St Joseph’s College Geelong
News & Events Thursday 5 March 2015 - Issue No 3 135 Aphrasia Street, Newtown VICTORIA 3220 / Ph: 03 5226 8100 Fax: 03 5221 6983 / Email: sjcoffice@sjc.vic.edu.au / www.sjc.vic.edu.au
2015
Principal’s Report Dear Parents, Students and Friends of the College, On Monday 2 March our full school assembly was devoted to the annual launch of Edmund Rice Day. The day will be held on March 19 which is the feast of St Joseph, and Father Vince Jewell, Parish Priest of St Bernard’s Parish Belmont, has agreed to be the celebrant of our whole school Mass. Edmund Rice was a wealthy Irish businessman who on the death of his wife, reconsidered his direction in life and became committed to the education of poor boys. He went on to establish his first school in Waterford Ireland in 1802 and was responsible for the formation of the religious congregation, who became the Christian Brothers. The Brothers arrived at Newtown in 1878 and worked here continuously until 2007, when Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) assumed responsibility for all their remaining Colleges. Students have been asked to raise a minimum of $25 each or $40 for two or more children. The proceeds of the day will be donated to Edmund Rice Camps ( Camping Experience for underprivileged children), Edmund Rice Foundation ( which supports education & health programs in PNG, The Philippines, East Timor, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and South Sudan) Caritas Australia, (Project Compassion) and charitable works directly related to our ongoing relationship with the Parish of Manya in Uganda. Boys have been asked to seek sponsorship and to put their contribution in the envelopes provided and give it to their home room teachers. Edmund Rice Day, in so many ways, helps define who we are as Catholics, with a commitment to the values of Compassion, Innovation and Integrity. Please support your son’s fundraising in any way you can. Paul Tobias - Principal
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Calendar of Events March 2015 SJC Athletics Day Labour Day - Public Holiday P&F Meeting Trivia Night Edmund Rice Day VCAL Bowls & Beats Night SJC Open Day Josephines Dinner Easter Liturgy Parent/ Student/ Teacher Interviews 4-7pm 27 Parent/ Student/ Teacher Interviews 9am-12:30pm 27 End Term 1 - Student Free Day
6 9 10 14 19 20 23 25 26 26
April 2015 3 5 13 14 19 22 25 27
Good Friday Easter Sunday Start Term 2 - Students return P&F Meeting SJOCA & SJC Golf Day ANZAC ceremony - Westcourt ANZAC Day ANZAC Assembly - Newtown
Celebrating 80 Years of Catholic Boys’ Education
2015
Country events was followed by our launch of Edmund Rice Day. Student leaders Liam Cogan and Zac Stankiewicz did a tremendous job as MCs for the event which included an engaging variety of music, videos and student reflections. We hope our students are now able to clearly articulate to their parents the importance of their fundraising efforts for Edmund Rice Day after hearing about some of the wonderful projects that are possible as a result of the generosity of St Joseph’s families. We are certainly looking forward to these upcoming College celebrations and would like to remind all families that these days are compulsory for all students and attendance is closely monitored. Paul Clohesy & Michelle Brodrick - Deputy Principals
News from the Deputies It was wonderful to be able to officially welcome all our new parents and carers last Tuesday at our New Parent Welcome Evening. Parents and Carers of Year 7 students were able to visit their son’s homerooms and hear from their Homeroom teachers about how their first weeks in secondary school have been. Parents and Carers of new students in Years 8-12 also attended the evening to hear about the programs, events and general day to day life at St Joseph’s. While we have been pleased with the way our new students have begun their journey at St Joseph’s College, it is important to remember that transition to a new school, no matter what year level this occurs at, can be a very difficult time for students. Quite often we see a smiling, happy boy arrive at school, however we know that, at times, despite the happy exterior, some boys are finding the challenges that accompany a move into secondary school difficult to adjust to. Longer days, increased amounts of work and homework, as well as attempting to find their place amongst over 1600 boys, are just a few of the changes that can result in a tired and emotional boy by the time they arrive home. While many students quickly adapt to the increased demands of secondary school, for others it takes longer – some boys also need more help than others to successfully make the transition. St Joseph’s has numerous support structures in place to assist boys and their families who may be finding the move to secondary school difficult.We would like to encourage all new parents to contact homeroom teachers, year level coordinators or a deputy principal if their son is experiencing any difficulty, regardless of how minor it might appear. If we know about an issue early we have a much better chance of preventing small problems becoming more serious. FULL SCHOOL ASSEMBLY In an attempt to promote leadership and initiative in our boys and give students a voice within the school, most of our school assemblies are organised and run by our students. Our first student led full school assembly took place last Monday. The theme of the assembly was twofold; a celebration of the successful House Swimming Carnival and promotion of the upcoming House Athletics and Cross
