MARIST CATHOLIC COLLEGE€¦ · mindset, self-bullying, peer pressure and the dangers of drugs and...

MARIST CATHOLIC COLLEGE PENSHURST

Friday 14 August 2020 - Number 9

one school • one family • one communityTelephone: 9579 6188 Fax: 9579 6668 www.maristpenshurst.catholic.edu.au

FROM THE PRINCIPAL & ASSISTANT PRINCIPALFeast of the Assumption

On the 15th August each year, Catholics celebrate an important Marian feast called the Assumption. Our Church teaches that at the end of her life Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. This is a powerful affirmation of our humanity and of our faith in the resurrection. It reminds us that God’s healing and liberating love embraces the whole of one’s humanity, one’s personal existence. This ‘fullness’ of salvation is what we see in Mary and celebrate on the Feast of the Assumption. It is a feast day that fills us with hope; for even as we struggle with sin and the reality of death, we too are on a spirit-led journey of becoming fully redeemed (made whole) in Christ and being drawn into the life of our loving Father. Mary goes ahead of us and accompanies us on this journey.

Prayer services were held last Thursday and Friday at the College. We thank Deacon Cameron Smith from St Declan’s Parish and Fr Isodore, parish priest from St Raphael’s and Mater Dei Parish for leading the prayer services with our school community.

Semester One AwardsLast week we held a scaled down version of our Semester One Awards. Acknowledging student achievement and effort is an essential element of our ‘Vision for Learning’ so it was important to us that we continue to recognise students for their academic achievement and effort across Semester One.

At the assembly two different awards were distributed - Academic Achievement Awards and Aspiration Awards. Students receive an Academic Achievement Award by placing at the top of an individual subject. To be awarded an Aspiration Award, a student must have achieved ‘consistently’ across all their subjects’ commitment to learning areas and performed well across all their academic subjects.

Congratulations to all the award recipients on performing so well despite the challenges experienced during remote learning last semester. These students inspire us to strive and persist in our own learning challenges. A full list of the recipients is included in this newsletter.

Year 12 We have another very busy two weeks ahead. The Trial HSC exams commence on Monday, 17 August and conclude on Tuesday, 1 September so we ask that you please keep Year 12 in your prayers. The Trial HSC exams have been put back two weeks to provide students with more preparation time as we are cognisant of the impact that remote learning has had on their studies this year. As you know the HSC is more of a marathon than a sprint and Year 12 will need all of our support as they reach the final stages of their HSC journey this year.

The Parents WebsiteFinally, we would like to draw your attention to a website called ‘The Parents Website’. It has been developed by the Victorian Independent Schools Association and contains useful and interesting parent articles. Of particular note are the articles prepared by Andrew Fuller that provide advice for parents who have a son/daughter in Year 11 or 12.

Thank you for your support at this time.

Mr Ray Martin and Mrs Connie Frino

https://bre.is/ttU92b2V

2one school • one family • one community

Agnoscere Et Diligere - To Know and To Love

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PASTORAL CARE?A lot has been happening in Pastoral Care over the last few weeks. The Leaders of Wellbeing are always looking for ways to create relevant and engaging pastoral experiences for our students. Here is a look at some of what has been happening in Pastoral Care across some of our year groups.

Year 10 - Being True to YourselfThursday 6 August, Luke Kennedy presented his inspirational message to the Year 10 cohort. Students were captivated with Luke’s powerful and raw story as he covered topics including the importance of a positive mindset, self-bullying, peer pressure and the dangers of drugs and alcohol. His overall message of being true to yourself rather than trying to fulfil the expectations your friends have of you, was a very clear point that resonated with each student.

Mrs Nicole Katrib - Year 10 Leader of Wellbeing

Luke, a local boy, is one of the best motivational speakers we’ve ever heard! He shared with us his very emotional and empowering story. It was a great experience and something that everyone got a lot out of; his message on authenticity was very inspirational and made us aware of the factors we allow to influence our words, thoughts and actions. His life stories added to the power of his message. I believe this was a very beneficial experience for our year group and impacted on us all in a positive and inspiring way. He also taught us that there is never anything wrong with being our true selves and that we do not have to succumb to the labels that our friends define us as.

