20 August 2021 - Newsletter (Vol 38 No 13)

Reality check in uncertain times

As we find ourselves in lockdown once again, the common concerns, worries and anxieties around all things begin to rear their heads. The need for clarity around rules, what can we do and what can’t we do? Someone just tell us and make it plain and simple. Unfortunately, there are no straight forward answers and the guidelines can, at best, be inconsistent from day to day.

Thank you for your understanding when it comes to schooling and what needs to happen. We will do our best to communicate with you in a timely manner and as often as we need to through email and Facebook – please understand that it takes time to get the correct information, so what may, at times, feel like a long time in getting information out, know that a lot of work is being done in the background. Our students wellbeing is what matters most!!

I came upon the following letter which a Principal in Singapore sent to families around exam times. For me it spoke loudly about where we find ourselves now with HSC Trials and the cancellation of Preliminary exams. It was a reality check for me and I hope for our staff as well. I want it to speak to our senior students as they move toward the end of the year and I hope it speaks to parents about what we want for our children.

Dear Parents,

The exams of your children are about to start soon. I know you are really anxious for your child to do well.

But please do remember, amongst the students who will be sitting for the exams there is an artist, who doesn’t need Math… There is an entrepreneur, who doesn’t care about History or English literature… There is a musician, whose Chemistry marks won’t matter… There's an athlete…whose physical fitness is more important than Physics… if your child does get top marks, that’s great! But if he or she doesn’t…. don’t take away their self-confidence and dignity from them. Tell them it’s OK, it’s just an exam! They are cut out for much bigger things in life. Tell them, no matter what they score…you love them and will not judge them.

It’s OK to get worked up, and anxious. It’s certainly OK to be overwhelmed by everything, especially if it’s new. It is OK to prioritise other things over schoolwork if that is what you need to do as a family. Know we are partners and if we can help please contact us. We have a lot more resources at our disposal.

Stay safe and God bless

Michael Carniato
Principal

My newsletter article last week centred on raising boys on which I am certainly not an expert but do have experience, as I do with daughters. This week I would like to share an excellent article with you that I found very helpful. 

The article offers advice on the following topics: 

• We as key grownups in our girls’ lives need to model using our voices and allowing theirs.
• Girls who are often stronger and feistier, need to learn the value of having a voice that does not hurt others.
• Being the best or the loudest can be a lonely place to be.
• Our lamb girls are not necessarily weak…
• In our classrooms we need to ensure that all students have a voice and are heard.
• Fairness and kindness needs to be taught, modelled, role-played and experienced through regular play with other children.
• Body awareness and safety 
• If someone hurts you, say NO. STOP – I DON’T LIKE THAT!
• Teach our girls about our early warning system and why it matters.
• Her appearance is not her voice
• Learn to laugh

Raising a powerful girl

As their parents, it is our responsibility to help our daughters to grow into fulfilled, self-confident and balanced women, able to contribute to the world in a positive way.

Recent studies suggest that men and women do not, as popular culture would have it, process information differently. There were, in fact, very few differences between men and women’s brains. But boys and girls do develop differently, and nurture, and popular culture gives girls and boys very different cultural models and ideas to live up to. Culture also affects the way that we parent children. Unfortunately too often in modern day culture our religious beliefs take a back seat. Please don’t let this happen in your child’s lives. Culture has a huge effect on their development, they need your guidance on how they feel they have to behave.

Until next week:

Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them. Elisabeth Elliot

Blended Learning

Much has already been said and written about our return to Blended Learning this week. In a busy few days of preparation, I was exceptionally proud of the resilience shown by our students, in particular our Year 12 Students who had to adapt to changes in their HSC Trial Examinations - half way through their exam block. 

From a letter home to parents Sunday night, a Zoom meeting for all Year 12 and assessments now run via online learning mediums, it was a difficult scenario to comprehend. The success so far has been a year level willing to embrace the changes and do their best in rapidly changing circumstances. 

My thanks to the careful coordination of our Blended Learning model by our College Executive who led our staff through changes in assessment and in addressing the pastoral and academic needs of our students. In turn, my thanks to the LOLs who led assessment changes in less than a day and made sure their respective faculties responded to student needs with little preparation and application time. 

Considering our Blended Learning environment this week, I have included some information on the “home study environment” that may be useful to both parents and students:

QUIET/PRIVATE: It is important that you have a space that allows you to focus and have quiet periods when necessary. Some students place a sign on their door when they need quiet time or else the family agrees together when the quiet periods will be.

DISTRACTION FREE: We all intend to be strong when trying to deal with distractions but the reality is that willpower is rarely enough. It is much better if temptation is removed. In the periods when you are working on schoolwork, turn off IMs, and your podcasts, close Facebook, turn off your mobile phone and remove all distractions – not for the whole night, just the blocks of time when you are focusing on schoolwork. 

