The Coracle - Term 1, Week 11

The Rite Journey | Year 9

The Rite Journey is a program that is specially designed to help students gain skills as they transition from childhood to young adulthood. It is part of the Religious Education and Health/Physical Education program. These classes allow time to discuss issues that are relevant to a person as they begin to take on more adult responsibilities. 

To begin the program, students celebrated 'The Departure Ceremony', where they each threw a stone into the lake. This was symbolic of moving away from a childish behaviour they would like to change. During the Liturgy, each student was prayed for as they committed themselves to the values of the program. The ceremonies were lovely and held under the gum trees on the school grounds.

Year 11 Fundraiser

In Week 7 the Year 11 students set up stalls on the Middle School oval to raise money for a charity that was chosen by their class. The charities included 'Hutt Street Mission', 'The Salvation Army', 'Backpacks 4 Kids', 'Indigenous Literacy Foundation', 'Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation' and 'The Smith Family'. As part of their SACE Religious Education program, the Year 11s worked during the term planning their activity, making posters to advertise their stall and collaborating to make a fun lunch time event for the Middle and Senior students. The cohort were really pleased with their efforts and raised a little over $900! Each organisation was appreciative of the donation which would help different communities during this time.

Miss Eugenia Stopyra | Director of Spirituality (6-12)

Thank you for your ongoing support of the College, our staff and your own children during what has been a challenging time for us all. Your understanding and cooperation in helping us to continue to provide ongoing teaching and learning for students during this COVID peak has been greatly appreciated. The partnership we have together between home and school, and the faith you place in us to make decisions that ensure your child receives the best outcomes, cannot be underestimated. We are grateful for your support.

As we moved into the last week of Term 1, we also celebrated Holy Week. Holy Week is the week before Easter Sunday and begins with Palm Sunday. On this day, we remember the triumphant entry of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. On that day, people laid palm leaves before Him; a gesture reserved for important leaders. On Monday 11 April, the Junior School celebrated with class Liturgies prepared by Mrs Samantha McCarthy and the Year 5 students. The next major event in Holy Week is Holy Thursday. On this day, Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with the disciples. We know this feast as the Last Supper. We celebrated this on Wednesday 15 April, along with the Crucifixion (Good Friday). When we return from the holidays in Week 1, we will gather again together to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus and the joy of the Easter season. These are all important events in the Christian life of our College.  

Staff in the Junior School have recently been awarding ‘Gold Slips’ to students who demonstrate positive behaviour at school. The top 10% of students enjoyed a pizza lunch on Monday as a reward for their effort and integrity. We congratulate these top students:

• Plamedi Mulunda
• Chris Yoko
• Mabior Dut
• Jackson Humphries
• Zoe Fotheringham
• Adual Deng

We have a number of staffing announcements as we conclude the term. Congratulations to Miss Inge Visser (now Mrs Forbes) on her recent marriage. We thank Ms Taylor Thompson for her role as Indonesian teacher, as she moves into maternity leave, expecting her first baby. Mrs Tracy Turvey has been appointed as an additional Physical Education teacher for the remainder of this year. Thank you to Mrs Samantha McCarthy for her role in preparing Liturgical celebrations whilst Mrs Jane Baily has been on leave.  

May your Easter season be filled with joy and hope. We hope the holidays provide a time of rest and restoration for all.

Mrs Julie Hancock | Head of Junior School

Open Day

On Wednesday 30 March, we held our College Open Day. It was great to “meet and greet” so many new families and see other members of the wider College community visit. There were many Middle School students who volunteered their time to conduct College tours, play music and/or sing, prepare and cook food, or provide assistance to a learning area. The students always represent the College in an outstanding manner and I appreciate the time and effort the students put in.

NAPLAN

Recently, students in Years 7 and 9 have been trialling our NAPLAN testing program, which in 2022, is completely online. This platform is becoming the preferred method of administering standardised tests and in the future, most - if not all - Senior SACE exams will be administered online. These trials allow students to become familiar with the process, the style of testing and how to use the software. I would like to thank Mr Daniel Ganama for his work in preparing the students and coordinating the trial test. The actual NAPLAN tests will be held in Term 2 during Weeks 2 and 3 (from Tuesday 10 May to Friday 20 May).

Lent

This term we have celebrated Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, which signified the start of Lent (the 40 days before Easter). During this time, we challenge ourselves to make a sacrifice or conduct an act of kindness. I encourage all families to support our charities this semester. I would like to thank Miss Eugenia Stopyra for organising our Lenten celebrations.

Autumn Holidays

I hope our families have an enjoyable autumn holiday break and blessed Easter. A reminder that first day back in Term 2 is Tuesday 3 May. 

Mr Shane Dowling | Head of Middle School

One would hardly believe that there was a pandemic given how busy the Senior School has been in the second half of the term! It has been great to see Senior Students engage in out-of-school learning from the Physical Education Rock Climbers, Humanities Adelaide Gaol Excursion and the Dunstan Playhouse visit for our Drama students. It has felt like a bus of students left the College on a weekly basis!

Here on the ‘home’ grounds, we had the Year 11 Religious Education students engage in their ‘Lunchtime Carnival’ to raise money for their chosen charity. It was a delight to see students take the time to consider those in our community who need care, and put into action a fundraising event for the Middle School. Our Year 12 Health classes presented their expo on Harmony Day. Their informative sessions and activities for the younger-year levels really highlighted the importance of promoting peace and acceptance of all. Our Year 10s have been pushing their learning with their PLP tasks. It has been fantastic to see these students work through a Stage 1 course and readily ask questions, seek help, and attend after-school study to ensure the best results possible. Finally, within the Senior School, our Year 11s and 12s engaged in a presentation around addiction. Students learnt about a range of addictions from substance abuse to social media and were empowered to make healthy lifestyle choices; an essential tool as they develop into young adults.

I wish all senior students a restful break and look I forward to working with them in Term 2. 

Mrs Deirdre Walters | Head of Senior School