College Newsletter
Term 3 Week 2 Friday 24 July 2015
A Message from the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff and Students
On Friday 24 July, staff were involved in a Staff Spirituality Day where we examined the latest papal encyclical 'Laudato Si' (Praise be to you) which is an encyclical on the environment and human ecology.
This points to the numerous ways in which global organisations, nations, communities and individuals need to think, feel and act upon in order to build a better future for all humankind. This includes careful consideration of the impact we have on the environment, as well as the social, economic and political implications on the way we distribute goods.
As always, Pope Francis is quite blunt in his message not just for Catholics but to all people of goodwill.
As staff prepare to be challenged to make a real difference, we remember the words of St Francis of Assisi as we pray as a community:
The Canticle of the Creatures
(St Francis of Assisi)
Praised be You Lord God
with all Your creatures,
especially our Brother Sun,
through whom You give us light.
Praised by You, my Lord,
through Sister Moon and the stars,
You make the heavens bright.
Praised by You my Lord,
through Brothers Wind and Air,
by which You cherish all
that You have made.
Praised be You my Lord,
through Sister Water, so useful,
humble, precious and pure.
Praised by You my Lord
through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
Praised by You my Lord
through our Sister, Mother Earth
who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits
with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praise by You my Lord
through those who grant pardon
for love of You and
bear sickness and trial.
Amen
As students settle into their Term 3 studies, we welcome back Year 11 who completed VET Workplacement and Volunteer Work in local communities, Year 12 make final preparations for their Trial HSC Examinations which begin on Monday 27th July. Year 10 have been challenged to make a difference in their Social Justice Day last week and also finalise their subject selections for Year 11 2016. Year 7 to 9 continue to extend their academic skills as they commence their new topics for Term 3.
All students should now be undertaking constant homework and revision of content covered so that they can continue to improve their educational outcomes.
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
In Sympathy
Mr Tony Hanna.
Grandfather of Samantha Jabour (Year 9).
May he rest in peace.
Amen
Dropping Off and Picking Up Students
The gates are clearly signposted and parents are asked to respect these instructions which are in place to protect the safety of students.
College Uniform Shop
Cerdon College Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (During trading hours only)
Canteen Helpers
Thank you
Year 11 2016 Subject Selections
Three other resources from the Information Night now include:
VET Subject Selection Information
Subject Selection & Request Information
Critical dates in the subject selections process are as follows:
- Submission of request forms and interviews with College Executive July 23
Year 9 Subject Selections (2016)
Year 10 Social Justice Day
To complement the class room study of Social Justice, Year 10 Students participated in a Social Justice Day on Monday 20th July. This day was designed to increase student’s awareness of issues in our community, as well as those who work to make our world a more just place.
The day commenced with a keynote address by a former student, Sr Noelene Simmons SM, who works for ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religion Against the Trafficking in Humans). Sr Noelene highlighted issues related to Human Trafficking and slavery that exists in our world, along with behaviours of those in Australia who perpetuate this injustice. For example, many students were shocked to find out that some of the chocolates that they purchase are made with products where children are exploited in the manufacture of the chocolate. Likewise, the cotton industry where children in Uzbekistan are forced from their class rooms to pick cotton so that we can purchase cheaper clothing.
Following recess, students were able to go in small groups to presentations by organisations about the work they complete in the area of Social Justice. Cerdon was fortunate to have 12 groups willing to participate in our day and provide worthwhile content to assist with student learning. Of these organisations, many were staffed by ex Cerdon students. As a College we would like to thank:
Baabayn
Mission Without Borders
The Fred Hollows Foundation
The House of Welcome
Caritas
Catholic Missions
LACLA (Let the African Children Learn Association)
Marist Missionary Sisters
Vinnies Social Justice
Parramatta Youth Ministry
PALMS (Formerly the Pauline Association)
Solidarity Volunteering
Marist Youth Care
Each organisation received a donation from the Cerdon community to assist them in the continuation of their work.
Following lunch, students were made aware of further injustices facing females around the world, including their struggles to achieve an education. In an attempt to live our Marist ideals and to be people of service, period 6 was allocated to ACTION. Three classes knitted, two classes crocheted so as to make blankets for Missions Without Borders. Another two classes produced educational resources for students in Indonesia.
Many thanks to the Cerdon staff that: assisted with period 6, made morning tea and lunch for our presenters, supervised small groups and those who took lessons for colleagues so that the day could go ahead.
Mr N Mulheron
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Art Exhibition
Astronomy Night
Year 7 students and their families are invited to an Astronomy Night (weather permitting) on Monday 27th July from 6 to 8pm on the school oval.
This is the night of the Parents and Friends meeting. It is anticipated that parents will stay to share the evening with their daughter unless attending the meeting.
Entry to the oval is via the Sherwood Road car park.
Dress warmly and you may bring a device with a sky watch app on it, a folding chair and/or a telescope if you have one.
Please let your science teacher know if you are attending.
