Newsletter. Issue 3: 30 March FROM THE PRINCIPAL Mr Peter Riordan. Lenten Prayer. Almighty and Everlasting God

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1 Newsletter Issue 3: 30 March 2017 St Mary s 7-10 Campus 273 Victoria St, West Melbourne 3003 Tel: FAX: St Brigid s VCE Campus 20 York St, Fitzroy North 3068 Tel: FAX: principal@sccmelb.catholic.edu.au FROM THE PRINCIPAL Mr Peter Riordan At our Opening School Assembly on the 6 February, I encouraged and challenged our student body to involve themselves in at least one co-curricular activity this year. As I reflect on Term 1, I am really impressed with how students are involving themselves in the co-curricular life of the College. Our House Athletics and House Swimming Carnivals were exceptionally well attended, whilst our ACC Swimming and Athletics teams had their biggest squads and their best results for many years. Our new music teacher, Ms Susie Kelly has started a choir at the St Mary s Campus, with almost 30 students meeting every Friday lunchtime to be a part of this new initiative. Besides the choir, we also have a number of bands that have begun rehearsing on a regular basis. I look forward to both the choir and bands showcasing their talents in Term 2. An important part of our Yr. 9 program is our Community Service Program. In Semester 1, half of our Yr. 9 cohort are placed in a Community Service placement on Wednesday afternoons. This year s feedback from the organisations they have been working with has been extremely positive, as Ms Smooker has highlighted in her article on Yr. 9 Community Service in this newsletter. With Yr. 7 and Yr. 9 having had their school camps, the Senior ACC Volleyball team competing in Term 1, the inaugural ACC Lawn Bowls competition being held two weeks ago, and with the many other events that have taken place this term, it really highlights the abundance of opportunities available for students at Simonds Catholic College. Finally, and importantly, our Social Justice focus in Term 1 has been Project Compassion through Caritas Australia, which is the Catholic agency for international aid and development. I thank all families for their generous support of this Social Justice initiative. May all families have a safe holiday, and I wish you all a Happy and Holy Easter. Yours sincerely, Lenten Prayer Almighty and Everlasting God You have given the human race Jesus Christ our Saviour as a model of humility. He fulfilled your Will by becoming Man And giving this life on the Cross Help us to bear witness to You By following this example of suffering And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son Amen Mr Peter Riordan Principal Simonds Catholic College

2 Term 1 Interim Reports Your son s Term 1 Interim Report is enclosed with this newsletter. It is designed to provide a brief overview on his performance so far this semester. The Interim Reports award levels of achievement against a set of Behavioural Indicators related to: Academic Academic Progress Performance Preparation for Learning Homework completion and bringing correct materials to class Participation in Learning Student engagement in learning and completion of task; attendance and punctuality Attitude towards Learning Student s effort, behaviour and approach to learning in general. Each student receives a rating if Very Good, Good or Needs Attention for each of these areas. As your son completes more learning and assessment tasks over the semester, a clearer picture of his progress will appear and this will be reflected in the end of semester reports. A Confirmation of Receipt of Term 1 Interim Report slip is enclosed with your son s report which is to be returned to his Homeroom Teacher at the beginning of Term 2. Mrs H Koutoulogenis Deputy Principal (Learning & Teaching) Head of St Mary s 7-10 Campus Parent Teacher Thursday 27 April Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held at the St Mary s Campus, West Melbourne for Years 7-12 students on Thursday 27 April, between 2pm - 5pm and 6pm - 8pm. Interviews will be 5 minutes duration. Parents will be required to use the PTO booking system. PTO can be accessed through the icon on the school website, using the login details provided with your son s Term 1 Interim Report. Our Parent-Teacher Interviews are a valuable opportunity for you to meet your son s teachers and discuss their progress as indicated on their Interim Report. We trust the process is a straightforward one that helps strengthen the communication networks that support every student s learning. We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible. Students will be dismissed at lunchtime on Thursday 27 April. Please note the following points: When you log on, the system displays only your own child/children. You will only see time slots that are available at the time you are using the system. As time slots are booked for teachers, those time slots are no longer displayed as available. When you have made all the bookings you require, you can download or a report of your bookings in time-order for printing. You can log on and change bookings any time up to 12 noon on the day of interviews. Please bring a copy of your appointments with you. If you encounter any problems using PTO please contact the school office. Mrs H Koutoulogenis Deputy Principal (Learning & Teaching) Head of St Mary s 7-10 Campus

3 Year 9 Community Service As part of the Year 9 program, students take on a community service role at a variety of locations on Wednesday afternoons. This is a semester long placement that requires students to extend themselves and really immerse themselves into our community. Throughout the duration of the placement, the organisations are contacted and asked to keep the school updated as well as complete formal review documents for the students to learn about how they are travelling. I am happy and proud to report that so far all of the students undertaking community service this semester are thriving, demonstrating to the community, through their commitment and hard work, how helpful they can be. Below are two images of several of our students hard at work. Dut, Ryan and Tom helping to teach a second language English class at St James Old Cathedral, West Melbourne. Billy making sure they had a complete tent set at Parish Bargain Shop, Flemington. I feel confident in stating that our students will continue to thrive in their community service places as we head into term 2. Ms M Smooker Year 9 Coordinator

