Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been another very busy and productive week. We welcomed over 100 Year 6 students into the school today to Try High School Day and we will have 120 students on Monday. It is lovely to see their enthusiasm as they experience different aspects of high school life.

Enrolments for Year 7 are coming in fast and our enrolment period closes next Friday, 26 May. Should you be aware of any families who are looking to enrol in Year 7 at JPC, you might remind them of this date.

Mothers’ Day High Tea

We were delighted to welcome a large number of mothers to our High Tea on Tuesday afternoon. It was wonderful to have our young people look after their mother, serving them a special afternoon tea and having time for a quiet chat together. I really enjoyed the conversations that I had with many of our mothers and children. The short formal part of the afternoon included a welcome from our college Captains and a video where students interviewed their peers and staff about their mothers. It was lovely to hear the heartfelt messages that students and staff alike conveyed about their mothers or mother figures and (for staff!) why they loved being a mother. Often we don’t get a chance to hear these sentiments expressed.

Senior College Expo

On Wednesday afternoon and evening, we held the Senior College Expo. This was a very vibrant event catering for students and their families from Years 9 – 12. In particular, it encompassed information for students and families in Year 10, with stalls for each senior subject area where key staff and senior students were available and keen to answer questions about the detail of courses in their subject area. I would particularly like to thank our students who helped run the evening and who contributed to its success.

A session on Australian School Based Apprenticeships (ASBAs) set out the opportunities that apprenticeships and traineeships offer to students while they also complete their study for a Senior Secondary School Certificate. There are multiple pathways available to our young people today and exploring these can be a very rewarding exercise as students begin to consider the next few years. Students can begin an ASBA from the age of 15. We have a large number of students currently completing ASBAs in many different fields.

The final session for the evening was a more targeted session for Year 10 students and their families, thinking about senior studies and the advantages of JPC in this regard. It was wonderful to have a short panel discussion with young people who have graduated from the College in the last five years as well as a current student. They talked about their pathways post school and what was very evident was the variety of pathways pursued – not just in terms of specific careers but also in terms of how they are arriving at those careers. A display featured some of our alumni talking about where they are now and what they are doing now. It is inspiring to see the success our graduating students have as they move through the next phase. They often speak of the specific skills that they acquired at JPC which have greatly facilitated their transition to further study or work.

Throughout the evening, students and families had access to a wide range of universities and training organisations, to support their decision making as they move into Year 10 or into their post school life. In addition, we were able to display all of our subject and co-curricular opportunities. The College was able to highlight our Flex program, which we offer in Years 11 and 12.

Specific information on the BSSS and selecting subjects in Year 10 will be available on the College website. Our senior students made a short video that explains the basics in an engaging manner. I recommend it to you. The Senior Handbook which sets out all of the detailed policy of the ACT BSSS along with details of all of our courses can be found through the QR code below.

Senior Handbook 2024

On Monday and Tuesday, Year 7 students travelled on a wonderful excursion to the Cotter Dam as part of their work in Integrated Humanities and Integrated Maths and Science. 

The students participated in two workshops with Waterwatch – catching and classifying bugs in the Cotter River, as well as testing the quality of water in the Cotter River. The students were also led on a guided walk to the Cotter Dam viewing platform and through the security gates to the Cotter Dam wall by helpful ICON Water staff. 

It was terrific seeing students ask questions of the workshop leaders, work together as scientists in their investigations and make connections between what we’ve been studying in Integrated Humanities and Integrated Maths this year.

Thank you to all the staff that attended the excursion and to Mr Ryan and Mr Cole for organising the trip.

Matt Caldow
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing (LLWB)
Drexel House and Year 7 Wellbeing

On Tuesday night 3 of our JPC bands performed at the professional musical venue Smiths alternative in the city. The students put on a great night of entertainment and had a full audience. A huge thank you to Smiths for allowing us to perform at your venue, Bevan for making being an amazing sound and lighting tech, Cate Wright, Tim Guthrie and Rohan Holloway for coming to support the students, Aron Lyon for all his amazing work with these incredible bands and of course the wonderful family and friends who camp to support these students as well. Aron and I are so proud of all these students and can’t wait for our next performance.

Girls Volleyball Competition

On Wednesday the 17^th of May, two teams of year 9 and 10 girls competed in the Secondary North Girls Volleyball Competition in Lyneham. All up the students competed in seven matches against various North Canberra schools. The girls also used their knowledge of Volleyball rules and regulations to help referee and keep score for other matches in-between their own. The competition was tough, but both teams prevailed in winning games in their pools. They weren’t fortunate enough to make the finals this time but are looking forward to future opportunities to show their skills and amazing teamwork and comradery on the court!

