12 August 2022 - Newsletter (Vol 39 No 12)
- Principal's Message
- Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care
- Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
- School Evangelisation
- School Catechesis
- Youth Ministry Team
- Compass News
- Office News
- Curriculum Matters
- The Career Path
- Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU)
- Literacy Matters
- Leaders of Student Wellbeing
- Languages
- Music
- Sports Corner
- 2022 SJPC Ski Trip Wrap Up
- Term 3 School Social
- Kawalazi Mufti Day
- Vinnies School Winter Sleepout
- 2022 St John Paul II Day
- HSC Major Works Showcase Evening
Right Relationships
Last week on our Staff Spirituality morning, we focused on right relationships. All staff in the College had the opportunity to reflect on sacred text and listen to Bishop Greg share his thoughts about what we have learnt since COVID and it's impact on ‘what really matters’. I have included some of the excerpts from the booklet we used and I invite you to also reflect and consider its contents:
Relationships are what matter
Most people would agree that a life of happiness and freedom is something to aspire to, but achieving this can seem frustratingly elusive. Society often suggests we can measure success through our level of personal achievement, material possessions and status. The problem is, these ‘pathways’ often seem to come up short. Another theme often promoted, (especially in social media), is the importance of individual satisfaction and individual freedom. This view is clear in every behavior that treats the human person as some-thing to be used rather than some-one, a gift made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26-28). Ultimately though, the single minded focus on personal satisfaction does not seem to free, fulfill or make us truly happy. This is the existential crisis at the heart of Western Democracy. St John of the Cross recognised this paradox and warned, “Do not let your eye be drawn by the false beacon lamps of wealth, or position, or fame, or possessions. These keep you from living free”. One might rightly ask the question, if individual attainment is not the path to freedom, then what is?
Bishop Greg Homeming makes the point that many of the things we think are essential may actually be removed from our lives without the suffering we might imagine. This is one of the positive outcomes of the Pandemic; the understanding that what really matters is not possessions or experiences, but people. Saint Thomas Aquinas demonstrated a deep understanding of this when he wrote, “The things that we love, tell us what we are.” Take a moment to ponder this.…...What do you love?
P&F Meeting Tuesday 16 August 7pm College Library
All parents and carers are invited to thie next P&F meeting.
The agenda will include:
- Compass update and troubleshooting session
- Feedback about the new toilet protocols from the trial of past 6 weeks and where to next
- College goals update and successes so far
- Information session on the new yarning circle proposal and development at the front of the College
- Building and renovation update
2022 Commonwealth School Data Collection Notice
The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (the department) would like to advise all parents and guardians that it collects certain information about your child’s school, its staff, and student body.
Have a wonderful fortnight.
God bless
Michael Carniato
Principal
The teen years are possibly the time to best adopt this philosophy. We often experience having to muster the self control to bite our tongue with fierce restraint. There is even a parenting book that goes into more depth on this subject, and it’s titled Duct Tape Parenting. Why the duct tape reference? It’s for putting over your mouth when you want to start a battle!
As frustrating as this may be initially, my experience has shown that this practice can actually save your sanity and theirs.
The main three battles that come to mind are the messy bedroom, the silent treatment and the future.
You want them to respect your home and show some form of responsibility with their possessions, but in the dishevelled mind of a teenager, there is likely little room for developing and maintaining a cleanliness habit right now. I remember attending a seminar facilitated by Michael Carr-Gregg, one of Australia's highest profile child psychologists. He spoke about this very topic in relation to his own teenager. He pointed out, with all that teenagers have to navigate these days, it doesn’t matter, just shut the door! Three of our four children have left home and at times I can quite honestly say I miss the mess.
‘The silent treatment’ can see your teen go from a chatty, engaged, enthusiastic human one day, or hour or minute to a withdrawn being who doesn’t even acknowledge your existence in the next. Some days demanding your teen interact and engage with you will just leave both of you frustrated and angry, so I have found it’s better to allow them the time they need to simply process life. Moody, quiet teens are perfectly normal, and not a reflection of your parenting.
Discussing your teenagers future with them is possibly the hardest battle to walk away from. We all want our children to be healthy, happy and to have some vision for their future. It seems as soon as teenagers hit the mid high school years they are constantly asked what they are considering as a career. Truth be known, they don’t know and will possibly change their mind many times. As parents we need to resist the constant pressure and talk of career planning and instead let them take the lead. Reserve your opinion wisely on what you think they should and could do as adults, and make an effort to offer advice and guidance, not must-do directives and demands.
In all honesty, walking away from the argument if only temporarily can help the situation. With a little contemplation and reflection, you’ll soon realise that most teen battles are not worth having, or you’ll discover a new way to compromise with your teenager.
Truth be known, there is no magic answer or perfect parenting style. We are all muddling our way through the very best way we can.
