St Andrews College Marayong eNewsletter Term 4 Week 2
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From the Principal
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From the Assistant Principal Students
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From the Assistant Principal – Systems, Data and Professional Learning
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From the Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning
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From the Leader of Wellbeing and Learning
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From the Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7
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From the Leader of Wellbeing - Year 9
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Faith Mission & Learning
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Pedagogy and Practice
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Sports News
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SAC Art
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Year 7 Digital Technology
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Year 11 First Aid
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JSS Food Drive
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Christmas Concert
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Senior Campus Learning Centre
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Careers
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Important Dates
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ST Andrews College Leadership Team 2022
Newsletter 16 2022
Dear Members of the St Andrews College Community,
Welcome back to Term 4. It promises to be a wonderful Term of learning and growth. The Higher School Certificate started Week 1, we have the Year 7 2023 Orientation Day Week 3 and associated Information Evening, we have Year 8, 9, and 10 Camps and Year 7 Day coming up in Week 5. Our Year 12 Retreat is scheduled for Week 4 and it promises to be a significant opportunity for growth and reflection. Significant planning has gone into all of these opportunities and I thank the teaching and administration staff for their efforts to provide the best opportunities for our student group. We have had a great deal of success recently in both Soccer and Futsal and they were celebrated at Assembly today. The Australian Mathematics Competition had the greatest participation we have had and the results were excellent. Student writing entries continue to be submitted and provide significant breadth and depth to both challenge and entice our student body. Keep up the good work, keep putting your hand up for opportunities, keep challenging yourself.
‘It’s All About Learning’
Gospel Reflection: Luke 18:9-14
Jesus tells the parable of the proud Pharisee who prayed from his self-importance and the tax collector who prayed humbly.
Background on the Gospel Reading
The second parable that Jesus tells in Luke 18 addresses attitude in prayer. In contrasting the prayer of the Pharisee with the prayer of the tax collector, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray in humility before God. Jesus again surprises his listeners by showing the tax collector as the example of faith, rather than the Pharisee. Remember that Pharisees were members of a sect of Judaism active in Jesus' time. They taught an oral interpretation of the Law of Moses as the basis for Jewish piety. If anyone would be a model for prayer, a Pharisee was a likely candidate. In contrast, Jesus offers the tax collector as a model for prayer. Tax collectors were collaborators with the Roman authorities in a system that allowed the tax collectors to line their own pockets by charging in excess of the defined taxes. Yet, in this parable, Jesus offers the humility of the tax collector as a model for the prayer of a disciple. The parable reminds us that when we pray, we must remember our need for God in our lives. If we are too full of ourselves, there is too little room for God's grace to work in us.
What’s Been Happening in the Holidays?:
- We held both online and in person tutorials for some of the Higher School Certificate subjects.
- We had four new mobile classrooms delivered during the holiday break. They will be renovated both internally and externally before coming online. After this happens we will renovate internally and externally the older mobile classrooms. We aim to have all of this completed before the end of the year.
- We had some concreting completed behind the Hall on the Junior Campus and we are waiting for the weather to improve to complete the job by constructing another concrete area for our Buses in the car Park on the Junior Campus.
Diocese of Parramatta Charity Golf Day:
It was a pleasure to team with a group of fathers from St Andrews College for the Diocesan Charity Golf Day at Richmond Golf Club. It was the 37th year that the event had been run and we certainly dodged a bullet with the weather. The day raised just over $15,000, a terrific result. The team of Mr Alan Ison (Cooper Year 10/Ruby Year 8), Mr Byron Brasier (Holley Year 11), Mr Mark Bylsma (Ava Year 9) and I recorded 15 birdies to win the event. It is the lowest score in the history of the event. We also had a teaching staff team of Mr Leaves, Mr Carlos, Mr Wills and Mr Mihaljevic who performed very well on the day.
Congratulations Benjamine Afu Year 12:
On 17th September 2022, Ben flew to England for Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II funeral. During the event, he played at two ceremonies in London and Windsor. In London, he had the opportunity to serve in the Royal Guard of the King of Tonga (Tupou VI). In Windsor, he was asked to play in the British Grenadiers Band, so he had the opportunity to wear the British Grenadiers uniform. This trip was a trip of a lifetime for him. He represented his home country (Tonga), the country where he grew up (Australia), and his school (St Andrews College). Ben joined the Australian Military Band to continue his career as a musician. Ben made up the words we see below and they typify his life attitude and have made him the young man he is today.
