Project Based Learning in Year 9 English

Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge. The Year 9 English team launched an ambitious PBL program with their students' last term. The project required students to DISCOVER, CREATE and SHARE (Hewes, 2018)* in response to the following guiding question:

To launch of this project, students viewed clips by world renowned animal documentary maker, David Attenborough. After considering the sound and visual techniques that make Attenborough’s work so compelling, students worked in groups to ‘invent’ an exotic animal. Two or more of the student group members acted out their group’s invented animal, while one group member narrated the animal’s behaviour, David Attenborough style! Riotously entertaining as this launch was, its deeper purpose was to introduce students to planning, scripting, and ‘performing’ a live documentary!

To facilitate the students’ discovery of camera shots and angles, and their various effects, students again worked in groups, within which they allocated a director, camera person and ‘talent wrangler.’ Groups were given a small action figurine (a special shout out to Mrs Keogh’s six-year-old son, Joseph, who surrendered his entire collection beloved toy action people for the week) and they used their devices to get examples of a range of camera shot and angle techniques. They then shared these in a Google Slides presentation with annotated explanations of the effect of their captured techniques.

Long shots can be used to show the scene, environment or other characters around them. In this example, it shows that our talent is isolated on a bridge.

 A low angle shot is a camera angle where you are looking up at the talent from a lower ground. It is generally used to make the audience feel more vulnerable or for the subject to portray a sense of power. In this shot our talent looks powerful as he is about to launch off the wall.

A close-up shot in filmmaking is a shot that is normally from the shoulders up. It is one of the standard shots used in films alongside medium and long shots. Close-ups are used to focus on an actor’s facial expression and their emotion. This close up shot shows the sketchy/dodgy intentions of the lego man.

As students worked through the stages of their project, they discovered and developed skills in interviewing, storyboarding, editing and critically analysing. By and large, the Year 9 cohort is to be commended for how they approached this PBL experience and the works they created.

So without further ado, here are the links to some of the 60 second documentaries our Year 9 students created about local legends. Enjoy!

By - Ava Au

By - Willain Ness, Matheus Simonin Leite Nunes and Ethan Aleksandrowicz

By - Sylvia Hemmings and Millicent Kingwill 

By - Winifred Keating, Cameron Northam, Ann Arslan

By - Sienna Gerstenberg, Arisha Cheema and Sophia Hawkins

*Hewes, B 2018, ‘Is there a better year group to teach than Year 8?’ WordPress, 27 May, 2021, https://biancahewes.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/is-there-a-better-year-group-to-teach-than-year-8/.

Madelaine Keogh
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing (Maathai House)
Leader of English

A reminder about some of the dangers and risks associated with social media

I have had contact with the Police Community Liaison Officers who provide a great community service to us in schools. They wish to help us be very proactive in ensuring the safety of our young people and supporting their healthy growth to adulthood.

One of the important areas we discussed when they visited was the illegal situations that young people can inadvertently find themselves in through their use of social media. I felt that a timely reminder again of this would be helpful to families.

Young people often do not realise the legal ramifications of distributing material – particularly images and videos.  If that material is inappropriate or in fact illegal, then it is an offence to distribute it. Our young people need to be aware of what is illegal material and ensure that they do not pass it on. If they receive something they believe could be illegal material, they need to ideally not open the communication, alert an adult and certainly not send it to others. Sending illegal material to friends is distributing it and the Police must take appropriate action if it is brought to their attention.

Ongoing discussions with your children around the use of social media are very valuable and I would encourage you to include this aspect of social media use in your discussions with them.

Catherine Rey
Principal

In the coming weeks, we will be inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St John Paul II College.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device. We will send you the link to access the survey next week.