4 Simonds Program) NEWS World s Greatest Shave: On two consecutive Fridays, boys shaved and coloured their hair to raise awareness of and funds for research into blood cancer and for the support of those dealing with blood cancer. Although we are a small school numerically, we raised a generous $ Thanks to members of the Student Wellbeing Team and the Alumni Wellbeing Team for enthusing the boys, and to their teachers. Thanks to the boys themselves and to their many sponsors. The Leukaemia Foundation will be helped by our work. Wellbeing Video Clips: The St. Mary s section of the Student Wellbeing Team is now producing a series of video clips to be screened in homeroom and/or pastoral care that carry a wellbeing message. Well done to the three boys working on these. The first one carries a message about not giving up. They are small but effective ways to reinforce wellbeing messages at the campus. All the best Mr P Rohan Student Wellbeing Coordinator Counsellor

5 Mass of St Patrick for Schools During Catholic Education Week several students from Simonds Catholic College participated in the Mass at St Patrick s Cathedral, East Melbourne. Melbourne s Catholic School community was welcomed by the Most Reverend Denis J Hart DD who celebrated the Mass on the Feast of St Patrick, Patron Saint of our Archdiocese. Celtic Irish Pipers lead the procession of school banners through the Cathedral followed by special guests including His Excellency Mr Breandán Ó Caollaí, Ambassador of Ireland. St Patrick was a courageous man who knew how to be faithful to God through prayer and good deeds. His Grace, Archbishop Hart spoke about the talents we are gifted with and encouraged everyone to put their faith into action by responding to others when they are in need. I would like to thank the Altar Servers and Leaders who attended the Mass with Mr Riordan and myself. By saying yes to being involved in the liturgical celebrations at the Cathedral or at St Mary Star of the Sea, these students are making God s Kingdom a reality in the world today. A big thank you to students in Year 10 & VCE who have encouraged others to take part in Project Compassion and the Easter Raffle during the season of Lent. As we move towards the Paschal Triduum, Triduum a Latin word meaning three days, from Sunset on Holy Thursday to sunset on Easter Sunday, we celebrate the feast of the Christian Passover. During the Easter Vigil, the paschal candle brings light into the darkened church, and with the risen Christ, Lent has given way to Easter. Easter is about light overcoming darkness and to show Christ is the light of the world. Happy Easter Everyone! Ms M Krall Religious Education Coordinator

6 Australian Government Department of Education and Training 2017 Student Residential Address Collection This notice is from the Australian Government Department of Education and Training (the department), to advise you that the department has requested your child's school provide a statement of addresses, in accordance with section 21 of the Australian Education Regulation 2013 (the Regulation). A statement of addresses contains the following three pieces of information about students at the school: Students' residential address (not student names or other identifying information) Students' level of education (i.e. whether the student is receiving primary or secondary education) Students' boarding school status (boarders or day students) Authority for and Purpose of Collection Consistent with previous practice, and following the 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics National Census of Population and Housing (Census), it is timely that information held by the department is updated in order to ensure that Australian Government funding calculations for your child's school are accurate. Under section 21 of the Regulation, a statement of addresses must not explicitly identify an individual student. Accordingly, all information in the statement of addresses provided by your child's school to the department is deidentified. Use and Disclosure of Information It is important to ensure the statements of addresses are accurate, and the department may from time to time carry out audits of statements of addresses to verify their accuracy. In the event of an audit, the department's contracted auditors may seek to compare a school's statement of addresses with student enrolment information held by the school for the purpose of verifying the information. The department's contractors will not use the information for any other purpose. Any further use and disclosure of information relating to the statement of addresses will occur in accordance with section 65 of the Regulation. Contact: If you have any questions regarding this notice, you can contact the department by: seshelpdesk@education.gov.au Phone (free call): SES helpdesk on (Option 4) For further information about the department, including the department's privacy policy, please go to: Opportunity through learning

7 Calendar Term 2 April 18 Term 2 commences All students commence 20 Year 7 Vaccination #1 24 ANZAC Day Ceremony 25 ANZAC Public Holiday 26 School Tour 9.15am 27 Parent Teacher Interviews 2-8pm May 2 ACC Golf Tournament 4 Board Meeting No.2 Year 7&8 ACC Badminton Tournament 9-11 NAPLAN 10 ACC Open Badminton Tournament 12 Simonds Day 15 School Tour 9.15am 17 Year 8 High Resolves P Parent Evening Argumentation, Anger, Aggression 23 Intermediate ACC Badminton Tournament May 31 - June 4 Arts & Technology Exhibitions Opens June 2 School Tour 9.15am 12 Queen s Birthday Public Holiday 9-15 Year 7-9 Exams Year Exams Year 12 Formal 16 Correction Report Writing Day Student Free Day 21 Year 7 Vaccinations #2 26 School Tour 9.15am 30 End of Term Assembly dismissed 12.30

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