Newsletter 9 2011 ~ 16 June
Dear parents,
Parent/Teacher Interviews
From the Dean of Studies…
Last Sunday was the Feast of Pentecost, a celebration that occurs 50 days after Easter Sunday, and is known as the birthday of the Church. The Acts of the Apostles recount the events of this day as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ followers, filling them with the courage to go forward and preach the Good News of Jesus. Our Church teaches that there are seven gifts that the Spirit bestows upon each of us at the completion of our initiation as full members of the Church. The gifts are wisdom, understanding, right judgement, courage, knowledge, reverence and wonder and awe and, in each of the gifts, we see God’s great love for us.
An excellent way of deepening your involvement in the life of the college is to meet our staff at the upcoming parent teacher interviews. Parent/teacher interviews for students from Year 7 – 11 will be held on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 June. This is an excellent opportunity to meet our staff and to spend some time discussing your daughter’s progress. It is also an opportunity to meet the school executive staff and raise issues of interest or concern. I look forward to catching up at the interviews.
The Year 7 to 11 parent/teacher Interviews will be conducted on Monday 27 June and Tuesday 28 June. Parents will be able to make appointments with their daughter’s teachers through the “Parent Teacher Online Booking system” on the college’s website. Families will have received a letter including information on the structure of the days, instructions on how to use the online booking system and their unique username and password. Note that the Year 7 to 10 reports will be able to be collected in the SGN foyer on the day of the interviews. For families who are unable to attend the interviews, reports will be posted out on Wednesday 30 June.
The gift of wisdom provides us with the capacity to see God at work in our lives and in everyone and everything. Understanding allows us to comprehend how we can live as followers of Christ and Right Judgement provides us with the capacity to differentiate right from wrong. Courage allows us to stand up for what is right and good, while the gift of knowledge allows us to better know God. Reverence is the gift that brings deep respect for God in our lives and Wonder and Awe is the realisation of the greatness of God in our lives. One might suggest that a few of these gifts would also come in handy in our role as parents.
Parents as Partners There was an excellent article in the Education section of last Monday’s Sydney Morning Herald titled “Engagement Must Not Stop at the Gate”. The article highlighted the importance of parental involvement in their child’s education, stating that study after study shows that student achievement improves when parents play an active role in their child’s education and that good schools become even better schools when parents are involved. The article also reiterated that it is widely recognised that parent engagement is a key factor in the enhancement of student achievement and well-being. The question is how do we as a community better engage parents in the life of the college? We will be further exploring such opportunities throughout the year.
Fashion Parade I had the opportunity to attend the combined St Mary’s and Holy Spirit College Fashion Parade on Wednesday 8 June. This was an outstanding event and one that showed our girls at their very best. I extend my thanks to Helen Bow and her hard working committee, the mothers who coordinated the teams and our girls who looked both elegant and quietly confident as they took to the catwalk. Congratulations to all involved, it was a wonderful evening and one that made parents and staff from both colleges very proud. I pray that you and your families have a peace filled and restful weekend as we begin to experience the cooler weather. Yours sincerely Frank Pitt, Principal
Award winners at our recent assembly with Mr Frank Pitt
The Year 9 2012 Subject Information evening was conducted last week. The elective sessions presented during the evening provided valuable information to the parents and students and will assist the students in making an informed decision in relation to the Stage 5 electives. I thank the many families and students who attended the evening. I also wish to extend my gratitude to the KLA Coordinators and teachers who assisted with the set up of the evening and attended to give the presentations. Congratulations to all students on their efforts this term and I wish all families a restful holiday break. Gerry Sozio
Electric cars for Enviro Week Marissa Couldridge with her dad Andrew
LOVE OF GOD - LOVE OF LEARNING - HOSPITALITY - STEWARDSHIP - PEACE
From the Middle School Director…
America Dance tour
Students in Years 8 and 9 have completed their mid-year exams and are to be congratulated for the way they prepared and presented for these. Teachers are now in the process of preparing mid-year reports for all students in the junior school, with parent/teacher interviews taking place at the college on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 June. Parents will receive a letter outlining times and procedures for booking interviews with teachers.