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From the Mission Team As we continue the Lenten journey we are reminded by the poem below what is possible if we lighten the load: Lightening the Load The first thing we have to do is to notice that we’ve loaded down this camel with so much baggage we’ll never get through the desert alive. Something has to go. Then we can begin to dump the thousand things we’ve brought along until even the camel has to go and we’re walking barefoot on the desert sand. There’s no telling what will happen then. But I’ve heard that someone, walking in this way has seen a burning bush. - Francis Dorff, O. Praem Rachel Roche - Faith Development Coordinator & Jo Hart - Director of Identity
2015
Curriculum News GABRIEL RULE – VCAA TOP DESIGNS FOOD AND TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITORS Congratulations to Gabriel whose work will be displayed at the Melbourne Museum as part of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s “Top Arts” exhibition. The exhibition is part of the Seasons of Excellence showcase and will feature the top VCE work from around the state in the fields of design, visual arts, technology and multimedia to name a few. ACCESSING THE MID-SEMESTER REPORT THROUGH THE PARENT ACCESS MODULE (PAM) Mid-Semester reports will be available on line through the Parent Access Module (PAM) from Monday March 16. To access your child’s report, you will need to login to PAM from the Parent Portal on the school website. Earlier this term PAM login details were sent to all parents/carers but if you require your PAM login details to be re-sent, please email your request to helpdesk@sjc.vic.edu.au. The Term 1 report contains information about your son’s work practices and his academic progress in all his subjects. Detailed assessment feedback including grades and teacher comments can be viewed by accessing your child’s Learning Areas through the PAM. PARENT/STUDENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS The Parent/Student/Teacher interviews for Term 1 are an opportunity to discuss to what extent students have applied themselves to their academic studies and how this application is evident in their assessments or outcomes. At St Joseph’s College there are no bookings for interviews. A request for an interview by a teacher may be indicated on the front page of your child’s report next to the subject listing. If a teacher does not request an interview, parents/ guardians are still encouraged to meet with teachers. An interview request from a subject teacher can be made for many reasons including the opportunity to discuss concerns a teacher may have or to commend your son for good work habits and results. Interviews should be no longer than five minutes in order to allow for the maximum number of interviews for staff. If there is an important matter that requires more time, an alternative time can be arranged. Parent-teacher Interviews will be held on Thursday 26 March from 4.00p.m.-7.00pm and Friday 27 March from 9.00a.m.-12.00noon. Interviews will be conducted in the Br O S Adams Gymnasium and there will be a location map in the gymnasium foyer to assist you with finding your child’s teachers. DIGITAL TEXTS STILL TO BE PURCHASED Having all the resources necessary for class is a first step to being able to fully participate in learning. Each year, Domain Leaders carefully consider texts either in hard Celebrating 80 Years of Catholic Boys’ Education
copy or digital form to complement the learning and teaching curriculum for their particular subjects. For 2015, a considerable number of texts moved to a digital platform representing considerable cost savings to parents, improving the portability of school texts so that students do not have to carry a number of print texts to classes and allowing students to access their resources outside of class time. It has been brought to my attention that a number of students are still without their digital texts in some subjects. As a matter of urgency, could I ask that parents attend to the purchase of these texts so that students will not be disadvantaged? The booklisted digital texts can be accessed by following the www.campion.com.au link. Michael Goss – Director of Curriculum
From the Heritage Centre “Kevin Brennan was a fine student and was Dux of the College for 1935. His successes in examinations included University Free Place, Commonwealth and State Public Services and honours in five subject” - (Extract from 1935-1945 Josian page 22)
Australian Youth Classical Music Competition Regional Section - $2,000 First Prize Three x $1,000 Geelong Chamber Music Society Runner-up Prizes Eligibility Local classical solo instrumental musicians Open to applicants aged up to and including 18 years of age as at January 1st 2015. To be eligible, you must reside or be a current full time secondary student or study with a music teacher in the Geelong area Required standard of entry is Grade 6 AMEB or equivalent Auditions – Sunday 17 May from 9:30am Regional Finals – Sunday 14 June 2pm First Prize winner will perform at the Finals Concert on Sunday 23 August, 2pm. Applications close Friday 24 April 2015 For more information or an application form – Email: marian@gpac.org.au Phone: 5225 1264 Web: www.aycmc.org.au Facebook - www.facebook.com/ australianyouthclassicalmusiccompetition www.sjc.vic.edu.au
2015
ICT Matters - ACMA Home Filter