Years 11 and 12 Exam Information and Timetable for the end of Semester 1, 2021

(Week 17/18 - 11-18 June)

• All exams are in the Hall 
• All Tertiary exams are 90 minutes in length, with 5 minutes reading time
• All Tertiary exams are 60 minutes in length, with 5 minutes reading time
• Students are to meet in the Learning street 10 minutes before the scheduled start of exams
• Please check you have all permitted equipment prior to entering the exam room
• ALL Year 11 & 12 Tertiary students are REQUIRED to attend the AST familiarisation sessions
• Any issues with exam scheduling need to be addressed with Dr Cleary by 4 June.
• All students eligible for special provisions will be emailed to confirm timing of exams with additional time/conditions. If you have not received an email by the end of Tuesday 1 June and believe you are eligible, please contact Dr Cleary.

Any student who misses a scheduled exam due to illness:

• Must have the parent/carer contact the teacher, the appropriate Faculty leader and cc: Dr Cleary via email
• Will have their exam rescheduled to the first available exam slot, based on medical information
• Will be required to provide a Medical Certificate if an exam cannot be rescheduled in the exam period

Dr Ann Cleary
Assistant Principal

All students in Years 11 and 12, and their parents, have been sent details of any unexplained absences up to the end of Week 11. A final summary will be sent after the last day of class this term (11 June). There have been a number of queries seeking clarification of various aspects of Senior unexplained absences. We have made a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet that we hope explains the categories and process in a little more detail.

Mathematics – Year 9 and 10 Re-Assessment Process

One of the key principles of St John Paul II College is to cultivate a Growth Mindset in all our students – we want students to persist, to keep trying, and to believe that, with effort, they can learn – especially when they have found a topic a bit tricky.

To facilitate and encourage continued learning, the Maths Faculty is offering students the opportunity to be re-assessed – to complete another assessment for each of the topics covered so far this term. Teachers will not be prompting students to take this opportunity, nor reminding them – it is the responsibility of students to act in this situation.

Year 9 and 10 students have this chance in Week 16 ILT (next week).

To participate, students need to:

• Book a maths teacher from their year for an ILT session of their choice
• Indicate on their planner that they plan to complete a re-assessment task, and the topic(s).
• Ask the teacher in the ILT session for the task(s)
• Complete the task(s)
• Hand task(s) to the teacher in the ILT session (teachers will pass it to the student’s classroom teacher for marking).

Students are still expected to complete the set ILT task for the week.

Feedback will be given via the original rubric that is available through Moodle, with changes made and additional comments as required.

An email will be sent to remind students to book this in their ILT planners, and to advise which topics will be available for reassessment.

Thank you for your support,

Kate MacGregor
LLWB Mathematics

Sorry day was acknowledged with a moving assembly run by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on Wednesday 26^th May. Highlights were Alivia Holden and Imogen Zimmer’s Treaty Dance and the presentation of the Indigenous Captain badge by Mrs Rey to Mackenzie Lane.

The theme for Reconciliation 2021: “more than words, Reconciliation takes action” was actioned in our whole school ‘walk the talk activity’ whereby the students wrote their action/intention on a House coloured footprint and planted them in the teardrop garden at the front of the school to make a beautiful Dreamtime Rainbow serpent.

The Hospitality students also ran a Reconciliation Restaurant featuring Bush tucker ingredients from the JPC Native edible garden. Thank you to all involved in a very successful Reconciliation week and we wish all a happy and safe and culturally rewarding Reconciliation Long weekend.

Annie Daley
Contact teacher for Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander students

An invitation to all members of the wider JPC community:

 Please come along to our JPC Community Masses!

Thursdays of even weeks

8:30AM – 8:55AM in the JPC Chapel

 All parents, grandparents, carers, siblings and family friends are welcome to join our fortnightly JPC Community Masses, celebrated by Father Thonn or Father Mark from the Holy Spirit Parish, hosted by our JPC Youth Ministry Team or one of our Year 10 Youth Ministry Elective classes.

 These Masses are a special way to share in our faith with everyone from the JPC community, and a LOVELY way to start the day!

