College Newsletter
Term 2 Week 5 - Friday 31 May 2019
A Message from the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff and Students
As a community, students continue to settle into their 2019 courses of study completing many initial assessments and examinations. Parents are reminded to reinforce to their daughters that regular homework completion is an important part of preparation for life post school.
As a community we pray our Cerdon College Marist Prayer
Mary, you are our Mother and our model.
May we, like you, make Jesus
the centre of our lives
so that we become a living Gospel
for all those we meet.
We acknowledge we are especially
called to serve, in an unobtrusive way,
the most downtrodden,
abandoned and persecuted in our society.
Enable us, through compassion,
love and humility
to bring these and all people
together in a union of love
and care so that Christ will come
to life in our world today.
Through the deepening of our own prayer life
to draw closer to you, our Mother,
so that we may live
the Gospel as you did and be true disciples
of your Son.
May you and your beloved Son,
bless us and stay with us
as we strive to live in today’s world,
as true Marists.
Amen
Feedback on NAPLAN
As parents will be aware from recent media reports, students sitting NAPLAN online over the past few weeks have experienced a number of technical issues.
Students of Cerdon College have experienced some of these technical issues, but through their preparation for NAPLAN, students knew how to respond to these issues and were able to re-enter the NAPLAN tests calmly and with a minimal loss of working time.
The College has ensured that concerns about NAPLAN online have been forwarded to NESA.
One thing parents can continue to do to ensure students are well prepared for any future online testing, is to encourage student READING each day, even modelling reading behaviours at home and secondly to encourage students to write more often including detail into their responses.
Tell Them From Me Survey (TTFM)
Cerdon College is inviting all parents to give feedback to the College. The credentials for this online survey was shared today with all parents via Skoolbag.
We truly value parent input into the College, so your feedback is genuinely welcome. This feedback will be used to continue to build our partnership with parents so as to further improve student learning at Cerdon College.
The TTFM survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Attendance
Regular attendance at school is not only a legal obligation but a key indicator of a student's educational success.
Absence on 1 day a week over a year means that a student misses 8 weeks per year. No student can make up for this loss of classroom time and educational experiences. Family holidays should only be taken during periods of school holidays.
Parents are reminded that all students should bring a Doctor's Certificate or parent note to explain any absence, immediately on return to school.
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
In Sympathy
May he rest in peace.
Amen
Police Patrols in Local Streets
Parents are reminded to be mindful that they will be targeting drop off and pick up of students in the T-Way Bus Lane, illegal right turns into Kenyons Road from Sherwood Road, and the unauthorised use of the bus zones, no stopping areas and accessing the BP Service Station. Police will also be targetting illegal U turns, double parking or parking across driveways around the school.
Winter Uniform
The Uniform Shop is open every Monday this term between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm for you to complete any outstanding purchases of the Winter Uniform.
If you prefer, you can make an appointment for a fitting via the College website.
Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (during operating hours only)
ANZAC Day Dawn Service
At 5:15 am on Thursday 25 April the following students represented Cerdon College at the Merrylands RSL ANZAC Dawn Service at Charles Mance Reserve.
Lara Chahin, Angelina Elias, Annie Taniane, Elise Noble, Kalliope Mentis, Victoria Georges, Nora-Lee Doueihi, Michelle Diab, Sarah Dennis, Charlie-Rose El-Riachi
The students took part in the march and Lara Chahin and Angelina Elias placed the Cerdon College wreath during the ceremony.
It was a privilege and honour for the girls to represent Cerdon College at this important event. They are a credit to our community and their families. Thank you also to the parents who came along to be part of the ceremony.
Merrylands RSL provided breakfast for all those who participated. We acknowledge and thank them for allowing us to be part of the service. A special thank you to Mr Bridges for co-ordinating the College’s attendance at the ceremony.
Ms Tasioulas
Cerdon Vacanze 2019
The Italy trip 2019 was an unforgettable journey filled with excitement, memories, culture and great food! Our journey began on a long flight that had us all waiting impatiently to arrive at our destination. After many long hours, thirty of us stepped off the plane into what would be our home for the next two weeks. Little did we know of the amazing adventures and memories that were ahead of us, forming new friendships and growing our love for Italy.
