Ave Maria College Newsletter Volume 102 No 4 – Friday, 27 May 2022
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Prayer Loving God, thank you for teaching us to appreciate the unique qualities that make us who we are. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.
From the Principal Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome to our first newsletter for Term 2. I invite you to read this edition of our newsletter to hear about what is happening around the College, in particular a show case of the following recently held events: • • • • • • • •
House Athletics Carnival yLead Student Leader Seminar Mother’s Day Breakfast Refugee Homework Club Year 8 Wellbeing Day Year 10 – 12 Careers Presentation Year 11 Faith Formation Day Staff Professional Learning
What has been happening around the College: 2022 marks the final year of the current College Strategic Plan, as such, during Term 1 and Term 2 the College has undergone a whole school review. The review process has had two dimensions: •
Compliance – an audit/verification process of minimum standards for school registration and other State/Commonwealth requirements for Catholic schools.
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Improvement – a self-assessment and reflection of performance and growth that informs planning for future growth. This included student, staff and parent focus group consultations being held earlier this term.
On behalf of the College, I would like to thank all students, staff and parents who were part of these consultations. This very valuable feedback will assist in writing our new Strategic Plan 2023 – 2026. Once written I look forward to sharing this with the Ave community. On May 4, the teaching staff engaged in our second Day 8 Professional Learning session on our ‘Whole School Reading Focus’. This session further explored and embedded the areas of ‘content’ verses ‘disciplinary’ literacy and tiered vocabulary. Please read the article by Michelle Robertson, Deputy Principal (Learning, Staff and Operations) for more information. The Visible Wellbeing program and strategies continues to be embedded in the College. Staff have participated in professional learning on Attention and Awareness, the third component of the SEARCH framework. This learning speaks directly to creating classroom environments that encourage focus and engagement. Staff have engaged well in the learning activities, which were complemented by the Real Schools professional learning day. Page 2 of 25
These programs are working well in connection with each other, highlighting the power of relationships and safe spaces for students to grow. During 2021 the College formed a partnership with both ACER and the University of Technology Sydney. This partnership has seen the development of a purpose-built data dashboard for the College. The purpose of the dashboard is to foster and develop a culture where teachers review student performance to help inform future classroom practice. I am pleased to say that phase one of this project is now complete with the official launch of the dashboard to occur later this term in June. As part of the broader community partnership with ACER, a selection of college staff and students recently participated in a video shoot highlighting ACER products in action, as well as discussing how technology has changed over recent years and the role it plays in learning today. Well done to Joanna Hammer, Assistant Principal (Community and Growth) for leading both projects. 60th Anniversary Celebrations: 2023 marks the 60 anniversary of the establishment and opening of Ave Maria College. To celebrate this milestone a committee involving staff, students and parents is being established to ensure community involvement in the planning of this very special occasion. Parents who would like to be involved are invited to submit an expression of interest to myself via principal@avemaria.vic.edu.au. I would also like to invite families and alumnae to nominate for the School Advisory Council, please see below for more information. School Advisory Council Sub-Committees The College held its first School Advisory Council Committee for the 2022 year at the end of Term 1. In this meeting the council ratified the introduction and establishment of two new subcommittees which are: •
Finance and Property – The purpose of this sub-committee is to engage in discussion and provide feedback/recommendations to the principal on matters related to the college budget, property, facilities, capital resourcing and master planning.
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Policy and Curriculum – The purpose of this sub-committee is to engage in discussion and provide feedback/recommendations related to policy development/updates and new curriculum initiatives being considered by the college.
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The College is now seeking expressions of interest from parents or carers or alumnae for these two sub-committees. Interested parties will need to go through the volunteer process and have a Working with Children Check and comply with the: •
School’s Child Safety Code of Conduct
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MACS Code of Conduct for School Advisory Council members
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MACS Conflict of Interest Policy for Employees, Contractors and Consultants
Any interested parties are asked to email me directly via prinicpal@avemaria.vic.edu.au. Finally, Tuesday 24 May marked the last day of Laudato Si week. As many school communities navigate the many ways for which we can bring this very important encyclical to life I would like to share the following prayer from the Laudato Si Reflection series with you. Triune God, you take delight in your people, you draw us into a web of relationships. Bless our families, bless our educational institutions, bless our parishes and dioceses, bless our hospitals and health centres, bless our business and farming enterprises, bless members of our religious orders and communities. Invite us to develop a spirituality of global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, our risen Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen
https://socialjustice.catholic.org.au/2022/03/21/laudato-si-week-resources/
God bless and may we follow the way of our college patrons as we continue to strive for truth through love.
