‘Enlivened by the Spirit’ Anzac Road Menai NSW 2234 Phone 9543 0188 Facsimile 9541 0398

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

AQUINAS CATHOLIC COLLEGE MENAI

13th October, 2014 Vol.22.No.27

Our thoughts and prayers are very much with our students [and their families!] who are sitting the 2014 HSC exams that began with English Paper I this morning. A record 76,679 students are enrolled in at least one HSC course this year, along with 6 of our Year 11 students who have accelerated in Mathematics and will sit their HSC exam a year early. The written exams take place over 18 days between Monday 13

th October and Wednesday 5

th November.

There are 116 different exam papers and the last exam for Aquinians, will be our Geographers who sit their exam on 4

th November . Please keep them all in your prayers as they complete their final study preparations and sit their last

school based exams.

The NSW Government has provided funding for the placement of school zone signs with flashing lights at all schools by the end of next year to alert motorists of the 40km speed limit required during school drop off and pick up times. Installing these flashing lights in schools zones has been shown to improve driver awareness of the need to drive at a lower speed to ensure the safety of children and others coming and going from the school area.

Roads and Maritime Services are delivering this safety initiative and plan to install signs outside Aquinas College northbound and southbound on Anzac Road the week beginning Monday 6 October outside of 40km school zone hours. Work will take up to two hours to complete, weather permitting. Lights are installed on pre-existing poles or new poles are put in place if needed.

For more information about the flashing lights program please visit the Centre for Road Safety website at www.roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe (go to the schools section) or you can contact our team on 1800 726 958 or flashinglights@rms.nsw.gov.au. Athletics competitions across NSW have been winding up the 2014 season and moving into representative carnivals. In last days of Term III the NSW Combined Catholic College’s carnival was held at Sydney Olympic Park Centre [SOPAC] where were able are to report that Sophie Maxwell [Year 11] won the Under 18 1500m event. During the holidays we received confirmation that she had also set a new record for the event. Well Done Sophie!! Unfortunately, an injury has kept her from competing at the NSW All Schools Carnival. A later result from the same event that missed the newsletter cut off was that of Georgia Kalnin [Year 9] who won the Under 14 High Jump …. a fantastic effort Georgia! At the subsequent NSW All School Carnival held over the weekend, also @ SOPAC, Georgia placed second in the high jump … a mighty effort at such a high level event that includes over 1400 athletes from all school sectors. Congratulations Georgia, NSW All Schools Silver Medallist.

Finally, thanks to the students and 15 staff who participated in the 2014 “Girls’ Night In” held last Friday night in the JPII Hall, particularly Mrs Katrib who organised the event. Support, awareness and solidarity for such a cause that touches so many in our community is well worth the effort and energy that our girls displayed. Congratulations to all of you. James Corcoran Principal

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Assistant Principal

Key Dates

Monday 20th October HSC examinations Year 11/12 Hospitality work placement No. 2 Year 7-10 excursion free week Staff meeting at 3.15pm

Tuesday 21st October HSC examinations

Wednesday 22nd October HSC examinations Year 7 Parish Mass at 8.20am Volunteers dinner at 6.30pm

Thursday 23rd October HSC examinations

Friday 24th October HSC examinations Senior Blood Bank visit Summer Sport

Week 2(B) Term 4

Robert Nastasi

Assistant Principal

Week 3(A) Term 4

Monday 13th October HSC examinations commence today Year 9 Camp National Rosary day Year 11/12 Hospitality & Construction work placement week

Tuesday 14th October HSC examinations Year 9 Camp

Wednesday 15th October HSC examinations Year 8 Parish mass at 8.20am Year 9 Camp

Thursday 16th October HSC examinations Year group meetings period 4 Year 10 Drama night at 7.00pm

Friday 17th October HSC examinations Summer Sport

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Religious Education at Aquinas Archbishop Elect – Most Reverend Anthony Fisher OP On September 18th, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Anthony as the ninth Archbishop of Sydney. He will remain the Bishop of Parramatta until his instillation as the Archbishop of Sydney on November 12th. Prior to his appointment as the Bishop of Parramatta, he was an Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, and the Coordinator of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. He has engaged extensively in key areas of Australian life, including family, education, health care and young people. His biography is available at http://www.sydneycatholic.org/people/archbishop/. May we keep our Archbishop elect, and all in our Archdiocese, in our prayers. Extraordinary Synod on the Family The Extraordinary Synod on the Family is currently being held in Rome (October 5th-19th), with the theme ‘The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelisation’. May we keep the Holy Father and all those involved in our prayers.

Holy Family of Nazareth, in you we contemplate the splendour of true love and the model of family life. Grant that our own families may remain united in deep mutual love and be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small Domestic churches. Guard the members of our family from all physical and spiritual danger and keep us faithful to the Lord. Grant healing to all families who experience rejection and division. Keep us attentive to their needs. May our families be living witnesses of the love and presence of Jesus in the world.

