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

info@aquinasmenai.catholic.edu.au www.aquinasmenai.catholic.edu.au

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

AQUINAS CATHOLIC COLLEGE MENAI

24h November, 2014 Vol.22.No.33

This week’s activity on the building site has seen the block work for the lower level of the MacKillop Learning Common commence and form work for the recesses of the operable walls begin. We have also received news that work on the remodelled PD/H/PE studio and theory space in Rooms 1 – 4 and reorientation of Room 5 – 8 will shortly start with the aim of being completed for the start of the 2015 school year. The process for the selection of Year 11 Leaders for 2015 has been finalised and I am pleased to announce that the following students have been appointed;

Cassandra Bruce Michael O’Brien Nathan Costa Miah-Rose Lake Dylan Foskett Stephanie Sargeant Jenna Lennon Joshua Swan

It is also with deal of pleasure that I am now able to announce the Year Coordinators and Year Groups they will be responsible for in 2015 at Aquinas. We are indeed blessed to have a talented group such as this at the College to take responsibility for the care of our students.

Year 7 Mrs Kelly Morales Year 10 Mr Peter Tsambalas Year 8 Mr Leigh Gair Year 11 Mrs Marina Vukovic Year 9 Mr Terence McGrath Year 12 Mr Stephen Roberts

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Assistant Principal

Key Dates

Week 8(B) Term 4

Monday 24th November Year 10 Visual Arts Excursion to paint a mural at Menai Metro Shopping Centre 2015 Leaders Camp at Stanwell Tops Accelerated Mathematics information session-5pm to 6pm

Tuesday 25th November Year 10 Visual Arts Excursion to paint a mural at Menai Metro Shopping Centre 2015 Leaders Camp at Stanwell Tops Year 7 Science ZOO Excursion Year 9 Evangelisation Day at ACU Downie Shield Cricket round 2 VS DLS Cronulla at Tonkin Oval

Wednesday 26th November Year 9 Mass Year 10 Visual Arts Excursion to paint a mural at Menai Metro Shopping Centre Proposed Extension History Enrichment Day at Wollongong University

Thursday 27th November College Assembly Period 4

Friday 28th November Year 11 Physics/Chemistry Excursion to ANSTO during sport Hat, sunscreen and sunglasses day Summer Sport BBQ

Monday 1st December Staff Meeting at 3.15pm

Tuesday 2nd December 7 Red Italian excursion to Bellezza Pizza Year 10 Book return to library Year 9 Science Excursion

Wednesday 3rd December Year 8 Mass Year 10 Alternate week begins Vaccination visit No. 3-Yr 7 & 9

Thursday 4th December Year 10 Alternate week 7 White Italian excursion to Bellezza Pizza 9 RED excursion to ANSTO

Friday 5th December Year 10 Alternate week College Final Mass Year Period 1 & 2 in the JPII Hall Seniors Blood Bank visit during sport Year 10 Sporting Challenge Period 3; then normal sport Summer Sport

Week 9(A) Term 4

Robert Nastasi

Assistant Principal

I would also like to thank all those members of the community who contributed to the recent Asylum Seekers Appeal. This appeal not only attracted the support of our students but also that of the staff who all made a donations of items to assist those individuals who are often depersonalised in the wider political debate. Thank you all! Best wishes also go to Jayden Brailey [Year 12] who left for the United Kingdom & France for the 2014 Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby League tour on Friday evening. James Corcoran Principal

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Religious Education at Aquinas Last week our College received the results of the external Year 8 and 10 RE Test which students sat in Week 1 of this term. The tests comprised of 50 multiple choice questions from units that students had studied over the past two years. In Year 8, our students achieved 17 High Distinctions, 44 Distinctions and 88 Credits. In Year 10 our students achieved 2 High Distinctions, 45 Distinctions and 73 Credits. While students will receive their individual results in the coming weeks, I would particularly like to recognise the students who achieved High Distinctions in their year groups:

Congratulations to all of these students! Year 7 and 9 students are reminded to keep their work from this year organised, in preparation for their RE tests next year.

Bishop Peter Comensoli Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Sydney, Most Rev Peter Comensoli has been appointed as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Broken Bay. Bishop Peter will be installed as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Broken Bay on December 12th this year.

