Dear Parents and Carers,

We have certainly started the year on a busy note!

Some important events…

This week saw School Photos and Year 7 Immunisations take place very successfully (my heartfelt thanks to Ms Sally Mordike for her impressive organisation of these potentially very disruptive events!). We also held our first Thursday morning Mass before school. It was wonderful to welcome Fr Mark Croker back to the College this year and to see the Mass so strongly attended by students and staff. We are indeed fortunate!

… but ongoing restrictions due to COVID-19 as well

We are sad that we have not been able to hold some of the events early this year that we would normally hold. In particular, our Defense Families breakfast has not been able to go ahead. Ms Vicki Walsh, Defence Transition Mentor, has been in contact with many of you and she is keen to ensure any support that she is able to provide, notwithstanding restrictions. Please feel free to contact her.

We will hold our Tips and Tricks Evening, providing some key information to parents of Year 7 and new students in the junior school on Wednesday 24th February at 5 pm. Given COVID restrictions, it will be a remote event. The presentations will include how to use Moodle, our on-line learning platform, tips for homework and supporting your student with assignments and some advice around how to support your adolescent as they move through what can be a turbulent time. Following the formal presentations, parents will be able to join a chat room with their child’s House leaders to have questions answered and begin to form relationships. We look forward to having you join us for this event. For those families who have a clash at this time, we will record the formal presentations and place them on the website for you to access when it suits you. Further information will be emailed to families soon.

Forming positive routines…

We appreciate the effort that students and families are making to ensure that students arrive at school on time. PC time begins at 9 am. It is an important time to enable students to form relationships with others in their House and their Pastoral Care Leader. Students pray together and hear key messages for the day. As influential peers and role models, our senior students are key members of their PC group, offering mentoring and friendship to the younger members of the group. They must be in PC, regardless of whether they have a class in period 1 or not. In 2021, they have the opportunity of receiving a Registered Unit on their Senior Secondary Certificate for their work with the junior students during PC time.

I hope you will enjoy the articles in this week’s Key Messages and find them informative. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s mentor teacher or a House leader if you have any queries or concerns regarding the start of the year. These early weeks are important in ensuring that your child feels comfortable at school and that they establish productive learning attitudes, habits and routines.

Catherine Rey

Welcome to Mathematics for 2021! As a team of teachers, we are excited to embark on a new year with some great opportunities to see all students excel in Maths.

We have made some changes to how students will learn and be assessed in Maths this year.

Students in Year 8 will continue to use Maths Pathways which provides individualised learning aimed specifically at your child’s level. The online modules are complemented by teacher-led mini-lessons, targeted interventions, and rich tasks that challenge all students to extend their thinking. The Maths Pathways site includes a ‘Parents and Carers Portal’ which allows you to see exactly how your child is progressing, and what they are working on. You can use your child’s login details, or contact your child’s teacher. More details are available on the Moodle page. Assessment of content occurs every 2-3 weeks through online and written tests and is supplemented by rich tasks 2-3 times per term.

Students in Year 9 and 10 will continue to use a range of resources and activities provided by teachers. The main change from last year is that students will be assessed in a more ongoing manner, with small assessments every 3-4 weeks. Teachers will provide a revision activity prior to the assessment and will return the assessment to students in the lesson following. This is to provide immediate feedback, which will also be available to view on Moodle. Students will then have opportunities throughout the semester to be reassessed on each topic that is covered; this will occur in an ILT session.

All students of Mathematics (Year 8-10) are expected to complete 20 minutes of additional practice each day they have a Maths lesson (3 times per week). Usually, this will not be a specifically assigned task, rather a continuation from the classroom: Year 8 students should be continuing and completing a module; Year 9 and 10 students should complete the student work assigned that day. This additional practice is very important for students as it develops fluency and helps consolidate learning.

Equipment

A reminder that all students (Years 8-12) should bring the following to each class:

• Grid book
• Calculator
• Pen or pencil
• Device

Extension

There will be multiple opportunities for students to participate in extension activities throughout the year, from Maths Olympiad for Year 7 and 8 students, to ANU Maths Day for Year 12 students – keep an eye on Key Messages for more information as it comes!

Kate MacGregor
Leader Learning and Wellbeing
Mathematics | Kennedy House

To the wonderful community of JPC. 

I would like to begin by thanking the staff and students for such a warm welcome to your wonderful school. As mentioned last week by Mrs Rey in her Principal's Welcome, I will be the Assistant Principal for Veritas and Drexel Houses and working closely with the House Leaders to ensure all students make the most out of their time at school and achieve to their full potential. My passion in education is working with students is in growth and ensuring that students learn skills to “do things they couldn’t do the day before” across all areas of student life. I also have a keen interest in supporting parents to understand the complex and ever-changing world our young people are growing up in.

My key teaching areas are Maths and Religious Education and this year have the pleasure of teaching Yr 9 Maths which is something I will be looking forward to each week. Helping students unpack concepts and look at developing processes to solve problems in new and different ways is something I thoroughly enjoy and will be challenging my students with this year.