 Visitors would just need to sign in using the QR code at the JPC Office, and come up to the Chapel, ready to start by 8:30AM.

Our next JPC Community Mass

Week 16 (next week) on Thursday, June 3, 2021

Hosted by: Ms Stokman’s Yr 10 Youth Ministry Elective RE Class

Mathieu’s Bridget Shelley from year 12, has been participating in a highly distinguished United Nations program over the past few weeks known as the Young Diplomats Tour.

The program selects just 25 students from across Australia to explore the complex realities of diplomacy and has involved meeting with UN representatives, European Politicians, diplomats, leading thinkers, to NGOs and grassroots organisations. When I discussed the program with her, her eyes lit up, and she enthusiastically describes her experience. It’s clear to me that the program is of great value to and a joy to be a part of.

In a typical year, she would have been in Europe visiting significant sights and meeting the UN representatives in person, which unfortunately the tour is unable to do at this time. Next year?

For more information about this program, you can visit www.unyouth.org.au

Below are a couple of photos of the Virtual tour.

During week 13, Year 11 and 12 Outdoor Education class undertook a kayaking expedition with Region X. We began this journey at Shallows crossing, where we learned how to safely waterproof our items and efficiently pack our kayaks. Day 1 consisted of a 12km kayak down to Bonnie Doon’s campsite. Night one was challenging, as it was our first night out of civilisation. Day 2 was an early rise, where we travelled 11km from Bonnie Doon down to Nelligen, where we were surprised with a night staying at the BIG 4 caravan park. Day 3 was challenging as we were all exhausted and hitting tough mental blocks, however, we all managed to preserve to complete another 13km down to Batemans Bay where we were met with the bus and travelled back home back to Canberra.

Tahlia Hill, Year 11

Quotes from students:

Last Friday all the Year 9-12 Dance elective students went on an excursion to see a performance by Quantum Leap at the Canberra Theatre. Quantum Leap (QL2) is a dance company based in Canberra that trains young people in Contemporary Dance. Many of the school’s students have gone on to work professionally as dancers around Australia and overseas. Their performance “Rebel. Then. Now. When?” spoke about Civil Rights Movements of the past and present. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to see quality dance performance and provide inspiration for their upcoming choreography assessments.

Miss Maskell & Miss Markmann

JPC’s Boys Bill Turner Cup team travelled to blustery and cold Goulburn (home of the Big Merino and hometown of Mr Caldow) to take on Mulwaree High on what was best described as a sheep paddock. The boys arrived in awe of the lack of facilities with an actual garden shed forming the ‘change room’ for the game. Encouraged to focus on their own game rather than the pitch, the change room or the referee, the boy started strongly, regularly cutting through the Mulwaree defence with some enterprising play.

Unfortunately the Mulwaree keeper was having a blinder and repeatedly denied the JPC boys. With strong passing from Toby, Jo, Tana, Pat R and Will in midfield, JPC dominated possession and maintained composure well but could not grab a goal. Frustrations mounted as the half time whistle blew with the score nil-all.

Thankfully Josh ‘Maradona’ Milosevic decided to take matters into his own hands off the second half kick-off. Josh slalomed his way through multiple Mulwaree defenders and expertly slotting the ball into the back of the net in a sublime individual goal. The JPC boys continued to dominate with strong play from the backline of Noah, Harry, Riley, Charlie and debutant Ryan and strong defence in midfield from skipper Joe and Anakin. Mulwaree barely troubled keeper Gabe, a couple of rare attacks down the left wing were stifled by strong work from Conor and Shrey. Eventually the unending pressure told with Tana gliding through to calmly slot a second goal minutes before the end of the game to confirm the result. The second goal allowed a cameo from reserve keeper Edan – who attacked from right midfield with rigour.

The boys were excited with the 2-0 win. Our next match will be against Karabar High – hopefully at a venue closer to home. Special thanks to Miss Giovinazzo for her organisation and excellent support on the day and to all the parents that took the trip down the highway to cold Goulburn.