Mrs Catherine Nolan Religious Education Coordinator

Reflection on the Gospel

On Sunday the Church celebrated the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) is the final passage in Matthew’s Gospel before the passion narrative and it provides a powerful end point to the teaching ministry section of the Gospel. In many ways it can been seen as a sum-mary of Jesus’ vision for the Kingdom – a world in which the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked and the imprisoned are treated with respect and dignity. This is exactly what Jesus himself did throughout his ministry and it is what all Christian people are called to do.

Adapted from a reflection by Greg Sunter

Year 8 Year 10

Molly Barrett

Alexandra Bolton Jacqueline Brown Sophie Callaghan

Ruby Cole Keira Dailly

Antonio Doueihi David Estephan Micaela Jefferys Samantha Kerle Sarah Larkham

Erica Lee

Clare Plowman Aidan Puse

Jackson Roca Matthew Ross Sophie Stone

Vincent Holdom Liam Jefferys

Be An Angel Each Pastoral Class is being assigned an underprivileged child in the Menai area to buy a present for this Christmas. Without our help these children may not receive any Christmas presents this year. Each class is in charge of raising at least $40-$50, in any way they choose, for the child they are allocated. It is then their responsibility to buy a present for the child they have been given (it must NOT use batteries), place it in a suitable gift bag (no wrapping paper please) and return it to me with the Angel card attached by December 5th (Friday Week 9). If more money is raised the class can request another child to buy a present for. If extra money is raised this will be donated to St Vincent de Paul to help them with all the work they do for families at Christmas.

Thank you for your continued support. Mr Peter Tsambalas, Social Justice Coordinator

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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. Evaluate

2. Prove that 3, 4, 5 is a triad (satisfies

Pythagoras’ Theorem)

3. Find the hypotenuse of right angled triangle

short sides 6, 8

4. Find short side of right angled triangle with

side 12, hypotenuse 13

5. Find the two integers that are either side of

Mrs Catherine Fensom Maths Teacher

MATHS DEPARTMENT

RECALL CORNER

Annual collection for the Asylum Seekers Centre at Newtown In conjunction with the Holy Family Parish Menai, Aquinas Catholic College will be supporting this activity again this year. The Centre has been most grateful for the generosity of Aquinas and ask again for basic toiletry items such as: toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissues, combs, shampoos, babies nappies, phone cards, talcum powder, shaving cream, razors, deodorant, moisturisers, suncream, sanitary pads, t shirts etc. Please leave these unwrapped items in the boxes provided in Pastoral classrooms from now until the end of November. The Asylum Seekers Centre is a not-for-profit organisation which relies totally on grants, donations and volunteer support. Its vision is to welcome asylum seekers to Australia and afford a dignified, meaningful and safe existence pending the fair, transparent and expeditious resolution of their claims. The Centre provides practical assistance and personal support for asylum seekers living in the community. Clients come from over 52 countries in search of safety, protection and freedom. During 2012-2013 the Centre cared for more than 1,000 asylum seekers. Thanking you for your continued generosity. Peter Tsambalas Social Justice Coordinator

Vinnie’s Clothing Bin

With over two million people living below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children your donation allows the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide more than immediate help, it provides something much more valuable – the opportunity of a better life. Giving clothes is a great way of helping out the community. Donations of clothing can make a great difference to an individual or a family. Good quality second hand clothing can now be donated in our very own Vinnie’s clothing bin. Our bin is currently located in the main staff car park, near the entrance to the College office where you can deposit clothing items during College hours. Good clean, wearable clothing (of all sizes) and accessories, with no rips/stains or tears, either new or used, are the most valuable donations we request. These items are always in demand, so please drop them into our Vinnie’s clothing bin to… MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Thank you for your generosity, Mr Peter Tsambalas

Social Justice Coordinator

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About Club Red

Club Red is the community donation program of the Red Cross Blood Service. In it, students get together

and encourage their friends and school community to give blood.

Each year, schools can compete with others in the state or territory to save the most lives.

So far this year Aquinas students and staff have made donations that have counted towards our Club Red

total. This is taken from the Club Red website

You may be able give blood if you are aged 16 or over, weigh more than 50kgs and are feeling well and

meet other eligibility guidelines as outlined at www.donateblood.com.au/who-can-give/am-i-eligible.

Students between 16-18 can only donate once in a 12 month period. After the age of 18 donors can donate

every 12 weeks.

With the help of our blood bank ambassadors Michael Bonnici and Nicole Quinn, we have generated a

great deal of interest at the school, especially in the current Year 10 group who have been great supporters.

Our last week of donations will be in Week 9.