VET News JORDAN BUSHBY WINS GORDON VET AWARD I attended the Gordon awards last Wednesday night to support our Gordon VET Student of the Year Award nominees. Jordan Bushby and Oliver Le Clerc who both undertook VET Building & Construction at the Gordon in 2014 were nominated. Both Jordan and Oliver conducted themselves excellently showing a high level of maturity beyond their years. Jordan took out the award on the night in front of his family and friends and provided quite an entertaining speech. Jordan, a Year 12 VCAL student has now accepted a full time apprenticeship with a local Geelong builder. We congratulate and wish Jordan all the best in his future career. UNIQUE STUDENT IDENTIFIER (USI) NUMBERS If your son is undertaking VET studies this year he must have a current USI number.The USI is a government number which allows your son to keep a record of all Nationally Recognised training he undertakes. If your son is needing to generate a USI number he can do so via the following website http://www.usi.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx. Your son must provide this number to me. If you have any questions regarding any of the above information please don’t hesitate to contact me directly on 5226 8118 or via email jarrod.gore@sjc.vic.edu.au Jarrod Gore - VET Coordinator
ACMA CYBERSAFETY PRESENTATIONS 2015 Part of being eSmart is having a good digital footprint/tattoo which our eSmart curriculum is designed to cover. We don’t want students to create footprints that reflect poorly on them when they try to get jobs or entry to institutions later in life. Our Year 7 students received an excellent presentation from Greg Gebhart from CyberSMART (Australian Communication and Media Authority). Greg taught them how to adjust privacy settings and how to be more aware when going online. Mike Ribble’s nine elements of digital citizenship also fits well with our eSmart curriculum. http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html Please glance over our eSmart Curriculum document and be sure to take opportunities to reinforce to our students how to be SAFE, SMART, RESPONSIBLE users of technology. http://www.sjc.vic.edu.au/learning-Student-Computer-Program HOME INTERNET FILTERING ON STUDENT LAPTOPS Parents are able to request the school activate extended hours for internet filtering on the student laptop. If you are interested in this service, please download the form from the SJC Website http://www.sjc.vic.edu.au/learning-Student-Computer-Program • The school will only provide the options shown • There is no cost for this service Chris Valmadre – Director of ICT
Naming of School Items The College often has many items in lost property that are unnamed. Please ensure you label all of your son’s uniform, books, stationery etc. If any items are handed in clearly labelled with a name we can return them to the student ASAP. Thanks for your cooperation.
Trivia Night
Test your trivia skills on Saturday 14 March, 7pm The longest word in the English language is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Book Online www.sjc.vic.edu.au - click on EVENTS
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2015
Mr Tobias History Tour with 7C In R.E Mr Tobias took us on a tour of the school and taught us about the history of SJC. First he took us to O’Driscol Oval and told us about St Augustine’s orphanage. The orphanage was first built on O’Driscoll oval facing Noble St and was made out of corrugated iron. Next he took us to the Tom Howe centre which is made of bluestone and was the first building of this school, the building could not have anything obscuring the vision of the centre as it is heritage listed. Next he showed us the pool which is now filled in with dirt. The reason they got a pool is because the boys needed to learn how to swim, the pool is now filled in because of faults in the pipes. Then he showed us Ryan Draper’s memorial where his ashes are scattered. Mr Tobias told us that Ryan was the Dux of the College in 1998. He lost his life in a car accident the following year. Last of all Mr Tobias told us about the construction zone on Aphrasia oval and told us that they are making a new staff room, careers office, a time-table room and an education support office. Thanks Mr Tobias for your time. Elijah, Patrick, Isaac, Nick
Barefoot Bowls ‘N Beats - VCAL Fundraising Major Event Last year’s event SOLD OUT so get your tickets TODAY! On Friday 20 March the Year 12 VCAL students, in collaboration with Clonard College will be hosting a Barefoot Bowls ‘n Beats night at Eastern Park Bowling Club. The night will consist of raffles and a silent auction. There are plenty of kids’ activities in addition to the bowls. Live music is being provided by some of our very talented students & staff. A buffet dinner is included in the ticket cost. All money raised goes to Cottage by the Sea, Queenscliff a local organisation that hosts camps for underprivileged young people. Tickets cost $20 Single $55 Family and are available on the SJC website - click on EVENTS. If you are able to donate any items to our raffles or silent auction they would be greatly appreciated. Please email Mrs Irving on leahi@sjc.vic.edu.au. Michael Vagnoni & Chris Phelan - Year 12
SJC First XI
Westcourt Campus “Rite Journey” “THE RITE JOURNEY” PRESENTATION Tuesday 10 March - 7pm Westcourt Campus- Waterford Learning Centre All Year 9 parents/carers are welcome to attend an informative session on The Rite Journey, a program delivered at Westcourt focusing on the development of self-aware, responsible, respectful & resilient adults.