Until next time:
Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care
Top 10 Tips for parents to manage and communicate expectations about schoolwork and results:
If parental expectations are too low, students may not strive to achieve their personal best. If parental expectations are too high, this can contribute to high levels of student stress. So how can parents find the right balance? Some areas to consider for our Study Skills Handbook subscription, include:
- Understand your own motivations: Why do you want your child to achieve particular marks in their studies? Is it because you have pressure from family/friends/society about what your child will achieve? Do you want them to follow in your career footsteps? Do you want them to have opportunities you never had as a child or young person? Understanding your own motivations will help you find balance in your expectations of your children.
- Help your children to set realistic goals: Keep talking to your children about what they want to achieve, in individual subjects, at school overall and in other aspects of their life. Their career goals may mean they want to focus intensively on something like art or music, rather than maths or science. Helping them to identify their goals will enable them to determine what subjects they need to focus on and what marks they are likely to need, which means that effort can be concentrated on the areas which will help them to achieve their goals.
- Be involved in your children’s learning: Throughout the term talk to your children about what they are studying. Ask them to show you their bookwork, Google Classroom and homework. The more you understand about what they are doing and how they are going along the way, the better you will be able to set and manage your expectations.
- Make sure you really communicate what you expect: Many students feel like they are not meeting their parents’ expectations. Often this is a result of poor communication about expectations by both parties. Reflect on your motivations (see 1 above) and think about how you communicate your expectations to your children. Remember to praise them for the effort they make rather than the results they achieve, this way they are motivated to keep on trying, even when learning is difficult.
- Develop an understanding of the College’s assessment and reporting structures: Assessment and reporting systems change over time and are different in different schools, states and countries. Making sure you really understand what your children’s reports mean may help you to understand what they are actually achieving. Sometimes students are excelling in certain skills or areas, but reporting structures may not focus on these.
- Remember nobody is perfect: Even the brightest, most highly motivated child will struggle at times. They may struggle to understand a particular topic or concept, or they may struggle with motivation, particularly for a subject they don’t particularly enjoy. Problems with teachers or peers can also contribute. It is unrealistic that anyone can work with 100% effort all the time.
- Provide practical homework and exam support: Provide practical help to your children with things like proofreading and reviewing drafts, checking work and listening to speeches. Remember though, it is not your work, so don’t make changes, rather make suggestions and provide guidance.
- Spend time together doing something fun: Make sure your relationship with your child is about more than homework and study. Allocate some time to do fun things together. This is the time in which your child is most likely to open up to you about the things that they are struggling with and you can work out how best to help them. Ideas include going for a walk or run together, having a dinner date (even just a cafe) or having them show you the latest funny videos they like.
- Support your child to do their best: You can do this by providing healthy, nutrient rich food; opportunities for exercise, rest and relaxation and an environment which is supportive of and conducive to study.
- Keep alert for the physical and mental signs of stress: Familiarise yourself with how your child responds to stress. Do they withdraw? Act out? Work harder or stop working? When you notice that your child is stressed, provide them opportunities to discuss what is worrying them and work with them to identify how you can help them. You may wish to involve the school counsellor, a teacher or tutor at this point.
Study Skills
Learn more this year about how to improve your results and be more efficient and effective with your schoolwork by working through the units on www.studyskillshandbook.com.au. Our College access details are:
School’s Username – stjohnpaul
School’s 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.
AMDG
James Furey
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
“Just a humble servant, now the Queen of heaven” New Eve by Proclaim Wildfire"
What do you see when you think of Mary, the Mother of God?
My younger self saw Mary represented as a queen, often with a crown of stars and usually wearing a beautiful blue mantle: these are the images of the statues that I grew up with at school and in church. I have a favourite glow-in-the-dark Mary statue that makes appearances at school retreats and on my desk. Tacky to some, but sentimental to me! Poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins, a Jesuit, wrote, “Blue be it: this blue heaven” reflecting on Mary’s place in heaven, represented by the blue of her mantle. This representation of Mary is comforting, and regal, befitting her status, but is only one way of seeing this remarkable woman and significant figure in historical Christianity.
Mary of ancient Nazareth lived a humble life with her family. Her clothing would have been made from homespun cloth, perhaps wool or flax- coloured cloth worn by the elite and royalty - and simplicity defined her early life in a small, somewhat isolated village. Yet this young woman was to become far from average.
Theologically Mary was crucial to God’s plan: He chose her to be the mother of Jesus, his only Son, Jesus both divine and human; one of the principle beliefs of Christianity. Mary could have said “no” to God’s request, through the angel Gabriel, who said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1: 30). She could have turned her back on His request and lived out her life without the threat of social stigma, a teenager ostracised for being unmarried and pregnant. Mary is a perfect example of faith: she believed in God and accepted her role and through her fear, she said YES.