JPC Dance students had the pleasure of viewing ‘Communicate’ by QL2 Dance at the Canberra Theatre on Friday the 19^th of May. The piece explored the idea of communication; everything we say and everything we do, we communicate meaning, intentions, ideas and who we are. The language of Dance holds a special place in this communication world. The performance concluded with a Q&A with the three choreographers, artistic director, and music composer.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of watching a live performance and hearing directly about the creation process of starting with a concept and turning ideas into movement.

We are looking forward to seeing how the students use this experience as inspiration in the studio at JPC!

Ms Dowling & Ms Haynes

Van Thaun House has aligned with Roundabout Canberra as their House charity and is running a winter clothing drive.

Your NEW or good quality USED clothing will be used to help Canberra children warm this winter!

The ALDI winter sale is about to kick off can you add an extra jacket, beanie or gloves to your trolley? Or clean out those wardrobes for the small items that no longer fit your teens!

For more information www.roundaboutcanberra.org or Chauntell.mcnamara@cg.catholic.edu.au

Items can be dropped off at the JPC front office.

Kind Regards
Mrs Chauntell McNamara
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing for Van Thuan house

What: An opportunity to gather together in community, to explore who you are, and to come to know others in a deeper way. You will laugh, you will cry, you will grow.

When: Wednesday 19 – Friday 21 July, 2022

Further information will be distributed to students and parents via email later this term.

NEW: 

• 2-8 August - Australian Army Band: Royal Military College Duntroon – Applications close 18 June 
• 27-29 June - RAAF Health Roles: Richmond Health Centre – Applications close 21 May 2023

NAVY:

Navy Aviation Overview: HMAS Albatross (Nowra) (18) 

• 24-26 July - Applications close 11 June 2023
• 21-23 August - Applications close 9 July 2023
• 18-20 September - Applications close 6 August 2023
• 23-25 October - Applications close 10 September 2023
• 20-22 November - Applications close 8 October 2023

INDIGENOUS:

• 11-15 September - Exercise First Look: Indigenous Youth Placement (Residential) – Applications close 25 June 2023

APS:

• 3-7 July - ASD Cyber Security and Robotics Work Experience Program – Applications close 11:30pm 21 May 2023
• 10-14 July - ASD Cyber Security and Robotics Work Experience Program - Applications close 11:30pm 21 May 2023
• 18-22 September - ASD Cyber Security and Robotics Work Experience Program - Applications close 6 August 2023
• 25-29 September - ASD Cyber Security and Robotics Work Experience Program - Applications close 6 August 2023

Any communication regarding current and future programs should be directed to the ACT/SNSW regional mailbox - nswact.workexperience@defence.gov.au.

The Australian Signals Directorate is happy to announce the Term 2 Girls' Programming Network (GPN) event to be held on Sunday 18th June 2023 at ANU.

Registrations

• Open - Monday 22 May 2023 at 6pm
• Close – Tuesday 23 May at 6pm

What is GPN?

• The Girls Programming Network is a workshop series a med at girls in Years 4-12. 
• The GPN is a community of women and girls who are interested in computer science, programming and information technology.
• Workshops are run by GPN tutors – local women studying or working in IT in industry, academia and government. Are topic based and tutors teach the girls how to solve fun programming projects. There is also food to eat, friends to make and other fun activities to be had!
• ASD has had a long-standing relationship with the Girls' Programming Network and supports the Canberra node of this fantastic program. 
• The workshops are free and no prior coding experience is necessary!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the WIC team on wic.asd@defence.gov.au

Parish Newsletter

For the latest news Click here or you can view it on the Parish App or visit the website below.

St John Paul II College has had a long-standing relationship with Menslink over the years and we would like to extend the following opportunity to families within our community.

Menslink would like to advise that they currently have a low wait time for any young male 10-25 who feels they would benefit from counselling.

Services are offered at No Charge, No Limit to sessions, and No Mental Health Care Plan is needed.

Services have expanded to cater for our Northside clients as well with a Menslink counsellor working out of Kippax two days a week.

Shine Om
Teen Yoga Classes

Online Teen Yoga 

• Dates: Classes operate on Tuesdays during the school term. 
• Time: 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM
• Location: Via Zoom
• Book via our website: https://shineom.com.au/teen-yoga