From the Assistant Principal - Students

Bullying

In a perfect world there would be no bullying. Unfortunately, we live in a complex world and bullying does occur. 

Bullying in schools is a worldwide problem that can have negative consequences for the general school climate and for the right of students to learn in a safe environment without fear. Bullying can also have negative lifelong consequences--both for students who bully and for their victims. 

Bullying happens on buses, in the cafeteria, gym, hallways, playground, and in classrooms even after school. The most frequent form bullying takes is through psychological humiliation words such as teasing, taunting, ridiculing, name-calling, and gossip, secrets. This type of bullying happens in the “physical” world and that world has time and space limits. 

Cyber-bullying is making school days even more painful for many children preventing them from doing their job. Bullying in cyberspace is not bound by school hours, school days, or facing the intended bully victim. Unfortunately, the nature of the Internet often insulates the bully from the consequences of their behaviour.

What does cyberbullying look like?

Cyberbullying behaviour might include:

• abusive texts and emails
• hurtful messages, images or videos
• imitating others online
• excluding others online
• humiliating others online
• spreading nasty online gossip and chat
• creating fake accounts to trick someone or humiliate them

What can you do as a parent?

The Government has set up a site to support students, Teachers and Parents in dealing with issues around Cyber Safety. eSafety commissioner      safety.gov.au 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

This site is a great way to get information and support when there are concerns online with your children or friends. You are able to apply for assistance if you have an issue and they will advise and help with the concern.

What is in the Planner?

We have recently had Kindness week. Thanks for the work the students did for that week.

The planner has an emphasis on Gratitude and Positive Emotions. We can get Positive emotions from fun and laughter. This can lead to an increase in the chemical serotonin which increases positive emotions.

“When you judge someone, you have no time to love them” Love is a way that we increase Positive Emotions. Spend time being positive and the right emotions will come through.

Did you know that your brain can process 110 bits of data per second. When you are distracted by your phone or technology you use about 60 bits. The remaining bits are not enough to get started on homework or other tasks. When we are distracted we tend to procrastinate. You need to ensure that your focus is on the right task at the right time.

God Bless

Mr Nick Thrum
Assistant Principal - Students

Year 9 2023 Electives and Year 11 2023 Subject Selection

Thank you to our amazing Year 8 and Year 10 students (and our parents/carers) for making this process so effortless! Thank you also to Ms Kalifa, Mrs Utoikamanu, Ms Harwood, Ms May and our Leaders of Learning who were instrumental in the success of this process.

Year 8 students will receive confirmation of their Year 9 Electives early next week. Year 10 students will receive confirmation of their Year 11 Courses later in the Term.

Timetable 2023

The 2023 Timetable Committee will commence construction later this Term. 

In each year group there will be one enrichment class created in Years 7-10 based on their performance in 2022. The Year 7 2023 enrichment class will be created based on ALLWELL Testing.

Thank you for your continued support,

If you have any questions please email me at pfinnerty@parra.catholic.edu.au

Patrick Finnerty
Assistant Principal – Systems, Data and Professional Learning

Student Leadership

Today starts the leadership process for students in years 7-10 as we look towards our 2023 SRC and House Captains on the Junior Campus. Students are asked to look for the leadership qualities and character strengths in their peers and themselves and then put forward nominations for these leadership roles. To be eligible for a leadership role at the College,  students must be a good role model in all aspects of college life, support all college activities and be fully supportive of, and involved with, the mission of a Catholic school. They must also meet the College Expectations regarding learning, uniform and behaviour.  

Congratulations to our newly elected leaders on the Senior Campus for a fantastic Leadership Retreat at Gerringong last week. More details on the Leadership Retreat are included in the article written by Shaniya Lal, who leads the Publicity Portfolio. All leaders have received their Portfolios now and we wish them well in their leadership over the next 12 months. Here are our new leaders with their portfolios:

Principal’s Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have received Principal’s Awards:

House Points Update

Here is the final points update for the 2022 House Cup before the competition ends at the end of this term. The House Cup winners will be announced early in Term 4. Good luck to all Houses:

Bennelong: 27, 755

Chang: 36, 484

Frances: 33, 227

Gould: 37, 164

Mrs Sue Cooper
Leader of Wellbeing and Learning

scooper@parra.catholic.edu.au

Leader of Wellbeing Year 11

On Friday the 5th of August, the new College Student Leadership Team was announced to the selected Year 11 students. This followed a process that included a formal application letter to Dr Kennaugh, an interview with members of the Leadership Team and a confidential online voting system. All three areas were carefully considered before the students were chosen. 