Catholics honour Mary in many ways: in prayer, in art and in literature. And it is significant that the two Catholic Holy Days of Obligation in Australia- apart from every Sunday of the year- are 25 December, the birth of Jesus, and 15 August, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Catholics believe that Mary was assumed bodily into heaven, where she lives eternally with God, and in the presence of her blessed Son, Jesus. This is an important reminder that we too will have everlasting life with God in heaven, and it’s a comforting thought!
Pope Francis warns us that “If we forget the good, the heart shrinks…but if, like Mary, we remember the great thing the Lord does, if at least once a day we were to “magnify” Him, then our hearts will expand and our joy will increase”. 1
1 Pope Francis - Angelus Mary Assumption
A final Marian tip: Trouble sleeping? Try four Hail Marys: it works for me!
Don’t forget Mass on Monday, 15 August: Solemnity of the ASSUMPTION of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Mass Times
Celebrating the heavenly birthday of the Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation (a day like Christmas Day and each Sunday when we are obliged to attend Mass).
The following Masses will be held in our Parish:
St Augustine’s Church, Coffs Harbour: 9am, 12 noon, 5:30pm
Woolgoolga 9:30am- SFX Primary School, Queen St, Woolgoolga
Parishioners are warmly invited to come to the St Francis Xavier primary school for Mass and stay afterwards to enjoy morning tea with the school community.
What’s Happening In Our Parishes?
For further information to our associated parishes’ please use the links below
Here you will find ways to join with the local community, specially planned events and times for reconciliation and Masses.
St Augustine's Parish including St Francis Xavier
Mary Help of Christians Parish
Janine Sawtell
Leader of School Evangelisation
Santo Subito- A saint now!
We continue our journey towards St John Paul Day and learning more about our patron and namesake focussing on St John Paul II’s love and devotion to Mary, Mother of God as we prepare as a college to celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Monday.
A Man of Mary
St John Paul II had a life-long love of our Lady. As a child he would journey on pilgrimages with his father to the Shrine of our Lady of Częstochowa, a much-loved Polish icon of Mary. But it was during the Nazi occupation of Poland that his devotion to Mary intensified. He read the classic spiritual text “Consecration to Mary” by St Louis de Montford, and became profoundly aware of Mary’s presence in his life – he later described this as a “decisive turning point” in his life.
When he became a bishop, St John Paul II selected the phrase “Totus Tuus”, from the prayer of consecration to our Lady by St Louis de Montford, as his personal motto. As pope he reflected that “I have experienced the loving and forceful presence of the Mother of our Lord. Mary accompanies me every day in the fulfilment of my mission as successor of Peter.”
St John Paul II believed Mary’s intercession protected him at key moments of his life: once when he was hit by a truck during the war, and again when he was shot as pope in 1981. He believed that Mary saved his life by guiding the bullet which hit him and he left this bullet at the Shrine of Fatima in thanksgiving. This bullet was later placed into the crown of the statue of Our Lady at Fatima.
St John Paul II encouraged the church to continue to seek Our Lady’s intercession, and wrote an apostolic letter called Rosarium Virginis Mariae to all Catholics to help them understand more about the power of the rosary. He wrote: “To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and his Mother”. In this letter, he introduced a new set of “mysteries” to the rosary. These Luminous mysteries reflect on the life of Jesus during his public ministry. St John Paul II knew that love of Mary always leads to Jesus. On reflecting about the motto which guided him as bishop and pope he wrote:
“True devotion to the Mother of God is … profoundly rooted in the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity and the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption”
As we prepare to celebrate the heavenly birthday of the Virgin Mary ask yourself how Mary is involved in your lives today? What can we learn from St John Paul II’s love of our Lady? Is it time to dust off the Rosary Beads and pray this beautiful prayer with your children?
“To recite the Rosary means to learn to gaze on Jesus with his Mother’s eyes, and to love Jesus with his Mother’s heart. Through prayer and meditation on the mysteries, Mary leads you safely towards her Son! Do not hesitate to suggest that it be recited at home… because it rekindles and strengthens the bonds between family members. This prayer will help you to be strong in your faith, constant in charity, joyful and persevering in hope…” St John Paul II, 16 October 2002.
Interview with Gabriella Majarich - Youth Ministry Officer
If you could hang out with any cartoon character, who would you choose and why?
I would choose Spongebob and Patrick to hang out with. They are characters that brought a little bit of magic to my childhood. I think hanging out with them would be hilarious. We would get upto some mischief and have heaps of fun.
Describe one way that Jesus has changed your life?
Jesus has changed my life in every way but especially in how I treat others and how I view my relationships. I try to be that love and joy for others as Jesus is to me in my life. He has become the example in my life that I look to, to guide and direct my life towards better.
When was the time you felt closest to God?
