Dear Parents and Carers,

It is at this time of year that we hold many special events and activities. Particularly evident in these, whether they are large whole school events or smaller activities, is the spirit that they generate and demonstrate.

Year 12 Farewells

It is with sadness but also joy that we farewell our Year 12 students each year. Sadness because they are leaving our community but joy as we see them move on to the next phase of their life with confidence.

Last week, we formally farewelled our Year 12 students as a whole school. In House Assemblies, each student was celebrated by their Mentor Teacher with heart-warming anecdotes, lots of good wishes for the future and a special gift from their House community. Following that, in the Whole-School Assembly, our wonderful College Student Leadership Team gave their portfolio reports, setting out the activities they had run and the contributions made by our students. The aim of the team as a whole was to further develop school spirit and student pride in the College and they have certainly succeeded!

The College Captains presented the College with the Year 12 gift – a beautiful Spirit Cup – a perpetual trophy to be awarded to the house that has shown the most spirit throughout the year. Whole-school events such as Swimming and Athletic Carnivals contribute points but equally, so do commendations made to individual students when they go above and beyond expectations. This year Drexel House was the very proud winner of the Cup. This beautiful Year 12 group has certainly left a very special legacy to the College! The Spirit Cup will certainly be hotly contested for many years to come!

The Enrichment Program

As in previous years, the Enrichment Program runs in these final weeks of the year. It is a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to ensure that these days are well used. The program developed for each year level by subject areas is rich and varied and enables student to explore interesting facets of that subjects, to challenge themselves and to have fun. As I have walked around the school over these days, I have been astounded at the creativity shown by both staff and students and the great learning opportunities that have been created.

Wellbeing days for each year level are incorporated into the Enrichment Program and they provide students with a chance to learn more about certain topics, to reflect on their year and where they might be at in terms of their goals for further developing themselves.

The Band Extravaganza and The Band Tour

The JPC Band Extravaganza on Tuesday evening was a totally joyous experience of community! Despite some foreboding about the weather earlier in the day, it was a fine evening. Family groups settled on the oval, enjoying picnics, our sausage sizzle and the ice cream van and the non-stop music was sensational! Multiple bands and ensembles entertained us from 4pm to 7.00pm and the quality of the music was quite outstanding. We enjoyed a great variety of different genres and different combinations of students in the many bands and groups who showcased their talent. We have always had a dynamic and vibrant music program at JPC with lots of enthusiastic musicians but the talent and professionalism we saw on Tuesday even exceeded that of previous years. We were delighted to see lots of our senior students either performing or supporting performers and, once again, some of our alumni students also came to support the event.

The team was again to the fore yesterday when they regaled our Catholic primary school students - Good Shepherd, Mother Teresa and Holy Spirit – with great concerts. Once again, our senior students joined the group, showing great generosity and commitment in supporting their younger peers.

Our music staff are exceptional: Sharon Robinson and Aron Lyon are the foundation and the pillars of the program and they are supported by our dedicated peripatetic music tutors. The nurturing that they do of our students to not only develop their talent and performance skills but also give them the confidence to perform and to continue to challenge themselves to improve and grow is outstanding. We are truly blessed! I extend my heartfelt thanks to them for their dedication, their unquenchable enthusiasm and their care of our musicians. They have also developed a very professional student tech crew who work very hard behind the scenes to make the performances happen in such a professional manner.

And more to come…

Next week, we hold the Year 10 Mass and Awards on Monday morning, the Year 12 Graduation Mass and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday evening and the Year 12 Formal on Thursday evening. We will also welcome our new Year 7 2024 students to the College on Thursday for an induction morning. Still lots of celebratory events to come!

My huge thanks to our dedicated and skilled staff. None of these activities and events happen without a great deal of work behind the scenes. I am so grateful to them all for their generosity and commitment to our students.

Thank you, too, for your ongoing support of us.

Catherine Rey

Please ensure ALL outstanding fees are paid as a matter of urgency.

If you are paying on a fortnightly frequency, please check your payments are sufficient to cover your account balance by the end of 2023.

Thank you 

Finance Office

Are you Leaving JPC at the end of 2023?

Throughout the year – Kennedy House has been looking for ways to develop more of a connection with our Patron – Father Ted Kennedy and what we represent.

On Tuesday afternoon, House Captain – Antony Argyrakis was presented with a message stick.

A message stick is usually a flat, rounded piece of wood with ornate images that convey important messages and hold the stories of Aboriginal people. Sticks are believed to be thousands of years old and were typically carried by messengers over long distances to reinforce oral histories or deliver news between Aboriginal nations.

A replica message stick was given to Ms Rey as a token of our appreciation for her years of support and vision.

The Kennedy Message stick was designed and made by Kennedy staff member Mr Andrew Rose and the actual message was designed by Kennedy student Sami Cook, yr 8.

The message uses hands and arrows – symbolising belonging to a community and moving with that community. The symbol of a goanna represents looking after oneself.

The message stick will be passed on to the new House Captains each year.

After a great deal of hard work, Kennedy staff member Ms MacGregor also presented the house with a new sign that reads welcome in English and Ngunnawal. Additionally, students have written welcome in various other languages to incorporate as many JPC families as possible.

We would like to thank Mr Lachlan Arundell and Kennedy House First Nations students who have provided advice and thoughts during this process.

