KEEPING UP WITH SCHOOL DEMANDS

It is that time of the term when each class has either formative or summative assessments of the terms work. Every student will deal with the stress of assessments and a heavy workload differently. Every student needs to know that they are not alone in this. 

We ask that if a student is struggling with the demands of learning that they see their teacher first. If they need more assistance, please ensure they see the Leader of Learning KLA or the Leader of Wellbeing for their Year Group. If the students start the line of communication, we can usually negotiate a good outcome for all parties concerned. Parents, please feel free to contact the teachers if you have any questions or concerns about learning and your child. 

INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS TO OTHERS

Growing up our parents always tell us that “if we have nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything”. 

We hear negative comments that are made about a person’s race, skin colour, physical appearance, culture etc in the media and online and don’t think about the damage it causes when we use these terms.

St Andrews is a unique place that embraces everyone’s differences. We do not tolerate any discrimination or acts that put down or ridicule another person.  

If at any time you hear or are a victim of this type of behaviour please contact me as soon as possible.

STUDENTS AND GAMING 

Gaming is becoming a concerning addiction for many young people. Our Government has put out some guidelines to help parents in regards to gaming.

Here are some tips parents can use to help their gamers play a little more intelligently. 

1) Parents, try to invest some time into their gaming, either as a cheerleader / fan, or a player. The benefits of being coached in their favourite game are very important. One reason is understanding the information on the screen, and another reason would be connecting with your kid. The tone of the conversation changes when they see you as a teammate and not an opponent.

2) Try to promote quality over quantity. In this case, suggest that they prioritise real life friends rather than their online friends for the next little while. Don't worry, they'll know how to connect with friends from school online.

3) Try to take a couple of days off gaming per week where you spend a little more time as a family being productive or planning something that can be done when you're out. In this case, even if it's watching movies on another screen, it's a different activity. 

4) Help them understand that overplaying will take them beyond the benefits they think they are going to get from playing. Expect more frustration, less concentration and ultimately less fun.  

Limit gaming sessions based on these criteria:

A 3 hour session is plenty and beyond that they will start to feel the effects of overplaying.

Stick to 3 hours as a max, take a day or 2 off, and they will find themselves enjoying their gaming time a lot more than if they were to over indulge during this tough time. Try and keep gaming and social media to weekends and free time and use the week to concentrate on schooling.

What's in the planner this week?

ARC stands for Active Constructive Responding. This is using welcoming body language and listening to others with enthusiasm. This type of listening promotes positive relationships as it shows the other person that you care about what they have to say.  When you listen to someone think about how you are listening, are you dismissive or attentive?

Brain pathways

Your thoughts and practices are influenced by your experiences.  Your brain changes all the time as we experience different things. We learn from mistakes, failures and triumphs. Every experience helps our brain develop and get stronger.

To become the best possible self

• believe in your self worth as a person
• learn form negative feelings and experiences to build your resilience
• use positive self talk to look for what is right

Act if you notice yourself 

• not looking at the bright side of life
• not trying new things
• blaming others for what you do
• feeling that your best is not good enough
• prefer to be alone often

Increasing brain power helps us be more creative and enhances our memory. We can do this by memorising phone numbers, journaling, sleeping more, laughing, breathing exercises, exercising etc. 

What do you do to build your brain power? Email me with some ideas for some bonus house points.

God Bless

Mr. Nick Thrum

Assistant Principal

Making Assessment Manageable

This week we enter the start of an intensive assessment period for all students. Preparing well for assessment tasks is a key for success. Procrastination and not seeking help in the weeks before a task contributes to the pressures of managing competing deadlines.

Students need to make study plans that are manageable and achievable. The consistent effort to complete work on time and avoiding leaving things to the last minute can be detrimental to success. Keeping a list or calendar of due dates and using the College planner will allow students to better organise their strategy to complete their preparation for assessment tasks on time.

Parents can assist their child by removing the distractions. 

Many parents realise that their child is spending more time on their phone or laptop, avoiding school work and staying up late. These students are then unable to concentrate on their learning during school time because they have not had enough sleep.