The times where I feel closest to God are the times when I am surrounded by the beauty of His creation; the warmth of a sunset, walking in nature and hearing the sounds of the birds. Other times I feel close to God are when I feel love; the love from my family when they hug me and the love from my friends. I encounter God in many ways, but more than anything that sense of joy and love found in my interactions with strangers and those closest to me is what makes me feel closest to Him.
When did you decide you wanted to actively pursue your faith?
I’ve always had a belief in Christ. Growing up in a strong catholic family, religion was very important. However, I would have to say the moment that I decided to actively pursue that part of my life was after a conference in year 10 where I had the chance to experience Adoration for the first time. This is where I really encountered my God for the first time. Being surrounded by that incredible atmosphere, watching the Holy Spirit work through all those people around me, seeing their reaction; this inspired me to want to actively pursue and explore my faith. That faith has been my strength in every part of my life.
Gabriella Majarich & Darcy Hartin
Youth Ministry Officers
Our records indicate that many parents are yet to log onto Compass. We encourage you to do so as soon as possible. All parents received an email at the beginning of Term 3. If you can’t find this email, please ring the school and a member of our office team will assist you.
Access to Compass is important as you can add absence notes, receive notifications, book parent teacher conferences and pay school fees easily by using the Compass App.
Our IT department has been busy transfering historic student reports from Sentral to Compass. Most of these should now be available under the Reports Tab on your child’s dashboard.
The Catholic Schools Office has produced a number of parent how-to guides which are attached below.
Notifications for Parents
How to submit an absence note
How to access the newsfeed
Sharon Brennan
Teacher Librarian
Leader Learning Technology
Compass - New Office & Finance procedures
Feeling Sick
If a student is feeling sick at school, the student reports directly to the College Office Sick Bay. A First Aid Officer will attend to the student and will call the parent/carer or emergency contact. Students are only permitted to stay in Sick Bay for 30 mins. Students must not contact the parent/carer prior to attending Sick Bay.
Absence from School
If a student is absent without reason, parents will receive an automated SMS message at 10.30am from Compass.
The College must be notified within 7 days of the date of absence by one of the following methods:
- Submitting an attendance note via the Compass App
- Phone the College Office on the day of absence on 02 6653 3155
- Email the College on sjpccoffs@lism.catholic.edu.au
All notes should include the student’s full name, year, homeroom, date of absence and a detailed explanation of the absence. If no explanation is received within 7 days an unexplained absence will appear on the student’s record.
Late to School
Students are required to sign in at the College Office if they arrive late (after 8.55am). A note from home is required explaining late arrival, either on the day or the next school day. If a student doesn’t arrive by 10.30am an automated SMS message will be sent.
(A note is not required if a student is late due to a school bus delay).
Permission to Leave School during the Day - Early Departure
Students must have a written note from their parents/carers, giving an explanation and requesting permission to leave the College at a specific time. Students must take the note to the College Office before school and a Compass reminder notice is uploaded on the students dashboard. At the allocated time, students must return to the College Office to formally sign out for the day and return the handwritten note. If students return to school later in the day they are required to sign in at the College Office.
For urgent appointments or requests to leave the College without a written note, parents/carers are required to collect their student from the College Office. Students will not be dismissed from class until parents/carers arrival at the College Office. Please allow enough time for the Office staff to retrieve students, as there could be delays leaving the Office. If students are able to bring a note in the morning this will alleviate any delay.
Please note early departures or late arrivals cannot be submitted as an attendance note via the Compass App. Only full day absences can be submitted using the attendance note via the Compass App.
Finance
Just a reminder your first Statement from Compass was emailed to you last week, then each month going forward. The opening balance showing is a combination of tuition fees from the Parish Schools Office and College fees as at 30 June, 2022. Tuition fees for 2022 are due for payment by 1 December, 2022. Please refer to your original invoice from the College for the date payment due for any camps/excursions etc.
If you require an extension after the due date (tuition fees only) or to discuss your payment plan, please contact our office.
The Catholic Schools Office Fee Enquiry
Ph: 6653 1655 - Mell and Tess
Office Hours: 8:30am to 4:00pm
Email: cofhs-fees@lism.
EMPOWERING PARENTS TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILDREN’S STUDY HABITS
We have arranged for Elevate Education to run Parent Webinars live online on the Monday 15 August 22 at the following times;
Year Level |
Start Time |
Finish Time |
|
Years 7- 9 |
3:45 pm |
4:45 pm |
|
Years 10 – 12 |
6:30 pm |
7:30 pm |
Scheduled Years 7 – 9 Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting using link below
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82197763521?pwd=QnVpVS9ReW5PbmhnUTU2bUI1endoQT09
Meeting ID: 821 9776 3521
Passcode: 330078
One tap mobile
+61871501149,,82197763521#,,,,*330078# Australia
+61280156011,,82197763521#,,,,*330078# Australia
Scheduled Years 10 – 12 Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting using link below
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86196055170?pwd=S3h3NDEwRVhTS2hhR2dUS3hXSEl2Zz09
Meeting ID: 861 9605 5170
Passcode: 182587
One tap mobile
+61280156011,,86196055170#,,,,*182587# Australia
+61370182005,,86196055170#,,,,*182587# Australia
Year 12
The Trial Examination period ends next Monday and students will be back in class ready to continue their HSC preparation. HSC Markers will be on the College premises over the coming weeks to mark student’s Major Works and Performances. Year 12 students are to congratulated in regard to how organised they have been in their approach to the Trial examination period and meeting Term 3 deadlines.
