College Newsletter
Term 1 Week 8 Friday 17 March 2017
A Message from the Principal
Today is the feast day of St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland.
Patrick was born around 400 AD in England. When he was about 16 years old he was captured by raiders, made a slave and taken to Ireland where he was forced to work in the fields, looking after pigs and sheep and deepened his awareness that God was always with him.
He somehow managed to escape in a ship which took him to France, where he became a priest and later was made a Bishop.
On his return to his birthplace, Patrick had a vision, which called him to take the message of the gospel to the people of Ireland.
So we pray St Patrick's Prayer -
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Amen
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
Reminder
Students are not required at school on this day. If parents require their daughter's to be supervised on this day, please contact the College Office on 8724 7300.
Please note students involved in the PDSSSC Swimming and assistance at the PDSSSC Swimming Carnival will still attend school on this day and be fully supervised by Cerdon College staff.
Public Speaking
This is an outstanding achievement for a very talented Public Speaker.
Cerdon College on the Today Show
Six of our senior students: Nicole El Jammal, Riley Carroll, Anh Nguyen, Gabriela Badrov, Amanda Awad and Elise Cribbin appeared on the Today Show on Channel 9.
These students, along with students from St Margaret Mary's Primary School and some Cardinal Gilroy residents were interviewed by Lisa Wilkinson and Silvia Jefferies as part of a segment on International Women's Day. They were asked questions about their dreams and aspirations and how they planned to achieve them. Our students presented themselves as strong, resilient and articulate young women. They did Cerdon College proud.
Enrolments
Enrolment packages are available from the College Office from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Year 7 2018 enrolments close on Friday 19 May 2017.
Open Night
This was an important opportunity for students to showcase their leadership talents and work undertaken in classes.
Congratulations to all students who proudly represented their school community to present and prospective parents.
Numeracy at Cerdon
Cerdon College’s annual Open Night was held on Tuesday 14th March. The evening provides the community with an opportunity to visit the College and sample what learning at Cerdon is like. Showcasing some of the many different ways of learning in numeracy, especially mathematics, demonstrates how far we have changed in recent years. While textbooks are still used by most classes, they are no longer the main resource. Today, improving numeracy involves many more hands on resources and a variety of teaching methods. All data indicates these changes are contributing to the improved results we have observed.
Here is a sample of what the Mathematics room looked like. Thank you to all the teachers who helped in room throughout the evening.
Grace Muscat (Maths Co-ordinator) and
Anne-Maree McEwen (Numeracy Co-ordinator)
NAPLAN Mythbusting and Demonstration Tests for Parents & Students in Years 7, 8 & 9
You can also review Demonstration Test questions for the online literacy and numeracy tests here. Students and parents are reminded that if a student achieves the minimum standard (i.e. Band 8) in Reading, Writing and Numeracy in Year 9, they are not required to sit the online tests; students need only attempt tests in the domains for which they did not achieve a Band 8 in 2017 before they can be eligible for the award of the HSC in 2020. Students will have up to two (2) opportunities each year between Years 10 and 12 to sit the online tests and can up until five (5) years after they complete the HSC in 2020 to demonstrate the minimum standards.
From the Year 12 Coordinator…
Year 12 students should now be preparing for their Half Yearly exams, which are in Weeks 10 and 11 of Term 1.
The girls are encouraged to revise using the syllabus dot points, writing practice responses and submitting these responses to teachers for feedback, discussing with teachers any areas of identified concerns and following up on ways to improve. Many students are to be congratulated on taking a very mature and dedicated approach to their studies. Students should be averaging three hours of work as a minimum per night in the lead up to these half yearly exams.
Supporting your child … below is a checklist with suggestions on how parents in Year 12 can support their child on their journey to the HSC.
Checklist: How to best support your child during their HSC year
- Aim to build a support network of teachers, friends and families around your child for guidance and a helping hand.
- Talk to your child! Keep the lines of communication open at all times (especially during the most stressful times).
- Stay informed by attending and speaking to teachers at Parent/Teacher Information Nights.
- Negotiate with your daughter re your expectations around study, free time and leisure activities. This may require some flexibility on your part.
- Celebrate successes throughout the year. This can be as simple as improving a result in a task or achieving a short-term goal.
- Aim to reduce the family demands on your daughter, especially around examination time.
- Be realistic as to what your daughter may be able to achieve in the HSC.
- Provide as much practical, loving support as you can!
How Parents Can Best Support Their Child through the HSC Kathryn Hardcastle (B.Ed, Dip. Transformational Life Coaching, Dip. Holistic Counselling and Life Care)
To Year 12, you are in our prayers as you are approaching and preparing for half-yearly exams, good luck.
Ms S Rimac
Year 12 Mid Year Exam Timetable
Main Quad gets a facelift
The building itself will comprise of two stories and has been designed with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in mind. The new building will comprise a 70 seat lecture theatrette and three classrooms upstairs and two Science laboratories with a central breakout/science lab between, downstairs. We will share the artist concept drawings of the building when they become available.
