Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to 2021! I hope your student(s) have experienced a really positive start to the year and that things are going well for them.

After being on secondment to the CECG central office for over a year, I am delighted to be back among you. I had a very productive time, experiencing new situations and learning a great deal. However, my heart is very much at JPC and it is wonderful to again be with students and staff and to be part of a very special community. I would like to formally thank Mrs Stephanie O’Meara for her outstanding work as Acting Principal during an incredibly challenging year and extend my thanks also to Mr Nicholas Whatman who took on the responsibilities of Assistant Principal so ably during the year.

This year, we have again grown in numbers, with almost 1000 students. All of our junior years (7-10) are full and there has been considerable growth in the number of students in Year 11.

We were delighted with the academic success of our Year 12 group in 2020. Dr Cleary has outlined the highlights of their success for you in a separate article.

We have now had three graduating Year 12 cohorts and each has achieved consistently high academic results – a great testament to the students and also to our dedicated and expert teachers. Moreover, as our graduating students move onto the post-school phase of their journey, we are incredibly proud to note their ongoing achievements. They tell us of their superior abilities to manage their study or work lives independently when they compare themselves to their peers and talk very positively of how useful the skills they gained over their years at JPC in areas such as planning and time management are to them in their post-school lives.

And some new members of staff and some changes in responsibilities …

We are delighted to welcome Mr Jacob Knowles who is joining Mrs Stephanie O'Meara and Dr Ann Cleary as Assistant Principal this year. He comes to us with a wealth of experience at this level and will personally introduce himself to you in coming editions of Key Messages.

In 2021 Dr Cleary is looking after Kennedy and Ferré Houses, Mr Knowles is looking after Drexel and Veritas and Mrs O'Meara is taking responsibility for Maathai and Van Thuan.

Ms Teena Zorzi and Mr Jason Paris will continue to look after Drexel House. For 2021, Mr Steve Thomas will continue to work with Mrs Veronica Harold Carter in Veritas House. Ms Kelly Candy will work with both Drexel and Veritas. With several Leaders of Learning and Wellbeing on maternity leave this year, we welcome Mr Julian Drake-Brockman as Leader in Ferré House, working with Mrs Jen Tually. Mr Nicholas Whatman and Mrs Kate Macgregor will continue to take responsibility for Kennedy House and Mr Rohan Duddy will work with both Ferré and Kennedy in 2021. Mrs Madelaine Keogh and Ms Chloe McCallum are the Leaders of Maathai House. We welcome Mr Michael Nicoletti as Leader of Learning and Wellbeing for this year in Van Thuan House, working with Mrs Sarah Smith. Mrs Chauntell McNamara will work across Maathai and Van Thuan House.

For 2021, our Leaders of Wellbeing in each House are:

• Van Thuan – Ms Carly Conlan
• Maathai – Ms Kat Allan
• Veritas – Ms Jessica Reid
• Drexel – Mr Daniel Burns
• Ferré – Ms Kirsty Gibson
• Kennedy – Mr Matthew Caldow

In 2021, Ms Clementine O’Sullivan will continue to take responsibility for Languages and Mr Greg Mitchell will continue as the Sports Facilitator and Ms Jessica Tillack will look after Integrated Humanities.

We also welcome as new members of staff: Ms Emma Gao, teaching Maths and Science, Mr Blake Hamilton, teaching Physical Education and Health, Ms Katrina Manning, teaching in the Social Sciences, Mr Brenton Reid teaching Information Technology, Ms Jessica Stokman teaching Religious Education and Ms Rany Thach teaching Maths.

We are also very pleased to welcome our new full-time counsellor, Ms Amelaine Uidam and Ms Anna Pieratos into our Support Staff.

An inspirational theme for the year…

Our theme for the year comes from the gospel of John: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another" has already made a great impact.  As members of staff, Mrs Jen Tually worked with us during our professional learning week prior to the return of students to reflect on and interiorise its potential in our own lives and the Year 12 Leadership team led the whole school in a beautiful opening liturgy, introducing the theme to them. You will certainly be hearing more…

… and on a very practical note

A big thank you to all of you for responding so positively to the arrangements for pick up in the afternoon. Your proactive response has made a huge difference and the arrangements are working very well to ensure student safety and a smoother experience for all.