I encourage parents to set rules about the use of technology and discuss your concerns with your child. Having a policy where devices are not allowed in bedrooms is also an important guide to regulate your child’s access to technology, ensure they do not use their phone before they sleep and it keeps the child safe. 

Parents are also able to utilise apps on their phones to assist their children regulate the time spent on screens.

If you have an iPhone, I strongly recommend that all parents set up family accounts and use the Screen Time App to manage their child’s access to technology and particular apps at whatever time you believe is suitable.

On an Android device that uses Google you are able to set up Family Link and use the features to set downtimes and parental controls for apps for your child.

These are just a few of the tips that parents can use to assist their children focus on their learning and school work and balance screen time for their child.

Ms Josilin Kalifa

Assistant Principal 

Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing

Staff Development Day - Pupil Free (Monday 24 April: First day of Term 2)

On Monday 24 April our staff will be continuing our work together with a focus on the following objectives:

• Empowering teachers to design learning experiences that encourage students to apply knowledge in new and challenging ways using Hattie's Visible Learning models.
• Foster a culture of feedback, and make sure that students are involved in the process of learning.
• Use data from "Insights" and HSC RAP Analysis to design learning experience to review current teaching practices in order to plan for differentiation and inquiry based models of learning.
• Develop a culture of teacher sharing and collaboration in order to improve student self-efficacy, learning and wellbeing based around Hattie’s Visible Learning.

Tell Them From Me Survey in Term 2

We greatly value feedback from our community to help us provide the best possible environment for our students to learn and grow. To help us do this, we will be participating in the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) online survey for students, teachers, parents and carers.   

The survey will provide us with valuable insights into what our school community thinks about school life including how engaged students are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world use the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve.

More detailed information will be sent to our community in Term 2.

Planning for the 2024 Timetable

While it seems such a long time away, planning for 2024 has already commenced.

We start by receiving feedback from staff (and parents/carers) on our current timetable, and then begin with the Year 10 Subject Selection process (for Year 11 2024) which starts at the end of this term. Ms Kalifa will send more information regarding Year 10 Subject Selection soon.

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

How To Build Self Confidence

A lack of self-confidence comes in many shapes and forms, and learning how to build confidence is an ongoing project for most of us – we are all a work in progress! Here’s some tips that you can use to learn how to build self-confidence.

How to be more confident:

• Make lists of your achievements, and things in your life that you are proud of.
• Acknowledge your personal strengths and talents, and remind yourself of them often.
• Set realistic goals for yourself.
• Practice positive self-talk.
• Make time for your hobbies, and try out some new things to find out what you are passionate about.
• Talk to a counsellor or mental health professional to learn self-management strategies that can help build confidence and self-esteem.

What is a confident person?

Not everyone is born with an inbuilt sense of self-confidence. Sometimes it can be hard to develop confidence, either because personal experiences have caused you to lose confidence or because you suffer from low self-esteem.

A confident person:

• does what they believe is right, even if it’s unpopular
• is willing to take risks
• admits their mistakes and learns from them
• is able to accept a compliment
• is optimistic.

Tips for building self-confidence

There are a number of things you can do to build your confidence. Some of them are just small changes to your frame of mind; others you’ll have to work on for a bit longer to make them familiar habits.

1. Look at what you’ve already achieved

It’s easy to lose confidence if you believe you haven’t achieved anything. Make a list of all the things you’re proud of in your life, whether it’s getting a good mark on an exam or learning to surf. Keep the list close by and add to it whenever you do something you’re proud of. When you’re low in confidence, pull out the list and use it to remind yourself of all the awesome stuff you've done.

2. Think of things you're good at

Everyone has strengths and talents. What are yours? Recognising what you’re good at, and trying to build on those things, will help you to build confidence in your own abilities.

3. Set some goals

Set some goals and set out the steps you need to take to achieve them. They don’t have to be big goals; they can even be things like baking a cake or planning a day out with friends. Just aim for some small achievements that you can tick off a list to help you gain confidence in your ability to get stuff done.

4. Talk yourself up

You’re never going to feel confident if you have negative commentary running through your mind telling you that you’re no good. Think about your self-talk and how that might be affecting your self-confidence. Treat yourself like you would your best friend and cheer yourself on.

