College Newsletter
Term 3 Week 10 Friday 28 September 2018
A Message from the Principal
We've come to the end of another term; as your daughter will know, Cerdon College is a very busy school. This term we celebrated a number of achievements, shared lots of experiences of learning together and participated in a wide range of pastoral, academic, sporting and enrichment activities. The staff at the College are very committed to trying to involve your daughter in the widest possible range of experiences that will enrich their lives. As always, I remind the community that you can read about these on the College website and through all of our social media channels.
I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone in the community for their support this term especially in light of the fact that we've had a large number of staff away on long service leave, in meeting other commitments and through illness. In particular, I'd like to thank Mrs Stephenson and Mrs Agius who have had to timetable teachers to cover classes, supported by Mrs Yumul and Mr Zammit. Also, thank you to Mr Mulheron and Mr Zammit who stepped into acting-Assistant Principal roles, Ms Ackaoui, who stepped into the acting-REC role and Mrs Schinella who stepped in to assist Ms Ackaoui. Thank you also to Miss Bailey who has been acting as the Year 7 Coordinator in Miss Parker's absence.
This week, Year 12 reached a milestone. The young ladies of the Class of 2018 graduated from high school and are preparing for the HSC exams beginning in October. At graduation, we remind the girls that the College is about preparing young ladies to make their way in the world, as women of purpose, armed with the light of Mary - not just to light their path, but to be beacons in the world. In the words of Oprah Winfrey to "become so skilled, so vigilant, so flat-out fantastic at what you do that your talent cannot be dismissed".
And so today we pray for Year 12:
May you embrace the mystery of your life
As it unfolds before you.
May your life be richly fulfilling;
A celebration of God's love for you.
We pray that you meet the challenges that lie ahead
With hope and with enthusiasm.
May you always know, wherever you go
Our prayers go with you too.
May God's all powerful love be with you always to give you strength to keep going,
faith to keep believing and the hope to see your great potential.
Amen
God Bless
Mr F Caristo
Acting Principal
In Sympathy
Please keep our Cerdon families in your thoughts and prayers with the recent passing of family members.
Mrs Benita Saad, Mother of Isabella Saad (Year 10), Mr Samir El Bayssari, Father of Catherine El Bayssari (Year 11), Elissa El Bayssari (Year 9) and Clara El Bayssari (Year 7) and Bianca Cavassini, Grandmother of Lucia Cavassini (Year 9).
May they rest in peace.
Amen
The School Dentist
New Appointment System for the Uniform Shop
The College Uniform Shop has now commenced an appointments system on selected days to assist parents to streamline uniform purchases.
Parents of students already attending the College will be able to access an appointment time via the College Website. PLEASE NOTE: the following dates are appointments only -
TERM 4, 2018
Monday 15 October
Wednesday 17 October
Wednesday 24 October
Wednesday 31 October
Wednesday 7 November
Wednesday 14 November
Wednesday 21 November
Wednesday 28 November
Wednesday 5 December
TERM 1 - JANUARY 2019
Monday 21 January
Tuesday 22 January
Wednesday 23 January
Tuesday 29 January
Wednesday 30 January
The Uniform Shop will also be open to students in Years 7-11 on the following days - no appointment necessary -
Monday 22 October - 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 29 October- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 5 November- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 12 November- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 19 November- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 26 November- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 3 December- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Monday 10 December- 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Thursday 31 January - 7:30 am to 10:30 am
Cerdon College Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (During trading hours only)
Staff Only Parking on School Grounds
Parents and students are reminded that the carparks on site are for College staff ONLY. It is an unsafe practice to drop off and pickup students from these carparks, particularly in Sherwood Road as the entrance is off the T-way. Parents driving students to school need to find parking or a safe drop off area, (following the Council parking signage at all times) in Kenyons Road, Bristol Street or other streets surrounding the College. It is not permissible to park across residential driveways, as the College receives a number of complaints about this and it is also contrary to legal parking regulations. This is a major safety issue for all our students and it is unfortunate that a small minority of parents still seem unable to follow the College's Policy regarding no parking on College grounds, even if they are coming to the College Office.
