Star of Peace

St Patrick's Marist College

Newsletter Number 7 - 12 August 2020

From the Principal ....

On Saturday, 15 August the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the oldest feast day of our Lady. On this Feast, Catholics traditionally celebrate Mary going to heaven. The tradition is that ‘God took Mary, body and soul, to heaven after her life on earth had come to an end’. 

Mary is a source of inspiration to the Marist Brothers, who founded our College and for all of us as Marists today.  The Society of Mary, described their mission as “in the spirit of Mary”.  For Marists, Mary is always our daily inspiration for our lives and our actions. 

Mary was a woman of deep faith, trust and service. In the Gospel of Luke, we see Mary chosen by God to bring Christ into the world. She is with Jesus at his birth, nurtures him in childhood, is present during his ministry, witnesses his death, and stands with the early Church as it grows and proclaims the Good News. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary gives these words, which we call the Magnificat: 

“My soul glorifies the Lord

       and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

  for he has been mindful

     of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

      for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

     holy is his name.”      

(Luke 1:46-49)  

As we celebrate this Feast Day, we also ask the Blessed Mother of Mary to guide, protect and care for us, as well as teach us to have compassion and love for one another.  Christ calls us to make this world a better place. Like Mary for her son Jesus, we are called to live a life of service to others.

We continue to make our way through very challenging times, many things that we would normally take for granted are not possible. Current restrictions have had a significant impact on some of our important upcoming events. At this point we are unable to attend any venue for things like the Graduation Dinner and Formals. Year 12 Graduation Day will proceed on the 22nd September and we are in the process of finalising the outline for the day, ensuring that we follow all of the current guidelines and restrictions from NSW Health and the CEDP. As you would understand I will inform Year 12 students and families first as a matter of respect and courtesy. Year 9 Camp and Year 11 Retreat look set to be postponed and we will look to move them into the 2021 calendar year, so that students don’t miss these opportunities.

Our building is scheduled for completion at the end of August, pending weather. The staff and students are anxious to move into the spaces. In a previous P&F meeting the question was raised regarding tours for families. Presently we have no tours, open days etc. happening. When this is possible we will of course provide opportunities for families.

We have completed our process for Assistant Principal Innovation, Teaching and Learning for 2020 and I am pleased to announce the appointment of Janina Starkey. Janina has had extensive experience as an REC, including Marist Eastwood, has led school improvement agendas and in the last 3 years has been a Project Officer for Stage 6 Catholic Studies for the NSW Catholic Bishops and more recently as an Education Officer has led the development of the new Stage 6 Studies of Catholic Thought across NSW, which in itself is an outstanding achievement.  

As you know Mr Finnerty is on secondment in this role for 2020, he has quickly built strong, positive relationships within the community and is doing a wonderful job in assisting us through the year. I know as always you will warmly welcome Ms Starkey to our family here at Dundas. I look forward to working alongside Janina and I know that she will bring significant skills and experience to our St Patrick's Marist College community in 2021.

Semester One Awards:

I really missed our Semester One Awards where we always welcome over 400 parents and friends to celebrate the growth, efforts and achievements of our students. While this year we were able to hold very short assemblies where student awards were announced, it takes nothing away from the importance of these awards. I offer my congratulations to all students and continue to encourage everyone to reflect on their efforts and to set goals for Semester Two.  

Debating:

Debating and Public Speaking have looked very different this year. This week we will host our first ever zoom Debating evening. I thank Mrs Miller with the support of Ms Graham in arranging this new experience and the many staff who have helped out. We continue to show our resilience and flexibility as a community.  

Tell Them From Me Survey (TTFM)

I hope you have received your letter regarding the TTFM survey inviting you to take a few minutes to sit down, have a cup of tea on us and complete the survey.  We know in busy times, it is hard to find the time to complete surveys. This survey will allow parents/caregivers to express their views and perceptions of their children’s experiences at home and at school which will be of assistance in our future planning. If you have more than one child at the school and your perceptions differ for each child, you may choose to complete the survey more than once to provide feedback on each child’s experience. 