Please see the full review of the tour on the College Website in 'Latest News'.
Year 10 Geography Excursion
On 17th May, Year 10 went to North Cronulla Beach for a Geography excursion. We examined coastal environmental changes and discovered the impacts that human activity has had on the coastal environment.
We also assessed the usefulness of the Honeycomb Seawall located on the beach. The seawall, is a wall that protects buildings from harsh waves. Although it has been proven to be effective, we found that it is not aesthetically pleasing and takes away the beach’s natural beauty. It also needs constant maintenance which costs a lot of money, so our discussions led to contemplating whether or not having the seawall is actually benefiting the community. We also observed that the wall would only be needed in extreme weather events as the waves do not reach the sea wall otherwise.
We were also surprised to find that there was not as much pollution as we were initially expecting. We found that urbanisation and human activity has resulted in the loss of vegetation and habitats. In addition to this, we used fieldwork techniques, such as sketching, observing and measuring different aspects of the coast, from the coastal dunes to different plant species and their purpose.
Overall, it was an educational experience that we all learnt a lot from. The weather was also very nice and sunny with little cloud.
Madison Yagki and Marleyana Pillay (Year 10)
Enrichment@Cerdon
Term two is buzzing with excitement as a great number of projects and programs are underway. Students in Years 9 and 10 are exploring different science and engineering projects in preparation for the Science and Engineering Challenge later in the term. Year 10 ,11 and 12 students are preparing for the UN Youth EVATT and the Model United Nations Assembly competitions. Inspired by LEGO Masters, students from across a number of years have been enjoying the newly created LEGO CLUB, learning about construction and creativity using the famous small bricks. In this issue, read about all these wonderful initiatives as well The Kids Lit Quiz, Western Sydney heat held at Cerdon at the end of last term, which attracted a record number of participants. We wish all students the very best for their enriching experiences.
Cerdon LEGO Club
Inspired by the TV Show Lego Masters, more than forty students have signed up to be part of the Cerdon LEGO Club. Working in groups, students are currently involved in building a large roller coaster and a camper van. It has been great to see students enthusiastically embracing this creative activity and learning a great deal about how different LEGO bricks can be used to produce something really amazing! We look forward to seeing the girls produce their own LEGO creations
later on in the year!
EVATT 2019
Evatt is a Model United Nations Security Council diplomacy competition for students in Years 9-12. The competition aims to educate young people about Australia’s place in the world and empower them as active citizens by developing public speaking, research and teamwork skills.
The competition takes the form of a mock session of the UN Security Council. Teams of two students debate, amend, and vote on a prepared resolution from the perspective of their assigned nation. In this year's competition Cerdon represented the Dominican Republic, USA and Equatorial Guinea. Students debated issues on Climate-Induced Conflict and Zimbabwean Peace. The girls enjoyed the experience and valued the opportunity to research and debate world issues with students from other schools.
Kids Lit Quiz 2019
The Kids Lit Quiz is an international competition which celebrates the ‘sport of reading’! Students work in teams of four to answer questions on everything related to books.
This year Cerdon hosted 200 students from over 20 schools in the Western Sydney heat of the competition. As always the day was filled with lots of question, lots of prizes and lots of smiles. Cerdon was represented by four teams of Year 7 and 8 students who enthusiastically took up the challenge and worked through 100 questions on a variety of categories, which this year included Cities, Mythology and Comics & Cartoons. A group of student volunteers assisted enthusiastically and a number of teachers helped make the day a wonderful success!
Library News
2019 Premier’s Reading Challenge
More than seventy students from Years 7-9 have taken up this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge to read a total of twenty books each by the 30 August. As well as completing the required reading, students have been contributing mini-reviews to a shared group on Padlet and, by the end of the Challenge, students will share a review of a book they have enjoyed. Read Sophie’s, Year 7, entertaining review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling and Chiara’s, Year 8, heartfelt review of The Other Side of Summer by Australian author, Emily Gale. You may also enjoy reading some great mini-reviews by students on the PRC Group Padlet. All the best to the students who have taken up the Challenge this year. Happy reading!
