Technology can be a wonderful learning tool and way to connect with people. There are many rules that need to be followed to ensure safety of everyone while using the technology. St Andrews has a code of expectations in regards to the use of technology at school.

The following are some basic rules that need to be followed:

1. No student or teachers’ photo is to be taken without consent. 
2. No image of students or teachers are to be put on social media without consent
3. Any abuse, misuse of images, bullying online or images of a sexual nature must be reported to the office immediately. 
4. Uploading or sharing of images and inappropriate content without consent will have serious consequences
5. On the Junior campus, technology is not to be used during breaks until the end of the break when class schedules can be checked.
6. Technology should only be used in class at the direction of the teacher.

Students must make responsible decisions about the use of technology. Ultimately the person who pays for the service/ device has the final legal responsibility for what happens online. It is essential that parents set guidelines and monitor all online use of technology.

ARE YOU ADDICTED TO YOUR TECHNOLOGY?

Mobile phones and other devices are dominating our time. We have become reliant on our devices for many aspects of our day to day living. Many devices track your daily usage and send notification about the time you are on your phone. What is a good amount of time to be on your device? 

Before phones and computers television was a concern because of the amount of tine spent watching shows. It was suggested that more than 1 hour a day is a distraction from life and learning. I would suggest that more than 1 hour a day on non-learning activities is becoming excessive. 

I put this checklist in the newsletter last year to help identify if your phone usage is a problem. Have a look at it again and see where you are identified in the checklist.

9 WAYS TO KNOW YOUR SMART-PHONE IS A PROBLEM. 

1.  Is your smart-phone always within reaching distance? 
2.  Is checking your smart phone the first thing in the morning and last thing you do at night? 
3.  Do you check your smart phone when you are in a face-to-face conversation with someone? 
4.  Do you use your smart phone when watching TV or eating meals? 
5.  Do you panic when you realise the battery is running low and you don’t have a charger on you? 
6.  Do you start sweating when you think you left your smart phone at home? 
7.  Do you reply to texts or social media while driving and stopped at red lights? 
8.  Do you lose time while on your smart phone? 
9.  Do you obsessively check for emails, texts, social media posts etc? 

If you answered yes to 5 or more of these questions you may have a problem with your connection to your smart phone. 

STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SMART PHONE USE. 

Reconnect to the real world for more time and freedom Smart phones are designed to be addictive. Breaking the habit/addiction is difficult and will take time. Reflect on what your time is worth and what is important to you. Refer back to each of these steps regularly. 

1.  Place a reminder on your lock screen. Something that will remind you to consider whether you really want to disappear into your phone. 
2.  Download a screen-time tracking app. This will help you monitor how much time you waste on your phone and what apps are your weakness. Use the app to block or limit your time on apps that you feel are wasting your time. 
3.  Consider deleting social media from your phone. If you only look at it on a computer at home you will be more aware of when you are engaged. 
4.  Put your phone away at least two hours before you go to bed and don’t touch it for at least 1 hour after you wake in the morning. 
5.  Consider deleting all Health apps like step counters from your phone (unless they were recommended by a doctor). Research shows that they do not work. 
6.  Turn off all notifications for all apps. Beeps and bells just distract you from the ‘real’ world. They are also one of the ways the designers use to get you addicted. 
7.  Don’t have your phone in your bedroom (ever). It will interrupt your sleep patterns.
8.  Buy an ‘old-school’ flip phone with no internet access. Set times/days when you will use it exclusively (on weekends and/or evenings). Then put your smart phone away and be set free. 
9.  Get ready for lots more spare time. You might have to start a new hobby or catch up with friends (in person)!

AUDIENCE

When we talk about bullying, we always think of the bully and the victim and not the people that are making things worse. 

Audience are the people who get involved in problems not to help but to look on. They are the people that yell “fight, fight:” to spur on a problem or get online and like or comment on a drama between others. They are the people who tell others about what others are doing just to upset them. 

A major concern is the online bullying and the audience that allows this to happen. When you like a post or picture it says that you support that idea. If you like or share a post or comment you are being the bully. 