"Don't give up on your dreams, Keep pushing through no matter what the costs are and go above and beyond".
Futsal Gala Days:
Congratulations to all the students and staff involved in the Futsal Gal Days this week. Your individual and group performances were a credit to yourselves and the College. The Junior Girls Team won the event and all other teams finished high on the ladder. Most importantly though the attitude, behaviour, and sportsmanship was evident in all of our students. Well done.
Enrolment for Year 11 2023 NOW OPEN
Year 7 2023 already has a significant waiting list
Fidem in Christo
Dr Stephen Kennaugh
Principal
From the Assistant Principal - Students
Welcome back to a new term.
Uniforms
Please be aware of your child’s uniform.. Some students would have had a growth spurt and their uniform is a little small. Please check the length of the boys pants which should go down to the shoes and the length of the girls kilt which should go down to the knees.
Some students had pierced their ears and some their nose. Just to remind students and families the only piercing accepted at the College is for the girls only. One silver or gold sleeper or stud or a small jewel in each ear. No nose, lip or any other facial piercing is acceptable. No plastic piercings should be worn and no band-aids covering a piercing. Students will be asked to remove any piercings while at school- this is not negotiable.
No student should be wearing makeup or fake eye lashes.
Students are expected to have the College bag every day while at school. If there is a problem with the bag a note must be presented to the Learning advisor.
Boys should be clean shaven every day and Girls should have their hair tied back.
Cyber safety
Social media is part of all of our lives. There are some real positive aspects of social media but there are also some real problems with social media.
There are age limits on social media for safety reasons but also because immature young people can misuse social media. It is very easy for people to write mean and inappropriate things online because they fell safe behind a computer screen. Many comments are made to people that would never be said face to face. On line bullying can occur because the person thinks that they are anonymous.
The person who pays the bills for the phone and the internet is the person responsible for what happens on the registered device. A parent or guardian should be aware of all online activity of anyone using their device or internet. Regular checks of content and social media use are essential to prevent harm online.
The College has information available to help families deal with online behaviour and if they contact their Leader of Learning- Pastoral for the child’s year group, they can assist in helping with issues.
Blocking sites
The Government support site esafety.gov.au has some helpful tips for blocking sites and safety on line
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/skills-advice/taming-technology
What is in the Planner?
When we are with others, we need to use CARE
C= Communication: be open and honest
A= Achieve: aim for win-win conversations
R= Respect: believe and show others matter
E= Expect: give more of yourself to grow
It is important to take every opportunity that is presented to you. Positive engagement in life is a key to building your identity. It is a risk sometimes to take on a new challenge and sometimes your challenges may not be successful but the most important thing is to give it a go.
One key characteristic of a leader is GRIT. Grit is the long-term persistence to achieve something and make a positive difference. We should believe others matter and so do their opinions, they follow through with what they say and that actions are better than intentions.
Wellbeing time of the wee- Spend some time outdoors, appreciate nature and enjoy the fresh air.
Character strength : Kindness. Think about how we can be kind to each other.
God Bless
Mr Nick Thrum
Assistant Principal - Students
Timetable 2023 (Update)
In each year group (Years 8-10) there will be one enrichment class created based on student performance in 2022 (Assessments and PAT-Tests). The other classes in each cohort will be created using a mixed-ability (sharing our gifts) approach. Leaders of Learning are also consulted regarding the creation of these classes. The Year 7 2023 enrichment class will be created based on ALLWELL Testing.
Students will be able to view their 2023 Timetable on Compass by 24 January 2023.
Staff Development Day 23 September (Update)
On Friday 23 September teaching staff collaborated with a focus on analysing NAPLAN data, programming, and developing practices that build positive relationships. It was a very successful day and staff took the opportunity to focus on the following:
- Analyse NAPLAN Data in Insights to create meaningful learning experiences in order to plan for differentiation.
- Create learning experiences that respond to diagnostic data in NAPLAN that improves literacy and numeracy performance across the curriculum.
- Develop a culture of teacher sharing and collaboration in order to improve student self-efficacy, learning and wellbeing.
