Delany College - Granville

Dear Delany community,

As a Christian community we acknowledged All Saints and All Souls days last week. Both feast days are very special times to celebrate the communion of saints, those named and unnamed, both living and dead, and to remember those who have died especially those family and friends who have passed away in the last twelve months. The word “hallow” means holy, venerated and sacred which brings to mind the many saintly people who have been a blessed influence in our lives. Halloween means the eve of All Hallows’ and beyond any commercial connotations, traditionally this was a time to ritualise the triumph of good over evil while the feast of All Saints was a time of community celebration to honour the good and holy lives of the Saints.

In reference to Halloween, I would like to congratulate staff and students who participated in “All things Halloween at Delany” initiative. We had scary readalouds in the Library, the Science Halloween interactive sessions for Holy Trinity students and the Halloween costume parade. The initiative generated an enormous amount of school spirit and laughter.

We wish our Student Leaders all the best as they attend the annual Patrician Senior Leaders retreat at Winbourne Centre, Mulgoa. The time away will provide opportunities for our students to interact with student leaders across the other four Patrician linked secondary schools. Moreover, it will be a time for them to reflect on the importance of leadership as well as their relationship with God.

God Bless

Mr Robert Muscat

Principal

The Delany community

The College has been experimenting with ways to engage students beyond the classroom. This term we have the West Sydney Wolves basketball team visiting every Tuesday. All students in years 7 to 10 have had the opportunity to learn skills from professional players - I hope you have heard some feedback at home from your children.

Why bother? Team-based activities are important learning events for children. The Wolves players are teaching both technical and team-based skills, promoting an active lifestyle, pushing some students out of their comfort zone. This program will continue to run on Tuesdays until 3 December, and then on Thursday 5 December the entire College community will have a gala day at the Wolves home ground. More details will follow.

The academic community 

Many of our  Year 12 students have (finally) completed their HSC exams, while for others the exam period is dragging towards its conclusion. What a relief! We are immensely proud of the application and effort these students have invested during the past 12 months (in particular), as well as the years prior to that. This class have left a fantastic legacy for the College.

Year 10 students will be facing end of year exams in week 5, and students in years 7 to 9 will have a range of in-class tasks or exams in the next few weeks. Regardless of progress and results achieved so far, students should remember (and be constantly reminded at school and also at home) that it’s never too late to improve results. Keep (or begin) working for these last few weeks of the term, because an improvement now will be carried into next year’s memory bank and attitude.

The Patrician community 

Our staff quote of the week is from St Charles Borromeo, whose feast day fell on Monday 4 November:  Charity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved. 

During Term 3 our Delany College arms have been outstretched toward the Patrician family around the world as the target of our fundraising. Students have been working hard and giving generously. Staff have also been supporting the ideas and efforts of students. It has been a team effort.  I am pleased to say that the College has raised $5000 for the Delany Foundation - money that will go a long, long way in Africa and India.

Summer uniform 

Thank you to families and students who have returned well groomed and smartly dressed in the summer uniform. Please keep up the good work..

A reminder that on each Tuesday during Term 4 students from years 7 to 10 will participate in a basketball coaching clinic hosted by the Western Sydney Wolves. Students in these year groups are required to wear the sport uniform on Tuesdays.

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

Just a reminder that every Friday at 8:15, staff, students and parents are invited and encouraged  to attend morning Mass  at Holy Trinity Catholic Church with Fr Andrew Bass celebrating the Eucharist.

Miss Sarah Guillaume

Acting Religion Education Formation Leader

On Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November 2019, Delany College rejoiced the festivities of Halloween and All Saints Day. Each day a tale of fright, thriller, suspense and horror were read aloud during lunch in the school library. Stories such as Roald Dahl – “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Creepy Pasta – “The Russian Sleep Experiment”, Amanda Hocking – “Switched” and Ralley Zero – “Little Lucy”.

During Mentor on Friday 1 November, students learned about the importance of All Saints and All Souls to the Catholic community. On All Saints' Day, there's a call to remind us of how past Saints can inspire us to live as saints. On All Souls' Day, it’s our prayers for those who have already died. Thursday 31 October, it was a time for both Delany staff and students to get creative and festive! From Batman and his posse of villains (Bane, Riddler, Cat Woman, Scarecrow and Joker), Barbie in a box, Count Dracula and vampires, Witches, Jason Voorhees, Nun Valaak, Angels, police officers, disfigured cheerleaders and demonic Frank from Donnie Darko, staff and students were able to express artistic qualities and inventive measures towards their costumes.

The College Principal, Mr Muscat was given the opportunity to reward students for their efforts. They were presented with a gift that was either a trick or treat; contents unknown until expressions of happiness or disappointment appeared. Proceeds raised on the day were donated to The Delany Foundation. http://www.delanyfoundation.org.au/ A BIG THANK YOU to staff and students who helped and participated.

Ms Lynette Perrett       &     Ms Amal  Nizam

College Librarian               R3 Teacher

As Part of the unit; Sustainable Biomes, students of 10.3 Geography harvested and planted new crops in the Delany garden.

With the support of Ms Nizam, students gained hands on experience as to how one can support the ecology and biodiversity of the garden. The day provided students with the opportunity to further develop their understanding of biodiversity, through the reaping and sowing of crops and seeds.

As a result of Ms Nizam’s expertise, students were able to harvest pak choi, silverbeet, carrots, strawberries and lettuce. Students also grew sunflowers seeds, cucumber, capsicum and a variety of other plants, which have recently germinated and will be planted in the upcoming weeks. The harvest was a successful day, allowing students to understand the importance of paddock to plate harvesting.

Ms Donia Shwan

Teacher

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