General Safety
All parents are also reminded that they should not be dropping off or picking up students at either the BP Service Station or on the T Way Bus Lane. These are both unsafe options for students and parents.
Students and parents too must always ensure they use pedestrian crossings to cross the roads around the school.
Upcoming Events
Monday 1 October - Friday 12 October
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Monday 15 October
Term 4 Commences
Monday 15 October to Friday 19 October
Year 11 Work Placement/ABW Week
Wednesday 17 October
Year 7 2019 Orientation Day
Thursday 18 October
HSC Exams Commence
Friday 26 October
Year 7 and 10 Peer Support Picnic
Monday 29 October
P & F Meeting 7:00 pm
Wednesday 7 November
Year 11 Reports Distributed
Friday 9 November
Year 12 HSC Exams conclude
Monday 12 November
Remembrance Day Ceremony
Monday 12 November to Friday 23 November
Year 9 and 10 Elective and Practical Assessments Week
Thursday 15 November
Principal's Awards Morning Tea
Friday 16 November
Year 12 Formal
News and Announcements
For all regular announcements and up to date news on the events that take place at the College, please subscribe to the News Feed and Announcements Feed on the College Website which you can access here. You can also follow Cerdon College on Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest and Instagram; links to our Social Media can be found at the bottom of this Newsletter and on the College Website. We will continue to use Skoolbag to communicate important information about excursions, information nights and parent/teacher evenings. Please make sure that you select the appropriate group(s) to receive specific news relevant to your daughter's year group. If you are new to Skoolbag please review the infographic above.
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony
FIRST PLACE AWARDS
Earth and Environmental Science
English Advanced
Visual Arts
Zali Aquilina
Senior Science
Georgia Arrage
English Extension I
Gabriela Badrov
Catholic Studies
Joy Baysari
Mathematics General
Tenisha Chandab
Entertainment
Chantelle Cheung
Legal Studies
Charlotte Chidiac
English Studies
Rochelle Cohen
History Extension
Melanie Conlon
Music I
Elise Cribbin
Modern History
Elizabeth Elias
Studies of Religion II
Dorna Faghireh
Italian Continuers
Italian Extension
Rowan Gardoce
Senior Science
Nicole Gereige
Business Studies
Food Technology
Emma Hallab
Ancient History
Holly Ibrahim
Visual Arts
Katrina Jelavic
First Place and ACHPER Award for Excellence in
Community and Family Studies
Monique Khattar
Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics
Aishwarya Limbu
Fundamentals of English
Natalia Matar
Business Services
Isabella Matsias
Design and Technology
First Place and ACHPER Award for Excellence in
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
Elizabeth McDonald
Economics
Mathematics Extension I
Physics
Mai Truc Anh Cecilia Isabelle Nguyen
Fundamentals of English
Serina Papa
Business Studies
Antonela Pavlovic
English Extension II
Olivia Resman
Textiles and Design
Antonela Scarpignato
Drama
Claudia Semaan
Hospitality – Food and Beverage
Annamarie Subramaniam
English Studies
Exploring Early Childhood
Shontelle Tabet
English Standard
Sarah Yatoma
Geography
Carissa Zajac
SPECIAL PRIZES
SISTER AQUINAS AWARDS FOR LEADERSHIP
College Captain
Gabriela Badrov
College Vice Captains
Emily Dang (Academic)
Mikayla Menouhos (Social Justice and Community Service)
Kelly Nguyen (Creative and Performing Arts)
Shiarna Tarasenko (Sport)
SR ANN-MARIE WEBB AWARD
FOR DEMONSTRATING MARIST VALUES
Emily Dang
FR JEAN CLAUDE COLIN AWARD
FOR CONSISTENT INVOLVEMENT
IN THE MARIST COMMUNITY
Katrina Jelavic
MARIE JOTILLON AWARD
FOR STRIVING FOR PERSONAL EXCELLENCE
Louise O’Neill
Amelia Walsh
SR CARMEL CONRAN AWARD
FOR CONSISTENT EFFORT
Elizabeth Elias
Isabella Matsias
BISHOP’S AWARD FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE
Elise Cribbin
DEBBIE ABRAHAMS AWARD FOR YOUTH AND
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Zali Aquilina
ADF LONG TAN LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK AWARD
Gabriela Badrov
OUTSTANDING LEGAL STUDIES STUDENT AWARD
Donated by Maclarens Lawyers Merrylands
Charlotte Chidiac
CUMBERLAND COUNCIL
PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AWARD
Kiranpreet Kohli
NSW POLICE YOUTH COMMAND
ETHICAL STUDENT AWARD
Shiarna Tarasenko
PIERRE DE COUBERTIN AWARD