Mr Simon Abbott
PDHPE Department
Leader Wellbeing Kennedy House

On Tuesday, JPC held their annual Band extravaganza on the terrace while parents/family/friends/staff and community members picnicked on the oval. It was such a beautiful night for the event and the weather was on our side. A huge thank you to all who attended to watch or help out on the night.

Aron and I were so proud of the students for their amazing performances.’

More images are on the JPC Facebook Page

Sharon Robinson
Music teacher

JPC held the first Duke of Edinburgh excursion where 17 students hiked and camped 22km in the wilderness of Namadgi National Park from Honeysuckle Creek, ACT, which by the way is only accessible by foot. On the way, we ventured up to Booroomba rocks to discover more beauty and to challenge our navigational skills.

2 hours later…….we camped! in a remote environment and were rewarded with a grand night sky and the feeling of serenity. The next day we hiked to the finish where students led the journey and demonstrated exceptional leadership.

It was a very enjoyable experience, full of learning, growth and laughter.

Mr McDonnell, Miss Robinson and Miss Dallas were very proud of all of you!

I look forward to our next adventure together.

Well done too: 

Mr. Adam McDonnell
Teacher – Outdoor Education, PE
Drexel House

Wednesday this week, 57 lucky musical students from Years 7 – 12, travelled to Sydney to see Wicked at Lyric Theatre. After a slow start to the day, we flew to our theatre seats and were “changed for the better” after seeing the outstanding talent on stage.

From the very opening scene to the final bows, the audience was captivated by the precision and polish of the performance. An extremely professional cast danced, sang and even flew above our heads for the 150minute performance! The band was outstanding and added to the magic of the show. Students sang along, roared with applause and awe, and had countless favourite moments to remember!

Each student represented the College will pride and respect. They were able to demonstrate their passion for performance and have a memorable experience of a highly professional production as its nation-wide tour begins.

Thank you to each student who shared the day together to continue fostering the close-knit community and culture of Arts students at the College. Thank you to Mrs Zoe Dowling for her organisation of the trip, Miss Jess Haynes, Miss Chloe McCallum and Mr Dom Charter for accompanying Mrs Sarah Smith on the excursion. It may have been “One Short Day” in Sydney but we hope to be able to see more shows.

Mrs Sarah Smith
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing – The Arts
Van Thuan House

On Thursday, the JPC music students headed on a tour to Holy Spirit, Mother Theresa and Good Shepherd Primary schools to perform.

The primary students absolutely loved the performances and the JPC students did such a great job with set up, performing and pack down 3 times in a day. It was such a huge day and Aron and I would like to congratulate all the students who attended.

Sharon Robinson
Music teacher
sharon.robinson@cg.catholic.edu.au

We are excited to welcome Sam Clear back to St John Paul II College. Sam will lead Reflection Days with Year 9 and Year 10 during the Enrichment Program.

In an effort to promote unity across the world, Sam completed a 15 600km journey on foot through South America, Central America & North America, across Siberia by train, and on foot again from Moscow to the western most point of Spain. During his epic adventure, Sam faced exceptional adversity and learned many lessons. Sam will be sharing his story and talking to Year 9 and Year 10 about perseverance, humility, embracing your passions and courage of self.

The Sam Clear Reflection Days will be part of the Wellbeing Enrichment days:

Year 10 – Friday 24^th November

Year 9 – Thursday 30^th November

Samuel Mccombe

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to remind families of our early leaving process. This is particularly important during the last few weeks of term as students are not in their usual classrooms during the Enrichment program and may be moving around the College. It is difficult for the front office staff to find students efficiently for parents/carers.

The Absences process can be found here on our website - https://www.jpc.act.edu.au/absences

"If a student needs to leave the school during the day, an email must be sent to the College Office (office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au) and the student must be copied in (use student email address) from their parent/carer so they can show their teacher at their departure time. The student is to then present themselves at the student office to sign out.

If no note or email is provided, students must be signed out in person by a parent or carer. Early departure should only occur during Lunch or Recess, or between Periods to avoid disturbance to other students.

Parents arriving during the day to collect students without prior notification will be asked to wait until Lunch or Recess, or between Periods unless there is an emergency. If something has come up unexpectedly and you need to collect your child, we ask parents to email their child using their son or daughters' school email address and copy in the college office (office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au) into the email so they are aware. The student is to show the teacher the email message if they need to leave class."

Thank you for your cooperation.

Regards

JPC Leadership Team

The 2024 School Calendar is now available on our website - https://www.jpc.act.edu.au/ under "News & Events"

The Calendar is updated regularly, so make sure you check for any updates or changes throughout the year.

Parish Newsletter

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

The Christmas/Festive season is fast approaching, and along with it is the additional Christmas/Festive preparation expenses, not to mention the bills that will start rolling in come the New Year!

Care continues to facilitate the ACT Government’s Rent Relief program for those who rent privately in the ACT.  Eligible renters can apply for the one off grant of 4 weeks rent up to a maximum of $2,500.

Please note: The current turn around for applications is 2-3 weeks, but could increase depending on the volume of applications received.

For more information, eligibility criteria and application form head to our website – www.carefcs.org/rent-relief-scheme

Care will be closed for Christmas from Friday 22nd December 2023 reopening Tuesday 2nd January 2024.