A Reminder …
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to contact me by email pfinnerty@parra.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions regarding the information above which relates to my specific role as Assistant Principal – Systems, Data, and Professional Learning.
Thank you for your continued support
Patrick Finnerty
Assistant Principal – Systems, Data and Professional Learning
YEAR 11 REPORTS AND HOW RoSA GRADES ARE DETERMINED
NESA states that “at the completion of the course, teachers make professional on-balance judgements on the basis of all available assessment information to decide which grade description best matches the standards their students have achieved. The grade awarded to each student at the completion of a Year 11 course indicates the student’s overall achievement in relation to the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses.”
Students at St Andrews College are expected to satisfactorily complete all assessment tasks provided to them during the year. This allows teachers to make the best judgement about their achievement of the standards set out in their course requirements.
THE TYPES OF ASSESSMENT USED AT ST ANDREWS COLLEGE
Assessment OF Learning: assists teachers to use evidence of student learning to assess student achievement against learning goals and standards. This type of assessment is summative in nature.
Assessment AS Learning: involves students in the learning process where they monitor their own progress, ask questions and practise skills. Students use self-assessment and teacher feedback to reflect on their learning, consolidate their understanding and work towards learning goals.
Assessment FOR Learning: enables teachers to use information about students’ knowledge, understanding and skills to inform their teaching. Teachers provide feedback to students about their learning and how to improve. This type of assessment is formative in nature.
As we approach the conclusion of the Academic year students in Year 7-11 need to remember that the focus is on their learning. This focus will allow students several opportunities to demonstrate how well they are meeting the standards of the courses they are studying. Our most successful students have a consistent approach to their learning, have almost perfect attendance and seek feedback and support from their classroom teachers. During Term 4 I encourage all students to continue to cultivate their communication and relationships with their peers and their teachers, and understand that each day is an opportunity for learning. Assessment is only ONE part of the learning process.
Josilin Kalifa
Assistant Principal Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing
Chang wins the House Cup!
During today’s Junior Assembly, there were 26 Principal’s Awards presented as the 2022 House Cup competition ended. Dr Kennaugh presented the House Cup to the winning House - Chang! The Chang House Captain, Raine Tui, proudly received the House Cup on behalf of his House. It had been an exciting competition as the lead continued to change between Gould & Chang throughout the year - however Chang were too strong in the end. Our House Cup Celebration Day is Friday December 9, and more information will come regarding the organisation of the day. Congratulations to all students for the hard work and wonderful achievements during the year.
The final totals are below:
Bennelong: 32, 301
Chang: 42, 123
Frances: 34, 695
Gould: 40, 424
Mrs Sue Cooper
Leader of Wellbeing and Learning
It is fantastic to be back for our last term of 2022 and our last term of Year 7!
Overall Year 7 has continued to make solid progress this year. They have recently completed their PAT-R, PAT-M and PAT-S testing and results are promising for many students and is a testament to the hard work that Year 7 has been undertaking this year.
Uniform
A reminder that the Term 4 means that we move from Winter uniform to Summer Uniform. Please refer to the student learning planner for further details.
Wellbeing Day
Year 7 students will undertake a Wellbeing Day on the 11 November while the remainder of the Junior Campus are enjoying their annual school camps. This day will focus on building students' capacity in personal wellbeing with the mantra of the day being, “Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind”.
On the day we will be focusing on the SPIRE Framework and how we can use these concepts to better our personal grit and resilience skill set. This will include sessions based on faith formation led by our parish priest Father Kevin Redman, workshops on mindfulness and positive relationships and will conclude with a special guest speaker, Jonny Shannon.
Jonny Shannon is an International Tech entrepreneur & Motivational Speaker based in Sydney, Australia. He grew up in South Auckland, New Zealand and found school extremely difficult, having undiagnosed dyslexia and other disabilities which led him to failing all his subjects and being bullied. After overreacting too many times, Jonny was finally expelled for fighting too much & not showing up to school. It wasn’t until his last school that a counsellor took him aside to work through some of the key issues he was facing. The difference for Jonny was from “night to day”. He quickly turned his academic performance around and focused on his emotional well being. Surprised by the difference seeing a counsellor made, he committed to doing youth work to help other students like him in the future.