Well Done!
Students will start receiving feedback on their Trial examinations over the coming weeks. We do understand that it may be difficult to maintain momentum, but you can be certain that we are here to help students continue to improve their knowledge and understanding, and skill set, across all courses. We encourage all students to keep communicating with their teachers so we can work together to improve.
We remind students of the following;
- Attend all classes as per your timetable
- Work with the feedback your teachers have provided
- Keep up to date with NESA Advice via the link below.
NESA advice for Year 11 and 12 - Access the Stay Healthy HSC hub - stay active and keep connected during the HSC with resources brought to you by the NSW Education Department and ReachOut.
Year 11
All students have received their timetable for Yr 11 Final Examinations (Tuesday 30 August - Friday 9 September) via their Curriculum Matters Classroom and should be organising their study schedule around this timetable.
Subject Selection Years 10 + 8
Thank you to all those families who attended the Stage 5 and Stage 6 Information evenings over the last 2 weeks. It is so wonderful to have families back on campus and I appreciate how lucky we are to have such opportunities.
Teachers really enjoyed the conversations that were had on these evenings, and I hope students are more confident in their subject selection as a result.
Thank you all Year 8 students who submitted their Elective online form on time.
Year 10 – don’t forget closing date for your selections is Thursday 18 August.
At SJPC student choice determines which courses run in 2023, so please choose wisely! Once choices have been finalised, students will receive confirmation packs with all information needed for continuing at SJPC in 2023.
It is timely to remind ALL students of their responsibilities as learners.
Your teachers are designing and setting activities that will help you develop the knowledge, understanding and skills that are important throughout life. Trust them!
Do the work,
ask for help,
create learning opportunities,
be innovative
Claudia Brown
Leader of Curriculum
TVET courses for 2023
A TVET course is a vocational course that is taught by TAFE. Students in Year 11 and 12 are able to add a TVET course to their studies and have it included in their HSC credential. TVET course costs are as follows: a 2 unit course is $500 per year and 4 unit courses cost $1000 per year. Any student who is wanting to study a TVET course in 2023 must lodge the application form and pay a deposit to the SJPC Office by Friday 26 August 2022. A full list of the courses available and the application forms can be collected from the Careers Room.
School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships
A school based apprenticeship or traineeship (SBAT) is a great opportunity for a student to commence an apprenticeship whilst still at school. A typical SBAT requires a student to attend TAFE one day per week, undertake 1 day of paid work per week and attend 3 days of school per week. Students participate in an SBAT over the course of Year 11 and 12, and in this time they complete the first year of their apprenticeship. An SBAT will contribute 4 units towards the HSC in each year of study i.e 4 units in Year 11 and another 4 units in Year 12. It is also possible for a student to commence an SBAT early whilst in Year 10. If there are any employers thinking of putting on a SBAT or would like to know more about the SBAT program, or any students and parents who would like more information please contact the College Careers Adviser, Paul Corsalini.
Prerequisite Subjects for University in 2025
This may be relevant for our Year 10 students who are aspiring to complete Year 12 and matriculate to university in 2025. In addition to obtaining the correct ATAR entry score, a student may be required to study particular subjects during Year 11 and 12. For example, Sydney University requires students to study Advanced Maths for many of its university courses. Both the NSW University Admissions Centre (UAC) and the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) have published Prerequisite Guides for 2025. These guides provide information on the prerequisite subjects plus any recommended subjects that align with each future university course. Both of these guides have been posted to the Year 10 Curriculum Google Classroom.
NSW Prerequisite Guide for 2025 (Steps to Uni for Year 10 students)
QTAC Prerequisite Guide for 2025 (Year 10 Guide 2025)
QLD Universities Excursion
Current Year 11 students will have an opportunity to attend this excursion in Term 4. This 2 day excursion will visit Bond University, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), University of QLD (UQ), Griffith University and the Gold Coast campus of Southern Cross University (SCU). The cost will likely be $180 and will include accommodation at Union College (one of the residential colleges of UQ) and breakfast and dinner. Permission notes will be available late Term 3.
Paul Corsalini
Careers Adviser
2022 has been an exciting year so far for the Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU) Program at SJPC. We have been lucky enough to have our graduate teacher, Miss Jessi Reeves, undergo training through Monash University to become an EMU Specialist Teacher.