Celebrating 80 Years of Catholic Boys’ Education
www.sjc.vic.edu.au
2015
SJC School Surfing Championships The 2015 SJC surfing championship was held at Jan Juc last Monday and despite the small and on-shore conditions everyone had an enjoyable day and surfed well. The junior competition involved students from Years 7 to 9 and the senior competition from Years 10 to 12. A total of 42 surfers took part on the day. Each surfer competed in two qualification rounds and the top surfers from the two rounds made the final. In the final, the top two waves from each surfer were given a score out of ten and the highest two wave total won. In the Junior Division, fifth place went to Noah Grant, Fourth place went to Indie White, Third place went to Dylan Hart, Second place went to James Hughes and the 2015 Junior Surfing champion was… Xavier Huxtable. Xavier recently attended the Ripcurl grom-search in North Narrabeen, New South Wales and won the under 12’s division. He is the current national champion for his age. Xavier also travelled to the National championships last December in Yallingup, Western Australia and in the under 14’s division against surfers older than him, he finished third. In the senior division Fourth place went to Cameron Drake, Third place went to Josh Cammarere, 2nd place went to Lewis Oates and the 2015 Senior Surfing champion was… Casey McCrohan. Casey recently competed in the Subway Summer Surf Competition at Phillip Island against the top surfers from all around Australia and finished fourth in the under 21 category, a fantastic result. This is the third year in a row that Casey has won the SJC Senior Championship winning the title in year 10, 11 and now as a senior. He will captain the SJC surf team that will head to the Victorian Independent Schools State Championships in April.
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If you would like to check out some videos of Xavier and Casey in action check out these links; http://www.surfingbizkaia.com/component/com_videoflow/ id,959/task,play/ https://vimeo.com/106262765 Thankyou to Mr O’Grady, Mr Wilcox, Mr Davies, Cameron Lampered from Ripcurl and Simon Forward from 4D surfboards for running the event.Thankyou to Mark Hudson from Dragon for supplying prizes for the boys. Thankyou to the parents who attended as spectators and thankyou to Mr Tobias for once again agreeing to fund the competition in 2015. Well done to all who attended and good luck to Casey, Xavier and the SJC school surf team at the State Championships. Thankyou. Luke O’Grady - Health & Physical Education Domain Leader, Surfing & Cross Country Coordinator
ACC Swimming Success On Friday 20 February, the St. Joseph’s Swim Team travelled to Melbourne to compete in the annual ACC carnival. As soon as we got there the atmosphere was electric with the cheer squads in full voice. There were many outstanding performances from swimmers at all age levels which saw the team take out the Overall Division 2 title. Team captain, Nathan Keating and his deputies Will Paatsch and Brayden Thompson lead the boys to an outstanding victory on the night. Here are the overall results. Overall Title Age Group Titles 1st Overall Division 2 2nd U/13 Age Group Division Titles 1st U/14 Age Group 1st Senior Division 1st U/15 Age Group 1st Intermediate Division 1st U/16 Age Group 1st Junior Division 1st U/17 Age Group 1st Senior Age Group John Mitchell
2015
Sustainability Matters Congratulations to all participants of our first official CUT THE WRAP day last Wednesday! It was wonderful to see so many new students getting on board with our CUT THE WRAP approach to lunches. Collectively, 59% of students from Year7, 8 &9 classes participated, which was a marked increase from 40.7% for our first CTW day last year. I would like to congratulate classes 7B, 7D and 7H for 100% participation and acknowledge 7C for 93% and 7F, 7G, 7I & 8H for over 80% participation. 100% 7B 7D 7H
>90% 7C
>80% 7F 7G 7I 8H
CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA Thank you to everyone involved in supporting the Clean Up Australia Campaign. The level of support from classes volunteering to help clean the school on Friday for the Schools Clean Up day was terrific. Congratulations to all families that participated in Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday around the region. A special thanks to the Fox and Near families who volunteered at the “Friends of Waurn Ponds Creek” site. Collectively, the items removed from this site included; six supermarket trollies, road signs, office furniture, car tyres a push bike and almost a “skip” full of general waste. UP AND COMING EVENTS - Wednesday 11 March Please note that our next scheduled Cut the Wrap day for Years 7, 8 & 9 students is on Wednesday 11 March, directly after the long weekend. Our goal is for at least 70% participation, so we urge all families for your support in this endeavour. Barwon ResourceSmart Schools Network Gathering – Wednesday 11 March, 4:15- 5:45pm St Joseph’s College will be hosting the next ResourceSmart Celebrating 80 Years of Catholic Boys’ Education
