The weekend before last I went to a concert in Sydney with my eldest son – a Christmas present from him to me. Apart from always relishing time with him, I was amazed at the fact there was not a single empty seat in the concert hall. And, to see a minimalist, ambient, art music composer called Max Richter.

In true minimalist (or post-minimalist) style, the music evolves after much repetition, and is often slow moving. It is meditative music that invites rather than demands our attention. During the concert, I found myself closing my eyes and really letting it take me elsewhere. I was not always conscious where “elsewhere” indeed was, but I was transported. The dimly lit auditorium and the attentiveness of the audience facilitated this.

It struck me after the evening, how difficult it is for us to stop, and give our full attention to something. To be still, and silent, and respond simply by listening. I guess prayer offers that same invitation, yet we often find it hard to submit fully to it. In a world where everything is right now, urgent, demands our response, and multiple calls on our time tug us first one way, then another, what a joy it is to be completely present to just one thing. And that thing is constantly drawing us away from the now, to something or somewhere else.

Meditation is hard. Some say that they find their mind wandering, and can’t concentrate. That’s ok. Let the mind wander! Let it go where it wants. I have found meditation well-nigh impossible in the past, but like anything that we want to get better at, it is a discipline, and one that needs to be practised. Expecting to be fully immersed and engaged in meditation immediately is too big a task. Starting with short 30 second or one minute meditation sessions is a good way to begin.

Soon, Lent will be upon us. I am going to remind myself in the busy-ness of doing business, that the world will not stop turning if we choose to stop, just for a little while, and meditate, and pray. At our College we stop every morning to pray. We set the scene by adopting a posture of prayer, and we take just a few minutes to get out of ourselves, and give thanks, and communicate with our God. This invitation is provided again and again.

If you’re interested in learning more about Max Richter (and I am not on commission here!) have a listen to Sleep, or In a Landscape, or The Blue Notebooks. It’s magical stuff!

Dr Craig Wattam

Welcome to the latest update on what’s happening in the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) department! Our students have been engaging in fascinating topics across all year levels:

• Year 7 HASS students have been exploring deep-time history by examining Dreamtime stories and artefacts, gaining insight into Indigenous perspectives on the past.
• Year 8 HASS students are investigating the fall of the Roman Empire, uncovering the causes and consequences of one of history’s most significant declines.
• Year 9 History students are delving into the colonisation of Australia, analysing its impacts on Indigenous communities and broader Australian society.
• Year 10 History students are studying the rise of Hitler and the beginnings of World War II, exploring the political and social conditions that led to global conflict.
• Business students are making informed decisions about Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate rises, applying their knowledge of economics to real-world scenarios.
• Civics and Citizenship students are comparing Australian democracy with Indonesia’s political system, examining key similarities and differences.
• Geography students are learning about food security and well-being throughout the world, including data analysis techniques.

Watch this space! Exciting opportunities for competitions, excursions, and incursions are coming up soon, starting with the Dreamtime Native Arts and Crafts Aboriginal Culture Kit from the NSW Dreamtime Art Gallery—stay tuned for more ways to get involved!

Stay curious,
HASS Team

When you have access to Canvas via the Web App, you should have access to a number of areas.

The following is a quick help guide:

• ‘Syllabus’ - is where you will find the unit outline and due dates for each task.
• ‘Assignments’- is where you will find details for each assignment once they become available.
• ‘Modules’ are where class work can be located.
• ‘Marks’ is where you will see assessment item results, including against each outcome.

If you have any questions about what you see on Canvas, please do not hesitate to contact the classroom teacher for the subject area.

If you are using the Parent app and wish to view the unit outline for each subject, the following steps:

Select a course and then select ‘Front Page’.	Scroll to the bottom of the Front Page	Select unit outline.	This should open the unit outline.

Last Thursday, JPC Virtual Learning students were invited to Merici College to participate in the Virtual Learning Camp. These students were able to meet classmates and their teachers and build vital connections between these people and the other VL students who came from across the CECG Archdiocese.

Students participated in cultural knowledge, goal-setting, and assessment success workshops before attending a class session with their teacher.

Thank you to Merici College for hosting us for the day and to Wendy Mockler and CE for organising the event.

As Australian students return to school, many are not just navigating new classrooms and teachers — but also a digital world with increasingly complex challenges.

New data from eSafety shows a staggering 450 per cent rise in cyberbullying reports over the past five years, with children transitioning into secondary school accounting for more than a third of all cases.

If parents can take away one message as they start the school year, it’s this: do not wait for an incident to occur to have a conversation with your child about cyberbullying. Early conversations about online safety will provide your child with the social and emotional skills needed to reduce risks and make our communities safer for all.