In joining JPC, my wife Erin, daughter Grace and dog Freddie are also excited about becoming part of this great community and meeting as many people as possible.

I wish all members of the JPC community a great 2021 and look forward to building positive relationships with all of you this year and into the future.

Jacob Knowles
Assistant Principal (Drexel/Veritas)

We would like to congratulate our newly appointed, second Veritas House Leader – Allyson Guerra Andrade (right), pictured here with Eugene Subedi, the other Veritas Leader (left).

Congratulations Allyson!

Year 9 RE had a learning experience this week that guided them to use archaeology. Mr Burns created an activity where the students found parts of broken plates and put them together. Through this process, students had a first-hand experience of using archaeology to gain information about the past. In class, the students will continue to explore the evidence to unpack whether the bible is historically accurate. Thank you to Mr Burns for creating this activity.

Mrs Kelly Candy
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing

This week, our year 7 Food Technology classes practised their knife skills making then eating Fabulous Food Faces!!

Annie Daley
Food Technology Teacher

This term the Year 8 students are completing a unit of Gymnastics, they have started very well and are demonstrating great balance, strength and coordination, and embracing the unit with creativity and enthusiasm. They have started to add body tension and transitions in the movement sequences and have seen some huge improvements. Over the next few week's we will begin to put together some individual and group sequences.

Mrs. Danni Jewell
Teacher of P.E & Health and Photography & Media

The year 9/10 Photography & Media students have worked well in their first 2 weeks, as they are beginning to understand the art of photography and how to create, interesting images using everyday items around them. They have been familiarising themselves with the functions of the camera and were excited to get their hands on the cameras for the first time towards the end of this week. They captured some beautiful images from around our school grounds to start their assessment portfolio.

Mrs. Danni Jewell
Teacher of P.E & Health and Photography & Media

On Tuesday the 9^th of February the Year 11 and 12 Earth and Environmental Science students visited Geoscience Australia to explore the “Time Walk” exhibit. They spent the morning walking through Earth’s geologic history and examined various representative samples from the Archean Eon to the current day. This was part of the Introduction to Earth and Environmental Science unit, where students are learning about the Earth as a system and its interrelated components. I would like to congratulate the class on their high level of engagement, their exemplary conduct and their outstanding representation of St John Paul II College during this excursion.

Carly Conlan
Science

Did you know that there are many before school and lunchtime clubs at JPC?

This week we saw the start of the Social Justice Club, Chess Club & Spanish Club.

More groups will be starting very soon, so make sure you listen to the notices in PC to find out when they are starting.

The list below is some of the clubs that are already up and running or about to start soon.

What is the Social Justice Club?

The Social Justice Club is a place for those who are passionate about giving back to the community. Once a fortnight on Tuesdays at lunch we will be meeting to discuss issues we are passionate about, fundraising opportunities and ways that we can help our community flourish. Some upcoming events we are working on include Random Acts of Kindness Day and the Vinnies March Appeal. If you are interested in coming along, please come see Miss Markmann for more information!

Hi JPC community! Welcome back to 2021. I (Mrs Zorzi) look after Careers at JPC. I can be contacted at careers.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au. For parents/carers, I encourage you to access the JPC Careers website which has a lot of detailed information, a calendar of events, work experience forms and a dedicated student section where they can create a resume/cover letter. https://jpc-careers.com/

University of Canberra H Courses

The University of Canberra is offering H Courses in 2021 for Y11 students. These courses are completed after school, allow students to experience university life, count towards two units of the Y12 certificate and ATAR, and allows students to earn credit and even be considered for early entry into uni. To read more about this program, click here. The University of Canberra is coming to speak to JPC students about these courses next Tuesday at lunch.

Diploma of Beauty ASBA (Y11/12)

The Australian Capital Training Institute would like to invite students to attend their Meet and Greet night which is being held Monday 15 February, 5:30 – 7:30pm at 26 Mort Street Braddon (our campus). In preparation for this event, students bring an updated resume as they will be handing them out to employers. For more information, contact careers.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au

JPC Careers Community - Midwifery talk

A local Canberra midwife, Alexa, joined myself and a student on a zoom call to share her knowledge about midwifery as a career and the pathways that led her there. She provided invaluable advice and we are so thankful for her time and expertise!

If you would like to be a part of the JPC community to share your career journey, please email careers.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Mrs Teena Zorzi
Leader of Learning (Careers) and Wellbeing (Drexel House)

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:

Hello and welcome back to all our Defence Families! A huge welcome to our JPC community for all our new Defence Students and their Families. This year we welcome our new Defence students Hayden, Lucy A, Niamh, Harry, Liam, Ainsley, Charlotte, Daniel, Alexis, Cooper, Harrison, Faith, Isabelle, Lucy G, Eleanor, Gabrielle, Zander, Holly, Zali, Isaac H, Ryan, Emily, Jacob, William M, Luke, Seraph, William P, Sarah, Madison, Patrick and Isaac W to our Defence Family. We have 118 Defence Students this year and I look forward to working with each of them over the year. Our new students appear to be settling in very well and I have met just about every one of them (this is a work in progress…..).

