CONGRATULATIONS

Tilda Salisbury, Yr 11 Maathai recipient of the the
Achievement Award in Mandarin, 2022

Isaac Foster, Yr 11 Maathai recipient of the
Most Proficient Student in Mandarin, 2022

Reflection from Isaac Foster:

On the 30^th of October on Sunday, Tilda and I were invited to an awards ceremony at the Centre of China in the world on the ANU campus to be presented an award by the Australian Chinese Friendship Society. The ceremony started with a lion dance performed by 6 primary school students from one of the attending schools, then went for a further 20 minutes as Mr. Song, a representative from the Chinese Embassy, presented us with awards congratulating us for our academic achievements in our Mandarin classes. Along with the awards, we were given small bags of gifts containing a numerous number of things, including a backpack, and a comic book on Chinese culture which I especially liked. The event itself was a great opportunity to have the efforts of both the students and our teachers recognised, whilst celebrating the continued relationship between China and Australia and demonstrating the importance of learning a language in understanding one’s culture.

Reflection from Tilda Salisbury:

On Sunday the 30th of October Isaac and I attended a Mandarin presentation awards ceremony, run by the Australia China Friendship Society. This is my fifth-year learning Chinese at our school and I really appreciated being nominated for an award in a subject I absolutely love. The award ceremony was very chill. It started with a Lion dance from one of the primary schools in Canberra, followed by the two students nominated from the 14 or so schools which teach Chinese in Canberra receiving their award and gifts. The gifts related directly to Chinese culture, including a book of Chinese songs and calligraphy paintings and the red couplets which get hung up during Chinese New Year. The afternoon was very enjoyable and the awards are a great opportunity for students to get recognised for their hard work in Chinese. I encourage all those taking languages currently to continue with it, languages open up a range of possibilities for us and we’re lucky that we have fun teachers and lessons dedicated to helping us learn the languages and cultures of the world. 

Master Builders Association
Trade Starter Program

Congratulations to Daniel Young, Year 12 Ferré who successfully completed the Master Builders Association Trade Starter Program. This was completed every Tuesday over 8 weeks during Term 3 and Term 4.

During this program, Daniel performed a variety of tasks relating to the construction of a picnic shelter. These include planning safe processes, planning the steps of construction, handling and stacking materials. Daniel was required to use various hand and power tools in manufacturing components, assembly of components, finishing and detail work including painting and roofing. 

Well done, Daniel!

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

On Tuesday night some of our amazing music students performed at Smiths alternative in Civic at 7pm. There were a range of performances from trios to full band, with songs from the 60’s to now. They had a full audience who were very entertained by their range of performances. Thank you so much to all the teachers and family members who came to support the students. It was such a great night and we appreciate your support.

Aron Lyon and Miss Robinson
Music teachers

Last Friday the JPC bands performed for three local primary schools, Holy Spirit, Mother Theresa and Good Shepherd. The students did such an AMAZING job entertaining the young primary students who absolutely loved all the songs.

Thank you to Natasha Bramham for videoing the concerts, Annie Jones for taking photos, Paul McKie for accompanying us on the excursion and all the performers for their efforts on the day.

See more photos of the tour on the JPC Facebook page

Aron Lyon and Sharon Robinson
Music teachers

Reflections from our senior Chinese students:

Isis Leskien: During Week 13 ILT Mrs Li introduced us to a two-hour Chinese calligraphy class. During this time, I learnt how to properly use a calligraphy brush and techniques used when painting in this style with the help of a professional calligrapher. For the first half of the lesson, we practised writing Chinese characters which provided us with a good structure-building lesson. In the second half of the lesson, we were given a floral artwork to copy in which we learnt to paint these intricate flowers and branches. Overall, this lesson was an enjoyable learning experience and was something that brought me closer to Chinese culture through my love of traditional activities.