Parents and careers can help! If

you currently donate blood, or

would like to, please ask the staff

for a Club Red form and have your

donation count towards our total.

As you can see it’s a lot of fun and

the great feeling you get is from

saving lives!

Donors from Last Friday 21/11 Georgia, Jack, Eden, Alison and Giselle from Year 10.

Organisation Total number of donations Total number of lives saved

Aquinas College Menai 107 321

Curriculum Matters This Week’s Assessment Tasks

Lisa Mirabello

Learning and Curriculum Coordinator

Year Subject Date

12 12 CAFS 24.12.14

7 French Speaking 26.12.14

12 Standard and Advanced English 26.12.14

12 English Extension 2 27.12.14

12 Ext 1 Mathematics 28.12.14

12 Economics 28.12.14

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eLearning @ AQUINAS in 2015

Aquinas Catholic College has a tradition of learning with modern Information Communication Technology

Learning.

In line with Catholic Education Office (CEO) Systemic implementation, students in Years 7-12 in 2015 are

requested to bring their own computing device to school every day. This expands the Bring Your Own Designated Device

(BYODD) program that began with Year 7 in 2014 and which has been enthusiastically adopted. The BYODD program was

implemented to replace the Digital Education Revolution(DER) which ended in 2013.

Aquinas Catholic College recognises the need to prepare students for a rapidly changing world where technology plays an

important role in the students everyday lives.

Current Year

7 BYODD iPad continues into Year 8 2015

8

The 2 year Leasing agreement of the iPads ends at the end of this year. Students are requested

to supply their own device that meets the required specifications. Students doing electives such

as Multimedia may need to consider Apple branded devices due to design capabilities eg

MacBook Air 13”. Class teachers can provide more information once elective choices have

been confirmed.

9

The current 3 year Leasing arrangement ends at the end of this year. This device can continue

to be used next year. The students will need to bring their laptops back to the school to be

processed and cleaned. These laptops currently have versions of software that is licensed to the

College. These programs need to be removed due to licensing agreements. A service fee of

$30 will apply to cleaning up the machine ready for parents to install software they may own

the license to. A clean Windows 7 version will be installed.

10 Students purchased devices earlier this year and will continue on this 3 year arrangement – No

changes for current Year 10 students.

11

Students can continue to use their currently issued device. The warranty period for this device

has expired. There will be no changes to current software for use next year.

Students may choose to bring their own designated device, but must organise licensed

software for personally owned devices.

It is possible for some families that you already own or use a device which meets the Device Specification, in which case just

bring that. Parents should carefully consider all your purchase options. Please consider that a good quality device could last four

years.

Coneqt-P – Online College Management Package

Over the next week all parents will be sent a letter by traditional mail listing their username and password for Coneqt-p.

Unfortunately all Year 11 parents have been issued a new and updated username and password.

As a result from feedback from parents, it has been decided to issue one username for each family for ease of access. This will be

mailed to you at the child’s residential address. If there are any problems with this data could you please call the College office.

We thank you for your understanding.

It is still an expectation of the College that the students still continue to bring their devices (iPad/Laptop) everyday for the

remainder of the year. Textbooks are viewed online for most Key Learning Areas. Learning will continue until the last day of the

school year, and devices are required.

Mr Hulme

eLearning Coordinator

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CANTEEN ROSTER TERM 4

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

MONDAY 24/11 MONICA SPOONER

TUESDAY 25/11 MARGIE DILLON, JO O’HARA

WEDNESDAY 26/11 JACKIE TORO, LIBBY YIP

THURSDAY 27/11 JENNIFER DELUCA, CARLEY STUDDON

FRIDAY 28/11 ANN-MARIE WALKER, SARAH KAINE, GAYLE NETTO

MONDAY 1/12 MARIA SKARENTZOS, TIFFANY KUNZE, STEPHANIE BRODIE

TUESDAY 2/12 KERRIE HARRINGTON, ANTOINETTE KERLE

WEDNESDAY 3/12 JULIANNE MULLER, PHILIPPA MCGUINESS

THURSDAY 4/12 ANGELA TEBBIT

FRIDAY 5/12 LIZ GARCORZ, CAROLYN BARLOW, SARINA PANTAZIS, SONJA PARKER

UNIFORM SHOP

THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER

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

PLEASE NOTE THAT PRICES ARE

INCREASING FROM 1/1/15

Answers:

MATHS CHALLENGE

Maths Department

1. 12 (since 12 x 12 = 144)

2.

3.

4.

5.