At St Andrews we do not tolerate bullying of any form and that includes Audience. Students need to report bullying or harassment to a teacher and let the school help the students find a solution to their problem. 

WHAT’S IN THE PLANNER

What’s the difference between a fixed and growth mindset? 

Fixed mindsets are about proving, they only look at performance not effort, you feel that there is nothing you can do to change your ability. 

Hard work and effort = lack of ability

Growth mindsets rely on efforts being made and you trying different things and learning.  

Hard work and effort = achievement 

As learners we need to learn to Prioritise. Making a list of MUSTS and OPTIONS helps us prioritise what needs to happen in our life. Must might be school work or family obligations; option might be social media and TV.

Getting balance in your life is important to your overall wellbeing. Four things that help with this are healthy eating, daily exercise, adequate sleep and having a positive attitude. Have a look at ways you can develop these areas in your planner.

The key character strength for people to focus on is SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE to others and PERSPECTIVE. 

In the planner each week there is a section on “What went well this week” and “How I feel this week”. I encourage students and families to fill these out every week and discuss the results of these together.

Mr. Nicholas Thrum

Assistant principal - Students

NAPLAN 2022

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.

Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 20 May 2022.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will also be participating in practice tests on the 24th of March. The practice test is a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in May. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact me at the College.

HSC Minimum Standards

Students have received a request via google classroom to download the HSC Minimum Standards Browser. This is compulsory in order for students to access the test. 

Year 10

The HSC Minimum Standards video provides significant information on these tests.

Students need reading, writing and numeracy for everyday life after school.

This is why students in NSW are being supported to meet a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy to receive the HSC from 2020.

To show they meet the HSC minimum standard, students need to achieve Level 3 or 4 in short online reading, writing and numeracy tests of skills for everyday life.

Some students with disability studying Life Skills courses may be exempt from meeting the minimum standard to receive their HSC credential.

Together with the NSW Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, the HSC minimum standard is part of an effort to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for students.

At St Andrews Year 10 students will do each HSC Minimum Standards tests next term. Each test will be staggered to enable each class to do the test. Should a student be absent or achieve a level lower than 3 or 4, they will be required to resit the test(s) in Term 4 2022. 

Year 11 

Some students in Year 11 and 12 may not have attempted (due to absences) or passed one or more HSC Minimum Standards Test(s).Year 11 students have been asked to download the HSC Minimum Standards Browser on their device. 

Testing will only take place after school in the Learning Centre on the dates provided to them by Mr Haras. Students will receive the invite shortly to remind them of testing times if they are required to complete the test, and the location. 

Should a student be absent or achieve a level lower than band 3 or 4, they will be able to resit the test(s) in Term 3.

Year 12

Year 12 Parent Teacher Student Conferences 

Year 12 Parent Teacher Student Conferences will be held on Wednesday, 30th March 2022 commencing at 3:15pm in the St John Paul II Centre on the Senior Campus.

All bookings must be made through Compass. 

The instructions to assist you with your bookings have been sent to you through Compass.

This is a valuable opportunity to meet with your child’s teachers face-to-face and discuss the ways in which your child’s learning can be improved in the lead up to their final HSC examination.

Josilin Kalifa
Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning

What is self-talk?

Self-talk is the way you talk to yourself, or your inner voice. You might not be aware that you're doing it, but you almost certainly are. This inner voice combines conscious thoughts with inbuilt beliefs and biases to create an internal monologue throughout the day.

Self-talk is important because it has a big impact on how you feel and what you do. It can be supportive and beneficial, motivating you, or it can be negative, undermining your confidence.

How can self-talk affect your mental health?

Your self-talk can affect your mental health and your relationships with others.

If you mainly think negatively about yourself, you will feel bad most of the time. This can drag you down or if you’re down, it can be hard to get back up. Negative self-talk is often experienced by people who have depression or anxiety. The constant negative chatter can be overwhelming and difficult to break out of. Negative self-talk can also lead to stress and a tendency towards perfectionism.