It is with a huge amount of pride that I announce the College Student Leaders for 2022/2023.

College Captains: 

Caitlyn Dela Cruz and Sabrina Tomas.

College Vice Captains:

Loudonald Go, Bianca Infante and Theresia Purwadi.

Student Representative Council:

Benjamine Afu, Ava Alley, Pablo Aquino, Nicola Gerardis, Shaniya Lal, Yashika Sharma, Cooper Shield and Aaryan Singh.

Bennelong House Captains:

Rediet Deresegn and Jade Kember.

Chang House Captains:

Daniel Martignago, Jackson Sibir and Danny Yazbek.

Frances House Captains:

Jordan Billedo, Alysa Sklibosios and Sione Tafea

Gould House Captains:

Hannah Johnston and Laura O’Neill

These students got to work straight away with a Leadership Retreat at Billow View Conference and Retreat Centre, Gerringong on Monday and Tuesday 15th -16th of August.

I would like to sincerely thank all students for their applications and commitment to our great College.

David Frankham
Leader of Wellbeing Year 11

As mentioned previously, our wellbeing theme for year 9 is LEADERSHIP. Each day in term 3 I want everyone to keep this in mind. If you are having aspirations to have a student leadership role next year, School Captain, SRC, Peer Support. You need to continually show the characteristics of a leader: proactive, attentive, sociable, diligent, dedicated learner, creative, inspiring, confident, humble and supportive. You need to also showcase yourself in the SPIRE framework: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational and Emotional. 

Everyone in year 9 can strive to be a student leader even if you do not hold the badge, each of you should aim to be a respectable role model for others at St Andrews. I am eager to see what this term brings from year 9. 

In saying this, leadership is also looking out for your peers' health and safety. At all times, students at St Andrews should not be doing things that can affect a person’s mental health and wellbeing whether it is in school, out of school or on social media. We are a community and must look out for each other. Students in year 9 should not be getting involved in such things and advise others to do the same.

UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS

Students should not be bringing a non St Andrews school bag. All students must have the St Andrews Backpack or Duffle Bag. If you need to purchase a new bag, you can pay by card at the office or pay through your Qkr app. Backpack - $65, Duffle Bag - $45.

As always, a reminder of uniform expectations. If you need a reminder of what the uniform expectations are, look in your Learning Planner on pages 15A and 16A.

I wish to remind everyone again that the following needs to be done at all times or a red card will be issued:

• Blazers should be worn into Learning Group until their Learning Advisor sees them
• Blazers should be worn after period 6 and when leaving the College
• Non-St Andrews items such as beanies and hoodies SHOULD NOT be worn to school. 
• If a student cannot wear their sports uniform, they are required to wear their normal school uniform
• School jumpers cannot be worn over sports uniforms. A school sports jacket is required.
• Boys must have their facial hair shaved
• Hair must be above the collar
• No nail polish or eyelash extensions. 

WRITE A BOOK IN A DAY

Congratulations to the year nine students who completed the Write a book in a day. It was great to see the creativity that you all had in creating these books. All of you have a talent in this area. Congratulations to the following students:

• Madelin La
• Gian Carlo Samuel
• Gabby Gonzales
• Ada Ding
• Cateleen Pardillo
• Braedon Monteiro 
• Sean Park
• Jovan Dominic
• Youssef Tannous
• Alexandra Marasigan 
• Garry Singh
• Arthus Klauth
• Sakina Ganiwalla
• Elyscia Mary Barret
• Jobella de la Cruz
• Matilda Adamecki
• Maxine Gesilva
• Rachel Laycock
• Raphaella Thimiopoulos-Wilson
• Suwanthi Edirisinghe
• Angelina Khalil
• Danielle Amabile
• Jayda Amabile
• Selina Joshi
• Vesna Kenny
• Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
• Simone Pathak 
• Lily Bayrich
• Amik Marok 
• Mackenzie Jones
• Brianna Faorlin 
• Isa Sarmed
• Ava Bylsma

STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Congratulations to the year 9 boys who are part of the Intermediate Boys Soccer Team. It was a great game to watch and you should be very proud of how you performed to help the team win. Congratulations to Daniel Koko, Kristian Haddad, Adrian Jakubowski, Cameron Callaghan and Malak Malki. 