5. Get a hobby

Try to find something that you’re really passionate about. It could be photography, sport, knitting or anything else! When you’ve worked out your passion, commit yourself to giving it a go. Chances are, if you’re interested or passionate about a certain activity, you’re more likely to be motivated and you’ll build skills more quickly.

Mrs Andrea Utoikamanu

Leader of Wellbeing & Learning - Senior Campus

Leader of Wellbeing - Year 11

Hello St Andrews College Community,

The past few weeks have been full of wonderful events and experiences for our Year 11 students. 

I would like to thank the Year 11 students for their class participation and focus. I know it is a very busy time, with a lot of Assessment Tasks due, and the students are doing really well with managing their studies and outside of school commitments.

Year 11 Retreat took place last week and this occasion was a wonderful faith experience for our students. Having Retreat take place overnight meant that students were able to spend more time with their peers - building closer relationships with those in their House Groups.

They were also given the special opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to seek and receive advice and guidance in spiritual direction.

I would like to thank Dr Kennaugh, Mr Hoare, Miss Tan, and the wonderful Year 11 Learning Advisors for the detailed Retreat program and for the time they spent away with the students. I know the students got a lot out of these two days, and I look forward to our next Retreat as a cohort in Year 12, 2024.

Please see below the important events that we have on for the remainder of this Term:

• Tuesday 28th March - An Evening of Jazz
• Wednesday 29th March - Year 11 Parent/Teacher/Student Conference 3pm-8pm
• Thursday 6th April - Stations of the Cross + Last Day of Term 1

I look forward to seeing the Year 11 students and their parents/guardians at our upcoming Jazz Night and the Parent/Teacher/Student Conference in Week 10.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Year 11 please do not hesitate to contact me via email autoikamanu@parra.catholic.edu.au or via the College phone (02) 9626 4000

Mrs Andrea Utoikamanu

Leader of Wellbeing and Learning - Senior Campus

Leader of Wellbeing - Year 11

Dear Parents/Carers and Students of Year 9, 

It has been an exciting and busy term for the students of Year 9. We are at the point in the term where students have multiple assessment tasks due. With this in mind, it is important to manage your time and be organised so you can complete these tasks before the due date. Speak to your teachers or myself, use the resources available to you and the Learning Centre.  

Learning Group Leaders 

This term we elected Learning Group Leaders for each Learning Group. 

Congratulations to all students selected for the role of Learning Group Leader. These students will assist their Learning Advisors for semester one. 

B3 - Kushal Marriguddi, Jessica Waligora 

B7- Zia Almerzah, Jerome Chin 

C1 - Cassandra-Alison Caraig, Nikhil Gudur 

C3 - Kudrat Sandha, Samantha Xavier 

F1 - Ranveer Rattan, Dane Amosa 

F2 - Lara Temel, Sean Huesna 

G5 - Nathaniel Hermes, Hayley Donavon 

G16- Kaydence Wells, Amir Razaie 

Student Achievements 

Year 9 has been fortunate enough to have some amazing opportunities so far this year. Students from Year 9 have been involved in Representative Sport including Volleyball, Basketball and Oztag, NSWCCC Diving Competitions and Swimming. 

Students have been involved in many fundraising activities for Project Compassion. Well done to all students involved. 

I would like to take the opportunity to say how proud I am of the Year 9 students who are striving for success, to achieve their personal best and are being a person for others. Keep applying yourself, challenge yourself and get involved in the many opportunities that we have here at St Andrews College. 

Ms Alicia Harwood 
Leader of Wellbeing Year 9 

Dear Parents/Carers and Students of Year 8

We hope you have settled in well and are ready for an exciting year of learning and growth. As you come to the end of the first term in our Year 8 journey, we would like to remind you of a few important things.

• Firstly, it is important that you wear the correct uniform at all times. This includes the correct shoes, socks, tie and blazer. By wearing the correct uniform, you represent yourself and the school in the best possible way. It also creates a sense of unity and helps to establish a positive learning environment. So please ensure that you are in full school uniform every day.

• Secondly, we want to remind you about the importance of respect. This means treating everyone, including your teachers and fellow students, with kindness and consideration. Listen attentively when someone is speaking and respond politely. Remember that everyone has the right to feel safe and respected in our school community.