MUSIC: You can listen to music if you are doing work that doesn't require much effort or concentration. However, if you are doing anything that is difficult, requires effort, requires you to think, understand or remember information you should switch the music off. 

COMPUTERS IN BEDROOMS: The general rule is that if you are not very self-disciplined, and find it hard to resist the attractions of the computer, then keep the computer in a public space in the house or work in this space where people are more likely to notice you getting distracted from your work, i.e. going to other sites when you are supposed to be working on an essay!

SUPPORTIVE CHAIR: It is really important that you have a comfortable and supportive chair. The chair you use should be comfortable and adjustable to reduce strain on your neck and shoulders. Your feet should sit flat on the floor with your legs at a 90 degree angle to the knee. 

GOOD LIGHTING: Natural light is preferable, but not always available. If you need to have a light on you should have both your room light and a desk lamp on. Try and avoid fluorescent lights. Have the desk lamp situated so the light is shining onto your work, not into your eyes.

CLEAR WORKSPACE: A cluttered workspace means you will waste time looking for things and become distracted by the bits and pieces in front of you. A clear workspace sets the tone for the way you will approach your work. 

NOTICEBOARD: A large pinboard and calendar are great to help keep important pieces of paper handy and important dates in your focus.

VENTILATION: It is important to have fresh air and oxygen flowing into your room to help keep you mentally alert. If you are unable to open your window then take regular breaks where you walk outside and get some fresh air.

Study Skills 

Learn more this year about how to improve your results and be more efficient and effective with your schoolwork by working through the units on www.studyskillshandbook.com.au. Our College access details are:

Our school’s access details are:

School’s Username – stjohnpaul

School’s password – 89success

In addition, our subscription to Elevate Education may assist in this area.

This online platform contains resources and useful study tips that all SJPC students will find effective. We encourage them to access this Student Portal and try some of the strategies. Students have the password to this site. The password can also be found on the Curriculum Noticeboard.

AMDG

James Furey
Assistant Principal
Learning and Teaching

An online program to help with family conversations

David and Katie Kobler are regular guest speakers at St John Paul College. They have recently released an online program called 'Brave Parenting Conversations' to help parents and carers have important conversations with teenage children. Although this program would be beneficial for teenagers of any age, I encourage these conversations to occur as early as possible.

Using a code (SJPC50), St John Paul College families have access to a special discount price until Friday 20th August. Purchasing the online program gives you ongoing access to the materials. Visit www.braveparenting.com.au for further information and feel free to contact me at the college if you have any questions.

As Counsellors we are joining with the rest of you in learning and working from home. There is a sense that even though we are apart we are in this together. We have all been through this before and we all want to keep each other safe and well.  

We understand that this time is challenging for our families and students. We want to support you as you go through this time. You will receive lots of suggestions from lots of different sources on how to cope and get through, at times just trying to look after your wellbeing can feel overwhelming on top of all the other things you need to do. We encourage you to choose what seems good for you and what fits your situation. We encourage you to keep a focus on being kind to yourself and those around you.  

If your child needs support, they can reach out to their Homeroom teacher or Year Coordinator. They will be able to assist them and can connect them with the Counsellors for additional support for their wellbeing. The Counsellors are connecting with families and students by email, phone or Zoom while we are learning from home.  

We look forward to assisting you and your children. You are in our thoughts and prayers.  

Read More and Write Better

To write well we must do two things: READ and WRITE!!                     

I know it has been said before, but the best thing we can do as parents to assist our children with their education, is to encourage them to read widely and put pen to paper.

The human brain is like a sponge. We soak up everything we observe and experience throughout our lives, and each thing we are exposed to becomes part of the very fibre of our beings. What we read is no exception.

You may not be able to recite all the Mother Goose nursery rhymes you read as a child, but they’re still somewhere in that head of yours. When a little voice whispers Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, there’s a good chance you’ll recall Jack jumped over a candlestick. You absorbed that nursery rhyme many years ago, and it remains with you, always.

Through reading children gain knowledge and find inspiration and they will learn to read with a writer’s eye. 

A well-read writer has a better handle on grammar and vocabulary, understands the nuances of language, and recognizes the difference between poor and quality writing. A writer who doesn’t read is like a musician who doesn’t listen to music or a filmmaker who doesn’t watch films. It is impossible to do good work without experiencing the good work that has been done.

All the grammar guides, writing tips, and books on writing will not make you a better writer if you never read. Reading is just as crucial as actually writing, and the work you produce will only be as good as the work you read.  Writingforward.com

Maree McKelvie

This year, some staff at SJPC have been engaging in professional learning around Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU) and the way children learn mathematical concepts and skills in order to be able to meet their learning needs. The EMU program builds on and is coordinated with classroom Mathematics programs but involves additional levels of support and teaching aimed at accelerating students’ mathematics learning through specialist intervention programs and additional assistance in the classroom. 