Shiarna Tarasenko
AWARD FOR SPORT EXCELLENCE AND INVOLVEMENT
Louise O’Neill
CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE AND INVOLVEMENT
Zali Aquilina
Elise Cribbin
Claudia Semaan
CERDON COLLEGE AWARD
FOR ALL-ROUND PERFORMANCE
(Incorporating the Caltex All Rounder Award)
Elise Cribbin
PAUL DOLAN AWARD
FOR OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Zali Aquilina
Gabriela Badrov
Rowan Gardoce
Emma Hallab
Katrina Jelavic
Aishwarya Limbu
Elizabeth McDonald
Mai Truc Anh Cecilia Isabelle Nguyen
Van Thach, Graduate of 2017
Van Thach, graduate of 2017 has completed her basic training at Kapooka - Australia Army.
"The training is like no other. I did not know what I was walking into but somehow I powered through. The training most definitely pushed me beyond breaking point, testing my resilience physically and mentally. I want to thank all the teachers I had, and the school. If it wasn’t for you all in the back of my head I wouldn’t have gotten through the training. It was during the tough times where I was most mentally challenged. I would look back on the amazing times I had in high school which was full of laughter, happiness and support from everyone which helped my get through the pain and to keep on smiling. I'm glad I have chosen this as my career path because this has really opened my eyes to appreciate how lucky we are to be a part of Australia. I am a Marist girl at heart and will always carry myself at a high standard now because of who I will always represent which is Cerdon College.
In the photos, on my march out parade, I was honoured to receive Top Soldier in Physical Training award. The award was given to the solider who showed most determination in physical training, one who pushed through, bringing positivity with everything they did; not one that was top in the platoon but one that kept up the spirit. As you can see I am obviously the shortest one in the platoon which made me more honoured to accept the award and I will keep it dearly to my heart because of where I have come from. Anything is possible, only if you let it and not let your mind take over because I learnt that the mind will always give up before your body will.
So just a final thank you for being a part of my journey to get me where I am today and who I have become, no matter big or small your part is I wouldn’t have done it without you."
Sincerely
Van Thach
Tournament of Minds
On Saturday 25th August, Cerdon Collge had a group of 7 girls enter the regional finals of the Tournament of Minds competition at Western Sydney University, Milperra Campus. The students were Nitika Harpalani of Year 9, Annalise Abiwahab, Artemisia Lonie, Breanna Dowling and Yagmur Oghan from Year 8 and Esha Mehta and Georgina Moujalli from Year 7. Thank you to Tamsyn Balogh-Caristo who helped train the team and supported them on the day.
We competed against many other schools in the area, although we didn’t win on the day, the experience was thoroughly enjoyed by all involved.
Nitika describes her experience in the competition “I had the privilege of leading the 2018 Tournament of Minds Social Sciences group. Overall, we all enjoyed being able to communicate with different year groups and building on each other’s ideas until we had a perfect script that everyone loved. We spent many lunches and afternoons working on our performance and thoroughly enjoyed the creativity that was showcased while perfecting our performance. In all, I am honoured that I was able to work with such a well coordinated and cooperative group. It was a journey that I would gladly be a part of once again”
Chinese Garden of Friendship
On the 6th September, Year 9 had the opportunity to experience the tranquility and aesthetic appeal of the Chinese Garden of Friendship. We commenced the tour with an introduction to the history behind the gardens and an explanation of its purpose today, as well as the meanings behind the numerous features present. We then conducted fieldwork technique based exercises such as field sketches and inquiry based learning gained through observations of the gardens and the beliefs behind its features. Following this we were allowed the chance to explore the gardens freely and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere contrasting to the Sydney CBD. Overall this excursion was thoroughly enjoyable and gave us a great chance at interactive fieldwork learning.
