Delany College - Granville

Newsletter Term 4 Week 6

Principal's Message

Dear Delany community,


Our senior students attended their retreat this week and based on all accounts it was a magnificent experience. School retreats are an integral part of the life-long faith formation of young people. They promote systematic, intentional catechesis as part of the comprehensive evangelisation of students. Catholic school retreats are relational at heart. To be effective, the retreat program acknowledges the individual’s unique reality and brings the power of the Gospel into contemporary culture in a way that engages and empowers young people. The retreat aims to put students in ‘communion and intimacy with Jesus Christ’.

 

Through the retreat experience, students come to know Christian love and are exposed to a Gospel centred way of life. Students hear the Gospel and are empowered to connect the Gospel message to their lives and to find ways of continuing the Church’s mission. They participate in the life of the Christian community through liturgy and through activities that emphasise growth in Christian faith.

 

I take this opportunity to thank Ms Guillaume, RE Formation Leader, for her organisation and being the lead facilitator. Furthermore, I thank the following staff for participating and supporting our young people in encountering Christ;

 

1.      Mr Blomfield

2.      Mr Peronace

3.      Mr Charter

4.      Mr Casey

5.      Mrs McCarren

6.      Mrs Collimore

7.      Ms Bartley

 

 God Bless

 

Mr Robert Muscat

Principal

 

 

 

Assistant Principal


The Delany community

Wednesday 20 November was our College Assembly at which we had a short but important agenda. Having announced our new Year 12 student leaders for 2020, the next step of our leadership process is to invite students in years 7 – 10 to nominate for membership of the respective teams. I am very pleased to announce the appointment of the following students:

Formation leaders:

Year 7         Mia Younan

Year 8         Achan Akot

Year 9 Theodora Mo’ungatonga

Year 10       Asli Yerlikaya

 

Event leaders:

Year 7         Zoe Ndungu

Year 8         Mariah Sleiman

Year 9         Mohammad Daghagheleh

Year 10       Soheil Nikandish

 

Media and Communication leaders:

Year 7         Sosefo Taufa

Year 8         Tayyabah Rehman

Year 9         Cindy Wong

Year 10       Tia Raya

 

Furthermore, we invited year 10 students to nominate for co-leadership of their respective houses. Below is listed the already-appointed Year 12 student, as well as the newly appointed year 10 student for 2020:

Campion:  Charles Malkoun (Year 12)                     Mira Fahed (Year 10)

Chisholm:  Kaylee Heuving (Year 12)                      Skye Tennant (Year 10)

MacKillop: Ashleigh Baledrokadroka (Year 12)     Aneata Fifita (Year 10)

Tierney:     Kevin Guo (Year 12)                                     Isabel Rizk(Year 10)


The Academic Community 

The College is rightly proud of this year’s NAPLAN results, particularly for Year 9 students. Reading and writing is a planned part of every lesson on every day, and we believe that students cannot get too much practice nor too much feedback. Throughout 2019 we have had staff whose sole focus was the development of literacy teaching strategies for each unique learning area (PDHPE, science, etc). Numeracy, similarly, has been a focus of development throughout the year. During the past few weeks we have been planning and appointing staff for 2020 to continue this valuable work, and we are excited with the calibre of staff remaining on and joining the literacy and numeracy teams.

 

This term I have observed a disturbing and disappointing trend with a number of students. Although in the minority, these students are attending school without a pen and without a work book. It is unacceptable for students in Years 9 and 10 to arrive at an examination, but trying to beg or borrow a pen before they enter the room. We had a similar experience with mathematics exams, where some students didn’t have a calculator. One student actually blamed his teachers for not providing one. (He was, of course, given one.) Regardless of the late stage of the academic year, I ask you to check with your child(ren) and ensure they have access to sufficient equipment.


The Patrician community 

I am writing this newsletter report at the conclusion of the second day of our Senior Student retreat. This three-day retreat has been organised and facilitated by Miss Guillaume, and its success is a reflection of her creativeness and compassion. The theme of the retreat is “We are more with Christ”. Our new Year 12 class have risen to the event, respectfully and whole-heartedly participating in and contributing to the activities. We invited students to reflect on their relationship with themselves, with others and with Jesus. Despite flies and mozzies, smoke and heat, it has been a joy to be present with our students. As I have said before, the College is in good hands for the coming year.


Attendance

Please remain proactive in sending your children to school. The work we complete during this term is the building block for successive years.

Policies and Procedures of the College

If you have any questions or queries regarding the College’s policies or procedures, please go to our website where you will find links to these. Please call the College if you’re looking for something that is not listed.

St Patrick, pray for us.


Mr Anthony Blomfield

Assistant Principal

Religious Education

What is Social Justice?

‘Respect for life and for the dignity of the human person also extends to the rest of creation, which is called to join man in praising God.