What are the benefits of positive self-talk?

If you mainly think positively about yourself, you will feel good and optimistic most of the time. Research shows that positive self-talk can:

• improve self-esteem, stress management and wellbeing
• reduce any symptoms of depression and anxiety
• improve your body image
• reduce your risk of self-harm and suicide
• make you feel more in control of your life
• motivate you to overcome obstacles
• help to calm you

Tips to improve positive self-talk

Practise thinking good things about yourself. Very simply, practise seeing half a glass as being half full, rather than half empty.

Identify your strengths as part of your self-talk, and accept compliments for what you achieved. A helpful way to improve positive self-talk is to look, think and act in a positive way. Surround yourself with positive and optimistic people.

Try to turn negative talk into neutral or positive self-talk.

Tips to stop negative self-talk

Negative self-talk can become repetitive and overwhelming and often feels like it’s true. To break out of that cycle try these tips:

• Be aware of what you’re saying to yourself. Just the act of stopping and recognising negative thoughts for what they are, is the first step to working through the problem. Ask yourself, would you talk like this to someone else?
• Challenge your thoughts. Ask yourself — is it true? (often it’s not). Ask yourself if there’s another explanation or way of looking at a situation. Remember that many things you worry about don’t happen. Much negative self-talk is exaggerated.
• Put your thoughts into perspective (so what?). Try to look at things from a different perspective. Perhaps from a different person’s perspective. Try writing your thoughts down or saying them out loud. Ask yourself will this matter in a few year’s time?
• Stop the thought. You can do this ‘thought stopping’ technique visually — by imagining the thought being stopped or squashed.
• Replace the thought with a neutral or positive thought. Ask yourself — what is a more helpful thought?

Resources and support

For more information contact:

• ReachOut — online resources to help with self-talk and self-confidence
• Beyond Blue (anyone feeling depressed or anxious) — call 1300 22 4636 or chat online
• Lifeline (anyone having a personal crisis) — call 13 11 14 or chat online

Mrs Andrea Utoikamanu
Leader of Wellbeing and Learning - Junior Campus
Leader of Wellbeing - Year 10

On Friday 18th February 2022, Year 12 participated in a Wellbeing Lesson that centred around being ‘Goal-Getters’. After watching 2021 Dux Shanelle Silva’s speech from the High Achievers Assembly, Year 12 were lucky enough to hear some motivating and inspiring words from a guest speaker - Maryssa Ghazaleh. 

Maryssa Ghazaleh was the 2021 2nd place Dux and achieved fantastic HSC results including 3 Band 6 and an ATAR of 95.05.

Maryssa was interviewed by our current College Captains Wasim and Hayley, and Year 12 thoroughly enjoyed listening to Maryssa’s advice about motivation and balancing school and wellbeing. 

Below is a transcript of some of Maryssa’s inspiring and useful responses.

What did a normal day or week look like for you? Did you work or have any extracurriculars that made it difficult to balance your social and school life? 

A normal day would consist of school and study. I would make time some afternoons  to catch up with friends so I could balance a social life, However, I would often use free periods and then go home or even to the library and study for the rest of the afternoon. Also going out on Saturdays but then leaving Sundays for any assignments or studying I needed to catch up on. I also only got a job towards the end of the year and I would tell my work to only put me on weekends and Thursday nights (during exam times I would N/A) which helped me manage my time with school work. Also in the weeks leading up to the HSC I made the most out of my spare time. Even using a hairdresser appointment to study my flashcards.

We are always told to study in our spare time but many of us don’t fully understand what to do when that time comes - what does study look like for you?