gathering on Wednesday 11 March from 4:45 -5:45pm in the Carbon Management Room. (J18). Agenda for the meeting will include; Sustainability tour (Conducted by our sustainability leaders), Kids Teaching Kids (KTK) presentation by Glenn Singleton and ResourceSmart tips by project manager Anthony Mangelsdorf. Afternoon tea will be provided. Please email your interest to attend to kellyj@ sjc.vic.edu.au. Parking on Queens Rd and entrance through Gate 3 is advised. Verbatim LED Presentation – Tuesday 17 March 1-1:30Pm As part of our ongoing commitment to better education and commitment to sustainable practices, Simon Baillieu, (Sales Manager for Verbatim LED’s) will be visiting St Joseph’s College on Tuesday March 17 to conduct a presentation on the principles and use of LED’s for lighting.The presentation will be conducted in the Carbon Management room (J18) between 1-1:30pm. If you would like to learn more about how LED’s work and how they can save you money, please join us. Please email your interest in attending to kellyj@sjc.vic.edu.au. Parking on Queens Rd and entrance through Gate 3 is advised. Kelly Jenkins - Sustainability Coordinator
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“Cut the Wrap” to reduce waste and our carbon footprint!
How to Participate Bring a “plastic free” lunch and refillable water bottle to school. All students successful in presenting their “wrap free” lunchbox during Homeroom on the day will be counted, with canteen vouchers awarded to each class with 100% participation on the day. Please note that a lunch order from the canteen will not count as a wrap free lunch.
Bins will be removed and compost bins will be placed around eating areas for fruit and vegetable peel (no citrus).
Suitable LuncHbox Wrap
UNSuitable LuncHbox Wrap
Why not adopt the “Cut the Wrap” approach to making lunches, on a permanent basis and Work towards a more sustainable future!!! www.sjc.vic.edu.au
2015
GMHBA presents Free seminars on Autism with Tony Atwood
Congratulations
GMHBA Health Insurance is excited to be running two free seminars on Autism with clinical psychologist and Autism Spectrum Disorder specialist, Professor Tony Attwood. These free seminars are open to anyone within the community interested in understanding and learning more about Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Session1: managing challenging behaviour in children with Autism. 9am - 12:30pm Session 2: Adolescent issues for teenagers with Asperger’s syndrome 1:30 - 5pm. Thursday 19 March,The Pier Geelong, Cunningham Pier. Spaces are limited. Registration is essential. Visit www.gmhba.com.au
In Sympathy Strategies to Boost Performance and Manage Stress VCE Students, Teachers, Parents Wednesday 11 March 2015
Mindfulness for Academic Success VCE is an important and busy Ɵme for many students. Being able to eīecƟvely manage stress and boost performance is crucial to success, both at school and in our personal lives. Dr Richard Chambers, Clinical Psychologist and Mindfulness Consultant is a clinical psychologist in private pracƟce specialising in mindfulnessͲbased therapies. Richard has published numerous arƟcles and books, including Mindful Learning, on the role of mindfulness in educaƟon, and the soonͲtoͲbeͲreleased Mindful RelaƟonships. This session is open to all students studying a VCE subject, teachers and parents. When: Wednesday March 11th Time: 4.30pm for 5.00pm start Conclusion: 6.30pm Where: Geelong Football Club—Fred Flanagan Room Cost: $10 (inc gst) per person Registration and prepayment essential. Register via email: shell.maree.a@edumail.vic.gov.au (invoices will be forwarded). For further information contact Jaye Strachan 5249 8710 or Erin White 5249 8711
Tea and coffee provided. Non-alcoholic drinks available at bar prices.
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Sport Registration Days -2015 ELCHO PARK CARDINALS FC Calling all football players interested in playing in the 2015 FFV Geelong Competition Elcho Park Cardinals invite all existing and new players to participate in their U13 FFV Geelong competition squads. Training times for the next 3 weeks are Monday and Wednesday 6:30 to 8pm at Hume Reserve Bell Park.