The EMU program builds on and is coordinated with classroom Mathematics programs. It involves additional levels of support and teaching aimed at accelerating students’ mathematics learning through small group intervention and additional assistance in the classroom.
This term, our Year 7 EMU group has been working on developing a growth mindset as they persevere to solve open-ended rich tasks and communicate their ideas. Kalani Craig and Chaise Blackett worked together to create patterns and identify algebraic concepts while Gemma Klenk explored equivalent fractions.
The group enjoyed completing their warm ups this week and are excited to continue the term with Miss Jessi Reeves as their EMU Specialist Teacher as they continue to deepen their conceptual understanding in Mathematics.
ALL THINGS LITERACY, BECAUSE LITERACY MATTERS IN ALL THINGS
Mrs Brennan and Mrs McKelvie have registered SJPC in the WRITE A BOOK IN A DAY competition for 2022, and have opened this opportunity up to students from Year 7 and Year 8. It will all happen in the library from 8am to 8pm on Wednesday, 7 September.
This fun and creative team writing competition is managed by the Kids Cancer Project, raising funds for childhood cancer research to find better treatment and ultimately a cure.
Students work in teams of 5-10 to plan, write, edit and illustrate a book in a day. Every story grows from a unique set of parameters given to each writing team on the morning of the competition. While covering some curriculum outcomes this also provides a hands-on collaborative learning experience, teaching empathy, teamwork and sharing creativity and literacy skills. This also results in hours of entertaining and inspirational reading for sick kids in hospital.
Once teams have been finalised participants will receive a sponsorship page to share with family and friends to help fundraise for this cause. Family members will have an opportunity to witness the final products during the evening of the competition.
We look forward to your future support.
Word Of The Week 4 & 5:
Magnanimous adjective
DEFINITION - generous or forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person.
ORIGIN - Latin magnus - great + animus - soul.
IN A SENTENCE: A truly magnanimous person can lose without complaining and win without gloating.
Callous adjective
DEFINITION - showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.
ORIGIN - Latin callosus - hard-skinned.
IN A SENTENCE: His cruel and callous comments made me shiver.
Year 7
Term 3 Events
Year 7 has been buzzing all term in anticipation for their first SJPC athletics carnival this week. At the time of writing, I'm hoping to be able to cheer and support all the talented athletes taking part and also all students from Year 7 that are getting involved, having a go, and showing great College spirit. Go Hargraves!
Term 3 also means St John Paul II Day is fast approaching. One of the best student days on the calendar, and without our past COVID restrictions, it has peaked the students enthusiasm about celebrating the day with plenty of fun, games, food and music. An all day school fair that recognises our great College community.
Connecting Online
One question that myself, and the other Leaders of Wellbeing are constantly answering (or attempting to) is "how can families support children to confidently (and safely) connect with their peers online?". It’s now the norm for our students to go to school, then come home and keep chatting, sharing videos or playing with their friends online.
We've never been more connected and our young people are starting their online experience earlier. Like a famous superhero once said – “with great power comes great responsibility”, and sometimes people don’t make the best choices online.
What does it look like when online issues spill into school time?
- Higher mental health and wellbeing issues
- Disconnection between peers and a lack of empathy
- High absenteeism, or students coming to class with anxiety
- Disrupted classes and time spent solving interpersonal issues.
Some of the ways we can support our kids is to provide proactive strategies to make good online choices like:
Block and report
Blocking and reporting someone really is the fastest and easiest way to get support online – it’s also the safest because we’re able to do this confidentially.
“Restrict comments” feature
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have introduced tools where we have the option to restrict video comments to no one, just friends or everyone, or we can filter them so we take back the power and decide what appears.
Help if you run into serious trouble online
The eSafety Office supports young Aussies if they run into trouble online. You can make a formal complaint about cyberbullying, image-based abuse (sharing, or threatening to share, intimate images without the consent).
More info can be found at Project Rock It - Tips for online support
Best wishes
Year 7 Leader of Student Wellbeing
Self-introductions with a Manga Twist
Recently our Year 9 elective Japanese class, under the guidance of Gennat Sensei, had a go at drawing manga style self-portraits. This activity was a creative way for our students to showcase their Japanese writing skills - incorporating the three different scripts - hiragana, katakana and kanji.
Students have been working on constructing more complex sentences, incorporating connectives and relative clauses to express their ideas in more detail. Their self-introductions included details such as their birthday, school year, where they live and favourite subjects.
Yakisoba – Japanese Festival specialty
Yakisoba is a Japanese stir-fried noodle dish, often including a special sauce, vegetables, and some kind of protein. The toppings can actually vary based on the season and location. This dish is often served at festivals and is a very popular street food.
This St John Paul II day, our Year 9 and 10 classes will be cooking and selling this delicious Japanese treat for their fellow students and teachers.