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Student Leaders On Wednesday the 11th of May, Ave Maria College had their official House Athletics Carnival! It was a day filled with fun, nerves, and house spirit. So much athletic talent was displayed across the large variety of track and field events on the day, and especially in the Ave Sprint. The year 12 cohort celebrated their last ever school Athletics Carnival and truly outdid themselves again with their amazing costumes. It was astounding to see the high levels of house spirit displayed by students across all year levels through cheering and participation. It was lovely to see the students having fun and making the most out of this memorable day! The College’s Junior House Champion was Helene, the Intermediate House Champion was Clare, and the Senior House Champion was Helene. After being level with Clare House for most of the day, Helene was able to dominate and finish on top. As House Captains, we are so proud of Helene’s positive and open-minded approach to the day, and we could not be happier with the outcome!
Deputy Principal Tutor Learning Program 2022 The Victorian Government is continuing to support schools in 2022, through the Tutor Learning Initiative, which supports students in literacy and numeracy to address disruptions to learning as a result of COVID-19. The Tutor Learning Initiative enables schools across Victoria to engage qualified teachers as tutors to work with small groups of students and support their learning. The initiative is consistent with Australian and international evidence, which shows that small group tutoring is one of the most effective educational interventions available to support students to progress in their learning. We are pleased to be able to provide a teacher-support tutor in every Year 7-10 English and Maths once a cycle, to work with small groups of students who require in class support. VCE Tutoring in Maths Page 5 of 25
In addition to this in class support, we have employed two university students to offer tutoring in Mathematics for VCE students. Imogen Temby is completing a Masters of Biostatistics and Stefan Wojcik is completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. Imogen and Stefan will be offering after school tutoring, assisting with the lunchtime ‘Absolute Maxims’ Maths help program and assisting in some Year 10 and VCE classes. More information will be made available to students and parents/carers regarding this program which is due to commence in Term 2 Week 6. Professional Learning – Whole School Reading Focus
Good literacy skills provide us with the building blocks not just for academic success, but for fulfilling careers and rewarding lives. It challenges the notion that literacy in secondary skills is solely the preserve of English and Language teachers. Improving literacy in secondary schools, 2020 In 2022, our teaching staff as engaging in professional learning focused on reading instruction. The Whole School Reading Focus enables our staff to engage and embed a culture of ‘we are people of learning’. The program aims to improve subject-specific literacy in all Domain areas, as we acknowledge that literacy skills are both general and subject specific, highlighting the need and value of supporting our staff in every subject to teach students how to read, write and communicate effectively.
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On May 4, the teaching staff engaged in our second Day 8 Professional Learning session on our ‘Whole School Reading Focus’. This session further explored and embedded the areas of ‘content’ verses ‘subject-specific’ literacy and Tiered Vocabulary. Teachers were asked to trial a reading activity in one of their classes prior to this session, and this was discussed and reviewed in Domain groups. A subject specific text was then explored in Domain groups and a strategy for vocabulary instruction of a new text was modelled and trialed. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to identify and implement effective reading strategies into our classroom practice.
Assistant Principal (Community and Growth) Mother’s Day Breakfast On Thursday 5 May the College welcomed over 120 guests for our Mother’s Day breakfast. This was our first on-site parent community event for several years. After enjoying a delicious pancake breakfast, attendees were treated to an uplifting performance of ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ by our VCE music students, along with moving speeches from both our College Principal and the College Captains. The main presentation was from the Comelli family, with alumnae Nicole (20212), Christine (2012) and Steph (2009) discussing their journeys since graduating from Ave, with a focus on the inspiring women and role models that have supported them. Page 7 of 25
Mum Patti Comelli also spoke about raising young women, supporting their unique interests and pursuits, as well as navigating and celebrating the transition from teenager to young adult. It was a wonderful celebration of the strength and capacity of women, and a wonderful opportunity to thank the mother’s and mother-like figures in our lives.
Year 9 Tour Assistants In week 3 the College inducted a new team of Year 9 tour assistants for our College Tours. The tour assistant role runs from Term 2 through to the end of term 1 in the forthcoming year. This enables us to run tours very early in the year. We had 22 applicants from the year 9 cohort. As part of the application process students had to answer several questions about themselves and the school. Their responses to questions such as “what do you love most about Ave” and “three words to describe Ave”. It was so heart-warming to read the applications and gain an insight into how our students feel about being members of our Community. The word clouds below highlights some of the key words the students used when answering these questions:
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Assistant Principal (Students and Engagement) She Who Belongs. She Who Thrives. Grabbing hold of opportunities and growing from them. Since returning from the Term 1 break there has been many opportunities for students to partake in to grow in their understanding of themselves and of the communities they are a part of whether it be at school, in the home, at work or in their recreational pursuits. One of the biggest areas that students felt they were impacted on during the Covid lockdowns was the inability to be face to face with their friends. In the last few weeks, many examples of being with their friends and embracing the experiences on offer have allowed connections to be strengthened and opportunities for personal growth and resilience. Some of these wonderful opportunities are outlined below: All Year 7-12 Student Leaders worked together at the Student Leadership Seminar led by yLead. Students worked to develop their own leadership strengths and then they collaborated to devise initiatives that would improve Ave Maria College. They pitched these ideas to the College leaders including the Principal, Ms Hutton. Ensuring a strong student voice is important in how the school looks at ways to improve the learning experience both inside and outside the classroom.