Our Year 7 EMU group have been working in the learning pit to solve rich tasks and communicate their ideas. Last week, Fraser O’Rorke and Aaron Erskine worked together to overcome a divisibility problem while Sophie Martin solved a basketball point scoring scenario which led her to discover some advanced concepts around fractions. The group enjoyed completing their warm ups last week and are excited to finish the term with some “Place Value Yahtzee” as they continue to deepen their conceptual understanding in Mathematics. 

Interview with Georgia Pierce - Year 8 Student

Q1. Do you think pineapple belongs on pizza, yes or no and why?

Pineapple belongs on pizza because it adds a lovely sweet addition to it and tastes amazing with ham.

Q2. What is your dream Job and explain why?

My dream job is to be a Psychiatrist. This is because I want to help others be themselves and make sure everyone knows they are not alone. You can always ask for help.

Q3. Why do you choose to come to the lunchtime ministry activities?

I choose to come to lunchtime ministry activities because that is where I find myself happy and free. I find myself feeling not judged or anything like that. I feel like I can be me and that my opinion matters.

Q4. When did you decide you wanted to actively pursue your faith? 

I decided I wanted to pursue faith when I came to high school. I had always gone to church but I started really wanting to feel more connected with God and all the wonderful things that come with that last year. 

If you think teenager’s opinions don’t matter, then the Public Speaking students from St John Paul College will help change your mind.

John Hughes, Chelsea Bird, Tully Gennat and Alexandra Nealand challenged the adjudicators with their topics which ranged from ‘The Role of Video Games in the Modern World’, ‘The Housing Crisis on the North Coast’, ‘Challenges in the Time of Covid-19’ and the impact of ‘Dangerous Opinions’.

Their range of tough topics demonstrated their maturity and critical thinking skills as well as their ability to think about the world they live in and how they can leave a lasting impact to make it a better place for everyone around them.

The students were competing in the 2021 Legacy Junior Public Speaking Awards which is a state-wide competition open to participants from Year 7 - 9. Each student prepared a five minute speech and then presented a two minute impromptu on the topic, ‘Look up at the stars and not down at your feet’.

Congratulations to Alexandra Nealand and Tully Gennat who will be representing the school in the regional championships through their filmed performances to meet Covid compliance.  

If they are successful and progress into the State championship they will also have to perform an impromptu speech through live streaming. 

Thank you to Louise Maybury, Ngahine Monukoa and Cherie O’Brien who helped organise and adjudicate the 2021 Public Speaking Challenge.

Alexandra Nealand and Tully Gennat - 2021 SJPC Public Speaking finalists

Linda Gleeson
Public Speaking facilitator

Danielle McAra
Sport Co-ordinator

Danielle McAra
Sport Co-ordinator

Finance

Cancelled Excursions

Payments made towards the Year 9 Elective History Sydney Excursion, Year 9 Elective SPES Sydney Excursion and Heron Island Excursion have been credited to your family account. Please complete a refund form (below) and return it to finance via email at your earliest convenience.

Sports invoices for Term 4 have been emailed to families. The due date for payment is 30 August 2021.

While the current lockdown is not helping our fundraising and sponsorship, the SRC are pleased to report that over $2000 has been raised thus far to help our sister school in Kawalazi. If you wish to join us in sponsoring a student please email the College and we will take it from there. We still have over 20 students who need sponsoring by the end of the month.

The College was fortunate to hear from Mr Joe Nolan at the College Assembly Zoom on Wednesday. Joe is an ex-teacher from SJPC and a founding member of the Kawalazi Outreach Program. Joe’s passion for the cause was inspiring and had the ability to stop and make us think what we could do to help someone less fortunate than ourselves. 

In this week’s edition we can read Mrs Berrisford’s assembly speech from her experience of Kawalazi. Hopefully it will encourage you to give all you can to this very worthwhile venture.  Kawalazi Assembly

Kawalazi Development Project Sponsorship Form 2021

Kawalazi Development Project Sponsorship Form 2021 261.99 KB

Pam Bibby, Joseph Nolan and Maggie O'Brien
Kawalazi Development Project Committee

Recently some Year 11 Catholic Faith in Action students (CFiA) initiated a plan to cook for the marginalised and distribute the food through ‘Pete’s Place’, a facility that is an arm of St Vincent de Paul Society and provides facilities and material support for those in need here in Coffs Harbour.

The meals that have been prepared by the students here at the college have then been served fresh or frozen and distributed from ‘Pete’s Place’ as required.

The commitment of the students and the effort and culinary skills that they have put into the meals has been a testament to the training that the TAS department has provided these students over the years.

We look forward to continuing to support our ‘neighbours’ by providing meals each fortnight. The students are also to be congratulated on their efforts thus far.