A shout out to the year 9 girls who were part of the Intermediate Girls Soccer Team; Bella Flores, Avani Shrestha, Vesna Kenny, Leila Paupama, Abbey Rafidi and Elizabeth Angok. Thank you for representing the school with pride and your continual effort each week for your team. 

Term 3 and Term 4 will have oztag and girls basketball for rep sport. Good luck to all year 9 students trialling for these sports. 

Congratulations and good luck to those who are representing the school in the Oztag Gala Day. 

I am very proud and happy to see year 9 students achieving these great things at our college. I hope everyone can continue to work hard and achieve the goals they set for themselves. Continue to achieve your personal best. 

Mr Kharl Carlos
Leader of Wellbeing Year 9

Thursday Representative Sport

Season 2 Representative sport has officially concluded. Well done to our girls Netball teams and our girls and boys Soccer teams for their efforts this season.

All four soccer teams finished their season with wins against St Lukes. The results were as follows:

• Junior girls 6-0.
• Junior boys 9-0
• intermediate girls 12-0
• Intermediate boys 11-0

Congratulations to the junior and Intermediate Boys Soccer teams who both finished the season in 1st place as undefeated premiers; a HUGE achievement which you should all be very proud of!

Thank you to Mrs Kemal, Mr Chiappetta, Miss Breeze, Miss Malonzo, Mr Cetinic and Mr Dunaeff who all gave up their time so generously to prepare and train the teams after school.

Season 3 begins on the 8th September and we are entering teams for junior boys Cricket, girls and boys Oz-tag and girls Basketball.

Trials took place in Week 6 during sport time with teams having week 7 to train and prepare for the competition. Congratulations to all students who were selected for the respective teams and we wish you all the very best for the upcoming season!

Student sporting successes

You would’ve read earlier in the year about Elijah Andrew’s successes (year 7). Please enjoy these photos and a re-cap of Elijah’s recent successes.

Elijah recently competed at the Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) at Morgan Park Raceway, QLD.

The Australian Superbike Championships round race weekend took place from 5th - 7th August.  

Practice 1 saw Elijah finish in 10th place as he learnt the track and handled the tough wet conditions. Practice 2 saw Elijah misjudge turn 3 and went off the track at high speed onto wet grass on the infield. Luckily his skill in the wet enabled him to keep the bike upright and rejoin the track by turn 4. 

Saturday saw the sun come out with totally different track conditions to Friday. While Elijah continued to improve his lap times throughout qualifying sessions 1 and 2, he unfortunately fell back in the field to finish up 16th on the grid for all 3 races. With several battles and position changes, Elijah finished in 15th place only improving one place off the grid. 

On the Sunday, the OJC crew were first out on track for their morning warm up. This saw three riders crash and the session was red flagged. During Race 2, Elijah got a solid start passing several riders. It was a close battle to the chequered flag with Elijah finishing in 12th place. 

The final Race 3 was another good start for Elijah with more close battles on track. He pushed his way up into 11th place by mid race. A last lap dive bomb attempt into turn 4 caught Elijah out and he went wide on the exit onto the rough ripple strip. This lost him 4 places. He immediately got back on their tail for a mad scramble across the finish line in 14th place. Elijah finished just 0.060 seconds behind another competitor and 0.058 seconds ahead of another; extremely close racing from these future champions. 

The Yamaha bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) next outing will see them join a huge local on-track line-up supporting the 2022 AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX at Phillip Island on October 14th-16th. 

Well done, Elijah!

Holly Mclaughin (of year 10) has also been experiencing some fabulous success in her chosen sport of Cheerleading!