Charlotte McGhee, Christian Signorelli and Maya ReynoldsYear 11 LeadershipOver the coming weeks Year 11 will be participating in a period of discernment as we seek nominations for the College Leaders of 2021. This year has definitely presented challenges to everyone, in terms of Year 11 it has taken away many of the traditional opportunities for our students to demonstrate their leadership skills. Events such as their leadership challenge day, the Athletics Carnival, Champagnat Day and various social justice events have all been cancelled or dramatically altered to comply with Covid-19 restrictions. During our recent pastoral lessons, we remarked on the difficulty this year has presented but also on the necessity of not allowing adversity to overcome us and ruin what gifts are in front of us.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time . . . . . So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Mr Martin and I spoke to Year 11 and discussed our views of leadership and what the College is looking for in our leaders for 2021. We encouraged each student to reflect upon their whole school career and decide whether they would make a valuable contribution to the College through the service of being a College leader. We also asked the student body to speak to their peers and encourage those who they saw as leaders within the group to put their names forward. Applications will open in Week 4 and close Wednesday 26th August Week 6. A shortlist will then be decided upon based on the applications and the College community will vote to decide upon the leaders in Week 7. There are 14 positions available on the leadership team (7 female and 7 male) with specific positions to be decided upon following the voting process. We look forward to an engaging election process and the further development of leadership potential across the entire year 11 student body.

Mr Jon Cullerton - Year 11 Leader of Wellbeing

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PASTORAL CARE?

Year 11 Taking on Leadership supporting the St Vincent’s Winter Appeal



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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PASTORAL CARE?Connecting with senior students has been a priority for the South Hurstville Campus this year. Despite COVID we have managed to have peer support days, writing days, swimming carnival, opening mass and visits from a range of senior students, staff and importantly Br Tony.

Last week continued that connection incorporating Zoom technology. With thanks to Ms Collins and Mr Reilly, homerooms in Year 7 connected with their Year 12 counterparts. Feedback from both Year 7 and 12 was very positive with a genuine desire to reconnect over the coming weeks.

From Mr Robert Reilly, Year 12 Leader of Wellbeing:“There was a genuine interest and care of the Year 12 students towards their Year 7 brothers and sisters. In being free communicate, our youngest and oldest students, built community and gave witness to the vision of Marcellin Champagnat who said of the Marists ‘see how they love one another.’”

Some of the comments from Year 7 are included below;

“It was wonderful to have the opportunity to connect with the Year 12s and get to know how we can make our experience at Marist even better.” - Isabelle Morgan and Ruby Roche

“We asked them questions relating to subjects, homework and time management and they provided us with plenty of insightful answers.” - Nicholas Kolmac

“We took the advice they gave us to heart and we built our relationships with the seniors of our school”.- Nikki Spiropoulos

“We asked them about how they balance their homework, assessments and exams with their life outside of school and how it can help us achieve our best and not be so stressed about studying for an exam.” - Albert-Jesse Youhanna

Mr David Matheson - Campus Coordinator South Hurstville

VINNIES WINTER APPEALAnother successful week of hot chocolate sales took place at both campuses. A big thank you to all the students for their support of this initiative for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. A special thank you to Gwyneth Apostolou of Year 7 for putting together very creative body billboards to promote this initiative at South Hurstville. Along with the hot chocolate stands the ministry rooms are filling up exceptionally fast due to the generosity from students in Year 7-12. With 5 weeks to go I am confident that many families in need will soon be enjoying the various items that the Marist community has so generously brought together.

Miss Caroline Khoury - Social Justice Coordinator



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PDHPE NEWSThis term our Year 11 PDHPE students have been studying the option Fitness Choices. This is a great unit where our students get to participate in a variety of practical activities.

Last practical lesson we practiced Tai Chi and Qigong. It was a really nice morning and a great way to spend our practical session. These ancient exercise forms are a fantastic way to relax and stimulate your mind and body.

As the Preliminary PDHPE course comes to an end we will continue with some more of the Tai Chi exercises for practical and complete our syllabus studies with the First Aid option.

Mr Martin Shipley - PDHPE Coordinator

YEAR 10 CATHOLIC STUDIESOn Wednesday 29 July, Year 10 had the pleasure of listening to a talk by Br Tony. This talk was a great inspiration for our current unit of study on Catholic Social Teaching. He also taught us how to pray with a deeper meaning and to put our prayer into action with the various catholic social teachings such as the dignity of a human person. Br Tony had mentioned how we should take our time while we pray in order to take a deeper understanding and have a connection with God. We were also lucky enough to ask him questions about why he became a Brother. A big thank you to Brother Tony for taking the time to be with us.