You can still have a social life on weekends and some weekdays as long as you fit study in and it is also important to find what works for you. For me I found using flashcards, practice papers, and visual mind maps the most helpful. As I mentioned before I would find any spare time and use that to study, often if I was in the car I would use my flashcards, which are amazing as they are travel size and you can take them anywhere, or after school I would pretty much spend the whole afternoon studying or doing assignments. On my lunch breaks at work sometimes I would read over notes or the syllabus, and if I was bored I would honestly do those quizzes you can find on the NESA website - they are just a bunch of past hsc multiple choice questions. When I did more of a thorough study session I would mainly be revising through active recall using flashcards as they help you retain information better so you can remember it and apply it in exams. Using this strategy I would write one syllabus dot point on one side of the card and the information on the other side, that way I had to think of the answer and kind of quiz myself. I also did a lot of practice questions and papers. These are extremely important as you're simultaneously learning and understanding the content as well as practising for your exams. Sending them to your teachers is also key as they tell you what to improve on. The most important thing though is finding what works for you. Just because your friends like to make notes and read over them doesn’t mean you will learn that way as well. It took me multiple efforts to find what study techniques worked for me which were flashcards and practice papers because I found they improve your memory and mimic exam situations. But once you find how you learn best you will notice that you're honestly working smarter not harder. 

If you had to narrow down your efforts to one specific thing that yielded the most success, what would it be?

It's hard to narrow it down to one but honestly just talking to the teachers and sending drafts. I would often email and ask for feedback or a question I had on a specific dot point because at the end of the day they know what the NESA markers are looking for so you have to use their knowledge to help better your work and improve your responses or assessments. Also once your teachers see that you are working hard their encouragement always makes you want to do better. For me, doing well in the HSC wasn’t just about achieving my goals and making myself proud but it was also about making the teachers proud because they want the best for us whether you believe that or not. So build good relationships with them! I feel like that helped me tremendously, along with flashcards and practice responses - I couldn’t have done year 12 without those!

How did you balance school and homework with external commitments?

I balanced both of them, but I prioritised my school work first because it was most important for me. You don't have to study 24/7 to get a good result, if I had some external commitments I would only attend if everything with school is up to date, and if it wasn’t I would find a way to do it prior just so I could minimise stress in the future. Also creating study timetables was beneficial as I could manage my school time and any external commitments. Another important point is don’t leave your work to the last minute! As much as you may think you work better under pressure you probably work better when you have sent drafts and when you are not in a rush. You could go from band 5 to band 6 just because you sent drafts and didn’t do It last minute.

Did your attitude towards your education or time at school change between Year 10 and your senior years, if so, what instigated that change?

My attitude changed so much. In years 7-10 I didn’t care about school and put in little effort... at one point in year 10 I was considering dropping out because I used to think that school wasn’t for me. However, I then realised in year 11 that you don't have to be naturally smart or gifted to do well in school. You just have to work hard and set your mind to what goals you want to achieve. I never thought I was capable of achieving good results, and really everyone is capable of it as long as you put your mind to it. Positive self-talk and building up your self confidence by setting goals really instigated that change. It’s what helped me achieve an ATAR that I didn’t think I could ever get. 

Where did your motivation stem from? Were you always motivated throughout year 12? 

My motivation stemmed from a lot of things, one being my own goals. As much as my goals were to get a good ATAR and to get into my desired university course, it was mainly just to feel proud of myself. One of my fears throughout the year was opening up my ATAR and being disappointed in it. The best feeling ever is when you are proud of yourself because you know you worked hard to achieve it, no matter what the mark is as long as you are happy with it no one else's opinion matters. Also the encouragement from my teachers gave me motivation. When my teachers would say to me that they know I can achieve my desired mark it not only built up my confidence but it also encouraged me to make them proud. However the strongest motivation comes from wanting to do it for yourself, wanting to achieve those marks because you know you can and because you deserve it. Don’t worry about anyone that thinks you can't do it just because you have never been someone who tries hard at school, people used to laugh when I first started studying because it so wasn’t like me but I did not care because at the end of the day it's only your future that matters not anyone else’s. So do it to make yourself feel proud because that feeling can motivate you to do well in other future challenges and is one of the greatest feelings.

Thank you to Maryssa for coming out and speaking with Year 12, we highly value all of your advice and which you luck in your future studies and career. 