Holly has competed in 2 competitions this year:

The first competition was the AASCF Winterfest, where she competed in 3 different levels, receiving the following results:

1. Senior level 4- received first place and was the highest scoring small gym routine of the day for this level
2. Open level 3- received 1st place and was the 3rd highest scoring small gym routine of this level
3. International Jnr level 2 received 2nd place

The Second competition was a 2 day competition, AASCF Battles, where Holly competed in 3 different levels,

1. Senior level 4  received 3rd place and had zero deductions at the end of the competition.
2. Open Level 3 received 1st place
3. International Jr level 2 received 1st place, zero deductions on day 1. Holly and her team also were fortunate enough to receive a summit bid, meaning they are able to compete overseas in 2023. There is no doubt that Holly has a bright future ahead of her in Cheerleading. Congratulations, Holly!!

Romeo Atengco (of year 10) is a successful young Volleyball player and you may recall reading about his successes in this sport. Recently, Romeo was selected to join the travelling team to represent NSW at the 2022 Australian Youth Volleyball National Championships in Bendigo, Victoria. Romeo was nominated by his coach as one of the top 10 athletes in his age group and he joins Bianca Infante (of year 11) who was also selected for this competition. Congratulations and well done Romeo and Bianca. We look forward to hearing more about the success of your teams at this competition.

Kayla Brogan
Leader of Learning Sport

SACART WEEK 6

Congratulations Allistaire Reyes!

At the end of Term 2, Year 8 students attended an incursion with our resident and renowned artist Johnny Romeo. Our students actively participated in the presentation, asking Johnny many questions regarding his artworks and about his practice. 

Students were encouraged to consider what art means to them. After considering many responses, Allistaire Reyes 8F1 was selected as the winner for her heartfelt and insightful reasons as to why art was an important aspect of her life.

Congratulations to Allistaire who was presented with an open edition print of a painting by Johnny. 

Jarrell Yusores 9C8	Lorraine Layug 9B5
Vivan Menon 9C9	Kieffer Itable 9B11
Kerolos Nakhla 9B5	Janaya Buhagiar 9C9
Bridget Lee	Callam Stirton

Year 9 Visual Arts - ‘Poetic Landscapes’

After the conclusion of Unit 2 - Popular Culture, students started Unit 3 this week. This is a new unit of study introduced at St Andrews College. The unit by the title of ‘Poetic Landscapes’ will see our students explore our natural environment using mixed media and in a way that challenges the traditional notions of landscape artworks.

In order for students to ‘see’ landscapes differently, we had an outdoor lesson this week. Taking out artmaking en plein air (in the open air), we exited the classroom with a kit of artmaking materials for a landscape study of the College. Starting out in the Gould area, we made our way through various locations on College grounds where students were asked to use their senses (sound, touch, smell) and document the landscape firstly without simply drawing what they see. This was a challenge for our students however they enjoyed the task as they worked through the different art materials available to them. We also collected items from our ‘walk’ which will be included in a mini mixed media artwork this week. I look forward to introducing students to our focus artists this term, such as Andy Goldsworthy, John Wolsley and Robert Smithson.

Mrs Claudia Harris
Leader of Learning Visual Arts

Programming (also known as coding) is how sites like Facebook and apps like Instagram are made. Knowing how to program is like having a computer superpower.

Over the past five weeks, a group of Year 7 and Year 8 students participated in the NCSS Grok Coding Challenge. Within the competition the students learned how to program using the ‘Python’ coding language.

Each week they saw the complexity of the tasks and challenges increase as their coding skills developed. It was great to see how much the students learnt over the duration of the competition.

Our next coding competition will begin on the 24th of October and will be open to students in Years 7 and 8. This competition will focus on and teach students how to build a website using HTML and CSS. More information about this competition will be available at the end of this term.

On Monday the 15th of August the Year 12 Leadership Team for 2023 participated in a rewarding retreat experience to collaborate and organise our goals for the upcoming year. The trip to Gerringong encouraged a team building experience that facilitated the discussion of initiatives to enhance the College community. We are all so excited to share our ideas with you very soon, and are ready to take on board the suggestions and challenges that come about making St Andrews College a better place for all students and staff. 

