Fortior Ito

Dear Parents and Carers

PRAYER FOR OUR HSC CLASS OF 2020

Lord God

We ask for your almighty hand to be upon all our Year 12s. 

Bless their lives from this day on with goodness and love.

Help them to stay true to their dreams, to use their gifts wisely, and to walk into the future with compassion, courage and commitment.

Mary our good Mother – Pray for us                                                                

St Marcellin Champagnat – Pray for us

And always remember – To pray for one another

This week, we bid farewell to our HSC Class of 2020. This group of fine young men will be remembered for having continued the strong traditions that has set this school apart from so many other schools as well as for their support and care of each other. They have been a great class – to the school and to each other. 

There is a quality about the class of 2020 that will be a legacy to the school. They have made good choices about what to do and when to do it. They are conscientious and resourceful, and they don’t quit easily. 

The Year 12 of 2020, is one in which all of them have come together so naturally, so comfortably and so beautifully. It seems perfect. It seems just right. 

Seeing them all together as they returned from lockdown and simply just getting on with it, was a unique experience and this characteristic of theirs underlines the accolades they so richly deserve. 

So as we wish our Year 12s well, we say to them: 

Don’t let others slow you down.  Stay with your goals and as scripture says: “To thine own self be true ” 

From Nelson Mandela, we ask you to ponder his words:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful, beyond measure

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”

We wish our HSC Class of 2020 all the best for the future and to all our students and their families, a safe and restful holiday.

Mr Mark Pauschmann 

Principal

We began Term 3 as we ended Term 2, determined to continue living and sharing our faith with our Marist Community in a unique way. Our Active Volunteering Students embraced online volunteering with Sacred Heart Primary students, reading them books and listening to them read via Zoom. We continued working with the Novitiate Brothers in Sri Lanka, developing their English skills with another 2 brothers and 5 more students joining in on this inspiring initiative and we introduced refereeing of matches for internal sports that the students thoroughly enjoyed.

The Students continued attending the Rosary every Wednesday lunchtime and due to the cancellation of Mass, we joined together in our La Valla Chapel on Wednesday mornings for prayer and reflection. The Chapel was opened each day during the Year 11 and 12 exam blocks where students could spend time before exams in quiet prayer whilst preparing for their exams. 

Our Year 11 SRC members produced an emotional video for their fathers and we shared that with the community on Father’s Day. We hope you enjoyed it. 

Before the term ended we celebrated a very moving and intimate farewell prayer and blessing ceremony with our Year 12 cohort. It was important that we were able to share one last gathering with them as Men Of Marist, reminding them that they are made in God’s image and loved by him: 'The Lord is your strength, he has made you, he will carry you , he will sustain you and he will rescue you’ (Isaiah 46:4).  We wish them all the best in their endeavours beyond the HSC and school. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Marc Caramoan and Ryan Santa Maria, our 2020 Solidarity Leaders for their dedication to their role and the contribution they have made to the Faith and Mission team.  They have played a significant role in the formation of the students at Parramatta Marist High School over the last year and we will miss them. 

Warmest Blessings 

Mrs Denniss and the Faith and Mission team.

Another busy Term 3 has concluded. Year 12 have completed all their exams, earned their ranks, been awarded for their performance and their efforts; and, have been farewelled. First of all, I would like to thank ALL the teachers for their commitment and energy, especially those teachers involved with Year 12 . We wish the Year 12s all the best in either their HSC examinations or taking on work, traineeships or apprenticeships from next term. They are to be commended for their hard work and unflappability over the last six months. 

Next term, the Year 11 cohort begin their HSC courses. And, we start it all over again! Thank you too to all those Year 11 teachers who have taken the time to mark and provide feedback on the final preliminary exams which wrapped up yesterday ready to commence HSC courses a few weeks into next term. 

Lastly, we are making some important changes to our teaching and learning in 2021, predominantly in Year 10, to ensure our approaches remain relevant and innovative. Again, I would like to thank staff for their continued efforts in ensuring our boys are engaged in their learning and are being encouraged to do their best.

To all students, have a restful and safe break and we will see you next term ready for another’s term of learning.

Mr Adam Hendry

Assistant Principal - Learning & Achievement

This term we are back into the swing of things, with face to face learning and integrated projects returning to the classroom. Students were able to make connections between key core values in subjects and expand their field of knowledge into other subjects. As a result, students better understand their world at a range of different levels.

Students have also had to critically rethink their presentation and communication efforts as a result of COVID 19, with restrictions on how students can demonstrate their understanding. This challenged students but offered them opportunities to add depth and richness to their learning in content elaborations. 

Year 7 Student Report by Andy Blatsos

This term, one subject we have been doing PBL in is our CST and English integration, “Power to the People”. We have been learning about the presence of God and the incarnation of God and Jesus. We are combining our understanding of poetry and Religion to create poems about what we have learnt this term. In our groups, we recorded our poems to put them together into one big video. This project worked really well and was well received because it was creative, interactive, and we got to experience poetry first hand. We also got to express our understanding however we wanted in a fun and relevant way that helped us learn. This type of learning is what makes PBL a great way for students to learn, while helping them enjoy school. Overall, the project went really well!