Harry Tatam: The Calligraphy Workshop provides the fundamentals for understanding the complex workmanship and discipline required to produce quality Chinese Calligraphy. The teacher and Chinese calligrapher who hosted the session demonstrated mastership of a repertoire of calligraphic styles, the process of which was remarkable to witness in person. Whilst the craft itself requires extensive practice to master, I found that this session was nonetheless beneficial to my understanding of the art and culture.

Isaac Foster: For the first two periods of our Wednesday, we had a guest come into the school to teach us Chinese calligraphy. The classes itself was both engaging and fun, starting with learning how to make the individual strokes properly and leading into how to perfectly write characters. However, the highlight of the session for me was when the speaker showed us how to paint using a calligraphy style. Following his instructions, we were all able to create beautiful depictions of plum blossoms, complete with flowers of different shades and colours. The most interesting part of this was the difference between Chinese and Western art styles. Whilst Western art tends to make a more realistic approach, the Chinese calligraphy used the colours as a form of self-expression, warm colours such as red showing emotions such as joy, whilst cold colours like blue expressed emotions akin to anger. Overall, not only were we offered the chance to develop our writing skills, but we were also able to develop our knowledge on Chinese culture as a whole, creating a fun and memorable experience.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in the Year 12 V the Staff sports series. This year we extended the event to be a series to prolong the fun, but also because there were so many different sports that were thrown into the mix. The Courage captains and I had a very difficult job narrowing it down, eventually, we decided on Futsal, Volleyball, Netball and Basketball. Each game was played in great spirit, and every one of the players managed to balance their extreme competitiveness with sportsmanship, fair play and respect which was awesome to see. We also had a Most Valuable Player poll for each team and the staff MVP was awarded to Mr McDermott our pre-service teacher, whilst the Year 12 MVP was our Peace Leader Albert David. Congratulations to both.

A big thank you to all the staff who turned out each week for the cause and showed off their athletic prowess, the Year 12 students who turned their hand to games that weren’t necessarily their favourite, Mrs Bramham for the incredible photos, as well as our refs Miss Gibson and Mrs Darmody.  

It has been a pleasure and for Year 12’s, you will be missed.

Mrs Jewell
Sports Coordinator

Photo's from the Basketball game today (04 Nov 2022) will be posted on FB asap

Are you Leaving JPC at the end of 2022? 

Parish Newsletter

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

Commemorate and be Inspired

As humans we seem drawn to people who do things better than us.  Higher. Faster. Stronger. This motto of the Olympics sums up the yearning of us clay-footed human beings who aspire to do something greater with our mortal lives. In the Christian life there is also a tradition of revering the lives of our saintly forebears. Courage. Virtue. Fidelity. We emulate their virtues in the hope that we might walk a little closer with the Lord.   

On 23 November, at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Canberra, you will have the opportunity to step into the shoes of twelve modern-day martyrs and encounter the graces that gave them their fortitude and courage.

The Night of the Witnesses is an evening of testimony, music, and prayer, with the aim of giving thanks for our brothers and sisters who have given their life for Christ, and to pray for those still suffering for faith. The Night of the Witnesses is as initiative of Aid to the Church in Need and has been celebrated for the past 15 years in Paris, London, Madrid, and Washington. This is the first time it will be held in Australia.       

The evening will also feature three guest speakers who will share their personal stories of faithful witness amidst persecution. They include Archbishop Amel Nona of the Chaldean Eparchy of St Thomas in Australia (previously the Bishop of Mosul, Iraq), and Regina Lynch, International Projects Director for Aid to the Church in Need, who is travelling from Germany to share her insights after 40 years overseeing ACN’s support of the suffering Church. The evening will be presided over by Archbishop Christopher Prowse.

All are warmly invited to be part of this night of hope, courage, and faith. For more information and to receive updates visit www.aidtochurch.org/notw or phone 1800 101 201.

Mat Rogers (ex-Australian rep league and union player) is launching his new book at St Edmunds College on Thursday 10 November.

The book is Mat’s bio which is a very real and important tale to tell, especially for boys.

Click the link below to book tickets to this event.