Summer Gillard - Year 10



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KEN WEBB MODERN HISTORY LECTUREOn Thursday 30 July, our Year 12 Modern History students were fortunate enough to have been visited by eminent historian Ken Webb here at the College.

Ken provided advice on exam strategy and technique which will prove valuable in the lead up to the Trial HSC and indeed the HSC exam itself. In two hours, Ken covered all four sections that the students will be examined on. Based on their feedback, I trust this experience will prove to be of immense benefit to their final result.

I would like to complement the students on both their behaviour and involvement. Ken was also complementary of the students stating, “The kids were delightful as ever.”

Miss Lydia Curis - Modern History Teacher

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT FORUMOn Wednesday 29 July, the Year 10 SRC Leaders, represented our pastoral care classes in the Youth Engagement Forum held by Sydney Catholic Schools. This conference was held over Zoom, which was a great success. The involvement of many other schools allowed us to see their perspectives of faith and their insights into how spirituality could be improved in the future. Following this, we were able to connect in our love for Jesus, even though it was a virtual experience. As a group, we had to answer two ambiguous questions regarding the effects that COVID-19 has had on our spirituality and discussed ways we could overcome this trying time. Also, we had a chance to engage in a Q & A session, where we were able to ask any question we wanted to Mr Tony Farley, the Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools. It was a great bonding experience not just for us here, but, seeing the other school students and staff. Thank you to Sydney Catholic Schools for inviting us to partake in the forum, we enjoyed it greatly.

Maya Reynolds and Christian Signorelli

CHAMPAGNAT STATUE WORKSHOPSPlanning is underway for a Statue of St Marcellin Champagnat that will take pride of place in a prominent space on both campuses. During the past two weeks a group of students and staff have met to discuss the design of the statue in order to encapsulate the significant meaning that Marcellin Champagnat has in the life of Marist Catholic College Penshurst. These discussions have proved very fruitful in bringing together a collective view of the important elements of the statue, its uniqueness and great significance for our community. The input of students and staff has crystallized the notion of a figure that is welcoming, inclusive and inspirational. The statue to be installed early next year, will become a focal point in the telling of the story of our College and a permanent physical reminder of our College Mission: Agnoscere et Diligere - To know and to Love. Many thanks to all the students and staff involved in the workshops for your very valuable contributions to the project. A special thank you to Br Tony who provided much thought-provoking input and to Mr Cullerton who led the second workshop.

Students: Damian Scalone - Year 12, Charlotte Bulmer - Year 11, Lachlan Stevens - Year 10, Evani Kumar - Year 9, Sebastien Florean - Year 8, Angelina Ladikos - Year 7

Staff: Br Tony Butler, Mrs Joy O’Sullivan, Mrs Melissa Vassallo, Ms Anne Collins, Mr Jon Cullerton, Mr Brian Vane-Tempest