It is hoped that the playground will be completed very soon, and the building will be ready for occupation by the end of the year.
ANZAC Day 2017 at Cerdon College
THE SEARCH FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED AUSTRALIA
As part of Cerdon College’s ongoing commemoration and reflection on Australia’s military history, our ANZAC Day ceremony this year will be a very special one. We will be dedicating a Lone Pine tree in our grounds, commemorating World War I.
We are also aware that some families in our College community have ancestors or relatives who fought in either the First or Second World Wars, Korea or Vietnam, on behalf of our nation.
Our new electronic sign at the front of the College has the capacity to display images and text. If you have a relative who has passed away, and who served in Australia’s Defence Forces in any of those conflicts, we would like to help you remember those men and women.
We invite you to let us know about them in the form of their name, place of service and a photo. We intend scrolling those names and images across our front sign in the period from about April 24th to 26th.
If you are interested in being involved, please contact Mr Bridges, the History Co-ordinator, or Mrs Baker, our College Principal by phone or e-mail (details below) Please be aware that, due to school holidays, these details would need to be with us before the end of this term, around March 31st. This way we can prepare the presentation in time. Images would need to be of good resolution to show up on a large screen.
Mrs Baker & Mr Bridges
(tbaker@parra.catholic.edu.au or sbridges@parra.catholic.edu.au)
(02) 8724 7300
Enrichment@Cerdon
This week Cerdon will host one of the Sydney heats of the Kids Lit Quiz, welcoming twenty four teams from different parts of Sydney . This international competition promotes reading as a sport, involving students competing in teams to answer 100 questions on all topics relating to books! It is always a fantastic event and we wish the Cerdon teams who have been training for the last few weeks all the best for the competition!
In this week’s edition read about our students reflections from the Conoco-Phillips Science Experience at the University of Sydney which took place during the January holidays.
There are some new initiatives available to students this week listed at the end of this edition as well as a number of competitions.
The Conoco-Phillips Science Experience 2017-The University of Sydney 11-13th January 2017
Despite the forty degrees heat a group of Cerdon girls gave up their time during the holidays to be part of the three days Science Experience as participants and as mentors. Every year this program attracts many students from many different schools, providing participants with the opportunity to meet like minded science enthusiasts.
Reflections from the students ...
During this program we were given a murder investigation to solve. All students were allocated two different groups and were able to take part in different workshops, lectures and experiments. We were involved in workshops in Physics, Biology and Chemistry to help us collect the clues. We tested blood samples, fingerprints, dirt, poisonous chemicals and footprints. In the end, each group came together in a mock court trial and decided on the suspect they would accuse, giving all the evidence that was found during the three days.
Besides learning how to do cool things in the science labs and working with blood. My favourite thing about the experience was the friends I made. I met people that were from far away places like Forster, Queensland and even Denmark! It was so amazing to be able to experience and celebrate science with the friends we made, and these are memories I will take from this experience. We participated in interesting and informative lessons and workshops and came away having learnt a lot!
Annie Taniane and Sophia Hassarati Year 10
Reflections from a mentor …
During the summer holidays from the 11th to 13th of January, the University of Sydney hosted the Conoco-Phillips Science Experience for 100-150 students. Throughout the three days, I was lucky enough to staff these students and run activities and engineering challenges in between their lectures and workshops offered. Students learnt more about the different fields of science, such as forensic science, psychology, maths, engineering and many others. Whilst they learnt more about science and the possible career options, many students were able to interact with people from many different schools and made new like-minded friends. Thus, the science experience is a great programme in which I highly recommend to any Year 9 or 10 student who has a passion for science.
Theresa Nguyen Year 12
The following opportunities are available now…
The UN Youth Australia’s Gender Equality Summit 2017
The UN Youth Australia’s Gender Equality Summit will bring together young Australians in four cities to explore issues of gender equality and inequality in the community at home and abroad.
The Summit is a full-day event for students in Years 9 – 12, held across Australia during March and April. The Sydney event will take place at the University of Sydney at the New Law Building on Saturday April 1st, 2017. Students will take part in interactive workshop sessions to learn about the history of gender rights and how to be part of a global movement for gender equality.
Students who are interested in this fantastic opportunity are required to register on
https://unyouth.org.au/event/gender-summit/
The UN Youth of Australia Junior Leadership Weekend for students in Years 7 and 8
UN Youth NSW invites all Year 7-8 students to spend a weekend from 25 November to 26 November. The Junior Leadership Weekend will have a strong focus on developing leadership skills as we aim to empower students to make change within their own communities. This will involve innovative breakout sessions, inspiring speaker panels and challenging discussions over the course of the two days. Students will be working with like-minded peers from across New South Wales.
Students interested in this opportunity are invited to register their interest to receive up to date details.
