday 11 January

Office

Drink Bottles

The College requests NO glass drink bottles to be used on school grounds.  

Students arriving late

If a student arrives after the homeroom bell, they must sign in at the Office. Within 7 days, Parents/Carer can provide a note, email or phone the College to explain a late arrival. After this date the student's absence will be marked as an unexplained unjustified absence and will be shown on the student's school report. 

Students leaving early

If a student needs to leave the College early, a note or email must be provided to the office. A phone call is not accepted. The note must clearly state the student's name, homeroom, time and reason for an exit pass. If the student returns to the College later in the day, they must sign back in at Office. 

Feeling sick

If a student feels unwell, they must go directly to the Office to be seen by a First Aid Officer. The Office staff will contact a Parent/Carer requesting the student to be collected.

A St John Paul College Community outreach support project giving the gift of education to a small, rural and isolated Catholic community located in the village of Kawalazi within the tribal area of Chinyakula in Malawi, Africa.

Dear Parents, Students, Sponsors and members of the wider St John Paul College Community,

Normally, at this time of year we are gearing up for our annual Kawalazi Day. A day of celebration and fundraising to support our gift of education to some of the poorest and most vulnerable children in the world.

However, in this Covid-19 world it has been decided to temporarily suspend fundraising and sponsorship.

This difficult decision is based upon a number of factors:

• This year has been particularly challenging for members of our own community and it is difficult for us to ask struggling families to donate
• Holding events where students gather in celebration and other activities is severely curbed by strict protocols and requirements
• Kawalazi Primary School and Kawalazi Secondary School have only recently reopened for most pupils (Standard 8, end of Primary School, and Form 4, end of Secondary School, were able to return earlier to complete their examinations with the Covid-19 health provisions that we were able to supply. The students do not automatically progress to the next year, They must pass their examinations in order to continue)
• Classes, at this stage, are scheduled to return to “normal” in early January
• We have already sent through fees for two terms of education that have not all been used (these were funds donated and raised in 2019), so secondary school fees will not need to be sent again until April 2021. Most major projects have been suspended e.g. Solar training; Permaculture training and the Girls’ Club, until more normal circumstances prevail
• It is a possibility that the Kawalazi Development Project Officer at Kawalazi and the Primary Principal may be moving on, so a new committee may need to be negotiated and established and appointees recruited and trained, for the project to continue.

It is anticipated that the project fundraising will resume at a new time and in a new format around July 2021, following training with the SRC. We look forward to your future support and thank those who have been supporting the project throughout the years. Especially Sally Poidevin who has been our in-school liason and contact with the SRC. She has carried out a great deal of work over the last six years, helping to keep the project alive and well.

Joseph Nolan, Maggie O’Brien, Pam Bibby