Newsletter 16 2011 - 3 November
Dear parents and carers, As you are aware, the college has spent much of 2011 developing a new strategic plan. The plan, titled Enabling Higher Things, was an initiative of the college Board who took a very collaborative approach and sought the opinions and advice of our entire community. The plan identifies the areas of Good Samaritan ethos, staff, relationships, the learning experience, the enterprise and technology as focus areas for continuing to offer outstanding education in the Good Samaritan tradition. The Board involved students, staff, parents and community members in the consultation process, and a steering committee involving representatives from each of the groups was formed. The result has been a plan that provides focus and direction to meet our current responsibilities while having a vision and a strategic agenda that will guide us into the future. The plan will be launched on 24 November and I warmly invite all families to join us for what should be a very enjoyable evening.
to see our eager Year 11 girls who have just commenced their HSC studies and to compare them to the students still sitting their exams. The girls are quite relaxed and motivated to do their very best as they begin the journey through the HSC. I often find that we see the best in our girls as they begin to organise themselves and mature quite rapidly into thoughtful, considerate and responsible young women. I look forward to reporting on the progress of our HSC class of 2012 as they continue through their final year of school. The recent P&F meeting was another excellent opportunity to discuss important matters concerning our programs and plans for 2012. This meeting was also the time that the P&F distributed accumulated funds for various curriculum areas in the college.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 7-9 Nov School Certificate exams 10 Nov Year 10 Step Up program 23 Nov End of year Mass 9.30am SGN Year 10 Academic Assembly 1.30pm SGN 24 Nov Parent thank you social and launch of Strategic Plan 6pm Hector Street entrance 1 Dec
Year 10 Dinner Dance 6pm
For student enquiries and notifications, please ring Student Office on 4226 3969
The P&F allocated over $50,000 for various resources and projects submitted for consideration by KLA coordinators. This is on top of $50,000 allocated recently to assist with the installation of air conditioning in the SGN Hall and the purchase and installation of a coffee machine in the hall kitchen. I would like to extend my thanks to the P&F for their excellent work and for their generous support of the college. Each year we ask parents to provide feedback on various aspects of the college as a means of working to continually improve our educational, pastoral and resource offerings.
We are coming to the end of the HSC and our girls are just beginning to look slightly more relaxed. I met one of our Year 12 girls immediately following her last exam and she looked as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. I am beginning to see many more smiles from our HSC students, particularly as they leave their last exam, and we are continuing to encourage those who have large gaps between exams to stay focused and to keep studying. I would ask that you continue to keep our students and their families in your prayers as they complete what has been quite a stressful period of their lives.
This year we are hoping to conduct an online survey as a way of improving response times and of providing parents with a means of commenting which is both more efficient and requires less effort. To this end we are asking parents to visit our college website to access the survey. If you prefer, the survey can also be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ LWCTHWY. I would really appreciate you taking the time to complete the survey as we greatly value your feedback.
We held our Year 12 information evening on Monday and it was quite a contrast
Frank Pitt, Principal
Best wishes for a pleasant weekend. Yours sincerely,
For our parents... SATISFACTION SURVEY: Please help us to continue to improve by completing the satisfaction survey on line. Visit the college website, or go to https://www. surveymonkey.com/s/LWCTHWY. A SPECIAL DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: Please RSVP to the invitation to join us for the end of year parent evening and launch of the new Strategic Plan, to be held on Thursday 24 November at 6pm. This is an opportunity for the St Mary’s College community to gather and celebrate another successful year.
Love of God · Love of Learning · Hospitality · Stewardship · Peace
YEAR 8 GEOGRAPHY EXCURSION CONGRATULATIONS We congratulate Holly Heffernan from Year 10 who has been selected for the prestigous 2011 NSWIS Cycling Squad. Well done!