Every Monday at recess times, we hold a Defence Meeting in the “JPC Barracks”. This is a great opportunity for our Defence family (students) to come together and meet with each other. It is also when they find out what activities and excursions are happening, so I encourage your child to attend as often as they can. Every second Tuesday (even weeks) our Senior Defence Students can meet for a coffee catchup.

For our Year 7 and 8 Students - our exciting Birrigai Excursion is on Tuesday, 23 February. Excursion notes are on the Qkr! app and need to be in ASAP. Please contact me for any further information.

Our annual “Defence Families Welcome Breakfast” is being reconfigured and more information about our welcome event will be coming out soon. For Defence Families who are new (and existing) to Canberra, there are some events happening in February.

DCO Events

Virtual Welcome Expo - Registrations Open Now

Registrations are now open for our virtual welcome expo. To access the event, you will need to register via Eventbrite for a ticket. Find info about the DCO programs and services available as well as local community information. Complete the virtual treasure hunt to be in the running for a prize. Be sure to register soon as the platform will go live from 15 February.

Walk & Talk - Friday 26 February @ 10.00 am

Canberra Defence families you are invited to a bridge to bridge walk around Lake Burley Griffin while chatting to other Defence members and families. Prams and paws welcome! 

Meet the DCO team at the Elixir Café before the walk and finish back at the Elixir Café to refresh and refuel with a cuppa. 

This is a self-funded activity with attendees responsible for the purchase of their own food and drink. Register Where

Other Events

Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP)

The Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP) provides funding to assist partners with the difficulties of finding employment. Due to effects of the COVID-19 certain eligibility conditions, have been temporarily suspended. These changes will be reviewed by April 2021. Interested partners should read the PEAP guidelines  before completing the PEAP application form

Tutoring Assistance

If you have posted into Canberra, don’t forget Defence can assist with the cost of tutoring. Defence may reimburse the fees for tutoring to help your child meet the academic standards at JPC. For further information please contact me or follow the link.

https://www.defence.gov.au/DCO/_Master/documents/Factsheets/Education-assistance-tutor.pdf

For all our new families, I shall be sending home a “Welcome Pack” next week with lots of information for you. Please keep an eye out for it!

My days at JPC are every day except for Thursday (when I am across at HSP). So, I am never too far away! Please feel free to contact me at any time, if you have any concerns with your child.

Vicki Walsh
DSM
vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au

Reminder - Please Complete Permission Note

Dear Parents & Carers,

The Swimming Carnival is fast approaching (Friday 19 February).

Information on all 3 Carnivals (Swimming, Athletics & Cross Country) is available on the Sports Moodle page and the JPC Website (link below).

The Permission note needs to be completed via Qkr! by today Friday 12 February. We apologies for the short timeframe but we had to ensure that we could follow the COVID-19 restrictions before confirming the events.

Information on how to access Moodle and how to use Qkr! is available on the JPC website - https://www.jpc.act.edu.au/our-community/jpc-parents/information-links/

Kind Regards

Mr Greg Mitchell
Sports Facilitator

Dear Parents and Carers,

If your child is Baptised Catholic and in Year 6 or above in 2021 and you would like them to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, please join us for our Information Session. Here you can expect to learn about what it means to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and how it can make a difference in your life. 

Parent and Child Information Sessions:

We are holding information sessions on Tuesday 16^th February at 1:00 pm or 6:15 pm, at Holy Spirit Church, which we invite you to attend with your parent/carer.

• Tuesday 16 February at 1:00 pm
• Tuesday 16 February at 6:15 pm

Due to government restrictions, only the child and one (1) parent may attend the information session. Book your preferred information session at https://www.trybooking.com/BOOXT

Preparation will be provided to you at home and at classes provided by the Parish. These classes will be held on the following Saturday afternoons from 4:45 pm to 5:45 pm during the school term in the parish office:

• Saturday 27 February
• Saturday 13 March
• Saturday 20 March
• Saturday 27 March
• Saturday 25 April
• Saturday 1 May
• Saturday 8 May (4 pm Start on 8 May).

Attendance at all of these classes is essential to the preparation program.

For further information please visit:

or speak with your religious coordinator Jennifer Tually or our Sacramental Coordinator Katrina Battilana at the Parish Office 02 6242 9622 or email sacraments@holyspiritgungahlin.org.au

Yours in Christ,

Fr Mark Croker
Parish Priest

Gungahlin Sports & Recreation Summer Expo

This is the 4th Expo in its series being held at Amaroo Oval where various sports and recreation activities will be showcased by the local sporting clubs and community recreation groups. This expo encourages kids to take up physical activities and register with local clubs as per their choice. Entry is free and this event is for all ages.

Come and Play Soccer - Girls 17/18 Years