Dear Parents and Carers,

The semester is moving forward at a great pace, with many activities occurring. For senior students, exams begin on Tuesday morning - certainly the pointy end of the semester for them! We wish them well as they prepare and every success in the exams themselves.

CEO Vinnies Sleepout

St John Paul II College is once again proudly participating in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. This will be the ninth year that we have done so and, during that time, through the commitment and generosity of our students and our community, we have raised a great deal of awareness and over $72,000 to meet the extensive needs of the homeless in our region.

We thank all those students who have already signed up for the event and students are still able to sign up. I would encourage them to do so as it is a very enriching experience. 

I will be sleeping out at the National Portrait Gallery with the other CEOs and students will sleep out here at the College. The evening may well include, as it has done previously, a live cross from the CEO event to the College for the CEOs to be able to hear directly from our students their reasons for participating and their commitment to supporting those who are much less privileged than themselves. It is inspiring for both the CEOs and our students to be part of that discussion.

The event takes place on Thursday 23 June and concludes with a family breakfast at the College on Friday 24 June. We are so looking forward to welcoming families back into the College and it will be wonderful to be able to celebrate the achievement of our students together as a community at the breakfast.

We have set ourselves an ambitious goal of raising $15000 this year and ask you again to support this incredibly worthwhile cause generously. The easiest way is to donate directly to the event through this link. But you can also donate by contributing to one of the participating students or by a direct donation to the College. There will be a prize for the student who raises the most money.

Thank you all for your support!

Ration Challenge

The Ration Challenge occurs during Week 9 and is another amazing commitment made by students and staff to those who are in very difficult circumstances. Participants live on the rations similar to what a refugee would receive in a refugee camp. Students in Years 7-9 do this for three days and students in the higher grades do it for five days. You can imagine how challenging that is – particularly when you see the very meagre amount of food and the lack of variety.

We warmly welcome donations to this great cause and you can donate through the link below.

Review of Independent Learning Time and Focus Groups

Thank you to all those who have already completed the short survey as part of the review. You have until COB next Tuesday to do this.

The Focus Groups of Parents/Carers and Staff will be held this Tuesday, 14 June, from 4 pm to 5 pm. This is an opportunity to provide ample feedback and we would really welcome and appreciate a strong parent voice in this forum. We were most impressed with the Student Focus Groups run by our Student College Leaders. The students who participated were chosen randomly so that they would reflect a cross-section of views. They reflected deeply and gave very valuable insights into ILT.

We will obviously share the results of the review with the community and look forward to using the feedback from the community to improve ILT.

Year 10 Transition Week

Transition Week for Year 10 students is in the last week of term, from Monday 27 to Thursday 30 June. There are some very valuable experiences planned for students. Interviews to discuss Year 11 packages and finalise subject choices will be held that week with students and families who have committed to continue in Year 11 at the College. We will have relevant data available in those discussions to support the decision making. Further details about Transition Week and the Year 10 Social will be sent early next week. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Catherine Rey
Principal

“A spiritual awakening, I never knew I needed.”

This quote encapsulates the feeling of students who attended the CSYMA Oceania Evangelisation Leaders Program – a two-day retreat experience attended by members of the Youth Ministry team over Pentecost.

With guest speakers from around the Oceania region (including live streams from Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Fiji), the students were challenged to experience their faith in new ways, and develop the ability to share their faith with others.

Fellowship, discussion with other young people, time for prayer and meditation, a celebration of Pentecost, and preparation for a possible immersion experience – all key components of what was a transformative weekend.

In the words of some other participants:

“This retreat made me realize that my faith journey can start whenever.”

“Faith is an individual journey that I have learnt can be impacted by any other factors.”

“An experience that glorified my inner faith.”

Kate MacGregor
Leader Learning and Wellbeing
Mission and Ministry | Kennedy House

Lion dance, cooking noodles, flying kites, kicking the jianzi (feather shuttle) and playing traditional Chinese instruments — that’s what the very lucky Year 8 students studying Chinese experienced at our annual Language Day. Students had the chance to try a variety of activities to enrich their understanding of Chinese culture.

Students have often seen lion dance during Chinese New Year celebrations, but on Language Day it gained more meaning, as students learned about the history and significance of this tradition and gave lion dancing a try. Learning about the traditional culinary delicacies and cooking methods is imperative when studying a language as it brings people together. The students made delicious soup noodles that they all enjoyed eating, which some loved so much that they wanted the recipe to cook for their families. Flying kites they made and kicking the jianzi got the students active and gave them the opportunity to try something new. Another highlight was the traditional Chinese instrument workshop, where students learnt how to play music on various instruments, appreciating the distinct sounds that they made. It was an amazing experience for the students and many wished that there could be more days as exciting and engaging as this. 

Ms Mai Vannavong
Chinese Teacher

On Wednesday, we had the 9/10 and senior music assessment evening in which the music classes performed in front of a live audience for their assessment. I am so proud of all the students who performed and really hope they enjoyed the night as well. A huge thank you to the students who performed, their family and community members who came to support them, the tech crew for their amazing sound and lighting and Aron for giving up his evening to come and help with the whole event.

Sharon Robinson
Music Teacher      

What a week it has been for our Bill Turner Trophy and Bill Turner Cup teams.

Both teams went into their Round 3 matches, against Moss Vale High and Mulwaree High respectively, full of confidence, off the back of great wins against Radford College back in Round 2.

Against Moss Vale, the girls put in a brilliant team display right from the first whistle, scoring in the first minute and continuing to build. The end score was 11-0, (Lauren Watt (6), Alina Roberts (4) and Martina Kovac (1), sharing in the goals).

The next day, at the same time and place, the boys put in an equally impressive team performance, running out 13-0 winners (Xavier Bonnett (4), Cadel Zwangobani (3), Seth Bonnett (2), Dylan Penders (2), Noah Hewitt (1), Jayden Kocanov (1) amongst the goals.

As a result of their wins, both teams have progressed to the Southern NSW/ACT Area Final to be played in Canberra on Friday 17^th June.

Final details are being confirmed over the next day or two.

Mr Woodman

Term 2 fees were DUE and payable by 27 May 2022, therefore any balance that remains on your fee statement remains overdue and payable immediately.

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

JPC Careers Updates

• Don’t forget that we have amazing resources on our JPC Careers website https://jpc-careers.com/
• Also follow us on our social pages to get more up to date information - @JPCcareers on Instagram and Facebook.
• You can contact Ms Zorzi at careers.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au

University of Wollongong Excursion

On Monday, JPC Year 11 and 12 students attended the University of Wollongong’s Discovery day. All students had an individual timetable attending workshops and lectures about their study area of interest. Many of our students were also able to explore the accommodation options available.

Early entry for the University of Wollongong opens on the 18^th of July! https://www.uow.edu.au/early-admission/

ANU – Females in Engineering Workshop

image

Females in years 7-10 are invited to discover engineering at The Australian National University. This is also open to parents/carers.

Please register your interest using the link below!

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

What: An opportunity to gather together in community, to explore who you are, and to come to know others in a deeper way. You will laugh, you will cry, you will grow.

When: Wednesday 27 – Friday 29 July, 2022

Where: Warrambui, Murrumbateman

Cost: included in school fees

Further information will be distributed to students and parents via email over the coming weeks.

If you have any further questions, please contact katrina.macgregor@cg.catholic.edu.au

Parish Newsletter

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