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House Athletics Carnival The Athletics Carnival was another opportunity for all students to be involved in a community event. The Year 12s embraced this opportunity to dress up in fancy dress in their House colours. They also embraced serving their community through helping organize younger year levels into events. The huge participation of Year 7-12 students on the day was a highlight. We thank parents who support these events with the expectation that their young person attends and participates in cheering or in as many events as they are able to. Those that attend grow in their connection to the College and in particular with their friends.
Year 8 Wellbeing Day Recently Year 8s attended a Wellbeing Day run by Project Rockit that focussed on building young people up: both when they see their friends face to face and when online. During the day students provided honest reflections on how they feel judged through comparisons with unrealistic online versions or from peer pressure. They explored how to support their friends and peers through allowing individual differences to be celebrated.
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Year 9 Camp Year 9s began the term with a wonderful opportunity for growth: their Outdoor Education Camp. Whilst there was initial trepidation around camping and walking, most students were incredibly proud of what they personally achieved. Leila said that she thought she would struggle to cope with not having her mobile phone reception for the three days. She was surprised that this allowed her greater connection with her group. Charlotte said that she is much more grateful now having a warm bed and food prepared for her. Again, we are grateful for the parents that supported the organization of camp requirements and discussed with their young people the growth that comes from experiences that might be outside their everyday comfort zones. Every opportunity that school and home provide for students to grow in their knowledge of themselves, knowledge of others and knowledge of problem solving is an opportunity to build resilience and to grow in independence as we lead them from their primary years into adulthood.
Uniform reminders: •
Dress length to the knee
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Black socks to be worn with pants
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Only one set of earrings worn, jewellery is of a holy medal or cross: one chain
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No false nails, nail extensions, false eyelashes or eyelash extensions
Travelling on the bus reminder: Students need to tap on and off each journey when travelling, and also to ensure that a mask is worn as this continues to be how to remain healthy whilst on public transport.
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Director of Catholic Identity and Mission Refugee tutoring Over a period of 5 weeks, the Year 12 students visited the St Alban’s Community Centre on Mondays after school to tutor primary school aged refugee children. Organised by Edmund Rice Community and Refugee Service, we helped the kids with their homework, played games and formed beautiful friendships with them. It was an extremely rewarding and eyeopening experience, which encouraged all of us to get even more involved in the community. We’d like to thank Mr Jurd and the other teachers involved as well as the volunteers and staff at the community centre who organized this. (Alexandra Evans 12C) Year 11 Faith Formation Day It's fair to say that we leave surer of ourselves and our futures today. Today was not what we expected, we heard from Michelle Newland because of her story and struggle with life, as a cohort we were exposed to a new source of Inspiration. We thought this because of her story, determination, courage, and her resilience. These are all attributes she embodies in her daily life and ones that we hope to all embody ourselves. Later in the program, we became educated on human trafficking within our country, and we learnt our rights as young women of Australia. As a year level we should now know that we have the power to make choices for ourselves and to make a difference. I'm sure we all came across clothes brands that are ethically sourced and free from slave labour. Throughout our Year 11 faith formation day, we hope we all developed a stronger connection to our faith as we continue our journey as young women of Ave. (Lauren Cunnington 11C)
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Visit by Moira Kelly As part of the Year 12 school-based RE unit on Inspiring Women, Moira Kelly spoke to Year 12 on Friday 13 May: We had the opportunity to meet an inspirational woman, Moira Kelly. We learnt that her immeasurable kindness stemmed from simple admiration for another iconic and compassionate woman, Mother Teresa. Moira continues to live the message of hope, love, and peace in our community by helping the less fortunate. We also had the opportunity to meet Trishna, one of the twins that Moira supported and adopted. We are immensely grateful that we had the chance to meet such a passionate, funny, inspirational and caring woman. (Phoebe Lewis 12C)
National Reconciliation Week Beginning on 27 May, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum that first ensured indigenous people were counted in the census, and concluding with 3 June, the anniversary of the Mabo High Court decision, it is a time for Australia to reflect on our progress towards greater understanding and reconciliation. The theme this year is “Be brave. Make change”. There will be activities to mark this important week. Laudato Si Week It is 7 years since Pope Francis first shared his landmark encyclical ‘Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home’. If you wish to further explore this, there are resources HERE some of which were shared with the College last week.