In the Event of an Unplanned School Closure:

I will be sending out a document “In the Event of an Unplanned School Closure” that I shared with the P&F Zoom meeting on Wednesday night, which includes an after hours number. Following our last shutdown in March, we have updated our school closure procedures. Part of our discussions involved looking at ways to ensure that we have an organised dismissal process and during the current pandemic to keep the community safe by minimising visitors on site. This may change depending on the time of day or night that we are made aware of a positive test in our community. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our families for supporting us by keeping your children home when unwell and getting tested as required. Please let us know if you have any concerns particularly related to the possibility of a possible infection or close contact.

Exciting News:

Finally, we congratulate Matthew and Caterina Paton on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Florence Rose, last Monday and we welcome her to our Marist Family. She is already the apple of her father’s eyes. We wish them all the best and ask God to Bless this new family as they begin their wonderful new journey together.

As always I hope that you are keeping well and safe.

God Bless

Yours in Jesus, Mary and Saint Marcellin

Mrs Angela Hay

Principal

Assistant Principal - Innovation, Teaching and Learning

Parent / Student / Teacher Feedback

On Friday, August 14, we had our first on-line Parent/Student/Teacher Feedback session. Thank you to all parents/carers who were able to make the time to meet. Our next session is scheduled for Tuesday, 18 August between 4.00 pm and 7.00 pm.  Bookings are closed, however, if you wanted to make contact with a teacher please email Miss Hagarty on shagarty@parra.catholic.edu.au

Year 12 Trial HSC Examinations

Our prayers and best wishes go out to our Year 12 students as they commence their Trial HSC Examinations on Monday, 17 August.

Examinations will be held in La Valla and Special Provisions will be conducted in the Library. The library will be closed to all students for the duration of the exams.

If a student is sick and cannot attend a Trial Exam, a medical certificate and a misadventure form is required. Mr Bonora must also be called in the morning of the missed exam. Miss Hagarty will then email the student and notify them of their rescheduled exam date. A reminder that in this COVID environment, seeing a doctor via Telehealth is always a viable option.

If you have a question regarding the Trial HSC Examinations please email Miss Hagarty on shagarty@parra.catholic.edu.au

Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Survey (A reminder)

In the coming weeks we will be inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our college using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey as we value the role of parents and carers within our school community and we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing.

Thank you for your continued support

Mr P. Finnerty

Assistant Principal

Innovation, Teaching and Learning

Semester 1 Awards

Business Manager

Business Manager

Adjustments to 2020 School fees

As you are aware, most excursions and incursions that were planned for 2020 have been cancelled. All those scheduled up to 6th March went ahead. Some KLA or Pastoral critical ones have been postponed to later in the year. The Year 9 Camp and Year 11 retreat are still scheduled to go ahead in Term 4 (subject to Government restrictions at the time).

CEDP posted statements for Term 3 on 6th August. These include the adjustment for all cancelled excursions and incursions, up to the end of Term 2.

The statements will show, for example:

  • Term 2 Resource Fee -$600 (ie reversal of Term 2)
  • Term 2 Resource Fee $350 (ie new charge for Term 2 to reflect adjustment of $250
  • Term 3 Resource Fee $600 (ie original charge for Term 3)

Any excursions and incursions that are cancelled in Term 3 (ie after this adjustment) will be reflected as a change to Term 3 fees and shown in the statements that will be posted in term 4.

Payments at the Office

CEDP have asked schools to move to cash-free transactions, to reduce the volume of cash receipted/banked by schools. We already have EFTPOS facilities at reception and can take credit card payments over the phone, however we are investigating an additional alternative cash-less method and hope to transition to cash-less soon.

This will only apply to non-school fees payments which are not already included in school fees, for example representative sport uniforms, bags / hats / ties, replacement items, etc and other payments eg Year 12 Formal, etc.

