Dear Parents and Carers,

As we conclude Week 5 we would like to highlight all of the events across the week.

National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week

To mark the start of Reconciliation Week St John Paul II College would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge National Sorry Day yesterday, Thursday 26^th May 2022. This is an important day on our calendar and raises awareness of the history and continued effect of the forced removal of our First Nations Peoples from their communities and culture. National Sorry Day was marked with a beautiful prayer and reflection which engaged students in the deeper meaning of the day. In conjunction with one of our core values of respectful relationships, we also acknowledge the importance of National Reconciliation Week and the significance of building a harmonious community where all people can thrive.

Along with acknowledging these two very important times within our College, on Wednesday Year 8 Chinese students participated in the Chinese Languages Day. Students had the opportunity to engage in Chinese dance, music and culture in what was a valuable experience for these students to immerse themselves deeply in the Chinese culture. A huge thank you to all external presenters, the staff and the Year 8 Chinese classes of students involved, it was a hugely rich experience for these students.

Menslink

We also had the privilege of having Menslink come and deliver the Silence is Deadly program to our young men across the College. The core theme of this discussion is breaking down the stereotypes of what a man should be and acknowledging that it isn’t weak to speak out about mental health concerns, as well as understanding and supporting peers who may be going through challenges in their lives. Again linking back to community this discussion was very valuable to provide our students with an understanding that they are not alone when faced with challenges and that there is always support available.

JPC Multicultural Day

Next Thursday 2^nd June 2022, JPC will be hosting a Multicultural Day to celebrate the diversity in our community. Over the past week, interesting facts about countries from around the world have been read in Pastoral Care time in the lead up to next Thursday. On the day students will be encouraged to wear either cultural dress garments or cultural dress accessories, as well as participating in a number of activities on the day including a world cup soccer competition, cultural movies on display, various multicultural items of food from the canteen, cultural dance workshops and many more. This day has been completely led by our students and who would like to promote the understanding and respect of all cultures and communities within our community.

Nic Whatman
Assistant Principal – Wellbeing and Community
Maathai and Van Thuan Houses

(Week 18/19 – 14-21 June)

Senior Exams will be held during weeks 18 and 19, from 14 June through to and including 21 June 2022.

Exam timetables and exam information will be emailed to students by Wednesday 1 June. Please keep an eye on your emails.

Any issues with exam scheduling need to be addressed with Mrs Garvie by 8 June.

All students eligible for special provisions will be emailed separately to confirm the timing of exams with additional time conditions.

If you have not received an email by the end of Wednesday 1 June and believe you are eligible, please contact Mrs Garvie.

Thank you

Last Friday 20 May we had our annual JPC Cross Country day. This is an event that highlights the athletic ability of many of our students. However, it does not only focus on how well our students can run but is also designed to emphasise the many health benefits that students gain by participating in various forms of aerobic exercise.

Students started on the school grounds with a lap of the oval, running past the House areas, where their fellow peers cheered loudly to support them. They then left the school grounds and made their way around the track taking in the sights of Nicholls, pushing themselves all the way through the 3 km track and finally up the big heartbreak hill. It was great to see teachers and students getting involved! When the students returned, they recorded their times and recovered with a cool down and some fruit before they went into the House Challenges.

Back at school, we had a fun filled afternoon with games on the courts (basketball and soccer) and the House v House challenges vying for the Spirit Cup. Year 7 was on relays, jumping, 3-legged race and balloon popping, it was chaos but the students had fun, with Maathai coming away with the win. Year 8, dodging, weaving, throwing and catching with a game of dodge ball, the untouchable house finally being Maathai. Year 9, flexing their muscles and searching for the “Power House” in a game of tug of war. The power was left in the hands of Maathai. Year 10, hungry, hungry hippos. What a game to watch. There was laughter and chaos on the courts, with Maathai obviously the hungriest on the day.