After a short time in the NZ Army, Jonny moved to Australia to become a qualified youth worker. He later took some time off and co-started multiple successful companies including being a pioneer of ‘Pushpay’, an app that helps people give to charities, now valued at over 2 Billion USD. He took this success & resources to re-dedicate his life to full-time youth work, this time focusing on interviewing youth psychologists & speaking at schools on various health topics.
If you would like to know more about Jonny Shannon and more about the [program that he will work through with Year 7 please visit the following link - https://www.jonnyshannon.com/grit
As always if there are any issues please feel free to reach out at any time.
Mr. Jarryd Leaves
Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7
Welcome back to another term at St Andrews College for 2022. I hope you are all eager and excited about what’s to come this term. You have all had a great start this term from what I am hearing, and that is great news!
Our wellbeing theme this term is about Choice & Accountability. We will look at character strengths/topics such as Growing your resilience, leadership, being healthy and getting enough sleep, love, spotting the strengths in those around you, using your strengths, positive emotions, zest, forgiveness and being proud of your achievements.
STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Congratulations to Cameron Callaghan for his part time appointment at a media company. This is a huge accomplishment for him. Good luck!
Congratulations to Sean Park on his achievements for the Maths Competition!
Congratulations to all students who received awards for soccer.
Congratulations to the students who received a Principal’s Award:
Hans Abedo
Brianna Faorlin
Lorraine Layug
Umang Hirani
Maxine Gesilva
Freby Julit
Tyler Isais
Amik Marok
Cateleen Pardillo
Isaiah Pineda
Judah Samuel
Garry Singh
Keep striving to achieve your best Year 9!
CAMP
A reminder to get your camp notes in by Monday. If they are not in by this time, unfortunately you may miss out on your spot as we need to send final numbers to the campsite.
A reminder to organise your cabins ASAP. Only one person in the group is to fill the google form. If you have less than 10, that is fine as I will fill those sports with other people or groups who do not have enough.
You need to continue to apply yourself to your learning and be the best version of yourself this term, you must always show respect to teachers and your peers. Remember, we are about choice and accountability this term, and your actions may have consequences. So let us all continue to do the right thing and have a smooth term 4.
Mr Kharl Carlos
Leader of Wellbeing Year 9
From our Priest
Fr Kevin Redmond SM
In the Gospel for this Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus tells a parable “about the need to pray continually and never lose heart…” talking about an judge and a widow. Jesus says the judge, “had neither fear of God nor respect for man,” and the widow kept coming to him to ask for justice against her enemy. Although he refused, eventually he gave in because he realised that the widow would not give up. Jesus promises us that God will see justice done and done speedily for those who cry out, day and night, to him. Jesus ends with a question of whether “when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?”
This is a serious question because maintaining faith is a challenge. There seems to be so many examples of where injustice appears to be the norm, where good people suffer and evil thrives. Where is God in all of this? I believe this parable about the judge and the widow can help us in discovering an answer to this universal question.
The judge is not what you could call ‘good’. It seems that he is in the job for the honour and power and not for delivering justice. However, even someone who is in a role for the wrong reasons will eventually do the right thing, we are told. The judge will give the widow her rights because he recognises that she will just keep coming, even annoying him to death, if he does not.
We can all hope and pray that people are undertaking a role or a job for the right reasons. That they want to serve, help and build up others and the community impartially rather than selfishly looking after their own possessions and friends. Unfortunately, this is not always the case but faced with this ‘reality’ what is our response? In part we are invited to have the faith of the widow. The widow was determined to see justice done and refused to take no for a final answer.
The widow did not give in and settle or worse become like those who opposed her. Her thirst for justice gave her energy and the motivation to keep going. You and I can know God will see justice done, but we have to maintain our hope, trust and love to achieve this.
God Bless,
Fr. Kevin Redmond SM
The importance of wellbeing and its influence on learning has become increasingly better understood over recent years. Pleasingly, schools have been able to incorporate a greater number of student wellbeing programs into their curriculum as a way of improving the learning experience for their students. This trend is very much a part of the St Andrews College approach to learning, where caring for the person is at the heart of all that we do here at the school.