For payments of school fees, other than by arrangement with CEDP, you can also pay cash by Billpay at the local post office, credit card over the phone or by EFTPOS at reception.

We will only accept cash for Lenten appeals, mufti days, etc.

Canteen Contract

We recently re-appointed Total Canteen Solutions to continue providing our canteen needs. Some of the changes that they will be introducing are weekly specials and healthier options.

Given that our breaks are only half hour long, the canteen staff obviously must pre-prepare many of the more popular items to speed up the serving process. However, they will try to encourage students to order their lunch in advance. Lunch orders are handed out first, so those students do not have to line up. Also, students can order from many of the other items on the menu.

Lowes Uniform Shop, Carlingford

I recently met with our Lowes representative and reviewed all uniform lines held in-store. Most lines are sufficient in most sizes, so I am confident that they should be well stocked for upcoming summer uniform in Term 4.

They have stock in their Melbourne warehouse, although at the time of our meeting, we were not sure of the impact from the closure of borders with Victoria. Stock is also on order from China.

Lowes customer feedback/complaints email address is customercare@lowes.com.au for customers who want to know information, or have a problem that cannot be solved at the store level.

Building Works

The building project is looking fantastic and is on schedule for completion and handover in a few weeks! Some staff have been for a walk-through to visualise the new spaces and to start planning ahead. We will slowly transition classes into this space in the later part of this term, as the new demountables at the back of the school will be moved to another school.

  • Landscaping – we are still waiting on design options from the landscape architect who designed the landscaping for A block building. We want to landscape the rest of the front of the school, so that it flows from where the building works end to the bus bay.
  •  Library Renovations (disability access) – the grass areas in front of Art rooms have been blocked off so that a disability access ramp can be built to go into the library. The design of the ramp will eventually provide shade for students sitting in front of the art rooms.
  • Senior COLA artificial grass – the artificial grass has been replaced as it was badly damaged during construction.

Ms V. Fraser

Business Manager

School Fee Statements/Assistance

School fee statements were issued late last week by the Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta (CEDP) to provide parents an update of what fees are owing.  While no due date was put on the statements, we ask that fees owing are paid as usual, unless an Application for School Fee Assistance or the COVID-19 fee relief is completed.   If there are any concerns about payments or timing of payments please contact me to discuss.

Adjustment to the fees due to cancelled excursions and incursions have been made on this statement. Please read the Business Manager's article regarding the adjustment made.

If any family is experiencing financial difficulty please do not hesitate to contact me confidentially to discuss options available to you. 

If you are not experiencing any financial difficulties, there is the option of paying your fees in instalments. Please contact me at PATS-DNDSFees@parra.catholic.edu.au or 8841 7955 to work out a suitable payment arrangement.

If you have made an application for assistance, the CEDP appreciates your patience as they work their way through the numerous applications submitted.  If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or Community Liaison at the CEDP on cl@parra.catholic.edu.au for an update on your application.

Ms Rolla Wadih

School Fee Administrator

Wellbeing

Year 7

We have been working on many things already this term. In our wellbeing lessons we have been discussing Diversity and being accepting of each other. Thinking about our words and ensuring we are using kind words, as our words have a huge impact on each other. It would be really helpful if you could continue this discussion with your child at home. We have also had Lisa from Sleep Connection visiting our students. I emailed all a letter in regards to this and our students are keeping a sleep diary over the next two weeks, as Lisa will be running a second session on the 26 August. If you would also like a copy of the sleep diary please email me at npadden@parra.catholic.edu.au. Please see the letter attached to our newsletter below.

I would like to congratulate all our Year 7 award recipients for Semester One. It was great to see so many students doing so well in their first year of high school. We have also had our students set their SMART goals for Term 3 after receiving their reports. Please feel free to discuss these with your child, they are in their diaries.

Year 7 have been wonderful with their uniform and wearing it with pride. Just a reminder that all students must wear their blazer to and from school. 