Want to try it yourself at home? Tokyo Treat - Ultimate Yakisoba Recipe
Here is the recipe.
Ingredients for the Noodles
340g pre-steamed yakisoba noodles
½ onion
1 medium carrot
2 green onions/scallions
1 cup of cabbage (green cabbage is the best in this recipe)
230g sliced boneless chicken thighs or breast (can also substitute for beef, pork, shrimp, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, or more veggies)
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
Black pepper and salt, to taste
Yakisoba Sauce Ingredients: (can also be bought already made in the supermarket)
2 tsp of sugar (white or brown sugar will give you the best flavours in this dish)
3 tsp of soy sauce (low-sodium soy sauce will make the best option)
4 tsp of oyster sauce (will add a slightly sweet and a bit salty taste to the sauce)
4 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
4 tsp of ketchup (optional to add a tart and sweet taste to the dish)
Ingredients for the Toppings (optional)
Aonori
Pickled red ginger
Toasted sesame seeds
How to Make Yakisoba
Combine all your sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, adding the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, and the Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
Prep your veggies by slicing the onion and the carrot (julienne style), chopping the green onions into 2-inch (5cm) pieces, and the cabbage into bite-size pieces.
Cut the chicken into thinly sliced pieces.
Add the oil to a wok or skillet and heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it’s golden brown.
Add the onions and carrots and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Combine the cabbage until it’s almost tender. Followed by the green onions.
Add a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
Loosen up the noodles with your hands and a sieve, and remove the oil under warm water. Drain well and add them to the skillet or wok.
Add the sauce and mix it all together.
Garnish with the aonori, toasted sesame seeds, and pickled red ginger, and enjoy!
Kirsten Binnie
Leader of Learning - Languages
Congratulations to Ebony Davies, Lily Smith and Koby Ryan for featuring on OneMob Radio station last week.
During Term 2, Year 9 music students wrote a composition that was based on the topic ‘Australian Music’. This composition was performed at the NAIDOC week quad jam and was then recorded at school during class time. Ebony’s composition ‘Bringing it back’ particularly stood out, as it talked about the culture and identity that she’s missed out on, and the parts of her culture that she’d love to learn about and bring back into her life.
Late last term, OneMob Radio had a listen to the song ‘Bringing it back’ and loved it. They contacted St John Paul College about interviewing Ebony before releasing the song exclusively on OneMob radio. On Monday 1 August, Ebony’s interview and song went live. This is really exciting for Ebony and for her peers to hear her school composition played live on the radio. The piece will now go into circulation on OneMob Radio. If you haven’t been able to hear the song, there is a recording of the radio segment on Spotify called ‘Ebony Davies Sharing Her Music’.
OneMob Radio - Ebony Davies - Bringing it back
Bill Turner Cup Football
Our boys team played St Columba from Port Macquarie in Round 5 of the Bill Turner Cup on Thursday 11 August on the synthetic fields in Coffs. The team played an intense and highly disciplined game, coming away with a win 1- 0. The boys have now reached the top 16 in this national event. Round 6 and 7 will be played at the Leisure park on the 24 and 25 August. Congratulations to our amazing boys!
Diocesan Basketball - Junior and Intermediate Championships
Our Junior and Intermediate Basketballers had an outstanding tournament over the two days at the Diocesan Basketball Championships. Our teams were dominant all carnival, only dropping 3 games between all 4 teams (1 in the rounds and two finals).
Both of our girls teams came away with excellent wins in the finals to be crowned Diocesan Champions. The boys fought hard and were challenged the whole final, both finishing second and receiving silver medals.
Overall, our 6 Basketball teams across all aged divisions achieved 3 firsts and 3 seconds in the Diocese, resulting in SJPC receiving the coveted Gerard O’Brien Memorial shield for top Basketball school in the Lismore Diocese.
The next stage is CCC Basketball in Penrith in November!
Thanks must go to our coaches who gave up many hours and mornings to coach our teams. Mr Tim Davis, Darcy Mills (Year 12) and Mr Michael Hewitt trained their teams 7.30am one morning a week for about 10 weeks, while Mrs Trish Furey and Mr Nick Haworth combined outside school hours training with our new 9/10 sport coaching program to achieve these amazing results.
Basketball is very much alive and well in the college! Congratulations to our dedicated players and coaches.
College Athletics carnival
The Athletics carnival was a fun filled, energetic day with many personal bests and funny memories created. Of particular note was the 33 year old record for the 14 years boys 100m being smashed by Cooper Moore. Cooper knocked the 1989 record of 12.23 down to an amazing 12.01! Lincoln Henry also smashed a record from 1998, the 200m 14 year boys record. His 24.56 obliterated the old record of 25.34! Henry also broke the old 14 years boys Triple jump record of 10.25m, attaining a massive jump of 11.49.