Miss Emily Pett
Leader of Wellbeing & Learning - Senior Campus
Leader of Wellbeing Year 12

From the Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7

Year 7 has now passed the halfway point in their first term of High School. Overall they have continued to transition well to college. However, the transition period is quickly closing and the expectations of Year 7 will begin to increase as they now settle fully into life at St Andrews.  

Learning and Wellbeing Focus - Organisation and Home Learning

Over the next few weeks, Year 7 will be focusing on the importance of organisation and home learning. The skills that we will be focusing on are key in their progression through the learning journey and the aim is to provide students with the tools they need to achieve their best. 

It is important that Year 7 establish a strong ‘Home Learning’ routine early in their high school career. Home Learning at St Andrews is designed to support the College’s Learning Framework. Home Learning plays an important role in facilitating continual improvement in student learning. It is suggested that students in Stage 4 (Years 7 & 8) plan to complete up to 60mins of home learning every week day.

 Examples of Possible Home Learning Tasks:

• Writing summary notes
• Practice exam-style questions
• Editing and refining written work for submission  
• Readings from texts and/or novels and reading for enjoyment
• Revision questions from completed units of study
• Self-directed research assignments and major works.
• Complete physical exercise challenges
• Rehearse lines for the play or for a public speech/presentation
• Practice playing musical instrument(s), rehearse with band members
• Constructing/contributing to their Learning Journal - reflections on their own learning
• Watching a video clip/news segment posted on the Google Classroom
• Revision of unit content to be followed by a quiz in the next lesson.

Year 7 have been provided with time, during their Wellbeing period, to work closely with their Learning Advisor to begin to construct ‘Home Learning Timetables/Plans’. It would be beneficial if you could follow up this process with a conversation around these ideas and ensure that students are focusing on the planning and implementing home learning.

Student Accomplishments

At St Andrews we love to highlight student accomplishments and successes.  We want students to be proud of the amazing things that they achieve and always share these achievements with Mr Leaves so that we can include these in the newsletter. 

This week we have the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Elijah Andrew from Learning Group B6!

Elijah has been selected as one of only 20 junior riders from across Australia to race in the 2022 Oceania Junior Cup (OJC). This is a fantastic achievement and we are keen to watch Elijah as he races throughout the year. 

Please see the report of the event below of the first round action:

Google Classroom 

Google classroom is an essential tool for all students here at St Andrews. It is also equally important that parents and caregivers have access to the platform to make sure they are aware of the work that is taking place by the students and anything that is missing or has not been completed. 

Over the next few days, the administrative staff here at the college will be working to send an invitation to all parents/caregivers to allow access to the Year 7 Wellbeing Classroom Page. By accepting access to this page you will then be automatically invited to all classroom pages that your son or daughter is enrolled in. 

This will allow you to receive a weekly update on the progress of your child and help them keep on top of the high school workload. 

If there are any issues with this process please feel free to contact Mr Jarryd Leaves.  

Mental Health Workshops

Transitioning to high school can be a really challenging time for students and it can sometimes be very challenging to deal with the mental health challenges that are presented by your sons and daughters. 

Here are some free online workshops run by headspace for parents/caregivers, to help you provide even more support to your child's mental health this year.

CLICK: Mon 14 Mar - 12pm – 1:15pm - Communicating with my young person

CLICK: Mon 21 Mar - 6:30pm – 7:45pm - Helping my young person during COVID

CLICK: Thur 7 Apr - 6:30pm – 7:45pm - Helping my young person during COVID

Other dates are available for various areas in NSW. Sessions are all online. Other dates/

sessions

Mr. Jarryd Leaves
Leader of Wellbeing Year 7

Year 10 have continued to show great leadership skills and enthusiasm throughout Term 1. 

I would again like to thank the Peer Support Leaders and their Assistants for the wonderful work that they’re doing with their Year 7 buddies. It takes the students a lot of time and dedication to prepare the Peer Support lessons each week, and the students should be very proud of their efforts. Not only are they outstanding role models and guides for the Year 7 students, they are also helping to create a positive learning environment. I know that the Leaders and Assistants will continue to look after their Year 7 buddies beyond Term 1.