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Director of Learning and Pathways Change of Subject Requests for Semester Two Students in Years 9, 10 and 11 will be invited to make requests to change a subject for Semester Two by completing the Change of Subject Request form, from the start of week 6. The link to this will be advertised in Daily Messages on Ave Learning from next Monday and will be due Friday the 3rd of June. Please be aware of this deadline as late requests may not be able to be accommodated. Students and parents are reminded that whilst we always do our best to accommodate requests, some cannot be granted due to class size limits or timetabling constraints.
Director of Student Wellbeing Lea Waters’ Parent Presentation: Wednesday 8 June, 2022 At Ave Maria College we are committed to supporting our students and helping them to develop the skills and strategies to enhance their wellbeing whilst also equipping them with the skills to manage challenges to their wellbeing. Many will be aware of recent media reports which have highlighted the increased need for us to attend to the wellbeing of our students. As part of our Student Wellbeing program and our ongoing commitment to support the wellbeing of our students, we have invited Professor Lea Waters, AM to present to parents about how to build a strong and resilient approach to wellbeing in our young people. Lea is the author of The Strength Switch, and she leads the University of Melbourne’s Positive Psychology program. Lea’s approach is to empower parents and young people by building on their strengths to help them manage the down times. She is practical and insightful, with a strong research background that means all her work is evidence-informed and sets a standard for best practice. We invite all parents to attend this presentation in the evening of Wednesday, 8 June. We welcome parents to join us for nibbles at 6.00pm, followed by the presentation at 6.30pm. Page 14 of 25
We look forward to working in partnership with our families so that we have a unified approach that supports the flourishing of our young people. Please RSVP HERE. If you have any questions about the presentation please contact Natalie Meddis, Director of Student Wellbeing on Natalie.Meddis@avemaria.vic.edu.au
Visible Wellbeing at Ave Maria College We have been working steadily to implement the Visible Wellbeing Framework at Ave Maria, with a strong focus recently on emotional regulation and harnessing the attention of our students so that they are able to manage their concentration and distraction. Part of our work with our students is about paying attention to language, which influences mindset. Parents can support the development of a positive or growth mindset by considering the focus of questions and where they are directing attention. We notice that young people readily gather evidence to support a negative sense of self. We can help them by supporting them to also gather evidence that highlights their strengths which leads to a more positive sense of self. Our aim is for our students to take a broader perspective that is more realistic, acknowledges their strengths, positive qualities and resilience and points to what is working, rather than what is not.
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Around the College
To see more of daily life at the College, follow us on: Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn
Student Artwork
Students from top to bottom; Hwanhee, Paige, Manuela and Sarah (Year 9 Visual Arts). Page 16 of 25
Careers Education Leader National Careers Week Last week we celebrated National Careers Week at Ave. Our theme was ‘Careers – Discover and Explore’. Our Year 11s and 12s kicked off the events on Thursday 12 May, by attending the Victorian Careers Show at Melbourne Showgrounds, where they engaged with over 70 exhibitors to research future careers and courses. The aim of this week was for students to participate in positive career development activities and have career conversations. The highlight of the week was the Ave Alumnae Presentation, where our Year 10, 11 and 12 students were inspired by the journeys of alumnae. from various graduating years, working in different industries and careers: Clinical Nurse Consultant, Royal Children’s Hospital Complex Care – Abbey Baker Recent graduate, studying Marketing at RMIT - Lucy Parente Primary School Teacher– Bianca Accurso Jewellery designer and Entrepreneur– Corrine Barlow International Merchandiser and Patisserie student – Vanessa Pascoe
Our whole school activities included: Daily quiz questions and prizes –Year 7, 8 and 9 students visited the Careers Centre to collect prizes
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Mentor Period Careers Activities – interactive classes and using our Ave Careers website •
Social Media Alumnae profiles – families are encouraged to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter • •
Subject Specific Careers – discussed in each subject Page 17 of 25
Newsletter For the latest careers information, events and dates click here. Topics this week: •
Early Entry Programs
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Engineering and Business sessions at Monash
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Information technology traineeships – Microsoft and PwC
Focus on Veterinary Science, IT-Computer Science, Biomedicine, Arts and Music at University of Melbourne
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Australian Federal Police and Vic Police careers
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Careers with STEM – vocational educational training pathways
Business Manager 2022 School Fees A friendly reminder that Term Two Fees are now overdue. Thank you to all the families that have made a payment or have a payment plan in place. Where payment has not yet been made, kindly complete either Direct Debit or Credit Card Authorisation Form, previously supplied, and return to the college immediately. Camps, Sports and Excursion fund Time is running out to claim the Camp, Sports and Excursion rebate. If you hold a Health Care Card or another concession card and you child is named as a dependant, we strongly encourage you to complete the CSEF application form and return to the College immediately. Your concession card must have been valid on 31 January 2022. Families that have successfully claimed the CSEF for 2022 would of seen a credit on your Fee Statement. Please contact the Finance Office on 9331 9307 should you have any queries or concerns.