At the end of this term 17 very excited girls will be boarding a flight on their way to America for the tour of a lifetime. Students from the Years 10, 11 and 12 Dance classes have been preparing for the last two terms rehearsing two mornings a week. First stop is Los Angeles where the girls will be performing their 25 minute showcase at both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Whilst at Disneyland, the girls will also take part in an exciting dance workshop with the Disney professionals. Their tour also takes them down to San Diego Zoo, into Hollywood and Universal studios. From there they fly to San Francisco just in time for the 4th of July fireworks on Fisherman’s wharf. The girls will spend a day at Alcatraz followed by sightseeing and then head off to Hawaii for another performance and some much deserved time on the island touring and enjoying the sun.
Year 7 students are to be congratulated on a highly productive term. The highlights have been the completion of their Ancient History Site Study, group performances of Bible stories and the Self-Generated Medieval History project. The quality of the work the students have produced is testimony to both their enjoyment of learning and the effort they have put into their learning. The students’ work will be on display during the parent/ teacher interviews. Year 7 students have continued the process of reflecting on their learning and have completed a number of “My Learning Reviews” throughout the term. The outcome of these will be reflected in the Year 7 reports.
“Fairies and bunnies” bring a smile to the children at Wollongong hospital’s children’s ward
Our America Dance troupe
The Middle School Assembly took place this week, prepared and presented by our Year 9 Middle School leaders. Year 7 commenced the assembly with their performance of “I’ve got Rhythm “. The theme for the assembly was “2SMRT4U” and dealt with the issue of cyber bullying. This theme will be continued in Year assemblies for students in Years 7-9.
St Vincent De Paul During the last school holidays 11 girls from the SVDP Club (Alyssa-Jayne Mackillop, Kiara Bahamondes-McKibbin, Hayley Scapin, Lucy Packer, Laura Porto, Brigette Bradley, Rachelle Dowdling, Angela Ianni, Rayan Maarbani, Shannon Chan and Emma Scapin) delivered Easter eggs to Wollongong Hospital’s Children and Maternity wards, and Villa Maria Aged Care Centre. The girls were dressed for the occasion as fairies and bunnies. Thank you to all teachers and students who brought in eggs for the appeal! A big thank you also to Mrs Todhunter who accompanied us on the day. Emma Scapin, SVDP President
I wish all students and their families a restful holiday. Terese Coleman
MSB Social Justice Forum On June 1, Year 9 student Kiara Bahamondes-McKibbon and Year 12 students Makenzie Russell, Olivia Todhunter, Maddie Lau, Christie Mangos, Maree Nikitaras, Alicia Onofri, Kayla Lee and Emma Scapin attended the MSB Social Justice Forum in Pennant Hills. The theme of the forum was “Peace”. We listened to Margret, a midwife who works for Mèdecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) about her inspirational efforts in trying to create a better life for people in third world countries. We also listened to talks on different social justice issues in our world at the moment, such as the plight of refugees, and the services provided from many of the Good Samaritan organisations. It was a great opportunity to interact with other students from our fellow Good Samaritan schools. A huge thank you to Mrs Todhunter, Miss Magill and Mrs Bate for driving us all there and back. Emma Scapin
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Lynn Sadd, Mrs Pat O’Gorman and Mr Peter Wouters for their support in the organisation of the tour as well as Cassie James and Ashley Jones for their contributions to the choreography. Special thanks also to the Parents and Friends Association for their financial support and to Mrs Carol Hurt for our fabulous costumes. Kerri Harrigan
Women in Careers Expo The Women in Careers Expo was recently held at the college. This year our guest speaker was Angela Saville. The students were inspired and motivated by Angela’s career to date. We were grateful to have so many generous people who took time out of their busy schedules to talk to our students about career options post school. Women in Careers Expo Angela Saville speaking to our students
Many thanks to all who contributed before and on the day. Pauline Judd
