St. Benedict's Catholic College
Friday 22 June, 2018
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Dear Parents and Carers
Last week the College had its first “Wellbeing” week where the entire focus for staff and students was on mental health and activities that promoted mental health. I am sure that your child came home and spoke about the changes from period chimes to all manner of music, our Front Office staff singing over the PA, the staff and student sporting activities, sausage sizzles and information sessions on dealing with anxiety, stress and strategies to seek assistance. One of the largest national student surveys into the mental health of Australian students released a fortnight ago has revealed that close to 70 per cent of young people responding rated their mental health as poor or fair. While two-thirds reported high or very high psychological distress over the past 12 months.
When our children feel anxious they look at what’s happening around them through ‘anxiety goggles’. It’s like when you look through a pair of glasses with red lenses and everything looks red. Take them off and all is clear again. What if we could help our kids to take off their anxiety goggles and learn to look at their thoughts rather than from them? It would bring them such relief.
We can help our kids do this by developing their metacognition (thought-noticing) skills. That way, when their minds wander to their worries and troubles they can notice they’re actually ‘lost in thought’ and not really experiencing the events they are thinking about. It would help them to ‘unhook’ from their daydreaming and importantly, bring their minds back to the present moment.
Thought-noticing is a wonderful skillset which helps our kids to manage their mental health. When young people tune into their thinking, they immediately distance themselves from it. Rather than being lost in the thoughts that are making them feel anxious, they can mentally step back and see the thought for what it is. Just another thought that comes and goes like all the ones before and all the ones to come.
There are many ways to teach thought noticing to kids. Here are two that parents find useful:
Tell me more… Day-to-day conversations are great for thought noticing. It’s about asking the right questions. Here are some examples to get the thought noticing conversation started: “Can you tell me more about why you think that? Why do you think you got so upset when we had to go straight home? Why do you think you’re putting off doing your homework? How will you know when your painting is complete?”
Post-meltdown reflection In the aftermath of a meltdown or outburst, when calm has returned and your child or teen has moved on, take some time to ask why he/she got so upset over what happened. Ask questions like “what did your mind say to make you feel upset?” for younger children. “Can you tell me what you were thinking that made you feel so angry, frustrated, disappointed etc.?” for older kids.
Developing metacognition or ‘thinking about thinking’ skills fosters self-regulation among children. As contributing to children’s mental health and happiness, metacognition helps kids be more successful, more resilient and be able to problem-solve because they are less likely to get caught up in their worries.
It’s worth a thought.
Warm Regards
Michael Hanratty
FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF MISSION AND VISION
“The mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds, grows into the biggest shrub of all.” (Mark 4:26-34)
In our Gospel reading this week, we read of Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed, which is a fitting reminder to help us understand the presence of God in our lives. In this parable a tiny mustard seed is compared to the kingdom of God, that once planted and with time and patience, can grow into something magnificent. This parable invites us to welcome God into our lives, to nurture our faith and watch it grow into a thing of beauty, spreading far and wide. We are asked to consider the Kingdom of Heaven like this mustard seed, it spreads throughout our lives and may not always be predictable and ordered. What about our own mustard seeds? Are they nourishing in their full glory or do we need to tend to them a little more closely?
LIVE #1 - Choose Joy!
On Friday we held the first of our Live Festivals for the year. The theme for this evening was Choose Joy and was run by the Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong team. It was a fitting end to our well being week activities and began with a lunchtime concert in the COLA for all students. In the afternoon, our students had the opportunity to engage in activities and prayer experiences to help them deepen their faith. A big thank you must be extended to Mr Alex Hayden, our College Youth Ministry Coordinator, for overseeing this event, and to our Year 11 Youth Ministry Leaders who had an opportunity to lead the students from Years 7-12 who stayed for the experience. Additionally, I thank the staff who gave up their Friday evening to be a part of this experience and share the pizza with our students!