In keeping with our Learning Framework, SPIRE, every student from year 7 to 12 is actively supported in their Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational and Emotional development so that they grow into maturity as fully-formed young men and women ready to contribute positively to our community and our world. This holistic approach to learning guarantees that our needs as human beings are acknowledged as an intrinsic part of how we learn best, whether we are younger or older learners.
Positive Education principles and practices form the basis of our learning approach at St Andrews, where students are encouraged to try, encouraged to do more, and to be courageous adventurers in their learning. Applying these Positive Education principles has established our school culture that promotes and supports continued growth and improvement in all aspects of learning, allowing for each student to experience success and to build the self-belief that empowers them to see something new as an exciting challenge that awaits for them as they move ever forward in their understanding.
As we continue to build upon our excellent academic results, it is important that we remain aware that excellent results are achieved as a consequence of excellent school culture and classroom practices that support the young people who we have the privilege to teach.
Paul Haras
Leader of Pedagogy and Practice
OJC Phillip Island
Elijah Andrew had the privilege to race in the support class to the World MotoGP Australian Round at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Victoria. This had 120,000+ race race fans at the track plus the millions of international broadcast viewers watching what the Australian premier national junior racing class can do out on this world renowned race track.
Friday’s practice was declared a dry track to start with. Elijah ran wide on turn 6 and had to power it to get through the gravel trap but he managed to keep the bike upright and he rejoined the track.
All was going good and he was improving lap times until a sudden downpour of rain. Elijah and 4 other riders crashed hard at different parts of the track as they were all on slick tyres in extremely wet conditions. The session was red flagged.
Qualifying was again declared a dry track and Elijah was sitting in 14th place, before dropping down several positions in the timing. His next two laps were hindered by slow riders, followed by yet another downpour which ended the qualifying session. This resulted in him qualifying back in 17th, for all 3 race starts.
Race 1 Elijah got a good start jumping 3 riders by turn one. He continued to pass riders using slip-steaming to great effect on the straights.
After a couple of lead riders crashed out Elijah was up to 8th place and riding well.
Unfortunately he made a rookie mistake and thought the race had finished a lap early, and he backed off. After a few riders passed him at full race speed he quickly realized the race was still going, finishing in 11th place.
Elijah thoroughly enjoyed the first race, but was gutted with his mistake missing out on a top 10 finish.
Saturday midday saw the OJC race 2. Track conditions were good.
Elijah lined up on the grid after the warm up lap ready to start the race, when he accidentally bumped the gear lever with his leg and the bike went into neutral, causing him to get off the line in last place.
Elijah quickly started to fight his way back into 14th place over the 7 laps. Going over the finish line for the chequered flag he was slip streamed and lost two places finishing in 16th place.
Later on Saturday afternoon saw their 3rd and final race for this round.
Elijah got off to a decent start (with one of his trademark wheelies), and was in 18th place at sector one. As though he had something to prove from his previous mishaps, Elijah drew on all of his racing experience and recent coaching to fight his way up to 2nd place at one stage achieving the fastest race lap time to that point (finishing 3rd fastest for race 3).
A 3-way battle between 3rd, 4th and 5th place was on until the 3rd place rider Ryan Larkin lost control breaking into turn 4, and crashed into Elijah, and he then Cameron Rende, causing all 3 riders to crash out of the race.
Elijah came off the worst for wear and was stretched off the circuit by track medics and taken to the MotoGP track Medical Centre. Following initial checks was transferred to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital for further x-rays, scans and tests. After 18+ hours he was given the all clear and discharged, although battered and bruised.
What a huge weekend full of highs and lows. The takeaway for Elijah is that has the outright pace and ability to fight his way to the front pack, the capability to race there with the best and hold is own, and is truly now a top 5 racer.
He is looking forward to the final 2022 round at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia on November 25-27.
Follow Elijah @ElijahAndrewRacing
Elijah Andrew #18
Thursday Sport
Season 3 of Representative sport continues this Term 4. We wish our girls Basketball, Boys Cricket and girls and boys Oztag teams all the best as they compete in the final Diocesan Representative season for 2022.
PDSSSC Futsal Gala Day
After many gala days this year, the Futsal gala day was the final of the year. The girls competed on Tuesday 18th and the boys competed on Wednesday 19th October.