NAIDOC week I am an indigenous student from the Wadi Wadi tribe from this land we call Wollongong. I would like to tell you about a celebration held every year. It is called NAIDOC week. It is a celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people. NAIDOC week will be held from 3 to 10 July. The theme for this year’s celebrations is change - the next step is ours. This week you will see this banner in the terrace area of the college to remind us of five things to think about change in Australia: giving respect to each other – indigenous and nonindigenous; accept our past history so that we can move through a better future for Australia; be a person of justice in your home, your school and your world; be a person who wants reconciliation to value “a fair go for all”; and for Australia to prosper – we need to respect our land and our resources. From small beginnings - respect, acceptance, justice, reconciliation and stewardship - then big things can grow. Mackenzie Russell
enough to take the day. Despite Ember Sweeney winning with style in our top rank game, well fought losses by Veronica Cuiuri and Ruby Liddell meant the Holy Spirit boys walked away with the title – be it a little bit worn out by the girls’ excellent display of patience. Thanks also to Jewel Dobie, Maddyson Wright and the rest of the Chess Club for helping prepare our players with matches in the lead up during lunchtime. If you are interested in learning or playing chess, come along to Chess Club Monday and Thursdays in room C204 at lunch time. Chris Allen
Veronica Cuiuri, Jewel Dobbie, Ruby Liddell and Susan Asi competing against Holy Spirit
From the P&F… Our second formal expo and fashion parade was held on 8 June. Again our girls did us proud. The night went off extremely well and we have had a lot of great feedback from our retail partners and the crowd on the night which was over 500.
The NAIDOC banner on display on the terrace
Op Shop Ball On 13 May our Year 12 students and students from St Josephs and Edmund Rice participated in the annual Op Shop ball. The ball was a great success; everyone was dressed up in their Op Shop clothing and danced the night away. Thanks to everyone who participated; we raised $1 500 for the Year 11 Goodooga Outback Immersion program later in the year. I would also like to say a special thank you to Mrs O’Gorman and the team for helping make this event possible. Makenzie Russell
Chess
We would like to thank all of our helpers and our retail partners. These businesses have been very generous in both time, services and prizes and I ask that you might think of supporting their business when looking for a special outfit, hair-do or makeup. The retail partners are: Jam Clothing; Northbeach Boutique; Lily+Minx; Harbour Rose; Spurling; Plume; Babes; Illawarra Bridal Centre (Suiting You); Unity; Urban Envy; The Elite Academy of Hair & Makeup; Napolean Perdis; Nutrimetics; Hairhouse Warehouse and Belle Femme Beauty (Illawarra Bridal Centre).
From the Director of Mission… Liturgically this term has been a very full one as the Church balances remembering the actions and words of the risen Christ with the establishment of the Church and the many Marian feasts that mark the month of May . The prayer life of the College has tried to simplify these diverse theological themes into two key messages of embracing life and using the talents given to each of us by the Holy Spirit for the good of each other and the world. The key source that Catholics draw on to embrace life and to be of service in the world is the Eucharist. This year at Pentecost the Church, in its wisdom, changed some of the familiar responses at Mass so that the English version of the Mass is a more accurate and faithful; translation of the original Latin translation. Most of the changes are to the words that the Priest says but there are some changes in the people’s responses. Parishes in the Wollongong Diocese started introducing the new translation last Sunday and St Mary’s will introduce the new translation of the Mass at the beginning of next term in class Masses. Religious Education teachers will explain to the students the new responses of the Mass in class over the next few weeks so they can better participate at Mass on Sunday and be ready to participate fully in the Year 12 Graduation Mass. Joanne Hack
Year 11 Literary luncheon at St Joseph’s High School On Thursday 9 June I had the pleasure of taking Siobhan O’Brien and Ember Sweeney of Year 11 to participate in a Literary luncheon at St Joseph’s High School, Albion Park. Both girls spoke passionately about their favourite novel. Siobhan spoke on The Book Thief by Australian author Markus Zusak and Ember spoke on The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Each girl presented a thought provoking personal response to their novel and inspired some of the audience to ask further questions. While we did not win the competition the girls made me proud to be their teacher and were exemplary representatives of the school. Birgit Bade
To see the photos of the evening, visit our school website and click on the 2011 Fashion/Expo Pics link (available from next week).