Winter Appeal
Our 2018 St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal is under way and it is during this time that we encourage our College community to get behind this wonderful initiative. I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the families in our community who have been tirelessly knitting away making beautiful blankets, scarves and socks. But it is not too late! Over the next few weeks, our Year 9 Social Justice Leaders and helpers will be collecting money, blankets, scarves, socks, jackets and other clean winter clothing items. So far a huge congratulations to the students in 7.6 Academic care, who along with their tutors, Mrs Natalie Wagstaff and Ms Jane Kelleher, are definitely leading the way in donations and blankets! Come on St Bennies, let’s show the people who are doing it tough in our community that we are behind them.
St Vincent de Paul Return and Earn Appeal
This week we have been delivered 8 blue garbage bins to help support another initiative of St Vincent de Paul. The bins are to collect bottles, cans and poppers that can be returned and earn 10 cents per item. Every 10 cent item adds up, so we encourage our staff and students to ensure that any item that can be recycled in these programs gets placed into the bins around the school. These bins are not for everyday rubbish and we remind students to recycle correctly. It not only will help the environment, but will help support the work of St Vincent de Paul.
Bennie's Bring a Blanket 2018!
Next Friday, 29 June is our scheduled Bennies Bring a Blanket Social Justice initiative. Students are invited to stay back after school to participate in a variety of activities, workshops sessions that will address the issue of homelessness and having empathy, as well as participate in prayer opportunities and a dance! The evening will conclude at 8:30pm, and any student who wishes to be a part of this event will need to return their permission notes before next Wednesday. The event is free, but we encourage a gold coin donation and encourage students to bring some spare coins to participate in some events on the evening. Any money raised, as well as blanket or clothing donations, will be passed onto St Vincent de Paul.
Wellbeing Week
This week St Benedict’s Catholic College held our first “Wellbeing Week”. As a school community, we understand the need for everyone to lead healthy balanced lifestyles, the challenges faced in achieving this during our busy lives and the importance of strong mental health.
Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.
During the week we actively promoted physical and emotional health with activities to equip our staff and students with the understanding and skills they need to make informed decisions about their health, both now and in the future. By championing healthy lifestyles and emotional health and wellbeing, we want to continue to raise standards and improve levels of student achievement.
Key activities throughout the week included:
Mindfulness meditation and focus. Affirmations. Staff vs. Student activities. Different bells/changes in routine. BBQ lunch provided for students. Wellbeing Year group activities. And many more…
We are committed to the health and wellbeing of our students and staff and no doubt your children have been keeping you up to speed with the positive initiatives.
UPCOMING DATES TO NOTE
Bennie's Bring a Blanket - Friday 29 June
Year 7 to 10 Report Distribution - Monday 2 July
Year 7 & 8 Maths Enrichment Day at WSU - Wednesday 4 July
Year 8 and 10 Parent/Teacher evening - Wednesday 4 July
Last Day of Term 2 - Friday 6 July
First Day of Term 3 - Monday 23 July
HOSTING A JAPANESE STUDENT IS FUN!!
St Benedict’s College will be hosting a small group of 15 co-ed Japanese high school students, (13 girls and 2 boys) from 1 to 12 August.
We are inviting school families to consider hosting a Japanese student during their time at St Benedict’s College.
**Home stay hosts will be paid a tax free allowance of $400.00 for each student, which will more than meet the costs of hosting.
Last year’s host families enjoyed the experience very much and found it most rewarding and memorable.
Why not consider hosting a student in your home & enjoy this great experience?
CONTACT: Bill and Margaret Clark on 0418 215 990 or 0488 777 886 or
Year 12 Students - HSC Study Guide
The following link to the HSC Study Guide might be useful over the next few weeks. Have a look through the specific guides for each of your subjects and general articles on preparing for the Trials.
Good luck with your final set of assessments and Trial HSC Exams.
https://hsc-study-guide-2018.smh.com.au/
Kind regards
R Bombardiere
Director of Learning and Teaching
Literacy and Numeracy in CAPA
Literacy in Music
In Music Stage 4 - 6, numeracy can be found all throughout the concept of Duration. Whether counting rhythms, tempos or time signatures numeracy activities are closely linked.