Bianca Simonetta
Chinatown completely submerged us in authentic Chinese culture. Students were able to independently explore Dixon Street and try many Chinese foods & drinks such as dumplings, cream puffs, spring rolls, chatime and more. We were able to visit retail stores and purchase souvenirs and even beauty products! We evaluated the large variety of Chinese-owned businesses, tallying the diverse services offered, whilst lovely traditional Chinese music wafted through the street. We truly were immersed in the delicious smells and sights it offered & amazed by the unique and detailed architecture. This excursion truly was an eye opener to the importance and influence of Chinese culture on Sydney. Thank you to all the teachers who coordinated the excursion and made it possible.
Arunita Seth
Year 9 Commerce Market Day
On Friday the 7th of September, the Year 9 Commerce students held a Market Day consisting of stalls as part of our Running a Business assessment task. As part of this task, we created marketing campaigns to promote our stalls. This task taught us about the fundamentals of establishing and operating a business in the position of an entrepreneur.
The goal of our efforts was to raise a significant amount of profit, which we donated to the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer research. The day consisted of delicious foods including donuts, ice-cream sandwiches, churros, pizza, fairy floss, a sausage sizzle and many more treats, which were enjoyed by the Cerdon community. This task has allowed us to apply our knowledge from the topic in a fun yet challenging way and overall, the day was a success. In total, $2080 was raised and donated to the McGrath Foundation. We would like to thank the Year 11 Social Justice leaders for their help throughout the day and a special thank you to Miss Hanna, Miss Brizgala and Miss Hasbany for their organisation of the day. The Commerce students should be incredibly proud of their efforts on the day and their contributions to charity.
Sophia Siderides and Bianca Simonetta
Congratulations
Some exciting news from the Bring It On Dance competition on 8th September. Cerdon definitely brought it on!!! We placed third!
The students did a fantastic job and danced extremely well and we are exceptionally proud.
Thank you to everyone who supported the Hip Hop A team in any way. It is much appreciated and the girls are very grateful!
Miss Cascio
Enrichment@Cerdon
Sunsprint 2018
The Sunsprint Challenge is an annual event run at the UNSW.
It encourages student to work together to research and build a solar car or a solar boat to race on the day. This year Cerdon had over forty students from Year 7-12 participating in the challenge.
Teams of students met every week throughout term three to build, test and perfect their project
Girls entered either the 20m Mini-Sprint, the Solar Boat race or the pursuit.
Congratulations to all the students who participated in Sunsprint this year. A special congratulations to Elise and Amanda from Year 12 for winning the 2018 Pursuit race.
Talented Mathematicians Workshop at Cerdon
Cerdon College recently hosted a Talented Mathematician Workshop. This workshop, run by Inquisitive Minds, focused not only on teaching students advanced problem solving strategies, but also on having them consider the best way of solving a problem.
Working in pairs, selected students from Years 8 and 9 participated in a range of fun and challenging practical maths activities. A highlight of the day, was pairing up and working with students from other schools, who also joined us in the workshop.
Congratulations to all the students across all schools who joined us in making this day ‘The best Maths day ever!’
The Alexa Competition –Western Sydney University
The Alexa Competition was promoted as an opportunity for Western Sydney high school students, to experience cutting edge Artificial Intelligence and cloud technology.
Working in teams, students were required to work and develop an Alexa skill -from ideation to programming, with the Alexa Skills Kit. Cerdon’s idea of a program which provides a stress-less environment for teenagers, made it to the final stage of the competition, where they were awarded ‘Best Presentation’. For their efforts all student received a certificate, a medal as well as an Echo-Dot. Congratulations to Jessica Bahous, Charlize D’Souza, Bethany Heng, Flavia Lu, Rebecca Mansour, Zahra Sadat for taking on the challenge and to Mr Tham for guiding the girls in the inaugural Alexa Competition.