Thank you to Ms Kemal (junior girls coach), Mr Dunaeff (intermediate girls coach), Miss Breeze (junior boys coach) and Mr Cetinic (intermediate boys coach) for their time and effort preparing students for the gala day. Please enjoy these recounts from coaches about the day.
JUNIOR BOYS FUTSAL GALA DAY
The PDSSSC Boys Futsal Gala Day was held on Wednesday 19th September at Penrith Regional Valley Sports Centre.
The Junior Boys Team started strong for the day with our first game against Penola Catholic College resulting in a 7-0 win. Our second game against St Luke’s Catholic College was a closer game with an end result of a 4-2 win. Our last game for our pool was against St John Paul II Catholic College where our boys fought hard in the second half to close the score of 5-1 to 6-5 by the end of the game. Overall, the boys finished 2nd for their pool and progressed forward by versing 3rd position in Pool A. Our first play-off game was against Santa Sophia Catholic College where we worked hard to score 2 goals within the second half. In the semi-finals, we played St Paul’s Catholic College where we were defeated 9-3. Overall, the boys finished 3rd which is a great achievement. I would like to thank the followings boys: Savior Yosia Edward, Elias Helloulie, Luka Dinjar, Mark Maragan, Ondre Farag, Deng Deng, John-Paul Abou Chaaya, Yabsera Tekeste and Nicholas Bova for their dedication and commitment throughout the day in playing good football. I would also like to thank Oli Bres for supporting the team during his breaks and consistently refereeing games throughout the day.
Kayla Brogan
Leader of Learning Sport
JUNIOR GIRLS FUTSAL GALA DAY
On the 18th of October the Junior Girls Futsal Team travelled to Penrith Regional Valley sports Centre to compete against six other Catholic schools. All games were 2 x 10 minute halves with a 1 minute half-time break.
The players played strong for the entirety of the rounds and not once did I witness anything less than 110% effort. St Andrews College not only came first in the competition but were labelled undefeated in this year's Futsal GALA Day - 67% of our players scored at least one goal.
Summary of results:
Game 1: 2 - 1
Game 2: 2 - 0
Game 3: BYE
Game 4: 2 - 1
Game 5: 5 - 0
Game 6: 3 - 0
Game 7: 3 - 1
Thank you to our attackers who demonstrated speed, advanced ball control, fancy dribbling tricks, and shooting accuracy;
- Amelia Farag
- Kiara Bartley
- Layla Sanchez
- Siana Sanchez
Thank you to our defenders who predicted play and acted accordingly, put the opponents under pressure, tackling with precision and in some cases shooting goals;
- Mykaela Beattie
- Caitlin Sciberras
- Sofia Fragomeni
- Chelsea Quimpo
A special thanks to our talented Goalkeeper Aesha Rosas who played all games consecutively saving so many challenging shots with her phenomenal diving skills and quick reflexes.
I would also like to thank our parents in the audience for supporting and encouraging the girls during these games.
Thank you all for your great teamwork and sportsmanship.
Mrs Shandel Kemal
Junior Girls Futsal Coach
Intermediate girls
The intermediate girls started the day off with a win against St Marks. The games after that were very competitive and quite close against Catherine McCauley and OLMC with the final result being separated by one goal. Overall the interns came 3rd overall and the girls should be proud of how they represented the college with pride and really gave it their all!
Mr Dunaeff
Intermediate girls coach
What a successful way to end the Diocesan Gala day year.
Mrs Shandel Kemal - Futsal Coach
SACART WEEK 2
Operation Art Exhibition Opening
The Armoury Gallery Sydney Olympic Park
On Saturday 17th September, we had the pleasure of attending the opening of the 2022 Operation Art Competition. This year’s competition featured over 600 entries from 200 schools. Four of our students’ artworks were featured in this year’s exhibition with two awarded special selections.
Athieu Majok’s artwork, Masked Green House is selected as a PAW Pick; one of six examples of Operation Art entries used to illustrate a wide variety of teaching strategies.
Rabab Ganiwalla’s artwork, Vivid Peacock Extravaganza is one of six artworks given to the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian (NSW OCG) to be exhibited in its offices for 12 months and later donated to regional hospitals.
It was wonderful to see our students’ artworks displayed amongst other wonderful Operation Art entries. We look forward to the framed artworks (except Rabab’s) returning to our school in the near future where we will have them prominently displayed. We hope that in the years to come we will add to them with many more future Operation Art artworks.