Here is an example of numeracy in Stage 4 music;
Here students must use their numeracy skills to count the values of each symbol and then complete the bars using the appropriate note value. In this case each bar must equal 3 beats. Students are working through whole numbers and fractions using half and quarter beat counting.
In Music Stage 6, students cover six musical concepts through the course of Music 1 Preliminary and HSC. Pitch is a particularly important concept where students struggle to remember all areas. The examples given here show both a visual and summary prompts for the same concept.
Student’s workbook
Literacy is visual in the classroom during various stages of Visual Arts
Year 10 History Debating team
On Monday 18 July, students from the Year 10 History Debating team competed against Good Samaritan Catholic College in the J.A. Thompson History Debating Competition. This was St Benedict’s first time competing in the State wide competition. The team consisted of Rhianna Irons, Darcey Christl, Morgan White, Olivia Dowling, Lilli Power and Julian Di Giovanni.
Our team took part in two debates. The first debate was “That the Kevin Rudd apology was an effective response to the stolen Generations.” As the affirmative team St Benedict’s argued strongly with a great depth of historical research and sources to support their arguments. The team were successful in proving that the apology was an effective response.
The second debate was “Australia’s fear of communism in the 1950s and 1960s was justified.” As the affirmative team, St Benedict’s argued that the fear was justified however Good Samaritan were stronger and took out the debate.
We are currently awaiting the results of the other debates to determine whether or not we are through to the next round.
Miss T Brown
Teacher in charge
COLLEGE SPORTING WEEK
Due to the weather, most sports where cancelled.
Congratulations to the following students who were nominated as MVPs for Week 8.
NRL/UFC:
Isaac Orton, Emily O’Callaghan
Golf/Crossfit:
Emily Cull, Tiffany Eid
Gym:
Nathaniel Murphy, Indhi Downe
Kickboxing:
Benn Lomm
Dance:
Mikalee D’Costa
Skating:
Claudia Bournes, Shaylee Vibert
Bowling B:
Louis Hall
Yours in Sport
Miss Liska
College Athletics Carnival
Term 2 started off with a bang!!!!! Tuesday 1 May saw St Benedict’s students travelling to Campbelltown Athletics Stadium for the Annual Athletics Carnival. What started off as a fresh morning, turned out to be a lovely sunny day with lots of enthusiasm and encouragement by all students and teachers present.
The day started off with students getting to the track early to start the 1500m event before the day had even kicked off. The number of students running in this event was fantastic to see, which showed the dedication from our students.
Over the course of the day, we saw a total of 34 new records made amongst the various age groups. Once again the House spirit was evident amongst the houses with students and teachers dressing up in their house colours.
One of the highlight of the day was listening to, and watching the houses do their cheering. Congratulations to the Year 12 students who led and ran this, your enthusiasm and efforts were fantastic. Congratulations to the Ingham house for being the overall winning house for the cheering.
Congratulations to the following Age Champions and Runners Up for 2018:
Age 12 Girls
Champion Madeline Birkbeck
Runner Up Pauline Anosyke
12 Boys
Champion Ashton Judge
Runner Up Isaac Orton
13 Girls
Champion Charlotte Manny
Runner Up Kayley Skeers
13 Boys
Champion Connor Price
Runner Up Jack Pollard
14 Girls
Champion Nakeisha Brimble
Runner Up Annalysse Stevens
14 Boys
Champion Sebastian Grana
Runner Up Peterson Caccamo
15 Girls
Champion Amelia Kubecka
Runner Up Keira Hill
15 Boys
Champion James Haslam
Runner Up Anthony Ellul
16 Girls
Champion Alyssa Chambers
Runner Up Bree Slattery
16 Boys
Champion Joel Shields
Runner Up Rohan Wallace, Antonio Stipicic
Opens Girls
Champion Courtney Schonell, Alex Wark
Runner Up Portia Zuber
Opens Boys
Champion Joshua Irons
Runner Up Isaac Hobman
At the end of the day all the points from the track events, field events, cheers and participation points were tallied, and the overall points for each house were:
3rd Place: Ingham (1236)
2nd Place: Polding (1348)
1st Place: Dharawal (1489)
Thank you to all parents that were there to support and cheer on their children, it is great to see the presence parents on the day. A special thank you must go out to those parents that assisted on the day with the timekeeping and field events. Without your time and assistance on the day, it would have not been able to go ahead.