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Canteen CDFpay is available to place orders for the Canteen. By placing an order, your child will receive their choices from that day’s menu. They also receive priority service at the Canteen. A link to CDFpay is located on the top right hand corner of the College webpage.
Maths Tutoring
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Helene Library The Helene Library has had a busy start to 2022 – between regular arrivals of new books, Creative Spaces activities, and displays galore, we even managed to get some reading done! Student favourites dominate our most popular resources so far this year, with One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus already reaching fifteen loans in 2022. Other library favourites such as The Summer I Turned Pretty, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, The Diary of a Young Girl, and Once round out the top five. Heartstopper Volume 1, one of our newest graphic novel additions, is proving itself so popular that in between the loans and reservations, it has not spent any time on the shelf! Creative Spaces and Book Corner, our dedicated Library Co-curriculars, have been enormously popular with our students. Book Corner gives literary-minded students the opportunity to discuss their current reading, and attendees are always the first to get their hands on our new releases. Creative Spaces gives our crafty students the chance to get involved and create something to take away with them. So far this year, we’ve designed our own tote bags using iron-on transfers, made some cute little yarn monsters, and created our own accordion books. The Helene Library is looking forward to sharing the rest of 2022 with our students on-site. With so many new books, creative activities, and comfortable study nooks, there truly is something for all our students in the library.
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Year 9 Camp At the beginning of term 2, the Year 9’s went on an Outdoor Adventure Camp in Anglesea. This camp helped us learn about ourselves and our classmates. While we were there, we participated in a range of different activities such as initiative games, bushwalking, team games and surfing. Surfing was an all-around favourite as we got to team up with another group and go in the water. The initiatives were a great mind exercise that taught us how to think out of the box and to see things in a different way. We have been strengthening this skill during IRIS classes. Bushwalking was an interesting experience with our heavy packs, but we all made it through the hikes in one piece. During the team games, we had to cross a small pond in a kayak. The goal was to get as many people as possible across the pond in the smallest number of trips without falling in. In the end we made it across mostly dry. Overall, the camp was a great success as everybody participated and gave it their all. It was a lot of fun that we will all treasure for the rest of our lives. We would like to thank all the teachers that came to support us during this time and made this experience unforgettable.
Milla McManus and Anya Anthony Year 9 level leaders
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QUICK LINKS Parent Access Module (PAM) Click here to access the College Parent Access Module (PAM) SkoolBag The SkoolBag App is the easiest way to keep up with school events, last minute notices, newsletters and all school communications. CDF Pay CDFpay is an online payment platform families can use to pay for school services from your mobile, tablet or computer at any time. Families can: • place student online lunch orders. • add funds to student accounts to be used for over the counter canteen purchases. • add funds to student accounts to be used for Printing Credit. College Calendar Please refer to the College Calendar for all Upcoming Events and Dates of Importance. Click on the heading to take you to the Calendar. 2022 Positions of Leadership Click the above link for the full College leadership structure for 2022. Community Announcement – School Drop off / Pick up Drop off / pick up times are always busy. Please remember that road laws need to be always obeyed. Moonee Valley Council Officers regular patrol the area around the College and will issue fines if they observe any breaches of the laws. Do not park on or near a school crossing. Do not double park and let your child out on the road. You cannot stay in the drop off / pick up zone for longer than two minutes. Your child needs to be waiting in the zone before you arrive. Fines for offences are; • • • • • • •
Stopping in a “No Stopping” area - $165.00 Stopped in a Bus Zone - $99.00 Parked for a period longer than indicated - $83.00 Stopping on or near a children’s crossing - $165.00 Stopped on a footpath - $99.00 Stopped on or across a driveway or other way of access - $99.00 Parked / stopped on a nature strip - $99.00
The College values being part of the local community and asks you to respect our neighbors by always obeying the road rules. Page 22 of 25
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