HSC Prayer Family Program Late last term families who registered their interest in participating in the HSC Prayer Family program should have received the name of the student(s) for whom we ask for prayers. We encourage you to send a written message to the student(s) that you have been allocated. These can be initially sent to the College office, labelled clearly with the student name and that it is from their HSC Prayer Family. Messages will then be forwarded to the student(s). Please contact me, via the College Office, if you have any questions. Year 8 and 10 CEO Religious Education Test Last Wednesday, October 8th, Year 8 and 10 students participated in their Religious Education Test. The questions of both tests were designed to assess knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith as taught in Catholic Secondary schools. Educational Assessment Australia (EAA) at the University of New South Wales will mark the test, analyse the results and produce the reports and certificates, which should be ready to distribute by the end of this term.

Mrs Catherine Nolan

Religious Education Coordinator

Reflection on the Gospel

In Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 22:1-14) Jesus told a parable comparing the kingdom of God to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. This Gospel is an important one for understanding Jesus’ message of an inclusive kingdom. Who you ate with in Jesus’ time was very important – as much of a political action as it was a social one. To share table with people who were regarded as ‘lesser’ by nature of their lifestyle or illness was seen to lessen the status of other participants. The king in this parable invites all the ‘right’ people to attend his son’s wedding banquet but they shame him by refusing his invitation and murdering his messengers. To try to save face and regain some honour, the king sends his servants to bring in people off the street. This invitation is a reflection of Jesus’ own attitude to sharing table - he ate with those who were regarded as unworthy. His inclusive table fellowship was a powerful statement about the fact that the kingdom is an invitation to all, rich and poor alike, regardless of status in this world.

Adapted from a reflection by Greg Sunter

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Year 7 Grand Master Chess Competition

The Year 7 Grand Master Chess Competition was held over six weeks during Term 3 and involved sixteen Year 7 boys. The

competition was fierce and matches were held at lunch times in the Library. An extremely competitive and talented group, the

boys were a picture of concentration and focus as they battled wits. A repechage round was included to allow players a second

opportunity to reach the finals and for some this proved beneficial as they were able to make it through to the final rounds.

The matches were extremely interesting with complex strategies and ruthless tactics.

Incredibly, one game was won in only four moves. All the boys demonstrated great

composure under pressure and were gracious in defeat. The final was played between Tony

Hollmann and Christian Doueihi who both made a resurgence through the repechage rounds.

Tony won in a close contest and would now meet Michael Parsons who, was the form player

of the tournament and remained undefeated.

The Grand Final attracted a good number of spectators as Michael and Tony went head-to-

head in a much anticipated clash. Michael established his intentions early with some clever

play, while Tony fought back with some skillful moves of his own. Eventually though,

Michael’s strategy gave him the edge and he was declared the winner. Congratulations,

Michael Parsons the Year 7 Grand Master Chess Champion! Well done to all the competitors

-

Benjamin Capovilla Joseph Davis James Selas David White

Marcelo Hidalgo Xavier Roznac Ben Ferraro Jack Harris

Nathan Young Joshua lane Tony Hollmann Mitchell Gluyas

Lochlainn Nolan Christian Doueihi Michael Parsons Liam Curran

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Merit Awards Week 9 Term 3 9/10

7 Blue 7 Green 7 Purple

Dylan Coehlo

Cadel Francis

Clelia Frangos 40 (Coord Award)

Aidan Hines

Lauren Hutchison

Courtney Knight

Oliver Perrau

Zoe Stephens

Dylan Tesoriero

Andrea Tsiaparas

Nicola Tulissio 40 (Coord Award)

Caitlyn Aranjo 60

Stefan Arndt 40 (Coord Award)

Olivia Bryant 40 (Coord Award)

Jayden Donoghue 40 (Coord Award)

Faith Dooley

Brianna Ferbrache

Matthew Jurinario 60

Thomas Kozis 50 (Coord Award)

Grace Smith 48 (Coord Award)

Kaiden Stevens 40 (Coord Award)

Joshua Stewart 53 (Coord Award)

Dean Tourvas 52 (Coord Award)

Joshua Vangi 61

Matthew Wheeldon 54

(Coord Award)

Lachlan Farquhar

Nathan Huff

Joel Robinson

7 Silver 7 Red 7 White

Alexander Barton

Liam Barton

Alana Bewert 49 (Coord Award)

Jake Crofts

Ashley Foskett

Jarrod Holdem

James Miller

Liam O’Brien

James Pantazis

Natalie Petrvoska

Jordan Sarkis 53 (Coord Award)