Students also have a copy of their assessment schedule that was emailed to them earlier this year. It is also on our google classroom where you can access all notifications for assessment tasks due this year. Students are always given two weeks notice in regards to a task. 

Just a reminder that Keeping Track is still on every Wednesday in the library from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. Our leaders are always there to mentor our juniors in all subjects.

If you have any concerns or questions please contact me at any time.

Mrs N. Padden

Pastoral Leader of Learning - Year 7

Sleep Connection Letter

Learning Enrichment Centre

Virtual Reality Career Platform for our Year 11 and 12 students - come and see what it's really like working in some of Australia's most exciting industries. Our Virtual Reality career advice platform lets you explore different workplaces in a completely new and exciting way. There is no need for a VR headset to access the experience, but if you happen to have an Oculus headset on hand, you can download an app in the Oculus app store by searching for ‘Skillsroad Virtual Workplace’.

 https://www.skillsroad.com.au/360virtualworkplace

A big warm welcome to the newest team members of the Learning and Enrichment team,

Daniella Pavlovich and Marnie Haddad our Diversity teachers and Souzie Wehbe our new R3 teacher.

Mrs A. Crase-Markarian

Key Learning Areas

VIsual Arts

YEAR 9 - PHOTOGRAPHIC AND DIGITAL MEDIA

Surrealist Photomontages

In Term 2, the Photography and Digital Media class, studied the Modernist art movement Surrealism. Inspired by fantasy and dream-journals and nonsensical worlds, students explored the works of artists such as Dora Maar, Salvidor Dali, Rene Magritte, and Max Ernst, to manipulate and create Surreal Landscape Photomontages, using Adobe Photoshop.

The student works below are created by: Maria-Isabela Carrejo (1), Monique Brown (2), Rebecca Kasemsri (3) Druva Challa (4), Charlotte Lee (5), Aidan Agnir (6), Mia Harris (7), Jordan Bassett-Smith (8).

Ms C. Robinson

PDM & VA Teacher

YEAR 10 VISUAL ARTS

Miniature Landscapes

During Term 3, Year 10 Visual Arts created miniature landscape drawings with the help of Ms Mojsiejuk. We used a grid to help us accurately depict our realistic miniature landscape and developed layers of colour using coloured pencils. We worked with very small images, it was a big challenge to create a realistic image at that size - these are about 7 x 5 cm in size!

Artworks shown are created by Angelique Zorbalas (1), Natasha Ball (2), Lauren Chu (3) and Jacinta Leuzzi (4).

Lauren Chu, Year 10 VA

PDHPE

Year 10 Students completed a Unit on Drugs focusing on the following themes:

“How can we as health experts create an informative resource using a matrix approach for younger year groups
 to increase their drug knowledge?” 

The students were required to create various activities with interactive links embedded in their Matrix, focusing on a variety of tasks that analyse their attitudes, behaviours and consequences related to health issues affecting young people.  The following students completed exceptional, functional and creative Matrix's that can be incorporated within the learning of the younger year groups, to increase their awareness and understanding of drugs and strategies that support health and safety.

1. Angelique Zorbalas, Mia Ezzy, Kayla Mills and Rachael Anderson

2. Alexander Kort, Daniella PiccaPark, Jade Garcia and James McCaughey

3. Erin Suffling and Kaitlyn Chiha

Ms W. Curry

PDHPE Teacher

Final Task - The Matrix

PDHPE

Year 8 PDHPE recently created Anti Bullying Campaigns, and there was a selection of students' work featured in the previous Newsletter. Here are further examples of the work completed by the dedicated and passionate students in Year 8 who truly believe that:                       ‘Bullying prevention is Everyone’s Responsibility’.

The following students submitted exceptional campaigns, so that we can become further informed of the various strategies and communication skills that will promote and maintain healthy relationships.

  • Lauren Croft
  • Ivanka Markovic
  • Jake Denholm

Ms W Curry

PDHPE Teacher

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