The National Youth Science Forum Journey begins…
Earlier this term, Dominique Espinosa from Year 11, was awarded a place in the prestigious program the National Youth Science Forum. This twelve day program at the Australian National University in Canberra, is Supported by The Rotary Club of Holroyd and offers students the opportunity to experience cutting edge research, explore a variety of Science paths and meet like-minded individuals. As part of the experience, students were invited to have afternoon tea with His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley at Government House in Sydney. Here Dominique was able to, not only meet the Governor and enjoy the beautiful surroundings but also meet the NYSF delegates from across NSW. This wonderful experience is only one of the many which Dominique will embark on as part of NYSF and we wish her well on her journey.
2018 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge
Congratulations to the following students who participated in this year's Premier's Reading Challenge -
Year 7 (17/35)
Neola Asante (E8)
Diya Badawi (E5)
Joycelyn Boadu (E5)
Edrea Carr (E6)
Tanya Dannoun (E5)
Ashlee Dib (E7)
Lara El Bacha (E8)
Julia El Jammal (E7)
Hannah Ghaleb (E9)
Erica Mekdessi (E8)
Brooke Mifsud (E10)
Sienna Morvillo (E5)
Christina Nasr (E9)
Honya Rezaie (E9)
Samira Salem (E6)
Chiara Simonetta (E5)
Zoe Fitzpatrick (E10)
Year 8 (7/12)
Daniella Bernobic
Catherine Elias
Tatiana Elias
Joyce Eweda
Rebecca Georges
Gabrielle Nasr
Annalise Reynolds-Pace
Year 9 (14/17)
Andree Boutros
Jamelle El Koura
Lynelle Fares
Anna Haider
Nitika Harpalani
Sarah Mekdessi
Vanessa Mekdessi
Bethany Nicholls
Grace Othman
Sophia Siderides
Bianca Simonetta
Anjana Tangirala
Edwina Tu
Amelia Williams
PDHPE/Sport Report
School Athletics Carnival
The Cerdon College Athletics Carnival took place on Monday July 23. Congratulations to all those students who involved themselves on the day. As usual, we witnessed some fantastic performances and the following students are to be commended on achieving Champion and Runner Up awards in their respective age group.
12 Years Age Champion Grace Hunt
12 Years Age Runner Up Hannah Galeb
13 Years Age Champion Aluel Juk
13 Years Age Runner Up Georgina Abou Hamed
14 Years Age Champion Trisha Castelino
14 Years Runner Up Bianca N Cameron
15 Years Age Champions Natasha Grech, Josephine Moujaes, Gizelle Gellado (Equal points)
16 Years Age Champion Mikhaela Topfer
16 Years Age Runner Up Jessie Finch
17 Years Age Champion Louise O’Neill
17 Years Age Runner Up Shiarna Tarasenko
18 Years Age Champions Georgia Kalisperis and Dorna Faghireh (Equal points)
House Champion
Congratulations to McOscar House who accumulated the most points at the 2018 Athletics Carnival. The final results were very close and the other three houses are to be commended on achieving very competitive results.
1st Place: McOscar - 895 points
2nd Place: Colin - 820 points
3rd Place: Marcellin - 760 points
4th Place: Perroton - 714 points
Thanks to all staff who helped out on the day and to the Year 9 and 10 PASS students who also assisted with convening this year’s event. The day would not have been as successful as it was without the assistance of all involved and we look forward enthusiastically to next year’s carnival.
Strong performances by Cerdon students at Cross Country events.
Congratulations to Nicola Christou of Year 7 who competed at the NSW All Schools Cross Country event on Friday July 27 2018. Nicola placed 39th overall and was the 4th placed runner from Catholic Schools in the 12/13 years event.
It has been a great year for Nicola Christou in Cross Country this year, having placed 4th overall in the NSWCCC Cross Country 12 Years event in June and 1st Place at the PDSSSC Cross Country event in May of this year.
Other notable performers from Cerdon this year in Cross Country include Isabella Christou (12 Years 4th Place at PDSSSC), Grace Hunt (12 Years 5th Place at PDSSSC).