Mr Caldow
Bill Turner Cup Coach

On Tuesday the Senior dance students were privileged to participate in a workshop hosted by Sydney Dance Company. Two professional dancers came down from Sydney to run some creative exercises with the students. They were also able to learn repertoire from SDC’s touring show “Impermanence” coming to Canberra next weekend. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to work with professionals and gain experience and ideas for their contemporary choreography assessment.

Miss Maskell

Writing Club meets at lunchtime on Thursday's. This week was the first opportunity for students involved in the Write s Story in a Day Competition to come together to do some initial strategising.

Charles Sturt University – Year 10 Subject Selection Help Night

The Charles Sturt University Year 10 Subject Information Night is running online next Tuesday 1 June from 7pm -7.45pm where Year 10 students will be able to get a head start on their post-high school adventure!  This interactive online event will kickstart career ideas, give tips on senior school subject selection and share the buzz on all things Charles Sturt. Interested students and parents can register for the event here.

University of Wollongong Visit

This week, Steve from the University of Wollongong visited JPC to talk to students about pathways to university. He explained the benefits of living on campus, the array of course offerings and the early entry program. If you would like more information please see https://www.uow.edu.au/. The open day is on the 7^th of August.  

Is your child considering a Career in Medicine or Dentistry?

Free Webinar

31 May 2021 (Sunday) 6.30pm – 8.30pm (AEST)

REGISTER NOW

An invaluable forum recommended to students considering a career in Medicine or Dentistry, and especially for those who already know that they will be sitting the UCAT or attending Med School Interviews. This forum is an excellent opportunity for teachers, students and parents to find out about the UCAT, Interviews, Pathways into Medicine, and have all questions answered by expert teachers who have been working in the field since 1999.

Your Career Government Website

This Information Service provides support to young people and their parents to explore their education, training, and employment interests. There is free personalised career guidance sessions for school leavers aged 15-24 years with a qualified career practitioner over the telephone. Head to https://www.yourcareer.gov.au/

Careers Newsletter

https://jpc-careers.com/newsletter/file/24254

JPC Work Experience and ASBA Process

Do you have questions about Work Experience and ASBAs? Click here to learn about the JPC Work Experience Process. Click here to learn about ASBAs.

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

E | careers.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au

Did you know?

We have a closed Facebook group for our St John Paul II College and Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School Defence Families. It is aptly named “Defence Families of HSP & JPC”. If you are an ADF family and would like to be a member of our Facebook group, please contact me so I can send you the link. vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au

DCO Events and activities

DCO are changing their name to DMFS!

On 1 July Defence Community Organisation (DCO) will change their name to Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS) Branch.

The new name reflects their vision, what they do and who they do it for. While their name is changing, there will be no changes to the services or programs offered to ADF members and their families.

Find out more about the name change www.defence.gov.au/dco

Coffee and Conversation

Join other Canberra ADF partners for DCO’s regular monthly coffee catch up. This is a self-funded activity and children are welcome.

When: Wednesday, 9 June - 10am-12pm

Where: Adore Tea Teahouse, Nicholls

RSVP:    by 4 June

              https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/an-adf-families-event-coffee-and-conversation-canberra-tickets-155559421417

Choose your own Adventure

DCO are offering 3 events for ADF members and their families. You can choose which event you would like to attend and register for that event! Choices are:

• Event 1: Questacon
• Event 2: Warehouse Circus
• Event 3: The Riddle Room - this will be a child free event

When: Sunday, 20 June - 10am – 1pm

Register: More information to come when registrations are open.

Share your hobby with other our Defence community

DCO is sending the call out for ADF members or partners who have a hobby or interest and would like to teach others in our Defence community. If you would like to volunteer to share your passion, please get in touch with DCO by email coat dco.canberra@defence.gov.au

Please note: the above events are only for ADF members and their families.

Vicki Walsh
Defence School Mentor

Parish Newsletter

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