Pope John Paul II


Social justice is defined as the equal access to wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society, and specifically targets those marginalised and disadvantaged groups in our society. This year Delany students have responded to the call and have attended to the needs of others through a number of different initiatives. Below are some of the initiatives we have been involved with this year.


Delany Foundation

Delany Foundation Outreach is a fundraising program that supports Patrician schools in Africa, Papua New Guinea and India, to enable successful lifelong learners. We are very proud that the Delany community raised $5000, with every cent being used to provide the necessary learning resources as well as supporting the community through access to clean water, shelter and other necessary infrastructure.


Vinnies Van

Delany College students have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity once a month to assist with Vinnies Van. Those involved in 2019 were asked to reflect on their experiences, sharing their messages of empathy and compassion with the 2020 Team.


My experience serving the homeless in Vinnies Van has been amazing as it has opened my eyes to the less fortunate in our community, which has entirely allowed me to develop a feeling of sympathy for the homeless. 

Nicholas Faddoul


Being a part of Vinnies Van has strengthened my compassion and understanding of human dignity to those experiencing homelessness and social isolation alongside passionate teachers and friends.

Mary Ghribian


Vinnies Van is appreciated greatly by those who need it most and is a great thing to be apart of as well as the sense of fulfilment that comes from it! 

MJ Olca


The experiences I've had on the Vinnies Van have opened my eyes to the marginalised in our community, and this has caused me to develop a sense of empathy towards the homeless. 

 Paul Trad


Christmas Hampers

‘How can a hungry child celebrate Christmas?’

Delany College students will be assisting 33 families this year through our Christmas Hamper Appeal. Christmas is a time of generosity and good will to others, with 2.9 million people currently living below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children, the gift of a Christmas Hamper is a beautiful one.

Sarah Guillaume

Acting Religion Education

Formation Leader

Maths Olympiad

Over the past five months, seventeen students from Year 7 and 8 participated in Maths Olympiad. Each round included five challenging questions to be completed in 30 minutes. These questions required the students to think outside the box, connecting multiple mathematical concepts and attempting a number of strategies to reach a solution.

The following students are to be congratulated for their efforts during this competition; Sehaj Bajwa, Nalini Bol, Yara Haddad, Anaahat Hara, Makalita Liutai, Porsha Pepic, Mueen Rehman, Tristian Singhdeo, Sosefo Taufa, Claressa Bechara, Christine Diaz, Daniel Halawi, Christian Hatzikalimnios, Joseph Koroma, Naulu Leo, Tayyabah Rehman and Khan Salicioglu-Achi.

At the end of the competition two additional awards, highest score and outstanding effort, are presented to each Olympiad Team. This year Chrstine Diaz and Daniel Halawi received the highest score in our team, while Sehaj Bajwa was acknowledged for her outstanding effort during Olympiad. 

All students should be proud of their achievements and I am very excited for what next year has to offer!

Mathematics Matters

On Thursday 14 November, students in Stage 5 accompanied Miss Ortiz and Miss Whitfield to UTS for the last workshop of Mathematics Matters. Unfortunately, the original activity that had been planned for Year 10 was cancelled, however students were still able to partake in the workshop with Year 9.

The first task students investigated scale factor through shrink art, designing Christmas decorations that we will be cooked down to size. Students then engaged with two separate activities, Escher’s tessellations and Mathematical games such as UNO and Sumoku.

Overall these workshops have provided our students with invaluable experiences and learning opportunities to see Mathematics in a real world context.

Miss Kelsey Ortiz

School Leartning Leader

What's happening in Stage 4

Makalita Liutai of Year 7 entered the Write 4 Fun 'Just keep writing' competition. She was awarded with a plaque as regional finalist for her short story titled 'Life's twists and turns.' We are very proud of the initiative you have shown, and congratulate you on your success.

 

LIFE'S TWISTS AND TURNS - By Makalita Liutai 

 

This story is based on how unpredictable life can be. Don't forget to live life your way. Hope you enjoy!

 

She was uncomfortable and felt unwelcome, so you could say she was lost; lost in life's twists and turns. But, then again, you must be as well, so it wasn't at all weird that she was stuck in a weird situation, was it? It was three months after Daisy's best friend passed away, and yet the feeling didn't go. She just couldn't shake off the feeling that she could've done something. Suicide isn't really something a good subject to talk about over tea, so she didn't really talk about it. Daisy and Nightingale were inseparable, their nicknames were even Dai and Night! But when the night goes and never comes back, the sun melts the earth away, and as the night and day, Nightingale was Daisy's break from life and it's mishaps, and Nightingale needed Daisy just as much as Daisy needed her, and so our story begins at a place we all are familiar with; school.

Daisy was getting picked up by Nightingale's friend, because of her busy parents always needing to do something more important, and they met regularly, and it just so happened that Nightingale's friend, Gabriel, was a therapist. He let Daisy visit weekly, and Daisy thought it was just another lost cause, until one appointment, where Daisy just gave up. Gabriel had told her that she shouldn't have to hide the fact that she's upset about it and give everyone else a hard time.

