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It has been wonderful to be back in the JPC community in a fulltime capacity after a very long recovery.
Last week I was privileged to attend the Principals Teaching and Learning day which Catherine Rey was instrumental in putting together.
Catherine has enjoyed her time at Catholic Education (CE) however, her secondment to the CE will be finishing at the end of this year. Catherine is very much looking forward to returning to the JPC Community in 2021 to implement the Teaching and Learning agenda which she has been developing.
Thank you for all the well wishes I have received regarding my injury, and I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Regards,
Stephanie O'Meara
In the fourth week of our series of commemorating Remembrance Day and in recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II, we are very fortunate to share more stories of our JPC relatives who served during WWII.
These stories are from our community. They are our families. They will be remembered and honoured for their service and some of them, unfortunately, for their ultimate sacrifice. We also remember their families - who kept the home fires burning awaiting their return. These stories represent a very special generation.
Remembrance Day. Let us remember. Let us honour. And may we never forget.
Vicki Walsh, DSM
We Remember…
Warrant Officer William Charles Cyril Stubbs (Father of Mrs Susanne Paton)
William signed up in 1943 and discharged on 8December 1945. William’s father was not impressed with his son joining and did not want him to sign up until he was 21 – William enlisted at 20 years old. He was part of the Imperial Training Scheme in the Air Force and was shipped off to Canada to serve alongside the Canadians, Scotsman and English. Whilst in Canada he trained and was a Rear gunner on Liberators. In his short time in the Airforce he was promoted to Navigator and then Warrant officer. William wanted to be a pilot but he was not tall enough. He served in the Pacific, was based in Ceylon and visited Egypt at some stage during his time. He shared very little of his time with his children, however, one of his few stories involved flying on only three engines!
Private Clarence Victor Golby (relative of Jackson Golby)
Clarence served in the 4th Battalion in the Royal Norfolk Regiment. Clarence was captured as a prisoner of war in Thailand and died on 4 June 1943.
He was just 23 years old.
Private Thomas George Atkinson (Great-great Uncle of Addison and Jackson Atkinson)
Thomas enlisted on 22 July 1940 and served in the Australian Imperial Forces 2/19 Battalion. Thomas was captured and died in Changi on 19 January 1942.
Private Robert John Knowles (Great Grandfather of Mia Gibb)
Robert served in the Australian Army for the 2nd 25th Battalion. Robert was a stretcher bearer and also a Piper. He served in Egypt and Papua New Guinea.
Corporal Ethel May Knowles (Great Grandmother of Mia Gibb)
Ethel served in the Nursing Corps in the Australian Army. She worked in the laundry at Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital in Brisbane from 1946. Ethel met Robert after the war when Robert started working at the same hospital after he left the Army. They married a few years later.
Warrant Officer Ronald Edward Walker (Great Grandfather of Victoria and Isabella Revell)
Ronald served from 11 December 1939 to 09 November 1945 with the RAAF. He completed 19 months of overseas service on Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and a further 31 months of other 'qualifying service'. He received the 1939-45 Star and Pacific Star, War Medal for 1939-45 and Australian Service Medal for 39-45. Ronald never spoke about his Service and he did not attend any ANZAC marches or services, until his daughter, Lee joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserves in 1989, at which point he began attending them with her. Ronald along with Lee, went every year to the Dawn Service. He was typical of the men of his era – “you do what you have to and draw no attention to it”.
Petty Officer Gilbert Harvey Hall (Father of Mrs Vicki Walsh)
Gill served for the Royal New Zealand Navy during WWII. So keen was he to join the campaign, he lied about his age to enlist. He also wore glasses and in order to pass the eye test, he memorised the eye chart from his optometrist friend. His brother also served in the New Zealand Navy and his sister in the New Zealand Army. Gill served on the HMNZS Kiwi and saw action in Europe and the Pacific, but never spoke of his time in the war. Except for when he was coming home when the war finished. He met up with his brother in Melbourne when they were both homebound for New Zealand. So caught up in celebrating the end of the war and seeing each other again, they missed their ship’s departure. The story goes, they managed to persuade a fisherman to sail them out to their ship and ultimately get a ride home to their waiting Mum and family.
I am grateful my Dad was one of the lucky ones to return home and so proud of his humbleness, compassion and sense of duty.
LEST WE FORGET
On Wednesday afternoon an audience was entertained by the Senior Music students who performed their assessment pieces for Semester 2. 17 amazing students, as well as some students from the 9/10 music class, performed songs of their choice to family, friends and the community. This was their final music assessment for the year and I am so glad they got to share it with others and have the experience of performing for the first time all year. I am so proud of their efforts and I wish them all the best for their exams in the coming weeks.
A huge thank you to Liz Owen for filming, Sarah Smith for manning the door, Natasha Bramham for organising all the forms, Ian Pettit for coming to support the students, John Burgess for accompanying the seniors' music pieces, and Aron Lyon for playing and supporting the students over the rehearsal period.
Sharon Robinson
On Wednesday 4th November, the Y11/12 Outdoor Education students went on an excursion to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. With many camps unable to go ahead in 2020, the group went on a day trip within ACT. While at the Reserve, we went on an 8.2km hike to Gibraltar Peak and then had a BBQ to celebrate the amazing year the class has had. This semester the class has been learning about sustainability in outdoor recreation. Thank you to Mr Thomas who accompanied us on the trip and well done to the Y11 and 12 outdoor education students who were excellent representations of St John Paul College.
Work Experience
In Week 2 and 3, Keira Van Putten participated in work experience at the French-style Patisserie called La Sable in Mitchell. She started her days at 6am and helped in the creation of some of the patisserie sweets, participated in front of house service and is now an employee! Keira loved her time at the patisserie and is considering a job in this field in the future.
“I definitely enjoyed the environment the most, the atmosphere how everyone treated each other, it was definitely like a family and they made me feel so welcome. I went into this work experience loving baking and know that this is what I want to do when I'm older. So after this time it really just reiterated that this is what I want to do in life; baking at home, studying at CIT, and hopefully an ASBA!”
Term 4 Fees are due for payment Friday 13 November 2020.
If you know that your child will be leaving JPC at the end of this year, please email the college office (office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au) as soon as possible.
Year 10 & 12 families - There is no need to respond.
Thank you to those who have notified us already.
The College Office