Year 8 Student Report by Clyde Guatlo

During the Science/PDHPE integration project, “Living Life to the Full”, we participated and completed a variety of activities and practicals. One such practical was the dissection and analysis of a sheep's lung which we did in Lab 1. We first only observed the lungs by feeling it's texture. We made some observations and then proceeded to dissect it using scissors. We made some more observations about what we saw, and what things might be what part of the lungs.

Another activity that we did was a research task about biotechnologies! Biotechnologies may not sound interesting but they help save many lives. A biotechnology everyone should be familiar with are vaccines! We learnt about many biotechnologies that we didn't know before, their function, and what disease they treat.

Overall, this integration project was a mix of fun and interesting things. Some activities were fun and hands on, but others were not as fun but still interesting. 

Year 9 Student Report by Nikhil Sawant

Year 9 worked on a project in English called “Tapestry of Culture.” This project enabled them to discover family culture and traditions. The formative task consisted of an essay that had to be made by retrieving information from their family about their culture (specifically their father figure). This helped them  explore their hidden cultural heritages and family roots that they hadn’t seen before. From exploring their father figure’s experiences to composing the essay, the formative was a great literary journey for all of them. The summative task was also an experience that guided their exploration of poetic composition. While it was challenging to think for better words to incorporate into poems, Year 9 had fun taking this as another approach to their culture. This project in English has really been the best for Year 9 and hope to see similar projects like so in the future. 

Year 10 Student Report by Marcus Tayson

Vikings! We all know who the vikings were right? They were the savage guys with horns? All they knew how to do was cause terror? The elective history class has taken on a course that unravels the truth behind vikings. Fun fact, the vikings did not wear horns and were predominantly traders rather than the bloodthirsty vikings we all depict. We explored aspects of viking society such as warfare, social hierarchy, daily life, religion, major events, specific individuals, political structures, and cultural practises. The summative task required groups of students to present replicas of artefacts that adhere to one of the aspects of viking society. For example, a belt buckle used to represent daily life, or a longship used to represent warfare. These replicas will be presented in an archaeological box (one box for each group). However, students had to keep in mind that their replicas needed to fit into an archaeological box with roughly the space of an A4 sheet of paper. This means that some students had to scale their replica down in order to fit inside the archaeological box. Overall, the boys are enjoying this course and look forward to presenting their replicas.

Congratulations to the following Year 12 Students who received the honour of being a Major Award Prize recipient at Graduation this week:

• The Brother Alman Prize for Sportsman of the Year - James Carr
• The Brother John Thompson Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Performing & Visual Arts - Jon Arrogante
• The Brother Ethelred Memorial Prize for Public Speaking - Jordan Brownlow
• The Andrew Ziolkwski Memorial Award for Service & Initiative - Fady Farid
• The Edward B Clancy Prize for Contribution to the Religious Life of the School - Marc Caramoan
• The Brother Brother Anselm Award for Leadership & Outstanding Contribution to the School - Monty Duncombe
• The Prize for Outstanding Effort in Studies - Nash Hawkins
• The Senior Cup for All-Round Proficiency - Jacob Khadi
• The Australian Defence Force Award for Leadership & Teamwork - Tyrone Donaghey
• The George Khattar Award for Outstanding Achievement in Timber / Construction - George Tarabay
• Parramatta Marist Old boys Union Captain Raymond Allsopp (AAMC) Memorial Award for Christian Charity, Fortitude and Devotion to Duty - Callum Blaik
• The Stephen Tompsett Award for Outstanding Achievemnent in the Applied Sciences - Ayden Gebran
• The Australian Defence Force Future Innovators Award for Innovations in STEM - Ayden Gebran
• Colin Walsh Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Vocational and Technical education - Ben Tracey
• Sir John Clancy KBE CMG Award for Significant contribution to the promotion of a culture of learning - Daniel Stoove

Put your creativity to use! Parramatta Marist High offers an Art extension class, for those who show promising Artistic skills!

Creative Arts teacher Ms Jones selects students to participate in the class on Tuesday afternoons, at 3:20pm- 4:20pm. Almost every second lesson, a new medium is introduced, and we are taught on how to use them, and also offering help to specific boys who are interested in entering competitions! Currently, we are learning how to create lino prints, by carving and using ink! We have previously used chalk pastels, as well as oil pastels. One boy is currently crafting an artwork to enter a competition, to draw a photo of your dog! Nearly every week, all boys are offered various opportunities to enter competitions to win some prizes! Overall, the class is very entertaining and beneficial, especially for those looking to take the Art course all the way to HSC.

Here is some of the work we have completed so far!  

Raymond Khadi Yr 8

HSC Visual Arts Showcase

“There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.” – Helen Frankenthaler

The Year 12 HSC Visual Arts class of 2020 are truly a gifted, talented and diverse collective of young men.

Throughout this year they have been hard at work conceptualising, developing and creating artworks as part of their HSC coursework for Visual Arts. 