A very positive start

It has been a very positive start to the year. Our students in all year levels are enthusiastic and appear to have settled in very well. Over the coming weeks, you will receive contact from your son or daughter’s Mentor teacher so that you are aware of who to contact with any questions or queries. In the meantime, feel free to contact one of the Leaders of Learning and Wellbeing in your House with any issues you may wish to discuss. 

Thank you all for the support you have given us already. I am greatly looking forward to working with you and your sons and daughters in 2021.

Catherine Rey
Principal

WORDS THAT

CHANGED THE WORLD!

 “As I have loved you, so you must

LOVE

one another”

John 13:34

JPC’s 2021 Liturgical Theme comes from Jesus Himself, as told through the prophet John. Jesus, when he knows he is about to be betrayed and arrested, gathers with his closest followers for a final meal together and gives them a command that turns the world upside-down!

Jesus gives an important directive – to love one another as He loves them - knowing that if they do this, others will see and know that they are His followers, keeping His word alive. Jesus directs us to love Him openly, and others will see that we are His followers. He wants us to critically examine how we interact, to reach out with care and compassion to those around us.

To strengthen JPC as a truly welcoming and supportive community, each of us will need to be open and vulnerable, allowing others to reach in and make meaningful and deep connections. Jesus wants us to show courage, to challenge ourselves and others to be better.

The most important part of his command is that

we love as Jesus loves us.

The reading comes from the Gospel of John, Chapter 13: verses 33 – 35

The setting is the last supper – Jesus knows that he is not going to be with the disciples for long, and gives them a parting command that He believes will help save humanity:

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

What does it mean to love like Jesus does?

• Sacrifical Love - Jesus died to save us – there is no greater love than to give up your life for someone.
• Selfless Love - How can you show selfless love to others?
• Unconditional Love - Jesus loves us – no matter what! - Terms and Conditions do not apply. How can you love others without reserve?
• Courageous Love - Jesus loves us bravely and with courage – He is not afraid to challenge us to be better. Are you brave enough to challenge yourself? Your friends?
• Pure, Mindful and Gracious Love. How can you reach out to others, especially those whom you find most difficult to love?

 What does it mean for us at JPC?

In our House groups over the next few weeks, we will explore what Jesus words mean to us and how the values of our Houses and our Patrons demonstrate this love. We will also make a commitment to actions that show how we can love others sacrificially, selflessly, unconditionally, courageously, purely, mindfully and with grace.

MUSIC is a wonderful way to pray and this song, Love Each Other, by Graham Kendrick is a great celebration of our theme – please share it with your family!   https://youtu.be/2MblrWZDpPQ

Jen Tually
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing - Mission and Ministry

Congratulations to our newly elected 2021 House Leaders from Year 11:

Drexel           Kiara Meza & Calam Huender

Ferré             Albert David & Derick Tongu

Kennedy       Gabrielle Jordan & Leila Gaete

Maathai        Braidee Purton & Aidan Monteleone

Van Thaun    Keely Gould & Ryan Lyddiard

Veritas          Eugene Subedi

Jen Tually
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing – Mission and Ministry

Hi all, 

I’m Miss GAO. I teach Maths and I love all kinds of sports. I also love music and I am learning to play the piano. My favourite activity is to complete jigsaw puzzles. I will be teaching Year 8, 10, 11 Maths this term. I am looking forward to meeting you all.

The veritas students were making a love heart shape with their hands and writing a pledge to follow that matches the JPC 2021 spirituality theme. Students made pledges to show love to one another by creating a wall display which will be in our College learning street shortly.

“As I have loved you, so you must LOVE one another.”
John 13:34

Mrs Kelly Candy
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing

2021 Online applications are CLOSING 14th February 2021. Please refer to the flyer for details of the ANU Extension programs on offer to year 11 students in 2021.

The suite of courses on offer is broad and this year there are two new courses, Creative Computing and Global Perspectives in Commerce. This is in addition to Astrophysics, Biodiversity, Chemistry, Discovering Engineering, Physics, Specialist Mathematics, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian and Japanese. There is no tuition fee charged to students and all programs are open to Australian domestic students who hold a concurrent enrolment in an ACT secondary school.

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

We are excited to offer new opportunities in our Co-Curricular/Instrumental Music Programs at St John Paul II College in 2021. Our thriving program has grown to include over 200 students who are passionate about music, it’s now your turn to get involved! Our band programs include:

• Rock Band
• Unplugged Band
• Concert Band
• Jazz Band
• Vocal group
• Ukulele club
• Piano club

We also have our fantastic Production Crew. These students manage the sound and lighting at all St John Paul II College performing arts events. They learn the technical ‘ins and outs’ of how to manage live sound, setup, pack down and lighting. We have both a senior and junior crew who meet weekly for classes.