Also of note was our Staff/Student house relay. While we did not have time to run all the relays due to an exceptional participation rate, we did have time to run the Staff/Student 8 x 50m relay. Kelly was not able to win this one, with McAuley finishing first, Kelly second, Hargraves third and Casey fourth. It was a highlight of the day!
The house competition was once again enthusiastically contested with the final placing are as follows:
| Place | House | Points |
| 1 | Kelly | 998 |
| 2 | McAuley | 728 |
| 3 | Casey | 579 |
| 4 | Hargraves | 535 |
Congratulations Kelly House!!!
Congratulations Age Champions
| Age Champions |
| Age | Boys Champion | House | Girls Champion | House |
| 12 | Blake Carter | Casey | Evie Hill | Kelly |
| 13 | Levi Newton | Kelly | Matilda Newton | Kelly |
| 14 | Jaxon White | McAuley | Dayna Loy | Kelly |
| 15 | Riley Woods | McAuley | Jade Newton | Kelly |
| 16 | Liam Newbery | Kelly | Jasmine Tibbett | Hargraves |
| 17+ | Harrison Colyer | McAuley | Mia McKeon | Kelly |
Those students who finished 1st or 2nd in an event (except 400m) qualify to represent SJPC at the Diocesan Athletics carnival on Wednesday 24 August. A permission note and payment slip will be sent to those students who qualify through COMPASS. Any student who qualifies but decides not to progress needs to decline the event through COMPASS, as well as let me know ASAP via email so that another athlete can be substituted. The full results will be displayed on the Palace notice board on Monday 15 August.
Finally, thank you to the Lord for holding the weather for us and for the amazing staff who make the day happen!
Coming Up
|
Monday 15 - 16 August |
NSW CCC Netball, Penrith |
| Wednesday 24 August |
Diocesan Athletics Carnival, Cex Stadium |
| Wednesday 24 August |
Bill Turner Cup Rd 6, Leisure Park Coffs |
| Thursday 25 August |
NSW Netball Cup Regional Finals, Port Macquarie |
| Wednesday 31 August |
Rugby 7’s Gala day, Coffs Harbour |
| Tuesday 6 September |
Secondary Schools Squash Challenge, Coffs Harbour |
| Thursday 8 September |
Diocesan Netball Gala Day, Port Macquaire |
| Monday 12 September |
NSWCCC Athletics Carnival, Homebush |
| Friday 14 October |
Dicoesan Volleyball Gala Day, Coffs Harbour |
| Tuesday 25 October |
Diocesan Gymnastics, Grafton (TBC) |
| Monday 31 - 1 November |
CCC Junior Basketball Championships, Penrith |
| Thursday 10 November |
Diocesan Junior Waterpolo, Alstonville |
| Tuesday 15 November |
Diocesan Golf Championships, Coffs Harbour |
| Thursday 17 November |
Diocesan Senior Waterpolo, Alstonville |
Danielle McAra
Sport Co-ordinator
The 2022 Ski Trip was blessed with some excellent snow cover and the odd blue bird day. There wasn’t a face without a grin by the weeks’ end as mother nature truly revealed the awe and wonder of what an alpine environment is all about. Comprising skiers and snowboarders, students honed their skills each afternoon after participating in a 3 hour morning lesson each day. With all resort area’s open the students were able to explore all that Smiggins, Perisher, Blue Cow and Guthega had to offer.
Planning for the 2023 Ski Trip is already underway. Expression of Interest notes will be available in Term 4.
Paul Corsalini
Careers Adviser
2022 Kawalazi Student Sponsorship
2022 Vinnies School Winter Sleepout
Vinnies Sponsorship
Homelessness is a growing problem with more and more people turning to Vinnies for help. The Vinnies School Sleepout encourages students to talk to family and friends about homelessness and how we can each make a difference.
In preparation for the upcoming St Vincent de Paul School Winter Sleepout we are looking for potential sponsors within the community to help us raise funds and donations for the night which will go towards assisting the marginalised within our local Coffs Harbour area. Your support ensures organisations like Vinnies continue providing important services and rebuilding lives.
We are seeking out local businesses and organisations who could be potential donors. Money and material goods raised will directly support people experiencing or facing homelessness in our community. Any form of support is appreciated no matter how big or small. Once a contribution is made your business will be listed on our sponsorship list and mentioned graciously on the night.
In addition to this, as a part of the sleepout we will be using cardboard boxes to have for students to sleep on or use to build shelter. If you are able to supply cardboard boxes please contact the college. Additionally, if your child is attending the night we ask that they bring a cardboard box with them on the night.
Any support in this event is greatly appreciated. For further information on sponsorship please visit Vinnies Community website: Vinnies Community Sleepout or contact the College via email sjpccoffs@lism.catholic.edu.au.
Brett Bujeya
Teacher - St Vincent de Paul