• Finally, we encourage you to become independent learners. This means taking responsibility for your own learning and being proactive in seeking help when needed. Ask questions, participate in class discussions and complete homework on time. Don't be afraid to take risks and make mistakes, as they are a natural part of the learning process.

We believe that Year 8 is a critical year in your education journey, and we are committed to supporting you in your growth and development. With your cooperation, we can make this a successful year.

Best regards,

Jarryd Leaves 

Leader of Wellbeing - Year 8

Hello students and parents, 

Year 7 have continued to take great strides in their learning at St Andrews College. I have heard wonderful things about them consistently applying themselves and trying to achieve their personal bests in the classroom. Congratulations to you all for submitting your first assessment tasks, I know that it is a big adjustment having to organise your time at home to do homework and other assessments while ensuring you enjoy your time at home. Remember that you can always ask for help from Mr Carlos and your teachers if things get a bit too chaotic. With a few weeks remaining for year 7 in their first term of high school, I hope that they can continue to work hard in each and every lesson. 

CAMP

The Collaroy Centre

On March 6th and 7th, Year 7 attended their first high school camp. This camp provided the opportunity for each year 7 student to test their limits and try to break out of their comfort zones while growing, bonding and making connections with their peers. Students in year 7 participated in activities such as abseiling, rock climbing, vertical challenge, kayaking, bubble soccer, laser tag and the big swing. All of these activities would have been something new to the students and I am so proud of how everyone participated in the activities on both days. It was great to see all students talking to each other, having fun and making memories that they will remember. 

Thank you to the teachers that attended this camp, their encouragement and support was very much appreciated and the students definitely enjoyed having you there. Thank you to Ms Malonzo, Mr Pola, Mrs Cooper, Ms Rivera, Mrs Kramer, Mrs Hollero, Mrs Kemal, Mr Oddy, Mr Haras, Mrs De Guzman, Ms Manton and Ms Amiri.

Congratulations to the following students who have been appointed the Learning Group Leaders for their Learning Groups for Terms 1 and 2:

B4

Ninoy Batara, Isabella De leon

B8

Rajveer Singh and Noah Daglis

C6

Love and Angeline Rentoy

C10

Phoenix Fuimaono and Aarav Patel

F7

Jessica Assi and Kiara Guglani

F8

Chloe Mates and Holli Langley

G8

Izabella Zabek. Riya Bijesh

G9

Perla Chamoun. Nathan D’Silva

NAPLAN

Year 7 have completed their NAPLAN tests in Week 8. I am sure that everyone tried their best and attempted each question. If you were absent, you will have a catch up day for these tests. 

Student Representative Council (SRC)

Week 8, students in year 7 began voting on which students they believe would best represent their year group. As a College, we look for students who are great role models, show respect to one another, lead by example and students who are willing to go above and beyond for others. Good luck to everyone that was nominated. We will have the results tallied as soon as possible. 

Final Message

For the remainder of the term, I want students to remember the words that Mr Thrum had said to them in our year meeting on Tuesday. We are a great community, a diverse community, culturally and academically. We must remember that everyone is different and everyone makes mistakes, we must always respect each other and forgive each other when things go wrong. I want all of you to start thinking about your character and how you want your peers and teachers to recognise you; respectful, hard working, caring, a person for others. 

You should also start thinking about how resilient you are as a person. How are you able to bounce back from negative experiences or setbacks in your time at St Andrews? How are you going to not let negative things affect you? Myself and your teachers are here to always help you, but you must also learn how to help yourself. 

Thank you to the students who are always doing what is right and thank you to those who always strive to do better. 

Mr Kharl Carlos

Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7

Dear parents/guardians, 

A big congratulations to the following students for progressing through to PDSSSC Swimming, held at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush on Thursday 9th March. 

The following students represented the college:

Sarah Jane Noori, Jackson Sibir, Sage Chang, Ellie Sibir, John Thimiopoulous, Ronan Davis, Sabina La, Marko Vidovic, Amelia Seymon, Cassandra Alison Craig, Gabriella Azar, Aaron Forneste, Harrison Green, Analise Gregoriou, Jade Kember, Eesa Mir, Laura O’niell, Caleb Palafox and Loudonald Go.