SpineOut
SpineOut is a bi-monthly e-Magazine produced for Australian secondary school students. It is produced by the publishers of Good Reading magazine and features work created by students in Years 7-12. Students can explore the latest issue here. Congratulations to the following students who have had their book reviews published in the recent April/May edition:
● We are okay by Nina LaCour - reviewed by Lexie, Year 11
● The opposite of here by Tara Altebrando - reviewed by Asmi, Year 11
● You must be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied - reviewed by Hannah, Year 8
● A curse so dark and lonely by Brigid Kemmerer - reviewed by Bethany, Year 10
Reading recommendation
Parents: this is an invitation to recommend a book to students at Cerdon
The library would like to create a display of books recommended by parents and staff. If you have a favourite book from your teenage years or childhood that you would like to share with our school community, or perhaps a book that you have read recently that you think would be enjoyed by students, then please complete this form and itt should only take a few minutes. Your book may be a fiction novel but any book recommendations (for example, non-fiction, graphic, poetry etc) are welcome.
Thank you in advance.
Mrs Sylaprany
Teacher/Librarian
PDHPE/Sport Report
School Cross Country
On Friday March 8, Cerdon College held its annual School Cross Country event. Approximately 95 students took the opportunity to run the course set out at Merrylands Park. The weather was warm and it turned out to be perfect conditions for running.
Congratulations to the following students who finished as Champion or Runner Up in their respective age group:
U12
Champion: Helen Macpherson
Runner Up: Vinka Jurisic
U13
Champion: Nicola Christou
Runner up: Isabella Christou
U14
Champion: Kiara De Angelis
Runner Up: Aluel Juk
U15
Champion: Trisha Castelino
Runner Up: Alyssa Abou Hamed
U16
Champion: Josephine Moujaes
Runner Up: Claudia Portolesi
Runner Up: Gizelle Gellado
U17
Champion: Alexzandria Smith
Runner Up: Angelina Portolesi
U18
Champion: Trina Castelino
Runner Up: Taylah Ibrahim
Congratulations to Marcellin, our Cross Country House Champions for 2019.
1st Marcellin: 89 points
2nd Perroton: 83 points
3rd Colin: 78 points
4th McOscar: 75 points
I would like to thank Miss Bailey, Mr Hanna and Miss Smith as well as the Year 9 PASS students for their assistance on the day.
PDSSSC Swimming
Congratulations to our Swimming squad, who competed at the PDSSSC Carnival on Friday March 29. The squad consisted of the following students:
Emily Aitken, Helen Macpherson, Holly Denning, Sanya Joseph, Julia Tandog, Jorja Matthew, Trisha Castelino, Sarah Denniss, Hannah Jeffree, Elise Noble, Sophia Vicic, Christina Callaghan, Keely Callaghan.
Congratulations to Hannah Jeffree of Year 8, who placed first in the 14 years 100m Backstroke and 400m Freestyle. She progressed to NSWCCC Swimming Championships on April 5 to represent both PDSSSC and Cerdon College.
PDSSSC Touch Football
Congratulations to Olivia Achmar of Year 11 who was selected in the PDSSSC Open Touch Football squad following her high quality performances at the recent PDSSSC Touch Football Gala Day. Olivia travelled to Nelson Bay with the squad at the end of last term and competed against strong opposition from NSWCCC schools. We congratulate Olivia and wish her well in her sporting endeavours for the remainder of 2019.
PDSSSC Open Football
Congratulations to Katerina Bonovas of Year 11, who was selected in the PDSSSC Open Football squad. She played exceptionally well on the day as a member of the Cerdon Open Football team and gained selection based on her leadership skills and high level of skill. We wish her well as she begins training and preparing for her place in the PDSSSC squad.
Congratulations to Miss Rodgers who was a member of the Australian Womens Touch Football team who recently won the 2019 Touch Football World Cup in Malaysia.
Miss Rodgers was part of the undefeated Womens Open side and was one of the leading try scorers in the competition.
Congratulations to her on this outstanding sporting achievement.
Mr R Zammit
PDHPE/Sport Co-ordinator
Canteen Price List
Skoolbag
School Calendars
About us
Email: cerdon@parra.catholic.edu.au
Website: http://dev.cerdon.nsw.edu.au
Location: Sherwood Rd, Merrylands West, New South Wales, Australia
Phone: 8724 7300
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CerdonCollege
Twitter: @CerdonCollege