To register visit https://unyouth.wufoo.com/forms/xizaknt1bhakfz/
The Future Leaders Photography Prize 2017
The Future Leaders Photography Prize is designed to recognize talented young photographers.
Year 12 students are invited to submit digital photographic work (one photograph for each student). The work submitted can be on any theme. The finest photographic submissions will be featured on the Future Leaders Photography Gallery. The first prize for the competition is $1000.
Further information is available on http://www.futureleaders.com.au/awards/index.php
The Future Leaders Writing Prize 2017
Students in years 11 and 12 who enjoy writing, are invited to participate in the Future Leaders Writing Prize for 2017. Students are required to submit a piece of writing 800 to 1,000 words. The essays can be fiction or non-fiction and on any topic. First prize for the competition is $1000.For more information about this fantastic opportunity please visit http://www.futureleaders.com.au/awards/index.php
What Matters? 2017–Writing Competition
What actions do you think should be taken to build a better society?
What would you change if you could?
What do you want other people to care about?
Students from years 5-12 are invited to submit a 400-600 words opinion piece on an issue that matters to them, for their chance to win some fantastic cash prizes.
For further information about this exciting opportunity, please visit https://www.whitlam.org
Write4Fun 2017
Calling all Australian school students... prep to grade 12...
Write a poem or short story for your chance to win $1,000 cash ($500 for you & $500 for your school)..As well as some AWESOME prizes. All it takes is a burst of inspiration, a dash of creativity and a little bit of effort for great poems and stories to appear! Entries close Friday 31st March, 2017.
For further information on how to enter and to upload your entries please visit http://www.write4fun.net
ATOM 1 minute film competition
The 1-Minute Film Competition is an initiative of Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) and ClickView. It provides Australian and New Zealand primary and secondary–school students with the opportunity to make a 60-second short film or animation, and win fantastic prizes in the process. The theme for this year’s competition is Tomorrow. The four first-place prizes include $500 in cash.Entries close 28th July, 2017.
For further information about this exciting competition please visit
http://1-minutefilmcompetition.org/about/
The ATOM Photo Comp 2017
The ATOM Photo Comp is an initiative of Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM). It provides Australian and New Zealand student and adult photographers with the opportunity to submit a set of three (3) photographs adhering to a theme, and win fantastic prizes in the process.
The theme for the 2017 competition is My Backyard.
Entries close Friday 1st September, 2017.
For further information on this opportunity please visit http://atomphotocomp.org/
Mrs S Agius
Enrichment Co-ordinator
PDHPE and Sport Report
School Cross Country
On Friday March 10, Cerdon College held its annual School Cross Country Carnival. Approximately 80 students took the opportunity to run the course set out at Merrylands Park. Despite plenty of rain falling in the days leading up to the event, 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: Akurdit Akoy (Marcellin)
Runner Up: Joyce Eweda (Perroton)
U13
Champion: Trisha Castelino (Marcellin)
Runner Up: Alyssa Abou Hamed (McOscar)
U14
Champion: Claudia Portolesi (Colin)
Runner Up: Gizelle Gellado (Marcellin)
U15
Champion: Alexzandria Smith (Marcellin)
Runner Up: Olivia Achmar (Perroton)
U16
Champion: Trina Castelino (Marcellin)
Runner Up: Louise O’Neill (Marcellin)
U17
Champion: Alexia Abouhamad (Colin)
Runner Up: Catherine Raftopoulos (McOscar)
Congratulations to Marcellin, our Cross Country House Champions for 2017.
1st Marcellin: 89 points
2nd Perroton: 72 points
3rd Colin: 45 points
4th McOscar: 40 points
I would like to thank Mr Hanna, Mr Harvey and the Year 9 PASS students for their assistance on the day.
Community and Family Studies (CAFS) Scavenger Hunt Excursion
On Thursday March 9, the three Year 11 CAFS classes travelled by train to Circular Quay to participate in the Resource Management Scavenger Hunt around the CBD of Sydney. The students had to navigate their way around the city and locate a number of famous sites using their newly acquired resource management skills. Among the locations that students had to visit were Darling Harbour, St Mary’s Cathedral, Hyde Park Barracks and the Queen Victoria Building. At these sites, students were required to answer specific questions and collect photographic evidence along the way. It was a fantastic day and the students were able to apply the communication, decision making and problem solving skills that they have learned in class in a real world context. Many thanks to all students for their enthusiasm and exemplary behaviour on the day. As well, sincere thanks goes to Miss Bailey, Miss Hanson, Mrs Sorbara and Mrs Bhasin who accompanied the students on the excursion.
Mr R Zammit
PDHPE and Sport Co-ordinator
School Calendars
College Uniform Shop Trading Hours
Monday and Wednesday 8:00 am—2:00 pm (Terms 1 and 4)
Mondays only 8:00 am—2:00 pm (from Week 5 Term 2 and all Term 3)
Cerdon College Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (During trading hours only)
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: 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