Mackenzie Selmon 69

Jaleesa Vasilj

Nathan Young

Hamish Baldacchino

Caitlin Bell

Grace Donnelly

Tara Finn

Jack Harris

Charlotte Knoke

Keziah Netto

Benjamin Capovilla 60

Jordan De Nobrega

Monique De Sousa

Daniel Diaz

Joshua Lane 68

Bailey Wilson

7 Yellow

Pierre Azar

Krste Boskovski

Cristian Escalona

Zali Gavin

Isabella Mayday 45 (Coord Award)

Lochlainn Nolan

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Careers

Year 10 Careers Assessment

Part B of the Careers Assessment (the Letter of Application and Resume) was due 21st August 2014. For those students who have not submitted it by the end of Week 1, Term 4, a letter will be sent home to parents in Week 2 Term 4. Students have been advised in Week 1 of this.

The Careers assessment (Parts A, B and C) will be recorded in the end of year report. If there are sections missing from Part A or B, the student is ineligible to participate in Part C - which is a Mock Interview being held later in Term 4. All parts of the Careers Assessment can be accessed through the google careers site (link under my signature).

PACTS (Parents as Career Transition Support) Workshops - FREE Last term, Year 10 parents were invited to attend the first PACTS workshop we have offered here at the College. Due to the success of this workshop, I would like to offer it again this term, to any interested parents. PACTS workshops have been developed to bring parents up-to-date with practical strategies and information about career transition by way of the information in a handbook. The workshops aim to provide parents with general career transition knowledge, resources and ongoing support, so they can help their teenager to access information about career transition, therefore, any decisions can be based on fact. The workshops are interactive facilitated workshops, with no powerpoint presentations. They are small groups and limited to 2 hours. You will receive a simple, easy to understand workshop handbook. Topics covered include:

A career - a lifelong journey

Communicating with your teenager about career

Identifying interests and skills

Occupational Categories

What's in the Careers Room

Training and Further Education options

If you would be interested in attending a workshop, please email me and I will advise you directly when a date has been selected.lisa.higgins@syd.catholic.edu.au Lisa Higgins Careers Adviser (Tues, Wed and alternate Thurs)

Curriculum Matters

2014 HSC Begins This week sees the start of almost four weeks of HSC examinations for our Year 12 students and for the Year 11 students who have been involved in the accelerated Mathematics program. Students are welcome to be at school studying in the library when they do not have examinations and they should be at the compulsory tutorials for each of their subjects. Any concerns regarding misadventure during the examinations should be directed to me and/or to Mrs. Monk. HSC 2015 Information Evening The 2015 HSC Information Evening is on Wednesday 29th October in the John Paul II Hall. It begins at 7pm and is expected to go for an hour. This night is a compulsory component of the HSC calendar for all students who are asked to attend with at least one parent. Information regarding both internal assessment and BOSTES rules for the HSC will be provided. Students are asked to attend in full school uniform. A special invitation is extended to the students in Year 11 who will undertake their HSC in Mathematics in 2015, as part of the accelerated Mathematics program. Lisa Mirabello Learning and Curriculum Coordinator

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LITERACY AND NUMERACY

Mrs Kate Wilson (Literacy Facilitator)

NAPLAN results arrived at the College at the end of Term 3 and an ongoing analysis of these results will be carried out this

term with appropriate strategies put in place for individual students and whole KLAs.

The comparison of mean scores for the College and state for Literacy and Numeracy are indicated in the table below. Results for

each cohort are again commendable, with students in Year 7 and Year 9 scoring above the state mean in all aspects of literacy

and numeracy. A detailed analysis of NAPLAN results will be undertaken and will highlight areas of strength, as well as areas

needing further investigation and intervention in 2015.

NAPLAN RESULTS 2014

COMPARISON OF MEAN SCORES YEAR 9 YEAR 7

AQUINAS STATE AQUINAS STATE

READING

598.2 586.4 554.1 549.4

WRITING

588.9 548.7 539.6 512.6

SPELLING

600.1 590.5 560.7 552.8

GRAMMAR & PUNCTUATION 584.4 578.6 561.4 549.8

NUMERACY

609.6 597.7 571.6 552.8

DATA, MEASUREMENT, SPACE

AND GEOMETRY

600.1 595.0 567.7 552.2

NUMBER PATTERNS AND

ALGEBRA

616.6 599.4 574.9 551.9

Aquinas Catholic College

Presents

Drama Night

By Year 10

Thursday 16th October

7.00pm start in the Drama room

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the ‘Girls’ Night In’ is a nation wide initiative supported by the foundation.

Last Friday night Aquinas held a ‘Girls’ Night In’ with over 80 girls across Years 7-11 attending in their bright pink attire. The

evening was one to remember; filled with fun; including pizza, pink sweets, talks from our female staff, a movie and a raffle with

loads of fantastic prizes to raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Foundation which aims to beat women’s cancers.