The exhibition remains open until the end of the month (30th October) and I highly encourage you to visit the exhibition to see these artworks in person.
2022 Operation Art Award Selections












Mrs Claudia Harris
Leader of Learning Visual Arts
Year 7 ‘World Heritage Site Animal Artworks’
Last term artists of year 7 chose an animal of their choice from either the Great Barrier Reef or the Daintree Rainforest. Students were asked to brainstorm, research, gather inspirational imagery as well as practice drawing and evaluate experimentation before developing a draft. Their draft artwork included a close up of their animal demonstrating blending, burnishing, scumbling and any other textural applications they may have learnt/discovered during this process. This term students have continued to work in order to complete their final works using oil pastel and coloured paper with consideration to the drafting stage and teacher feedback.
Giorgio Zerafa
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Mikaela Hooper
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Christian Espiritu
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Jacinta Estrada
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Sahas Shergill
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Franzuel Azuruoleh
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Angelina Chamoun
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Stefany Yazgi
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Meghan Bartlett
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Vanessa Menon
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Angela Sicat
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Elijah Andrew
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Year 8 ‘Mombassa inspired Artworks’
Artists of year 8 have completed their Mombassa artwork drafts and have been provided with feedback on their practice. Students have now begun to create their final work choosing either Painting or Digital Media to portray their chosen Australian issue (social, environmental, political etc.) whilst also using the techniques and style of Mombassa to communicate this issue. This term students have continued to work in order to complete their final works using painting techniques such as dry brushing, stippling, colour blocking etc. or drawing software such as Sketchpad, Procreate, Fresco etc.
Year 8 Finalised Mombassa drafts
Allistaire Reyes
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Kyle Lo |
Nikki Gasendo |
Catharina Purwadi |
Cayden Landrigan |
Yak Yak |
Year 10 ‘Beginning stages of our Self Directed BOW’
Artists of year 10 have recently pitched their Self Directed BOW proposal to their teacher considering core contents of Visual Arts (Practice, Conceptual Framework and the Four Frames). Their presentation (research, plan, direction) and teacher feedback then helped facilitate the next stages of their artmaking process - construction. Students have begun gathering their resources to initiate their final work of year 10. We look forward to sharing the final Body of Works later this term with our audience.
Here are some excerpts from students' proposals.
Mikayla BaloBalo
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Jenille Calingao
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Ella Calura
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Ella Calura
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Alyssa Guillermo
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Alyssa Guillermo
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Chloe Canlas
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Eric Forcadilla
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Anureet Singh
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Atheiu Majok
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Jeda Osorio |
Mrs Shandel Kemal
Visual Arts Teacher
Year 7 Digital Technology students have begun a new unit this Term. Students will be learning about line code, how it works and how to use it in order to program an Arduino microcontroller.
So far this week, Year 7 have been able to analyse the language used by the Arduino microcontroller and have begun programming it to make multiple LED lights flash in a pattern as well as create sound.
Some students took their learning even further by researching existing codes to play songs that we all know and love such as those from Star Wars, Super Mario and Rick Astley on the Arduinos!
The end goal for these students is to continue learning how to code the different inputs and outputs on the device and gradually merge these codes together in order to produce a working alarm system.
We look forward to seeing Year 7’s coding skills develop over the next few weeks!
Shanai Mifsud
Technologies Teacher
On Tuesday 18th October, Year 11 PD/H/PE, VET Fitness and VET Hospitality students completed their Provide First Aid qualification. These students showed commitment to their studies by completing online modules for the course prior to the day. The day consisted of a practical application of first aid, collaboratively working together to provide assistance to a range of different scenarios. We would like to thank Royal Life Saving for providing the training and qualification. Thank you to Mr Thrum who organised this event and to the teachers who helped supervise Mr Fellows, Miss Nikitovic, Ms Desira, Ms Harwood and Mr Carlos.















Congratulations Year 11 for achieving your first aid qualification.
Mrs Cassandra Carlos
Assistant Leader of Learning Technologies
Senior Campus Learning
The Senior Campus Learning Centre is a hub for purposeful individual and collaborative learning.