The Year 10 Faith and Justice students did a wonderful job preparing and serving the Shrove Tuesday pancakes on the Junior Campus. Thank you so much to the following students who contributed to bringing in the toppings for the pancakes, and who were also present on the day to serve our St Andrews Community:

Euleila Barret

Nicole Cabale

Aleina Hartono

Aliza Juco

Zahra Mir

Alastair Pineda

Joshua Sammut

Patricia Tuazon

I would also like to congratulate both Euleila Barret and Joshua Sammut for competing in the CSDA Public Speaking Competition. Joshua was successful in making it through to the Semi-Final round of the competition. Well done to both of our Junior College School Captains.

Mrs Andrea Utoikamanu
Leader of Wellbeing and Learning - Junior Campus
Leader of Wellbeing Year 10

Thursday sport

We’ve had many more washouts then we would’ve liked which has seen us engaged in some indoor activities over the past few weeks. However, we were so grateful to see some sunshine this week and look forward to our representative volleyball teams hopefully being able to play again next week. We continue to wish our 3 basketball teams well as they too were impacted by the weather and were excited to return to the court this week!

Students at school will rotate their assigned sport every 5 weeks and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, bootcamp/fitness, dance, self-defence just to name a few. We are also privileged to have external sporting organisations such as Football NSW and Netball NSW run programs with our students.

PDSSSC Gala days

Unfortunately due to the consistent wet weather, the PDSSSC U/15s and Opens boys & girls touch football gala day was cancelled. 

The Opens boys & girls Soccer gala day will be held on Friday 1st April. I look forward to sharing with you the results of the day.

College Cross Country

Our College Cross Country carnival is on Friday 25th March. This is held on school grounds and is a competitors only event for serious runners who wish to attempt to qualify for the PDSSSC Carnival in Term 2. 

Distances for the PDSSSC Carnival and beyond are

12 Girls – 3km

13 Girls – 3km

14 Girls – 4km

15 Girls – 4km

16 Girls – 4km

17 Girls – 4km

18+ Girls – 6km

12 Boys – 3km

13 Boys – 3km

14 Boys – 4km

15 Boys – 4km

16 Boys – 6km

17 Boys – 6km

18+ Boys – 8km

Further details will be posted to cohort google classrooms closer to the date.

Students experiencing sporting success!

Bianca Infante of year 11 and Romeo Antengco of year 10 were successful in being selected for the respective NSWCCC volleyball team. Congratulations Bianca and Romeo on this fantastic achievement! We look forward to hearing more about your successes!

Julio and Dominic Tatupu recently competed at the NSW junior Athletics championships

Julio came 1st in hammer throw, 4th in shot put and 8th in discus.

Dom came 2nd in hammer throw, 2nd in shot put and 7th in discus.

A noteworthy achievement for these talented young men.Congratulations to both Julio and Dominic.

Elijah Andrew of year 7 recently travelled to Victoria to compete in motocross. You would’ve first read about Elijah in our recent newsletter. Please enjoy this recap of his most recent event below:

Australian Superbike Championships - Oceania Junior Cup - Round 1, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 25-27th February 2022

The practice rounds started on Friday and Elijah started off strong, achieving a 4th position in the early stages. The second and third practice sessions were challenging.

Saturday saw qualifying rounds one and two and a few riders came off their bikes. Elijah lost contact with the bunch and could only achieve 19th place.

During the first race, another rider miscalculated their overtaking manoeuvre and collided with the back of Elijah’s bike.  This caused the piggybacking rider to eventually crash (after disconnecting) but miraculously, Elijah stayed upright and maintained control of his bike.  This was quite a feat given that his muffler was sticking out on quite a strange angle.  His dirt bike riding experience definitely came to the fore and he managed to hold his position despite the imbalance of his bike and greatly limited lean angle.

The second race was equally frantic until two geese caused a red flag and the race had to be restarted. Elijah had worked his way from 19th to 15th but sadly the restart saw him default back to the second last place on the grid.