On 7 June the St Mary’s Chess Club hosted Holy Spirit College in the 3rd round of the Regional Chess championships.
Anyone wishing to purchase a DVD ($15) of the show please email: artbymaggieh@hotmail.com.
It all came down to a final game that ended in a draw after one hour and 40 minutes of play. Susana Asi, our second ranked player, fought back in the marathon game where patience was a key, but a draw was not
The P&F would like to wish everyone a good break and look forward to seeing many of you at the next meeting on 10 August at 7pm in the PLC at the college. Helen Bow (President P&F Association)
Madeleine Diggins, Latu Faamu and Olivia Todhunter joining in Enviro week activities
23 June 24 June 27 & 28 June 18 July 21 July
Yr 7 immunisations Term 2 concludes Yrs 7-11 parent/teacher interviews Term 3 commences Yr 7 Grandparents day
For student enquiries and notifications, please ring Student Office direct: 4226 3959
CCC hockey St Mary’s sent a team of 13 players to compete at the recent CCC Hockey Carnival in Tamworth in the U16’s A division. After a long bus trip followed by an early start the girls played their first of four games. The girls played very well and were unfortunate to not score more frequently in their games, although they did gain valuable experience playing together as a team. The “Spirit of St Benedict” was an often heard song both on and off the field as the girls got “fired up” for their games. I would like to thank the girls for their excellent behaviour and display of sportsmanship throughout the carnival and Mrs Worrall who provided plenty of cheering and support from the sidelines. Lisa Kendell
Diocesan hockey After the CCC Carnival, the girls were keen to show how well they could play and how many goals they could score on turf. A slightly different line up for this open competition saw the addition of some of our more experienced Year 11 players. We won all of our pool games and had no goals scored against us due to fantastic defence. These wins meant that St Mary’s finished on top of their pool and were to face our arch nemesis St Joseph’s in the final. The girls played very well and defended the corners, removing any chance St Joseph’s had to score from these opportunities. Unfortunately St Joseph’s scored and we were unable to capitalise on a few opportunities and lost 1-0. This was an amazing effort, considering we had four players who had spent the weekend in Armidale playing hockey and returned home in the small hours of Monday. Lisa Kendell
Touch representatives Last week four St Mary’s girls represented Wollongong Diocese at the NSW CCC Touch Carnival in Bathurst. Georgia Fisher, Jenny Maidment, Maddison Fisher and Sally Dwyer played exceptionally well to help their team finish second at the carnival. Congratulations to Maddison and Sally on their selection in the CCC team that will attend Nationals in Queensland in September. Belinda Sparks
Introduction to Indonesian language- Year 7 Early in Term 3, the college will be introducing an “Indonesian Language Taster” course after school. It will run from 3.30pm - 4.30pm on Tuesdays, giving students an experience of the Indonesian language and culture. Year 7 students have already received information on the classes but please contact either Mrs Pat Turek or myself for more information. Jodi Harris
STOP PRESS... Don’t forget next Wednesday night’s WOTOPERA at IPAC. Contact Steve Goldrick for more information.
Diocesan hockey team
Congratulations to... Ellen Milross of Year 9, who was a finalist in the “Write4Fun” competition. Her short story took a first person perspective on the moving struggle to overcome anorexia. Lynne Cook
CCC hockey team
Locked Bag 42 - Wollongong NSW 2500 - Phone 02 4228 6011 - Fax 02 4229 8555 - www.stmarys.nsw.edu.au