Collectively the team participated in ice breaker activities, writing affirmations, assigning portfolios, employing leadership skills, enjoying the serene coastline view, and even cooking breakfast and dinner for one another.

On behalf of the Leadership Team, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Kennaugh, Brother Michael, Mr Thrum, Ms Cooper and Mr Frankham for such an amazing opportunity. We are so grateful for your support. I would also like to thank the current Year 12 Leadership Team, you guys have been the absolute best! We definitely have big shoes to fill as we strive to uphold your work ethic while demonstrating consistent dedication and compassion.

Shaniya Lal 
Publicity Portfolio

A group of Japanese students visited St Andrews College from 3 August to 5 August in Week 3 Term 3. 11 Japanese students came from different secondary schools in Japan to experience Australian culture and school life. 

The Japanese students had English language lessons in the morning and then they attended our regular lessons with their host students and buddies. All of them had a great experience and we received very positive feedback from them. Of course, our staff and students enjoyed sharing the time with the Japanese students at school during their visit. We learnt something about Japan and its culture from the Japanese students, such as the Japanese language, origami and lifestyles.  

We hope the Japanese students will continue their relationship with their host families and our students. We are now looking forward to planning our Japan Study Tour for next year. We hope we will be able to see them in Japan.

I would like to say thank you to the host families for hosting Japanese students this time. Your support and hospitality were fantastic. Every Japanese student enjoyed their homestay experience. Much appreciated. 

Ms Mariko Suzuki
Leader of Learning - Languages

Year 10 Cake Decorating Incursion 

On Wednesday 17th August Year 10 students participated in a cake decorating incursion. Students learnt a variety of skills and techniques about piping buttercream as well as using fondant to enhance their designs. Year 10 enjoyed learning different skills and techniques throughout the course of the day which they will implement for their assessment task. 

We would like to thank Rosemary from Cake Decorating Solutions, Arndell Park who has been delivering this workshop to us for many years at our College. We thank her for sharing her gifts, talents, tips and tricks to ensure we are able to achieve our Personal Best for the students assessment task. 

We also would like to thank Mrs Van Der Werf who helped organise and set up all our resources for this event as well as Miss Serbin and Mrs Carlos who continue to help us strive for our personal best in every lesson. 

Year 10 Food Technology

Year 10 Students are continuing their studies in Food Service and Catering. This week students made profiteroles from scratch. Students learnt about Choux pastry and how to make crème pâtissière. We were so impressed with their final product. Great work Year 10!

Mrs Cassandra Carlos
Assistant Leader of Learning Technological and Applied Studies

This week in Textiles, after weeks of generating ideas and testing different colouration techniques, Year 8 spent the lesson mixing and matching techniques to decorate their pyjama shorts. 

Students worked with Tie-dying, Foam Marbling, Shiva Oil Sticks and Inktense Pencils. We have seen some really creative designs so far!

I’d like to thank Miss Valdivia, who is joining us at St Andrews College for 4 weeks as a Pre-service teacher, for assisting the students throughout the lesson. 

Watch this space in the coming weeks to see the final results once the Year 8 students sew their fabric into the final shorts. 

Shanai Mifsud

Technologies Teacher

Learning at Home

Learning at Home refers to any time that is dedicated to learning away from the classroom. In the past this was called “homework”, a phrase that continues to be used widely when referring to learning away from the classroom. A modern take on the older expression of homework is now “Home Learning”, where the intentional emphasis is placed on the learning that students engage in. St Andrews College is emphasising the updated terminology of Home Learning so that we reinforce the importance of making time to engage in study outside of designated classroom time. 

With the emphasis now being placed on “learning” as opposed to working, we hope that all of our students in years 7 to 12 are able to create positive and sustainable routines that encourage and support learning away from the classroom. 

Positive routines lead to positive habits, which play a significant role in improving the learning outcomes of students. Forming good study habits from an early age sets up students for success throughout their secondary schooling as well as into time beyond school.

Home Learning guidelines are published on page 17A of the College’s Learning Planner (“Diary”), which present recommendations for the amount of quality, dedicated time students should spend actively engaging in the learning process when at home, or when away from the classroom itself. 