It is great to see our students showing determination in the swimming pool, proudly representing St Andrews. 

It has been a great term for sports so far! We have had many sporting successes over the last couple weeks. Congratulations to our students in our Junior Boys, Intermediate Boys and Senior Boys basketball teams who have progressed through to represent the college in the quarter finals. The boys have been working very hard this season with their respective coaches to end the season well. 

Congratulations also to our Intermediate Girls Oz Tag Team and our Junior and Intermediate Boys and Girls Volleyball Teams who have progressed through to the quarter finals. We wish all these teams and their coaches all the very best of luck this Thursday. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. 

In other news, Ameilia Manks, a very talented softball player in Year 9, was selected to represent the NSW CCC Softball Team on Monday 13th March and was very excited to compete in the NSW All Schools State Championships. I caught up with Amelia the following day and she expressed how pleased she was with her efforts on the day. We look forward to hearing more about Amelia’s successes in the future!

Gabriella Azar of Year 8, is another one of our talented young ladies, especially on the netball court. Gabriella trialled for the PDSSSC 15s netball trials at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre. Gabriella had a great trial, however missed out on the NSW CCC selection. Well done Gabriella on all your hard work! 

On Tuesday 14th of March, Cooper and Ruby Ison represented St Andrews College and their golf club Stonecutters Ridge at the NSWCCC State Golf Selections at Waratah Golf Club, Newcastle.

The weather was not kind to the players. Cooper's match was stopped on the 11th hole. Ruby was able to finish the round, but scores matched the waterlogged course.

Cooper's current handicap is 7.4 GA while Ruby plays off a 27 GA. This weekend they will continue to represent Stonecutters Ridge GC in Bathurst at the Annual 2023 Peter O'Malley Junior Masters. 

These two are very talented young athletes and we look forward to hearing about Cooper and Ruby’s future successes. 

Our senior boys and girls participated in a PDSSSC gala basketball gala day on Wednesday 15th March.  Both teams were successful at progressing through to the semi final but, unfortunately missed out on playing the grand final and were knocked out of the competition. Thank you to Mr Carlos and Mr Alata for taking the time to train our students and keep them motivated on the day. Our students showed great sportsmanship and commitment which does not go unnoticed. 

Next week on Thursday 23rd March we will be holding our college Cross Country for those students who wish to participate and progress through to PDSSSC Cross Country at the Horsley Park Equestrian Centre. Good luck to these students!

I look forward to sharing many more successes of our young talented students here at St Andrews in the near future. 

Thank you, 

Ivana Nikitovic 

Sports Coordinator

St Andrews College, Marayong has a rich tradition in showcasing performance for our community. 

Each year, there are a number of performance opportunities presented to our students that are permanent fixtures on the school calendar. 

Creative and Performing Arts students are encouraged to embrace these opportunities to better extend their learning in the field of showcase, presentation and performance. Music students are also given opportunities to perform at Assemblies, Mass, Liturgies, School Retreats, Graduation ceremonies, Anzac Day services, Information evenings, Project compassion fundraisers and more.

This year, we have introduced group vocal tuition as part of our Music programme. Miss Le, who is the newest member of the music department, is currently running after school classes for interested vocalists in years 11 and 12. Students in years 7 to 10 are attending Monday and Wednesday sessions during recess times on a weekly basis. These students will feature in many of our performance showcases as well as enhance our singing during Mass and other school events. 

Please see or email Mr. Chiappetta or Miss Le if you are interested in these free and dynamic vocal sessions. 

St Andrews College Performance Showcase Dates 2023

Please see or email Mr. Chiappetta should you have any questions or concerns regarding the audition process leading up to our performance events.

   Term 1

Jazz Music & Drama Showcase

Year 11 Music and Pre-show Drama showcase - Free entry

Week 9, Tuesday the 28th of March in the St. JP 2 centre from 4.30 -7pm.

Term 2

Junior CAPA showcase

(Year 7-10 Music, Art and Drama class work showcase – Free entry)

Week 5, Thursday 23/5/23 in the junior campus learning from 4.30-7pm.