As a part of our extensive music program, we also offer individual Instrumental Music lessons with some of the best music tutors in the ACT. Our music tutors offer weekly private lessons at St John Paul II College in:

• Vocals
• Guitar
• Bass Guitar
• Strings – Violin/Cello
• Drums
• Piano
• Brass – Trumpet/Trombone
• Woodwind – Saxophone/Clarinet

It is clear that we have something for everyone! There are no prerequisites for any of these groups. If you are interested, just sign up and get involved. If you have any questions please email Aron Lyon at aronlyon@hotmail.com or Sharon Robinson at sharon.robinson@cg.catholic.edu.au

Taking enrolments for Bands/Clubs now through our online application system here:

Taking enrolments for Instrumental Lessons now through our online application system here:

Absence/Sick Process

• Please email the college office as soon as possible if your child is going to be late or away for the day.
• Students arriving after 9.05 am need to sign in at the office if an email has been received or a parent accompanies the student this will be recorded as “Explained Late”.
• Parents will receive an SMS at approximately 9.30 am for all unexplained late arrivals. You can reply to the SMS or email the College Office to explain the late arrival.
• A Whole Day Absence Notification SMS is sent to parents at approximately 10.30 am. This gives the office staff the chance to compare Pastoral Rolls with Period 1 Rolls for any discrepancies. You can reply to the SMS, send an email or send a note in on your child’s return to explain the Absence.
• Unfortunately, sometimes errors in roll marking occur, we understand that this is not ideal and appreciate that it can often cause distress to parents, we are very sorry for this. If this does happen please just respond to the message, email or call the office and we will ensure that your child is at the college and rectify the error.
• Should your child need to leave early, please email the College Office with the time they are leaving and copy your child into the email (use student email account). When your child needs to leave they can show the teacher the email and then go to the Student office to sign out. There is no need for parents to come into the school to collect them if we have received an email. We are unable to collect students from classrooms, 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.

College office email - office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au

Qkr!

Please download the Qkr! App. JPC use this app for the following:

• School Fees
• Excursion Permissions
• School Paments
• Canteen Top Up (money can be added to the student's account on the day, however, it must be done by 10 am to be able to access it on the same day)
• Music Payments
• and much more...

Instructions on how to download Qkr! and complete permission forms are available on the website.

Bike Sheds

If you are riding to school, please make sure you put your bike in the bike sheds. They are not to be left on the outside.

If the sheds are locked, please go to the Student Office and they will open it up so your bike can be safely secured.

We recommend that you put a lock on your bike for extra security.

Thank you

Year 7 vaccinations

Monday 8 February (next Monday!)

ACT Health provide free vaccinations for all Year 7 students, for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) (2 doses, 6 months apart) and Diptheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (1 dose), as part of the ACT High School Immunisation Program. 

Year 7 students at JPC will be vaccinated next Monday, 8 February 2021 with the first HPV dose. 

If you have any queries or concerns, especially if you have questions about whether or not your child can receive the vaccine, or your child has received one or both of these vaccines recently, please call the ACT School Health Team directly on (02) 5124 1585 – (as JPC front office staff do not have any immunisation records and so will not be able to answer!) 

ACT Health have recommended a few things that parents can do to help reduce their child’s fear, anxiety and stress about getting their immunisations:

• Discuss with your child what the vaccines are for and explain the diseases that the vaccines help protect them from.
• Inform your child that the immunisations are happening, so they can prepare themselves
• Practice positive self-talk – “I can do this”.
• On the day of immunisations, encourage your child to eat a substantial breakfast and drink plenty of water throughout the day
• If your child is very anxious, you can come and be with your child while they have their immunisation.

If your child is absent from school next Monday, you will be contacted by ACT Health about how to receive these vaccines free through your GP.

Year 7 Students | ACT Healthhttps://www.health.act.gov.au/services-and-programs/immunisation/adolescents/year-7-students

Sally Mordike
College Support Officer

Time to comb your hair, brush your teeth, and iron your shirt!
School Photos Next Week: TUESDAY 9 FEBRUARY

JPC School photos will be taken next week on Tuesday. 