By helping students better manage their time away from the classroom, we are assisting them gain as much deeper understanding as possible, which, in turn, forms excellent routines that will be of benefit to them throughout their lives.

Mr Paul Haras
Leader of Pedagogy and Practice 

SEDA Sport and Business Program

The SEDA Sport and Business Program is a wonderful opportunity for students to establish a strong connection with SEDA sporting partners. These partnerships are with the following sporting organisations:

• Western Sydney Wanderers
• Sydney FC
• Sydney Kings
• Sydney Flames 

The program provides students with unique learning opportunities in an elite sport context. The Dual-Diploma program also provides students with an opportunity to help their sporting organisation continue to deliver value to grassroots clubs, corporate partners, fans and the community.

Students will graduate from the program after one year of study with a Diploma in Sport and a Diploma in Business. Areas of study include:

• Integrity in Sport
• Sport Technology
• Diet and Nutrition
• Sport Psychology
• Advanced Coaching
• Strength and Conditioning
• Sponsorship and Fundraising
• Health, Safety and Environment
• Project and Event Management
• Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Students wishing more information are encouraged to contact Ms May.

Become a Personal Trainer

The Australian Training Company’s intensive Peak Fitness Course combines two nationally recognised qualifications; the Certificate III in Fitness and the Certificate IV in Fitness. The program maximises learning and equips students with the skills and knowledge to be a successful personal trainer and run a business.

The course is delivered over an 18 week period including four weeks of work placement and practical assessment. The next course will commence in November and conclude in February.

Students complete the course through the ATC’s online custom built Learnbook. It is conducted in a group scenario in a virtual classroom or face to face in the ATC Training Centre in Homebush.

Students will receive:

• A dedicated trainer
• Complete course guide and learning materials
• Free Health Screening Kit to get you started including a blood pressure machine, dynamometer and tape measure
• 24/7 Access to the online learning system

Students will need:

• A Computer with internet access, camera and microphone

Total cost of the dual qualification course is $3,200. 

Interested students need to contact Ms May or email training@austrg.com.au

The Hotel School 5-Star Insights Event

This is a unique opportunity for students interested in the Business of Hotel Management; Hospitality; or Tourism and Events to see behind the scenes of a newly refurbished 5-star international hotel. Attendees will be able to experience the multi-million-dollar transformation prior to the Grand Opening.

The event will showcase:

• The future of the Hotel industry, career opportunities and jobs
• A Hotel site inspection workshops facilitated by industry managers
• Courses available  - University Diploma and Bachelor Degree – no ATAR required

Lunch will be provided to participants.

Date: Saturday September 17

Venue: InterContinenal Sydney, 117 Macquarie Street Sydney

Time: 9.30am - 2.30pm

Registration: Insights Event

Landscape Solutions

Landscape Solutions will be hosting their annual Apprentice Information Session early next term.

The aim of the information session is to learn about the different apprenticeships on offer at Landscape Solutions. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak to current apprentices, members of the management and executive teams from their different divisions. 

Students will also have the chance to see some of the machinery and equipment up close, learn some horticultural facts and tricks-of-the-trade. At the information session students will also be able to register their interest in an apprenticeship at Landscape Solutions, one of the leading Landscaping companies in Australia.

Details:

Date: Saturday, October 29

Time: 12:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: 16 Distribution Place, Seven Hills

Registration: Apprenticeship Information Session

Casual Employment Opportunity 

Code Camp runs Coding, Animation, YouTube and DJ Camps every school holidays

(between 8am-4pm) at over 100 locations. Code Camp is looking for awesome, creative and fun

Year 11 and Year 12 students to assist in the classrooms.

Students do not need any experience in coding but will need to enjoy hanging out with younger children, be responsible, be willing to do paid training and be committed to ensuring all children who attend camp have the best holidays ever. 

Code Camp has qualified teachers at each location. This is an opportunity for Year 11 and Year 12 students to be employed as Teacher Assistants to assist the trained teachers to ensure all students participating in the camp are safe and on track with their work.

Interested students are encouraged to visit Code Camp and submit their application. Included in the application form are the following questions:l

• What school you go to
• Why you are interested in this role
• What achievements that you are proud of
• When you are available during the Spring holidays