His year saw a variety of mediums and expressive forms ranging from time based installation works which dealt with issues around technology consumption to traditional masterfully painted oil portraits expressing the idea of a crisis.

When putting these pieces together, the class aptly named their showcase Manifold - which means “many and various”.

The artworks will be on show in the PMH Galler.e with an official opening next term.

As their teacher, it has been an honour and privilege just to watch these boys craft their works over the course of the year. I am in awe of the sheer amount of talent and dedication each and every one of them have for their craft.

Mr Donovan Cheung

Year 12 Visual Arts

Term 3 has been exceptionally busy. Our Year 12 boys have been working very hard during this term, under very difficult circumstances. Formals, graduations and assemblies have been cancelled because of this wretched virus. When I did speak to Year 12s the other day, I promised them they will always be remembered, as  the 2020 cohort  who went through a year that no other cohort has gone through before.  Our Year 12s have not once complained or been bitter, they have just made the best of what they have. They are a credit to themselves and the rest of the school.

Our formal assemblies have not been able to continue through this time which is so disappointing as so many events at our school should be celebrated and recognised. The Wednesday morning breakfasts which are sponsored by our “old boys” and run by Mrs Mitchell and the Diversity Team. The “440” running club which is on every Thursday commencing at  710am which is not only attended by our boys but by many of our staff and occasionally by some parents, Thank you to Mr Barry-Donnellan, Ms Northey and Ms Mari for their support in this initiative. “Homework help” and “Maths help” before school on Thursdays continue to grow. Thanks to all the maths staff and Mrs Williams for making this happen. The Duke of Edinburgh, MCS Sport, Drama, Tournament of the Minds, Chess club, Rosary, Year 12 Study evenings and the many extra curricula events that have happened during the term, I thank  all the  teachers who give up their time for these events it is much appreciated by all of our boys.

Thank you to the parents/guardians of all our wonderful students. Your support and understanding is always appreciated by the staff. We acknowledge that without your support that educating your boy would be very difficult.  For our boys to grow into fine young men it is essential that teachers and parents continue to work together.

I hope these coming holidays provide some time for your family to talk. These difficult and uncertain times are stressful. Talking to our loved ones about these difficulties is so important. It won’t necessarily solve the problems but sharing provides hope and a sense of belonging.  

A reminder that Term 4 all boys will be wearing their summer uniform.

Mr Peter Stephens

Assistant Principal, Wellbeing and Growth

Year 7 SRC

Literacy and Numeracy Week was a highlight for the Year 7 students. The week consisted of a wide range of activities, like kahoots which tested our english knowledge, the Education Perfect Maths Championship in which our school placed 8th in and a spelling bee in which the top speller from every class participated to win prizes, congrats to Michael Oslan (7.3) for winning the bee. On Friday we spent the whole day participating in 3 main activities: The Maths activities where we got to answer some complicated questions and earn some prizes, the science presentation where we got to witness some great experiments and an english workshop where we got to refine and develop our story writing skills. 

Year 10 SRC

The last few weeks have been busy for Year 10, having to sort out both subject selections for senior years and minimum standards for our HSC. Despite this, Mr Barry, Mr Bortoluzzi, homeroom teachers as well as the SRC have been urging Year 10 to take part in various initiatives and campaigns. One of these initiatives includes Steptember. Steptember is a fundraising event that takes place in September to raise funds for those with Cerebral Palsy. Part of the challenge for participants is to try and reach 10,000 steps everyday for the month of September. Not only does Steptember raise awareness and funds for Cerebral Palsy, but it also promotes physical activity among friends, encouraging each other to hit their daily goal. Year 10 also touched on ‘R U OK?’ Day and the importance of checking in with your friends to see if they really are ok. This also paired well with various pastoral lessons we covered, including the need to express gratitude for the things and people we have in our lives, genuinely taking the time out of our day to show appreciation for those special people. 

These campaigns and initiatives have helped Year 10 grow stronger as a cohort and allowed us to be more informed about the feelings of those around us and how lucky we really are. 

Last Friday the PMH Year 9 cohort celebrated R U OK Day by holding a BBQ in honour for this important and symbolic day. Overall, it was a very fun event and everyone enjoyed their free sausages and used the lunch period to catch up and hang out with their friends in support of the theme of ‘RUOK’ and wellbeing. Having many people involved and helping, the process ran smoothly making it an even more enjoyable day. 

Year 9 looked at RUOK Day in our last couple of Pastoral Care lessons and have discussed the reasons why initiatives like these are so important in our society. PMH has spread this message of asking people ‘RUOK’ and students are being educated about its primary purpose and how it can be of use in our world today. Prior to the barbeque, all Year 9 classes spent their Pastoral lessons looking further into the importance of RUOK Day as well as communicating better with each other.

Another lesson students have been recently taught is the fact that while RUOK Day is acknowledged officially on one single day in the year, it should actually be happening every single day!  Everyday people can ask others close to them if they’re doing ok, or if there is something that they would like to talk about. The Year 9 cohort held this BBQ in commemorating this important event and supporting and spreading the message of RUOK Day throughout the school.

Christian Kandalaft  (Year 9)