That was the last straw for Daisy, she broke down and began to speak between sobs, 'she was always there for me, and I would never hide my feelings from her.' Gabriel was confused but listened to her anyway. 'I AM sad, but I can't just cry whenever I want to, and it just hurts to see everyone moving on and leaving her behind.' Gabriel replied, ' Yes, but don't you think that Nightingale would rather you be happy and smile, rather than being sad and grumpy all the time?'

From then on, Daisy talked and Gabriel listened, and Daisy began to think that Nightingale was there when she was happy, and Gabriel was there when she was sad.

So, the moral of this 'short story' is that life has many roads to go down, and you can't wait. You have to walk the roads and read the signs. Daisy would tell you herself that stopping at crossroads...isn't the best idea.


 Miss Michelle Mutabdzija

Stage 4 Student Learning Leader

Science

Year 8 Model Escape Room 

This term, the Year 8 Science classes formed groups to create a model escape room that was based on electricity and magnetism. Each group chose a specific theme that their escape room would revolve around. One of the groups from Miss Whitfield’s class that produced an outstanding escape room included Ayla Fahed, Ava Pirini, Nathan Bechara, Owen Faddoul and Jimmar Penoso. 

The theme that this group chose for their escape room was ‘Bankwest Stadium’. This was their story line:

You are at Bankwest stadium enjoying the footy game, there’s 10 minutes left on the clock and the Parramatta Eels are leading the Wests Tigers by 18-16. Mitchell Moses has just scored a great try when all of a sudden the lights turn off and everyone is somehow being pulled by some magnetic force, trapping them in their seats. You and your teammates must break everyone free, turn the power back on and find the criminal who is behind this. He has given you one hour and if specific tasks are not completed, a player on the field will be taken hostage. There are doors you must go through to see the next room and get a clue to be one step closer to completing the mission. If you and your team have not turned on the lights and escaped by the time the timer runs out, the criminal will strike! The key to escape is with the criminal, so if you find him, you get the key! 

From the group:

“Our group modelled our escape room with a hand-made display of Bankwest Stadium, assembled by Nathan Bechara. One way that magnetism was used was with a magnetic door, which was only able to  be opened by using another magnet on the opposite side. There was a built-in circuit within the stadium which the students had to connect in order to turn the lights back on and complete one of the electricity-based tasks.

There were also two experiments with electricity and magnetism. Students had to read the instruction sheet and carry out the experiments to complete the challenge and escape the stadium.

When we finished our escape room, we presented to the rest of the class, demonstrating how magnetism was included in our stadium escape room and also how electricity played an important role in it. 

Our group had a great time planning and making the escape room. We thank Ms Whitfield for the great fun and opportunities she gave us during this assessment and the classes leading up to it. We hope that we are able to show other students how good Science is as a subject, and how creative you can be when it comes to assessments.”

Thank you!


Miss Tayla Whitfield

Teacher

Sculptures By The Sea

Visual Arts, Visual Design and Photography and Digital Media students from Years 11, 10 and 9

visited Sculptures by the Sea displayed along the Coastal Walk between Tamarama and Bondi on

Friday, 1 November. We could not have asked for better weather for the 2km walk along

the sea cliff walkway of one of our most famous coastlines. 

The annually changing exhibition included some familiar artists and their new works along with

new and emerging sculptors works. We met some artists and spoke to them about their art

practice gaining some insight into their processes and techniques. Students discovered that

contemporary environmental issues where at the heart of many works.


Mrs Louise Broue

Creative Emergence & Design Leader



Food Technology

Today Year 10 cooked up a delicious storm... ZUCCHINI MUFFINS!

The students were rather sceptical at the start asking if they could replace the zucchini with chocolate. However, after much encouragement the students gave the zucchini muffins a try and were pleasantly surprised.

Students are now more open to eating vegetables and are persuading me to take them to our outdoor classroom and garden. 

Thank you Ms Nizim for the fresh zucchini.


Miss Rannia Katrib

Teacher

PDHPE

Yuvraj Singh, of Year 7, participated in the PDSSSC Athletics Championships in the 12 y.o boys age division for the field event discus. He placed 2nd giving him the opportunity to attend and compete at the NSWCCC carnival.

Yuvraj also entered the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships where his discus throw was recorded at 26.94 meters placing him in the top eight finalists.

Well done & Congratulaions 


Ms Natalie Roberts
Teacher

Important Dates

Year 12 RetreatMon 18 - Wed 20 November
Year 7 VaccinationsMonday 21 November
Year 11 Physics Excursion 

Tuesday 26 November 

Year 7 2020 Induction Day Tuesday 26 November

CAPA / TAS Exhibiton Evening 

Wednesday 27 November 

Don't forget, you can use the SkoolBag App to add events directly to your phone's calendar! 

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