The third race was incident free until another young rider lost control and sadly an ambulance was required. Elijah managed to dodge the debris on the track and finished in 16th position.

The 19 remaining team mates then travelled to Winton Motor Raceway for two days of the OJC Coaching Academy with Garry McCoy.

What an experience! Congratulations to Elijah!

Kayla Brogan
Leader of Learning Sport

Year 8 students have started learning Japanese this year. They have recently learnt how to write some Hiragana (Japanese characters) and have also learnt some useful phrases and greetings such as ‘konnichiwa’ and ‘gomennasai’ which means hello/ good afternoon and sorry, respectively. An important part of their learning is deepening their understanding of Japan and its culture. 

We recently had a lesson about how Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Japan and attempted our first origami (the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures). These are a few of our students holding their origami hearts.

Throughout our course, we aim to develop intercultural understanding as well as language skills in a fun and engaging way. 

SACART WEEK 4 

Operation Art

A reminder to students that Operation Art entries are due to Visual Arts Teachers by Week 9 Monday 28th March. Information regarding this initiative has also been posted on Compass and year group Google Classrooms. Students may also see their Visual Arts teachers for more information. (Mrs Harris, Mrs Kemal or Miss Rivera)

7VAH

Students in 7VAH began their popular culture inspired food artworks last week. After taking photographs in class and learning about composition, basic lighting and angles; they confidently turned their photographs into realistic drawings for their upcoming assessment task. We look forward to sharing their finished artworks with our community later this term.

Year 9 Visual Arts - The Archibald Prize

Year 9 students completed their first mini artmaking activity last week. Students learnt about the application of tone when working with graphite pencils. After creating a value scale, students used their reference photo to create a self portrait drawing. The challenge is to demonstrate competence in the application of tone by matching their drawing to the reference photograph. It is pleasing to see their finished artworks as they now embark on research for their upcoming assessment task. Look out for our very own St Andrews Archibald soon!

Year 11 Visual Arts

To challenge Year 11 Visual Arts students, they have been asked to choose an object as the basis of their artmaking task for ‘Unit 1: Artists and the World’. In class, students brainstormed the functions and aesthetics of their chosen object. This will form the basis of a Collection of Work to be submitted at the conclusion of the unit. Students will be working with many art forms in order to investigate different ways of artmaking in preparation for their Year 12 Body of Work. To start off, students are currently working on a realistic object study drawing along with an abstract cardboard sculpture. In order to do this, students must deconstruct their object and reconstruct it again by reimagining its characteristics and functions in an abstract manner. We look forward to updating the SAC community with the progress of their Collection of Works in the weeks to come.

Mrs Claudia Harris
Leader of Learning - Visual Arts

Year 7 ‘Ways of Seeing’ Pop Culture 

Year 7 students have been learning about Popular Culture and the trends over various time periods. Students were asked to bring in one popular packaged food Item, of which they would Photograph using clever composition, ‘Rule of Thirds’, consideration of lighting and basic editing skills. We also practised a popular artist transfer method called the ‘Grid method’, which ensures their work is proportional and guides them when outlining and colouring. Year 7 students in the upcoming weeks will learn how to utilise various colour pencil techniques such as; blending of hues, tonal variation and burnishing which will then be applied to their realistic colour pencil artwork.

Aiden Battikha (7VAE)	Eamon Dizon (7VAE)	Xavier Laupama (7VAE)

Year 8 - Shock of the New

Year 8 students have delved into the world of Abstraction; with an artist focus on Wassily Kandinsky. A mixture of studying the shift from Traditional art to Modern art has allowed students to recognise shifting attitudes, experimentation and the reactions of audiences to changes in art. They engaged in various art making activities, most recently, creating Kandinsky style artworks allowing them to draw upon their imagination and curiosity. Students learnt that Abstraction has no centre of focus and centralises upon elements of line, shape, composition and colour. Mini artmaking tasks included creating an abstract sneaker, grid layering, music visualisation and Roll-a-Kandinsky. Engaging in a range of activities allowed students to be exposed to a variety of art making methods and techniques.