Cerdon students, Katerina and Bao, win the Bfilmed Competition State Prize
As part of the Year 10 PDHPE unit, The Party, students had the opportunity to enter their Road Safety Advertisements into the Bfilmed Competition. This competition showcases road safety short films and advertisements at the bstreetsmart Road Safety Conference.
Congratulations to Katerina Bonovas and Bao Tram Doan of Miss Hanson’s Year 10 PDHPE class, who produced the advertisement that was selected as the State Prize Winner. The work of Katerina and Bao was judged against the work of other schools from around the state as well as some of our own. Cerdon also submitted advertisements from fellow Year 10 students Victoria Georges, Claudia Kukucka, Gwyneth Hortizano, Charlize D’Souza and Flavia Lu. The videos were shown to a live audience of nearly 10,000 people. It is great recognition of the quality of work being produced in PDHPE.
The videos can be viewed via the links below:
State Prize Winner: Katerina Bonovas and Bao Tram Doan - https://youtu.be/p4doCV-o-uA
Finalist: Victoria Georges, Claudia Kukucka and Gwyneth Hortizano: https://youtu.be/57uo9sjpEhc
Finalist: Charlize D’Souza and Flavia Lu: https://youtu.be/8IR5239Rv5I
Congratulations to all involved!
Mr R Zammit
PDHPE/Sport Co-ordinator
Cerdon places 2nd overall at PDSSSC Dance
Cerdon students performed extremely well at the PDSSSC Dance Competition on Friday August 24.
Sarah Vella of Year 10 placed in the senior solo division (3rd) against some of the strongest performers seen at the PDSSSC competition.
Cerdon also placed in the following categories:
2nd place Hip Hop A
2nd place Jazz A
3rd place Spanish/Flamenco
Cerdon also placed 2nd overall for the day.
This is an amazing outcome for our students. These results come from practice, dedication and plenty of early mornings.
Congratulations to all students involved.
Mrs I Redwin
Dance Co-ordinator
School Calendars
School Zones
Parents need to take note that the area surrounding Cerdon College is designated as a School Zone. Police and Council Rangers constantly patrol the area. They will have no hesitation in prosecuting drivers for driving offences.
In NSW more than one million school students travel to and from school each day. The vast majority of students do so safely. The NSW State Government is committed to further increasing safety for children during school travel times.
The school zones were selected according to a number of criteria concerning the risks young pedestrians are exposed to, including a combination of high traffic volumes, the level of pedestrian use and crash history.
All NSW school zones are sign-posted with regulatory signs that list the operating times of the school zones.
What times do the school zone speed cameras operate?
All school zone speed cameras operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week and detect vehicles exceeding the speed limit. They are also programmed to detect vehicles exceeding the 40km/h school zone speed limit during sign-posted school zone times.
For most locations these times are: 8am – 9.30am and 2.30pm – 4pm on gazetted school days.
How do I know I am entering a school zone?
NSW school zones are sign-posted indicating the operating times of the school zone. There are also large, bright yellow markings painted on the road showing the 40km/h speed limit. In addition to the regulatory signs Roads and Maritime has also installed flashing lights (school zone alert systems) at a number of school zone sites, including all fixed speed camera sites that are located in a school zone. School zone flashing lights are used as an additional warning system to alert motorists to slow down, and are not legally required in NSW.
Are school zones enforced on pupil free days?
Fixed digital speed cameras enforce the school zone 40km/h speed limit during the stated school zone hours on all gazetted school days. Pupil free days or staff development days fit into this category and in some cases there may still be students attending schools on these days.
There are also some instances where double demerits apply on a school day. This will usually happen when the day before a long weekend is also a gazetted school day.
School days are defined as those gazetted by the NSW Government and which can be found on the NSW Government website and in most annual diaries. Both Catholic and independent schools, irrespective of their term dates, have enforceable school zones in line with Department of Education school terms. The fixed speed cameras enforce the school zone speed limit in accordance with the Department of Education school term dates.
About us
Email: cerdon@parra.catholic.edu.au
Website: www.cerdonmerrylands.catholic.edu.au
Location: Sherwood Rd, Merrylands West, New South Wales, Australia
Phone: 8724 7300
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CerdonCollege
Twitter: @CerdonCollege