We raised in excess of $1200 which is a fantastic contribution to this cause.

Thank you to Stephanie Rouse and Madeleine Toso for their assistance on the committee.

Also a huge thank you to the local businesses that donated prizes, the staff for their help during the

night, all the girls who attended. Finally, a big thanks to Mrs Katrib for her organization, planning and

making the night a huge success.

We hope this tradition will continue and be as successful in 2015!

Isabella Krstanovski

Committee Member

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eLearning Update

Reminder regarding Devices

Students are expected to bring their learning device to every school day fully charged. Recently a number of students have

arrived at school with a non working device, which has had reduced learning experiences for the student as they watch a peer

complete the task.

Some students who experience battery challenges, have purchased a portable battery pack that has allowed the device to operate

until the end of the day.

Students have also been reminded about the care of their device. At all times it must be carried in the school bag inside a

protective cover or case. The care of these devices is the responsibility of the student.

Study Resources

www.pearsonplaces.com.au

All students have access to online resources at Pearson Books. Please sit with your child/children and ask them to demonstrate

the wonderful resources available to them through their device that will assist them in their exams later this term.

All students have received a username and password. Students have been reminded of the importance of

password security, and the sensitive material that an online secure environment holds. Students will be

able to view, timetables, class results, upcoming assessments past reports, handbooks, policies and

homework to complete all online. At the end of last term a large number of our students have used this

package for e-submissions of assessments.

After a few technical issues we are now in a position to be able to provide parents with online access.

Due to the large number of usernames to be generated, we will release them by year groups over the

coming two weeks. This week Year 11 parents will be sent a username and password so they can be part

of the educational online experience at Aquinas Catholic College.

The online access will allow parents/carers access to College Academic reports online when they are released, as well as

electronic copies of Semester One reports. Parents are encouraged to check patterns of attendance with their child, homework as

well as quantitive Pastoral Care records.

We thank you for your understanding as the entire College community discovers the enormous number of features this

outstanding data package provides us with. If you notice any errors in data could you please contact the College office so we can

look into the matter as soon as possible.

Anthony Hulme

From 2014 Aquinas Catholic College has implemented a new online learning system called SEQTA. SEQTA enables schools to

manage attendance, student welfare, lesson planning, curriculum mapping, marking and academic reporting while engaging

parents and students in an interactive supportive community. SEQTA ensures that each student receives a consistent and

supportive experience of school. With SEQTA, parents can get involved in their children’s education, and monitor all aspects of

their progress. SEQTA is super easy-to-use and is refreshingly intuitive.

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Maths Recall is included in the newsletter each week and is designed for Stage 4 and 5 or junior students. The questions may focus on Working Mathematically problems and all are intended to be done without a calculator. 1. Simplify

2. Simplify

3. Find 40% of 80

4. Decrease 120 by 30%

5. Write 132 as the product of it’s prime factors

Mrs Catherine Fensom Maths Teacher

MATHS DEPARTMENT RECALL CORNER

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There will be a

SECOND HAND UNIFORM

sale

THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER

8:15am-8:45am

Outside College Office

If you have any donations, please hand them in to the office

Thank you

Items $5, Blazers $10

(There are a lot of female and male senior

shirts in stock)

CANTEEN ROSTER TERM 4

TIME: MONDAY-THURSDAY 10:00-1:35, FRIDAY 9:30-12:45

MONDAY 13/10 TONY SHELDON, DIANA LARKHAM

TUESDAY 14/10 SILVANA PIGNATELLI

WEDNESDAY 15/10 DIANNE PRESTON, DIANE ROBINSON, CATHIE FLANAGAN

THURSDAY 16/10 KIM GLENIE

FRIDAY 17/10 JENNY KNOKE, VERONIQUE THIBAULT, LOUISE BRYANT, SONIA BOGARD,

JULIE BELLE

MONDAY 20/10 MARIA SKARENTZOS, ROSEMARY MORRISSEY

TUESDAY 21/10 KYLIE GARRETY

WEDNESDAY 22/10 MICHELLE WHEATLEY

THURSDAY 23/10 SUE SIMPSON, CARMEL COSTA

FRIDAY 24/10 PATRICIA WADE, CATHY CARUCCIO, JOANNE STORTENBEKER,

BERNADETTE AHERN, SONYA TRAJCEVSKI, GAYLE NETTO

UNIFORM SHOP

THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER

8:00am—9:00am

Please note the Uniform Shop only sells

Sports Uniforms and School bags

The Uniform Shop does not accept Eftpos or

Credit cards

College caps and sports socks can be

purchased from the College Office

Answers:

MATHS CHALLENGE

Maths Department

1.

2.

3. 32 (10% is 8)

4. 84 (120 - 36)

5. 132 = 11 x 3 x 2 x 2 = 11 x 3 x 22