Yours in Sport,
Miss Liska
NSWCCC Cross Country
Running long distances, up and down hills is not for everyone, however, Friday 15 June, two students from our College made their way to Eastern Creek to represent the College in the NSWCCC Cross Country.
We would like to extend our congratulations and wish both Jared and Madeline best of luck. They are off to Eastern Creek again on Friday 27 July to compete at the NSW All Schools Cross Country.
Yours in Sport,
Miss Liska
Madeline Manny is an excellent triathlete, and her running ability was able to assist her in the current cross country event. Madeline, of Year 10, competed at the NSWCCC Cross Country for the first time where she came 9th overall. This achievement sees her competing at the next level for her age group.
Jared Madsen of Year 12, through his dedication to his training for cycling and running, has seen him come 5th overall on the day for his age group. This now sees him proceeding to the next level.
It goes to show that hard work, dedication and commitment pays off.
CAREERS
2018 Apprenticeship & Traineeship Expos
With the infrastructure boom we are experiencing, the need for apprentices and trainees has never before been in such high demand. Following on from the success year after year of the Western Sydney Apprenticeship & Traineeship Expo, the time has come to take the model to other parts of our great city and provide our career/job seekers, business and industry, education providers and employers with the opportunities to all come together under the one roof and begin the journey of making the plans for our cities growth a reality.
Brett Carter Events is excited to announce that this year in addition to the Western Sydney Apprenticeship & Traineeship Expo, further expos are being held in the South Western Sydney/Macarthur and Central Coast Regions.
Whether you are at school and looking for a career path, a parent hoping to give your child the best opportunities in life, or a teacher that wants to see their students start off on the right foot – the 2018 Apprenticeship and Traineeship Expos have all the answers you need.
Event dates & times
Western Sydney Apprenticeship & Traineeship Expo
Tuesday 28 August 2018 – 3pm to 8pm
Penrith Panthers Exhibition Marquee, 123 Mulgoa Road, Penrith NSW
South Western Sydney/Macarthur Apprenticeship & Traineeship Expo
Thursday 30 August 2018 - 3pm to 8pm
Whitlam Leisure Centre, 90 Memorial Ave, Liverpool NSW
**Free entry to all expos and registration is not required**
About the events
The Western Sydney Apprenticeship & Traineeship Expo is an annual event dating back 16 years with a rich history in Western Sydney and has grown to a status where it is widely accepted as the premier apprenticeship/traineeship expo in NSW.
The timing of the expo is a hit with families as it allows parents to attend with their children and have those all important career chats with industry experts.
Over 100 exhibitors and 5000 people attend each year.
The model has proved so successful over the years and we are excited to bring this event to other regions and anticipate similar attendance figures at each expo.
The expo kicks off the recruitment process. Exhibitors get the chance to collect resumes and promote their organisation for upcoming recruitment drives.
School Careers Advisers are on hand to meet career seekers and parents to discuss career options.
This is the perfect chance to meet industry experts from a range of interesting fields and apply for apprenticeships, traineeships, jobs and further education from over 100 exhibitors at each event representing industry, businesses, group training companies, registered training organisations and many more.
With a lot of Sydney’s major infrastructure projects underway – Western Sydney Airport, road, as well as community, business and residential developments, there has never been a better time to start your journey on a rewarding career path.
P&F Clothing Pool
You can contact Mel on 0410 486 083 Monday to Friday before 5pm in order to arrange a convenient time.
Donations of school uniforms in good condition can be left with the office staff.