   Term 2

Unity Day Cultural Music and Dance Performance Showcase

Live streamed during school hours 11.30 – 12.30pm & 1.30 -2.30pm

Week 9, Friday 23/6/23

Term 3

Stage 6 Major works Showcase

(CAPA and TAS major work projects live and on display - Free entry)

Week 5, Thursday 17/8/23 from 5-7pm

Year 7-11 Drama Production 

(Week 8, Thursday the 7th and Friday the 8^th of September)

Term 4

CAN & Christmas combined showcase

(Student acts, staff acts, Vet Entertainment students backstage, food trucks, fireworks and more)

Week 10, Tuesday 12/12/23 from 4pm – 8.30pm)

Upcoming competitions

Have you considered entering Operation art?  Students may submit artworks up to A2 in size in any chosen medium. (As long as it is flat) They can be in any theme however, we encourage students to create artworks that are uplifting, inspiring and positive. Artworks are due to Visual Arts teachers by Week 11 3rd April. Feel free to speak to any of our lovely Art Teachers to discuss your ideas or get feedback!

Year 7 - Popular Food Drawings

Year 7 artists are currently working on their popular food drawings. Students first added a 3x3 grid to their photographs digitally, which helped guide them when transferring their compositions onto paper, this also helped replicate exact proportions. Year 7 have also recently learnt to blend various hues using burnishing as well as how to apply textural detail within their own art making practice. Students are reminded that layering is very important when colouring. 

Artworks in progress during the transfer stage:

Year 8 - Picasso/Cubist Artworks

Year 8 artists have completed their Picasso/Cubist inspired artworks. Over the last few weeks we have studied Cubism and viewed artworks of Picasso to inspire our own creations, discovering that Cubism consists of fragmentations, subjects conveying multiple perspectives and geometric shapes. Through planning, researching, experimenting and drafting, students have developed their own Cubist artwork choosing either a chair or instrument to explore as their subject matter. 

Year 9 - Self Portraits

Year 9 artists questioned, ‘How can graphite pencils be used to render tone in order to create a realistic portrait?’. Students captured a portrait photograph of themselves, printed and applied a grid onto the photograph to prepare for proportional rendering. Students were challenged to cut their portrait in half in a curved motion, then used methods learnt in class to replicate the other side of their face. Students in our class improved immensely, practising tonal variation, proportion and accurate transfer methods to successfully draw a realistic portrait of themselves. 

Year 11 - Cardboard Sculptures & Still life artworks

Year 11 artists have been extremely busy building their Collection of Works. Students within 200 minutes created a sculpture, 1 metre in height, using only recycled cardboard as their medium depicting a chosen object in abstract formation. 

Students also learnt how to capture a photograph using skills such as composition, shutter speed, depth of field, lighting and various camera angles as well as how to create a contact sheet. 

Just recently artists have completed their still life drawings based on their own reference photos implementing shading, tonal variation and textural application. Students are working hard to complete their collections by week 2 of Term 2. We look forward to showcasing the various works with our audience. 

Mrs Shandel Kemal

Visual Arts Teacher

Project Compassion begins this week in support of Caritas Australia, and there will be raffles and events happening on both the Junior and Senior Campuses. In Week 7 there will be a “Guess the Lolly Jar”competition held  in learning Groups on both Campuses. There will be an Easter Egg Toss competition at Recess and Lunch in the Senior Quad, and an Art competition. Week 8 there will be a Student vs Teacher Basketball game on the Junior Campus. Week 9 highlights will be Mr Ison’s Breakdancing Performance in the Senior Hall at Lunch, and Open Mic Karaoke on the Junior Campus. Week 10 Mrs Rosinski will be selling Popcorn and the Open Mic Karaoke will move to the Senior Campus. There will be raffles held every week, with fantastic prizes up for grabs. Such as two tickets to Raging Waters, gift vouchers from Mrs Ube and $100 Timezone Gift card to name a few. All these events require tickets for entry and participation. So make sure you buy your tickets on the QKR app. This is a great cause in support of Caritas Australia. Head to the Project Compassion website for more information.  Thanks to Miss Tan for all her hard work in organising these events.

