From the Principal

Thank you all for a successful beginning to Term 3. It has been a highlight to see all of the initiatives that our student body have been involved in so far this Term. The involvement spans Debating, Visual Art, Numeracy, Writing, Science and Ministry. That’s a lot to pack into two weeks. Thank you to the staff for initiating these projects, and to the student body for their engagement.

‘It’s All About Learning’

Reflection:

MATTHEW 14:13-21. THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND

This is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels (see Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14), a fact that speaks well of its importance to the early church. The Feeding of the Four Thousand is also recorded in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10.

These feedings are reminiscent of Elisha’s feeding miracle in 2 Kings 4:42-44. In that story, Elisha had only twenty barley loaves to feed a hundred people. When he ordered his servant to distribute the bread, the servant protested, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” Elisha reaffirmed the order, promising, “They will eat, and will have some left over.” The servant distributed the bread; the people ate—and there was bread left over in accord with the promise. The linkage between the stories is made even tighter by the reference to barley loaves in John 6:9. It is worth noting that both Elisha and Jesus involved others (Elisha’s servant and Jesus’ disciples) to implement their miracles.

These feedings are also reminiscent of the manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16; Numbers 11). Like Moses, Jesus has crossed over the water to the wilderness (v. 13). Like Moses, he is surrounded by hungry people. In John’s Gospel, Jesus makes this connection even more explicit by referring to manna in his Bread from Heaven discourse following the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:31, 49).

• The Feeding of the Five Thousand is a compassion story. Jesus saw the crowd, had compassion on them, and healed those who were sick (v. 4).
• It is an abundance story in which God’s providence solves a problem that seemed impossibly large.
• It is also a Eucharistic story with its overtones of the Lord’s Supper.

Vinnies Winter Sleepout:
Congratulations to our Year 12 students who braved the cold to experience the annual St Vincent de Paul Winter Sleepout last Friday. Some staff and students doubled up after Debating to be a part of the experience. Thank you to Mr Loyola and Mr Clarke for facilitating an excellent program involving Catechesis, reflection and discussion questions, statistics related to homelessness, constructing a shelter activity, and organising the Police to drive by. We had a Zoom link with a number of students from Year 11 and the Junior Campus who had the sleepout experience at home due to Covid-19 restrictions at the College.

Catechists Restart Visits to local Primary Schools:
Catechists started back at our local Primary Schools this week. We have such a great demand to be part of this program. It demonstrates the qualities of the young men and women we have at the College that they give up their free lessons to assist others in the development of their faith. 

New Religious Education Curriculum:
I have really enjoyed teaching Year 10 classes about Eudaimonia and Hedonia and how it relates to the new Religious Education Curriculum. Although they are new terms to most students, they engaged with the content really well. I am looking forward to receiving feedback from staff and students regarding how the new direction is going.

Debating:
Congratulations to all Debaters, staff, and our wonderful group of helpers. After two rounds of the CSDA Debating Competition we have won eighteen of our twenty debates. Thank you to Ms Pett and staff for the hours dedicated to organising students, adjudicating, and viewing debates in support of our students. The culture of Debating, volunteering, and Public Speaking is a long and distinguished one at St Andrews College. We now have past students coming back to adjudicate  while they are at University. That is a testament to their love of the College and their personal work ethic. It is a privilege to watch our students in the Debating and Public Speaking Competitions demonstrate their passion, dedication, and knowledge each week. Keep up the great work.

Australian Mathematics Competition:
We had a great response to the Australian Mathematics Competition yesterday. Thank you for your effort and I look forward to seeing some good results when we receive them later in the Term.

Pi Day:
Pi Day was a huge success with students very engaged with the interactive activities. Thank you to Ms De Guzman and the Mathematics Staff for all the effort that went into planning the day.

Acceleration Program:
We have just entered eight Year 9 students into an accelerated Mathematics Program that will see them complete Year 10 by the end of 2020 and move into Year 11 Mathematics while they are in Year 10 with the possibility of starting University while still at school. This is part of the College’s commitment to meeting the students where their needs are. We are looking to expand this strategy to other subjects and KLA’s. Students can be nominated for this program in three ways. Self nomination, parental nomination, and teacher/school nomination. We then go through a process of examining the data to see if the student is ready as well as communicating with the students and parents. 

Year 7-10 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences:
Thank you to the parents who have logged on and engaged in the process via Compass. If you have any difficulty with any part of the booking system please contact the Office and a staff member will assist. 

Year 12 2021 Student Leadership Selections:
We are deep into the program of student leadership selection at present. Students have nominated or have been nominated, interviews have been conducted with senior members of staff, and students and staff will be voting shortly on their choice of leaders. We will then move into our discernment process before taking our elected leaders away to outline their goals for the upcoming year. Thank you to all students who have come forward to be part of the process. We are proud of you.

Gym Renovations:
Due to the Covid-19 situation some of the new equipment has been delayed. As you can see by the photos below it is looking really good though and we hope to open it up to students (under staff supervision) once all the equipment is installed and staff have all completed the Safety Induction.