ST MARY’S SCIENCE FAIR The Science Department recently held its annual Science Fair. The standard of entries was very high, with students presenting many excellent pieces of research. On the day of the Science Fair students were required to explain their research to a number of judges. The following students won major Science Fair prizes: Junior 1st Vivienne Connor, Natasha Karabolovski and Victoria Somerville; 2nd Meg Cummins, Bronte Mandaric and Marissa Couldridge; 3rd Kristen Martinoski, Mikayla Mennilli and Kate Moss. Intermediate 1st Kara Agostinho; 2nd Melissa Irvine; 3rd Lucinda Beck and Sophie Whittaker. A number of students will be presenting their projects at the Regional Science Fair at the University of Wollongong this term. Congratulations to the above girls and to all entrants in this year’s Science Fair. Well done! Adrian Bell
Leeches, ticks, muddy water and the longest uphill hike ever was the definition of the Year 8 Geography excursion. Our day started scientifically with phosphorus, oxygen levels and various other tests at the beautiful Puckey’s Estate. We then summoned our inner artist and completed field sketches and mapping activities. Then we filled our tummies with delicious and nutritious snacks such as chocolate covered pretzels (surprisingly scrumptious!). We set off to Mount Keira (on buses of course), and we thought that was hard! After finding out about sclerophyll and subtropical rainforests, we began... the hike. It was long, it was hard and it was uphill. Under tree branches and over rocks we went, being attacked by monster leeches, and we literally lost a few girls on the way, but Hallelujah! They were found - just in time to see the beautiful view and have lunch! Then we jumped back onto the buses and went back to St Mary’s where we shared our stories and compared our leech bites. Overall, it was a fun, educational day, thanks to our great teachers! Grace Andrew, Kate Moss and Olivia Panozzo, Year 8
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Students explaining their research projects to Mr Pitt PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS Dear parents, We are currently organising times for Years 7-9 parent/ teacher interviews for Monday 5 December. We will again be asking parents to book online, and you will receive this information shortly. Bookings will be open from 9am on Monday 14 November, and will close at 3.30pm on Friday 2 December. Please book early as, unfortunately, inteviews cannot be booked after this time. Frank Pitt
Business Services students had a great week at work placement, setting off into a real work environment which included working full-time business hours. Many new skills and competencies were learnt as the girls went to businesses such as primary schools, employment agencies, real estate agencies, and healthcare positions within the Wollongong CBD, local and Sydney Metropolitan areas. One student was even lucky enough to complete her first aid certificate. Work placement was a great experience and created many new pathway opportunity ideas for the near future. From the positive feedback from the employers, we learnt that some girls were offered part-time and full-time employment after the HSC. We are all looking forward to work placement again next year! Sophie Turner and Catherine Majewski, Year 11, and Cheryl Robinson, Business Services teacher
AN INVITATION FROM FRANCIS XAVIER’S PRIMARY SCHOOL Closing school Mass honouring our journey 1838-2011 Past students, parents and staff members are warmly invited to the Mass marking the closure of St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Primary School to be celebrated at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on Friday 2 December 2011 at 10am followed by light refreshments RSVP Friday 25 November Phone 4229 2290 or email info@sfxdow.catholic.edu.au
YEAR 8 HISTORY EXCURSION On 13 October, half of year eight went on an excursion to the Sydney Museum and Botanical Gardens. We learnt about artifacts, aboriginal culture and the amazing land before we were alive - whilst of course, having a lot fun and laughs along the way. After lunch, some students visited the museum, and the rest walked to the botanical gardens. A tour guide named John told us about the convicts, and some history of the settlement of Australia. We looked at information cards about a couple of the people on the first fleet, and were amazed by the petty crimes these people had committed to be sent to Australia. Later, at the shoreline, a tour guide named Henrietta told us about the Aboriginal names for the places on our map. She then took us through the gardens, underneath a vivid green canopy of leaves, to show us some interesting trees and plants, including the Lemon Myrtle, whose leaves smelt and tasted like lemon. She taught us about her clan’s way of life and showed us a map of the different clans/families before looking at the unique Aboriginal tools that were, and still are, used today. We all had a fantastic time and would definitely like to go again sometime. Josephine Bosker, Year 8
YOUTH PARLIAMENT 2012 The YMCA New South Wales Youth Parliament is a program that gives young people a voice in the running of NSW. It is a place where the opinions and concerns of young people in NSW are heard by those who have the power to make laws. Do you have an idea that will change New South Wales for the better? Do you want to develop better leadership skills that you can use in your community? Do you want to represent your friends and other young people? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the YMCA NSW Youth Parliament is for you! The program aims to promote youth-led advocacy, active community leadership and legal and parliamentary education. It gives young people a voice in the running of New South Wales. As a Youth Member of Parliament you will represent the young people of your electorate and let the politicians and decision-makers know the issues that affect you. For more information see http://www. ymcasydney.org/activity/youth-parliament or contact Joel on joel.clark@ymca.org.au or 9687 6233. I am happy to talk to anyone interested as well. I have been a participant for the last two years. Sarah Toscan, Youth Parliament Ambassador 2012 HEY SMC CRICKET FANS