Micaela Sibucao (8VAH)	Jacob Sammut (8VAH)	James Ilagan (Top) & James Layoun (Bottom) (8VAG)
Layla Sanchez (8VAG)	Paul Sewiha (8VAH)	Airabelle Quiazon (8VAH)

Ms Rivera
Visual Arts Teacher

Food Technology 

Year 10

Year 10 Food Technology, are continuing to learn about the food options that are needed for specific needs. The recipe that students made was Pumpkin and Feta Mini Frittata. 

Keep up the good work Year 10!

Year 11

It was very exciting for Year 11 Hospitality who had their first practical for the year and for their qualification. In this unit there are a number of competencies students need to demonstrate through their awareness of food hygiene and Work Health and Safety. We were so impressed with Year 11’s first practical which was fried rice and we can’t wait to see what they do next! Wonderful work Year 11.

Year 12

Year 12 Hospitality, have been continuing their training using the coffee machine. We continue to focus on the pre operational procedures, operational and close down procedures. Students investigate the origins of coffee, where it grows, how it is harvested as well as condsdeifering how geographic location, climate and soils can affect the bean. Some of our Year 12 Students have been putting their knowledge in skills into practice by going on Work Placement at some of our local cafes and restaurants, we wish them all the best on their final blocks this week.

This Term Year 7s have started thinking like “Scientists”. They have been learning about the various equipment that we use in the laboratory that they will be using for their investigations and practicals.

They have also been looking at the safe use of Bunsen Burners, which will be used this term and throughout the year. This week, 7.1 students excitedly obtained their Bunsen burner licences in Science and were very eager to put what they have learnt into action.

Grace Flaihan
Assistant Leader of Learning (Acting)

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) has now opened up and will run from the 28th February until the 19th of August, 2022

The PRC will be opened up to all of Year 7, as well as any student from Years 8, 9 and 10 who would like to partake in the challenge.

More information will come out shortly via the Google Classroom for those students in Years 8, 9 and 10 who would like to sign up, so stayed tuned!

Internal prizes will also be awarded to students at various intervals, so make your reading pay off for you!

You will find all the PRC books on the e-book platform via SORA – borrowing a book has never been so easy!

Why not give reading a go, and see what new worlds and ideas you can discover!

The NSW Government is offering 1000 free places on the Safer Drivers Course each year to help young learner drivers from disadvantaged backgrounds and Aboriginal communities.
The fee exemption allows those who are financially disadvantaged to benefit from the road safety outcomes of the Safer Drivers Course.

Learner Drivers earn 20 BONUS HOURS in their logbook at the completion of the course.

MODULE 1 & 2 ARE CONDUCTED ON THE SAME DAY. Refreshments, Morning Tea and Lunch provided.

Next  Available Course dates:

Blaxland

Sunday 13th March 2022

Wednesday 13th April 2022 (School Holidays)

Windsor

Saturday 19th March 2022

Thursday 14th April 2022 (School Holidays)

Quakers Hill

Saturday 12th March 2022

Thursday 21st April 2022 (School Holidays)

Penrith

Sunday 27th February 2022

Sunday 27th March 2022

Wednesday 20th April 2022 (School Holidays)

Please visit www.ndeaustralia.com.au to book a course or call 02 9853 3243.

Careers

Army Reserve Open Day

The Army Reserve Open Day is an opportunity to learn more about the Army Reserve opportunities and chat to current serving Army Reservists.

You'll hear about the experiences of Army Reservists, the opportunities for development and the unique rewards that come with a part-time role in the Army Reserve. You will also hear how the Army Reserve can fit around your lifestyle.

The event is also an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the application process or a career with the Army Reserve. 

During the Open Day you will have the chance to tour the base and see some of the military vehicles and equipment.

Date: Saturday, 26th of March 2022

Time: 9.00am - 4.00pm

Location: Lancer Barracks, 2 Smith St, Parramatta

Registrations are essential. Click here to secure your place.