I would like to thank all students who got involved and the teachers for their support. These days do not run themselves. I hope the students enjoyed an afternoon participating in the various forms of aerobic exercise.

Final results:

Spirit House: Maathai House

Cross Country Cup winners: Maathai House

The team for the ASC (Top 10)  will go on to compete today Friday 27 May at Mt Stromlo.

Kym Darmody
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing - PDHPE & Maathai House

Basketball

On Wednesday 25 May 2022 JPC represented at the U19’s boys John Seltzer cup and Girls Kate Tominac cup.

Both the girls and boys' teams faced some tough competition in their respective pools against some very high-level teams. Unfortunately, they lost their first two games, but they ended the day on a high, coming away with convincing wins for the last game of the day.

All of the students showed excellent sportsmanship, respect and effort. 

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

Netball

Three teams from JPC attended the Canberra Goulburn Diocese Netball Championships on Monday 23^rd of May. We played against a variety of mixed and girls teams from across the diocese. The girls displayed great teamwork and came away with several wins. A big thank you to our volunteer umpires who helped ensure the day was a success.

Kirstie Gibson and Amber Donoghue

At JPC, we are passionate about caring for our students as whole people through supporting their development as learners, as unique individuals and as members of a broader community.

We would like to invite all parents and carers who are interested to learn more about wellbeing and mental health topics to attend our upcoming 'Wellbeing Workshop', occurring on Wednesday 1 June at 6:00 pm.

This Workshop will focus on the topic of 'Maths Mindset'. We will explore the factors which can contribute to some young people developing negative self-talk when it comes to learning mathematics specifically, which can also generate anxiety about or aversion towards this valuable subject.

Please save the date for this event and register through Trybooking HERE

At JPC we have a therapy dog program. The program is designed to assist our students and staff with their daily mental health needs.

Each dog and handler are put through a rigorous process before being allowed on campus, they complete a training program checking off skills and competencies for a semester before being inducted as fully-fledged pooch pals!

We currently have 2 dogs on campus this year: Louie a black pug who is in his 3^rd year of therapy work. Ash is a black Greyhound who is in her 4^th year of therapy work.

No student is ever forced to work with the dogs and we respect that some people do not like or are allergic to the dogs. Each handler ensures their class, space or people they are working with are made aware that they do not have to be involved with the dogs.

In 2022 we will be introducing our newest recruit to the Pooch Pals team at JPC!

We are pleased to be introducing Milo, Mrs Harold Carter’s little Toy Cavoodle! Milo is currently 5 months old. He has passed puppy school and juvenile obedience school. Milo will be completing his induction program this year and will most likely be joining the Pooch Pals team for Second Semester in 2022.

Milo loves pats and cuddles; he also loves to play fetch with tennis balls. Milo has a very gentle nature and will give you a lot of love and attention when you meet him. He is a very calm dog that settles easily into any environment. Milo is very cute (see photo) and has an extremely sweet personality. If you are having a bad day, Milo will make you smile! He also loves his snacks! Mrs Harold Carter choose Milo with our program in mind and has been training him since day 1!

We are constantly inundated with requests to have the dogs help our students so adding new team members is most welcome!

Any further inquiries about the program can be directed to Mrs Chauntell McNamara

Chauntell.mcnamara@cg.catholic.edu.au

MILO at Graduation!

This is a friendly reminder that Term 2 school fees are due for payment Friday 27 May 2022.

If you haven’t already done so we would appreciate it if you could please settle any outstanding fees as soon as possible.

This does not apply to those families who have direct debit arrangements in place.

If you are experiencing any financial difficulties or would like to discuss your fee account please contact the Finance Office via email.

Thank you

Parish Newsletter

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

The Dragon Boat Festival Event is a non-profit free entry event to promote multi-culture.

Date: 4 June 2022
Time: 10:30am to 3:30pm

Activity includes dragon boat racing, Chinese street food, animal house, discovery trip, culture game, multicultural performance, table games, dragon and lion dance etc.