Year 8 History students at the Botanical Gardens in Sydney - Sophie Bosker caught up with her Dad, who works at the gardens (see photo above on the left) FROM THE DEAN OF STUDIES There are two weeks remaining of the HSC examinations, and quite a number of students have completed the majority of their exams. It is pleasing to see the girls displaying calmness and confidence as they arrive for their exams. As one HSC group is getting close to finishing, a new HSC group commences. The college recently ran an HSC information night for our Year 11 students who have commenced their HSC studies. The theme of the night was “Surviving and Thriving in the HSC Year”. The evening included an engaging address by Dr Julie Kiggins from the University of Wollongong, which covered essential areas including time management, building resilience and collaboration. This was followed by a discussion involving a panel of parents of past HSC students. Their wisdom through their experiences will prove invaluable for all the families in attendance. Year 10 commence their School Certificate exams on Monday. They will then be involved in the Step Up program which commences with a two-day learning symposium at the University of Wollongong. The program then continues for two weeks and includes students partaking in Stage 6 taster courses and attending an excursion to the Sydney Jewish Museum. Our local police liaison officer will speak to our students, as will our special guest, Mr Sam Cleary. Students have also chosen a number of activities in which to participate, including first aid, a barista course, movie making, balancing life, craft sessions, an art museum visit and interview skills. Gerry Sozio
A quick update about the Diocesan indoor cricket game in Week 1 of this term: we didn’t make the finals, but we had a great day as a team and sharpened our skills. All players did their hardest bowls with lots of enthusiasm and power, although most of us bowled wides which were not that good, but overall everyone had fun. We won our first match convincingly against St Johns, but then lost to Corpus Christi by only two runs in the second match. Unfortunately we lost our confidence and lost the following two games. (It was really hard for us to get up a 6am in the morning to catch the minibus!). On behalf of the team we would like to say thank you to Mrs Sparks and Miss Patterson for taking time off teaching and taking us for a wonderful day at the cricket centre in Campbelltown. Thank you to all who participated in this game - lots of encouragement to do it next year! Emma Makdessi, Year 7
MELBOURNE CUP THE ST MARY’S WAY Melbourne Cup Day was celebrated at St Mary’s College in our own unique way last Tuesday. With a huge crowd and a number of “races” on the race card, staff and students entered into the spirit of the day by participating with energy and a great sense of fun. There was a real spring carnival atmosphere as students and staff selected their horses (beautifully decorated sticks) and took part in our race carnival. We provided excellent entertainment for people having a quiet afternoon in Lang Park and for mums taking their children to the park. Highlights of the day included Mr Sozio racing in his suit, Mr Selby galloping past all before him and a number of super fit St Mary’s athletes showing just how fast you can go while straddling a wooden pole. With chocolates given out for prizes, our winners were delighted and our losers were gracious in defeat. In true racing style, a number of girls paraded in their hats to add both glitz and glamour. Thank you to all girls who took part and to the staff who entered so enthusiastically in the day. the New St Mary’s College Leadership Team GOOD LUCK TO OUR JUNIOR DEBATERS
Students enjoying Melbourne Cup Day activities which were organised by our student leadership team
We wish our junior debaters from Years 8 and 9 the best of luck when they compete in the CSDA Regional Finals on Friday 15 November. The girls will be travelling to Marist College, Eastwood for one prepared debate and one one-hour preparation debate. The successful teams will debate in the State Finals to be held the same evening. Lynne Cook INTERACT CLUB
Our representatives with Interact students from other schools
Last weekend members of our Interact Club - Lucy Packer, Rosie Gardiner, Kiara Bahamondes-McKibbon and Alyssa-Jayne MacKillop - presented at the Rotary District 9750 Conference at Homebush. The girls spoke about their projects, as well as why they joined and why they are still very active in Interact. Many ideas and plans were exchanged with students from Hurlstone Agricultural High and Blakehurst High. The students were excellent ambassadors for both our college and Interact and it was a perfect way to celebrate International Interact Week. There are over 200,000 Interactors worldwide. Our club’s current projects are the Somalia drought appeal and Bows for Billy day on 4 November. Congratulations to the Interact executive for reaching the amazing number of 71 members. These young students are true believers in action for social justice! Thank you to Mrs Packer for transporting the students to Olympic park. Kerrie Guillaume
16 Harbour Street Wollongong - Locked Bag 42 Wollongong NSW 2500 Phone (02) 4228 6011 Fax (02) 4229 8555 www.stmarys.nsw.edu.au