Photo forms must be brought in by your child next Tuesday morning - even if you are not buying photos - as all students will have their photos taken (for Student ID cards). Each form has a student’s name on it, which the photographer will need. Students are to keep their forms with them all day, and hand them to the photographers when their photo is taken.

Sibling/family photos will be taken during lunchtime (between 11.30am and 12pm). If you are interested in having a sibling photo taken, your child will need to collect a separate sibling photo form from the student office on Monday, and bring it with them on Tuesday.

Absences: If your child is away on Tuesday, please let the student office know via email (as usual). Catch-up photos will be taken on Wednesday morning.

If you have any questions, please contact the College office office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au

To ensure the safety of our student at the end of the day, we ask that you please take note of the following:

• Due to expected significant congestion, the small visitor carpark will be closed between 3.30pm and 4.00pm each afternoon.
• Buses will be given priority at all times.
• Expect considerable delays in collecting students
• Students will be directed to wait for their parents in the parent pick up point closest to the Nicholls Playing Fields or in the Staff Carpark.
• Parents are also encouraged to make alternate arrangements for collecting their student eg from Casey shops (accessed by students through the underpass) or in the parking area of the Nicholls Playing Fields.

Parents are reminded to follow all directions from JPC staff.

In line with our school philosophy, it is preferable that students develop autonomy by making their way to and from school independently - on foot, riding their bike or catching a bus.

Students can access Bus timetables and Maps at the Student Office and they are available to parents and students via Transport Canberra.

Thank you for your support and cooperation with this matter.

Please download the Check in CBR app before visiting us!

If you are coming into the school for a meeting, you will need to Check in.

Use of the app is optional. If you don’t want to or can’t download the app, you will need to complete a form at the College Office before entering.

For further information visit:

Many thanks for your cooperation.

Parents with students enrolled in Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese schools have free access to some great web sites that will assist you to work with some learning challenges that your student might be facing. The online training is flexible, up to date, and relevant to the Australian curriculum. Currently, there are 2 short courses for parents:

1. 1. ADHD for Parents for parents and carers who have, or think they might have, a student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD).
   2. Autism for Parents aimed at parents and carers of children with Autism.

To access this valuable information go to https://aus.oltinternational.net/account/login. Choose the Log In (top right) then if you have not got an account, follow the prompts to Register.

We have a Learning Support Team at JPC and if you have any questions about the learning challenges that your student might be facing, please ask your student’s Mentor to follow these up with us.

Safety

Safety is our number one priority for school students that travel on and around the light rail.  

We often see passengers (not just students!) running across roads and the light rail tracks without looking, and other dangerous behaviour. We want students to Pay attention and stay #RailSAFE in 2021:

S – stay off the tracks
A – avoid distractions
F – follow instructions
E – encourage others to be SAFE

S – stay off the tracks

• Pedestrians and cyclists should only cross the tracks at designated walkways. Always look both ways before crossing.
• Stand behind the yellow line on the platform at all times, this includes keeping bags and other items clear of the yellow line at all times.
• Do not throw balls or other items across the tracks.

A – avoid distractions

• Pedestrians to be alert to your surroundings, limit distractions such as mobile phones and headphones when walking around or across light rail tracks.

F – follow instructions

• CMET Staff may be at light rail stops or on board LRVs during school peak times, to ensure everyone’s safety. Students are reminded to follow their instruction while travelling on the light rail.
• Take a seat or hold on while travelling

E – encourage others to be SAFE

• If you are concerned about your safety or the safety of others, please use the Emergency Help Point on platforms and on board light rail vehicles (LRVs) to contact staff. 

Fares and ticketing 

All passengers need to purchase their tickets before boarding. If you are connecting with a Transport Canberra bus service, you must tap on and off between each trip. Students should tap on at the light rail stop prior to boarding an LRV.

Ticket Vending Machines are available on every stop to purchase a single trip ticket or to top up MyWay card instantly.

For information on registering MyWay cards, setting up autoload and other fares and ticketing information visit https://www.transport.act.gov.au/tickets-and-myway/fares.

*Students without a ticket or MyWay will not be refused travel, however travelling without a ticket may result in being issued a written warning or infringement. CMET may follow up with schools regarding students who are identified as regularly travelling without a valid ticket.

Students are reminded to always carry their student ID when travelling on light rail and bus, particularly when they are travelling outside of school times (weekends, school holidays).