The Senior Campus Learning Centre
Opens: 7:30am each morning
Closes: 5pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The Learning Centre offers:
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Senior Students are invited to meet with Mrs Bradford to discuss your study arrangements/needs/goals.
Parents are invited to email Mrs Bernadette Bradford (bbradford@parra.catholic.edu.au) or phone 9626 4000 to discuss your child’s study arrangements/needs/goals.
Landscape Apprenticeship Information Session
Landscape Solutions is hosting their annual Apprentice Information Session on Saturday the 29th of October commencing at 12 noon and concluding at 3pm.
This is an opportunity to learn about the different apprenticeships on offer at Landscape Solutions. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak to some of the current apprentices, management team, and executive team from the different divisions. The Managing Director will also be at the event.
Attendees will also have the chance to see some of the machinery and equipment up close, learn some horticultural facts and tricks-of-the-trade, and register their interest in an apprenticeship at Landscape Solutions, one of the leading Landscaping companies in Australia.
Landscape Solutions is located at 16 Distribution Place, Seven Hills.
Click here to register for the Information Session.
Year 7 Orientation Day | 24th October |
Pupil Free Day | 4th November |
Rememberence Day | 11th November |
Mufti Day | 18th November |
College Leadership Team
Principal | Dr Stephen Kennaugh |
Assistant Principal Systems, Data and Professional Learning | Mr Patrick Finnerty |
Assistant Principal Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing | Ms Josilin Kalifa |
Assistant Principal Students | Mr Nick Thrum |
Director Faith, Mission and Learning | Mr Frank Clarke |
Business Manager | Mrs Melissa Welch |
Administration Operations Manager | Ms Simone McKechnie |
College Leaders of Learning - KLA
Leader of Learning Mathematics | Ms Tracey Thomson |
Assistant Leader of Learning Mathematics | Mr Jacob Wills |
Leader of Learning English | Mrs Marsha Edwards |
Assistant Leader of Learning English | Mr Travis Kolek |
Leader of Learning Music and Performance | Mr Antonio Chiappetta |
Leader of Learning Visual Arts | Mrs Claudia Harris |
Leader of Learning HSIE | Mr Daniel Camilleri |
Assistant Leader of Learning HSIE | Mr Jarryd Leaves |
Leader of Learning Languages | Mrs Mariko Suzuki |
Assistant Leader of Learning Languages | Mrs Lisa Yuen |
Leader of Learning Technologies | Mr Bill Robson |
Assistant Leader of Learning Technologies | Mrs Cassandra Carlos |
Leader of Learning Science (Acting) | Mr Rohan Isaac |
Assistant Leader of Learning Science (Acting) | Mrs Grace Flaihan |
College Leaders of Learning
Leader of Learning Diversity | Mrs Pauline Xuereb |
Leader Faith, Mission and Learning | Mr Andrew Hoare |
Leader of Learning Literacy | Mr Duncan Dewar |
Leader of Learning Information and Communications Technology | Mrs Sarah Anzellotti |
Leader of Learning Faith in Mission | Mr Giancarlo Ison |
Leader of Learning Sport | Mrs Kayla Brogan |
Leader of Learning Pedagogy & Practice | Mr Paul Haras |
Leader of Learning Reading | Ms Linda Hicks |
Senior Campus Leaders of Learning - KLA
Leader of Learning PDHPE | Ms Claudine Desira |
Junior Campus Leaders of Learning - KLA
Leader of Learning PDHPE | Mrs Kayla Brogan |
Leaders of Learning - Wellbeing
Leader of Wellbeing | Mrs Sue Cooper |
Leader of Learning Wellbeing Year 7 | Mr Jarryd Leaves |
Leader of Learning Wellbeing Year 8 | Ms Alicia Harwood |
Leader of Learning Wellbeing Year 9 | Mr Kharl Carlos |
Leader of Learning Wellbeing Year 10 - Leader of Wellbeing Junior Campus | Mrs Andrea Utoikamanu |
Leader of Learning Wellbeing Year 11 | Mr David Frankham |
Leader of Learning Wellbeing Year 12 - Leader of Wellbeing Senior Campus | Mrs Emily Parker |
School Counsellor |
Ms Kerrie Castle & Sr Cristina Ramada |
Careers Counsellor | Ms Therese May |