Mr Brian Vane-Tempest - Head of Strategic Planning & Communication



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ACADEMIC AWARDS

YEAR 7 YEAR 8Leonora Angelis Technology Mandatory Ethan Casey PDHPE

Zarah Bhabha Geography Luisa Coelho English

Jack Boardman Science Patrick Daly English

Lawrence Bri-scoe-Hough

Music Patrick Daly Science

Sienna Casey English Isabel Fitzpatrick PDHPE

Sienna Casey Geography Valerie Geon Catholic Studies

Sienna Casey PDHPE Valerie Geon Technology Mandatory

CICUTO, Olivia Technology Mandatory Lucas Golovodovski Catholic Studies

Emma Dugandzic Technology Mandatory Angelina Grujoska Catholic Studies

Jerome Estephan English Kristina Joleski Visual Arts

Jerome Estephan Geography Chloe Limyadi History

Charlotte Fitzpatrick Catholic Studies Chloe Limyadi Visual Arts

Alexander Flarakos Mathematics Tinotenda Mazando Visual Arts

Anhony Hatziakoumis English Hayley Nguyen Visual Arts

Michaela Loukas Geography Tina Papaklonaris PDHPE

Thomas Parawa Geography Aurelia Santilli-Pollicina Italian

Bella Smith English Kristina Tarantilis Visual Arts

Christian Zivkovic Catholic Studies Brandon Timsans English

Chelsea Turnbull Mathematics

ASPIRATION AWARDS

YEAR 7 YEAR 8 YEAR 9 YEAR 10

Charlize Aplitt James Baneres Stephen Costa Stephanie Athanasiadis

Amelia Babb Jaime Dalla-Camina Filip Lisica Camryn Barrins

Joshua Beaumont Sam McInerney-Wand Jennifer-Tyler Lo Claire Harvey

Isabel Bombaci Paige-Velvet Melanie Olivia Logozzo Charlie Mitchell

Marcus Borg Kayla Nguyen Emma Lovric Rohan Reynolds

Justin Bozik Zac Preston Charlotte Veitch

Daniel Di Mattia Cooper Shipp

Matilda Giovenali Jay Ta

Timothy Lien

Athan Sadek



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YEAR 9 YEAR 10Tahlia Ball PDHPE Jackson Andrews Year 11 Mathematics

AdvancedJoshua Bertoia Mathematics Ethan Asuncion Catholic StudiesLuca Binotto Industrial Technology

TimberEmily Blackmore Food Technology

Abigail Brickwood Industrial Technology Timber

Matteo Budanovic Music

Sophie Bulmer Drama Matteo Budanovic Year 11 Mathematics Advanced

Sophie Bulmer Visual Arts Lydia Bye Catholic StudiesRyan Chandler Commerce Jasmine Casey Industrial Technology

TimberRyan Chandler Catholic Studies Daniel Dunn PDHPELauryn Chin Food Technology Caitlin Fitzpatrick CommerceAlana Cincotta Music Tara Frost Catholic StudiesAlana Cincotta Catholic Studies Erica Hing Visual ArtsSienna D'acciaro PDHPE Chalene Kuklin EnglishSienna D'acciaro Catholic Studies Chalene Kuklin HistorySienna D'acciaro Visual Arts Chalene Kuklin Year 11 Mathematics

AdvancedBianca Fiamengo Mathematics Ruby Laney Visual ArtsBianca Fiamengo PDHPE Ashely Murphy Physical Activity and

Sports StudiesBianca Fiamengo Science Tarin Palmer Industrial Technology -

Multimedia Connor Fitzgerald Commerce Erini Papagianopoulos PDHPEMarco Gava Information Software

TechnologyMaya Reynolds Industrial Technology

TimberMarco Gava PDHPE Sasha Sarafoski DanceIsabella Grant Physical Activity and

Sports StudiesLola Thompson Visual Arts

Brandon Huang Graphics Technology Misya Veona ItalianEvani Kumar PDHPE Brooke Ward MathematicsEvani Kumar Visual Arts Georgia Xippas ScienceJoseph Lotorto Commerce Georgia Xippas Visual ArtsLucie McGhee PDHPE Adam Zhang Information Software

TechnologyAshanti Paz English Adam Zhang Catholic StudiesAshanti Paz History Adam Zhang Year 11 Mathematics

AdvancedHunter Pemberton ItalianAnnamaria Psaltis PDHPEKatarina Rasic Visual ArtsVanessa Roperti PDHPEOlive Tiddy PDHPEEleni Velonas Industrial Technology -

Multimedia Alexander Vittorio PDHPENatalie Vrkic Catholic Studies

ACADEMIC AWARDS



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Congratulations to the following sport award winners. These students will be presented their awards at their Year group assemblies. Unfortunately due to COVID many representative sports have been cancellled this year.

SPORT LEVEL AWARD NAME RECIPIENT

CBSA Cricket

JuniorPlayers Player Thomas Parawa

All Rounder Jake Myers

IntermediateBest Batsman Max Condon

Best Bowler Samuel Rollo

SeniorBest Batsman Joseph Cino

Best Bowler Matthew Johns

CBSA Basketball

JuniorMost Valuable Player Marcus Kursar

Most Improved Brendan Yung

IntermediateMost Valuable Player Filip Lisica

Most Improved Zayden Gunaidi

SeniorMost Valuable Player Jack Luke

Coaches Award Alfred Tang

SCC Volleyball

JuniorBest Server Isabella Mumford

Best Trainer Maddison Shipp

IntermediateBest and Fairest Emma Lovric

Most Improved Sienna Ferguson

SeniorBest and Fairest Alicia Langley

Most Valuable Player Leila Szczepanik

SCC AFLBest and Fairest Annamaria Psaltis

Award for Courage Nicolette Spiropoulos

SPORTS AWARDS

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