Andrew Hoare

Director of Faith Mission and Learning

Shrove Tuesday 

Year 7 PDHPE

Year 7 have been studying a practical unit called ‘Teamwork makes the dreamwork.’ In this unit, they have been learning about the importance of communication, problem solving and decision making as well as fostering new friendships and relationships within the class as students get to know each other.

Please enjoy some photos from Mr Houseman’s class who engaged in our ‘leaky pipes’ activity. This particular task focused on initiative and developing team-building skills. Each group was provided with a PVC pipe which had holes in it, a ping pong ball and a bucket. Each group was required to work together to fill their pipe with water which meant they had to use their fingers to plug the holes and prevent water from escaping, with the objective of the game being to float the ping pong ball out and over the top of the pipe. The first team to do this, would be crowned the winner!

Some groups were very inventive and used sticks to plug the holes which was impressive, yet did not stop water from escaping. After a 20 min time cap, some groups were still scurrying to the tap, as they raced to fill their pipe before the buzzer. A few groups were able to achieve this task (and very well done to each of you), with the exciting part watching the water rush out once the objective was achieved and students quickly moving away from the pipe to avoid getting wet!

It was a great way to end the week and enjoy the sunshine on a warm day, all whilst learning valuable skills which will be refined and used in both theory and practical PDHPE throughout their years at the College.

Mrs Kayla Brogan

Leader of Learning - PDHPE

Intercultural Lesson with Seiun Gakuen High School - Nagasaki 

In Week 8 of Term 1 the Year 10 Japanese class had an opportunity to have an intercultural lesson with Seiun Gakuen High School from Nagasaki, Japan. Seiun Gakuen exchange students made presentations about Japanese sightseeing spots, Japanese Folkstory and quizzes about Japanese history and Japanese culture. Our students presented about topics ranging from uniforms, subjects, Japanese faculty, facilities and events at St Andrews College. After the presentations, there was a Q&A session and students were able to ask questions about school life and so on. After the session, our students held a school tour for the Japanese students.

It was a wonderful experience for our students to have the opportunity to communicate and work with Japanese students and to learn about the Japanese culture. 

Thank you, 

Miss Miho Matsufuji 

Year 8 students have been learning textiles skills as part of their Technology Mandatory course. Within the textiles unit, students are able to learn about a range of sewing techniques such as using sewing machines, fabric dyeing techniques, pattern construction and utilising diverse hand sewing stitches for both decorative and practical purposes. 

For this lesson, students were introduced to the sewing machine. Our Year 8 Technology classes have learnt the basic steps of using the sewing machine and practise their skills sewing on paper before we started to sew our sample open seam. 

The 2023 Year 11 students experienced two days of prayer, faith, reflection, fun and friends during the Year 11 retreat on the 9th and 10th March. The theme of the retreat was "Living Life to the Full" where students reflected upon their dreams, walking in the light of Christ and Who they were created to be. The students worked within their small groups over the two days which began with team building activities to enable them to bond as friends and discover who they are as people. This enabled the students to be open to contemplating and sharing their experiences in regards to the deeper question in life such as, being made for happiness, being created to be to be loved, and that they are God’s gift to the world.

Some of the day 1 highlights were, making our dreams fly, Miss Tan’s minute to win it games, Ice Breaker games such as Bang, and students exploring their friendship with each other and with Jesus. Day 1 culminated in a wonderful response from the students who took the opportunity to receive God’s mercy  during Reconciliation and then going to Mass. Day 2, Small groups competed to untie themselves from their teams in the Human Knot icebreaker game, which resulted in the winning team receiving tickets to Project Compassion as their prize, and Chang and Bennelong House undertook an easter egg hunt organised by Mr Kolek. The highlight for many students however, was receiving their affirmation envelopes from their fellow students after we explored the qualities of all of us made in the image and likeness of God. Many shed tears of appreciation as the students read the affirmations from their friends and were able to show their gratitude to each other before our final prayer.

Thank you to our many teachers who volunteered their time as facilitators or small group leaders, without whom the retreat would not have been such a great success. And a special thanks to our priests who made time to hear confessions and celebrate Mass.

Andrew Hoare 

Director of Faith Mission and Learning

College Leadership Team

Leaders of Learning - Wellbeing

College Leaders of Learning - KLA

College Leaders of Learning