Co-ordinators Awards
Faid Ahmad 12FF2
Marcia Arrilucea 7E6
Monique Brunet 12FF8
Lara Chahin 8G24
Esther Duruchukwu 12GL4
Sally Eid 12FF8
Michaela Epselis 12FF2
Victoria Georges 7E8
Elissa Hadchiti 12FF6
Mikaela Hanna 10FD1
Rose Hanratty 7E10
Sophia Hassarati 8G26
Caitlin Hitti 8G27
Niamh Hughes 11F13
Karla Ignazzi 12FF6
Achol Juk 12FF6
Leila Kacanic 7E7
Renee Kristiansen 7E9
Catherine Le 12FF2
Suzanne Mekdessi 7E5
Brijet Mellier 7E8
Rachael Menezes 7E9
Leah Raya 7E7
Shanice Seaib 7E10
Eman Sediqi 12FF6
Sabah Shekeb 8GL3
Asmi Soodan 7E7
Emily Stoove 10F20
Sarah Vella 7E5
Sophia Vicic 7E6
Numeracy at Cerdon
Numeracy Sign
In the junior quadrangle, which is bound by the Library, Year 7 and 8 classrooms, science labs and canteen, is Cerdon’s Numeracy Signpost. It was erected in late 2013 when it was noted that a number of our students were unaware of the direction and distance to a number of significant places. These places include locations within the school, the local area, NSW, Australia and overseas.
Recently, the signpost has been upgraded with a number of new locations added.
Grace Muscat
(Leader of Learning: Numeracy)
Enrichment @ Cerdon
Welcome back to term three. In this issue, read about the wonderful enriching experiences some of our students enjoyed over the holidays as well as the adventures of an enthusiastic group of students attending the Science and Engineering Challenge last week.
GERRIC : Scientia Challenge programs at the UNSW
I recently was fortunate enough to be offered a place in the GERRIC holiday programs-a holiday program for gifted children and teenagers held at UNSW for 3 days. I elected to participate in the workshop: "Embracing the Avant-Garde:Using Modernist Literature to Inspire Your Writing", in which we intensely studied modernist literature and authors and the history, art, politics, philosophies and sciences that were the impetus to this radical cultural movement. We were taught by university academics and did many activities on writing and modernist and Victorian texts, being plunged into the whimsical works of James Joyce and the classical works of Virginia Woolf, Hemingway and TS Eliot.
It was also an extremely positive, invigorating and intellectual atmosphere that I shared with a small group of very bright students. We learnt and practised a myriad of techniques and literary styles and worked towards completing a final, sustained piece of writing. Overall it was an extremely enjoyable experience in an enriching environment that stimulated and challenged me!
Catherine Tran Year 8
The Power of Engineering: Newsletter
– Create Your Future at UNSW
On the 6th July 2015, we attended a program called The Power of Engineering, which was held at the University of New South Wales. This event promotes and encourages young girls from Years 9 & 10 to pursue a career in engineering!
Throughout the day, there were many enjoyable activities including Learning to Code & Robotics, Building Electronic Circuits, Designing a Wind Turbine & A Bionic Hand and Coming Up with Ideas to Create a Floating House.
Several industries came and visited us to explain the several types of engineering courses and professions available in such field. We were very fortunate to have listened to a keynote held by Sally-Ann Williams from Google Australia who came and discussed different types of career options involving engineering available at Google. She gave us an insight on how ideas are conceived and developed and the many types of qualities you need to incorporate into your decision making.
At the beginning of the day, it was noted that ABC News would be featuring a story about the program and we are very lucky to be one of the few people who appeared on the story that evening. We never imagined that engineering could be so interesting, but by the end of the day we all realised that we did in fact have some kind of fascination towards this course. This is a great experience to participate in if you have interest in Science, Computer & Technology and Geography or if you are indecisive of what to do after school. We highly recommend for the future students of Years 9 & 10 to attend upcoming events from this organisation.
Claire Gittany, Carmela Espinosa, Ivana Juric, Emilia Juric (Year 10)
B Inspiring Technology and Leadership Conference
During the holidays a group of Year 11 students participated in the Inaugural B. Inspiring Technology and Leadership Conference. Over three days the students were involved in a number of fun and interactive workshops on trending topics such as Digital Disruption, User Experience Design, Big Data and Mobile trends. Students learned about the importance of working in a team and building relationships and how technology and leadership can be combined to create and sustain positive change in our communities. In teams, students worked on a technology related project using the skills, knowledge and confidence gained throughout the conference, with the winning team donating their earnings to a charity of their choice.
The conference was run by B. Inspiring, a volunteer, not for profit organisation and it was sponsored by Delloite. This program was an exciting and empowering opportunity for our girls, one which saw them not only meet like-minded people but also learn about how can they can make a positive contribution to the world around them.
The Science and Engineering Challenge
On Friday July 17, a group of Year 9 and 10 students battled the elements and traveled to the UWS Kingswood, for the Science and Engineering Challenge. Over the term, the girls had been working on a variety of projects including building a hovercraft; construct a house which was eco-friendly but could sustain the elements; build a rover that could travel over rough terrain; build a bridge which could withstand trolleys with different weights; construct an earth-quake proof apartment block using commonly available materials; build a movable bionic hand using straws, which had to be able to pick up certain items as well as execute the sign language alphabet.
The Science and Engineering Challenge was a fun and challenging program. On the day, we were given the opportunity to learn new skills and to think outside of the box. We had to work efficiently as a team, as the challenge was extremely competitive. Also, it gave us an insight into what science, especially engineering, consisted of and whether we would want to study it in the future.
Tina Giang Year 10
The girls were very positive about the whole experience and the day was an exciting one for all involved.
Congratulations to all the girls for their effort and enthusiasm displayed throughout the term and particularly on the day. Although we do not have final overall results we do know that the team comprising of Carla Boumelhem, Jessica Machin, Thy Mai and Tram Pham won the bionic hand challenge. Well done girls!
Competition closing soon…..Doodle 4Google 2015!
Google is pleased to invite all students from Year 1-10 to participate in the Doodle 4 Google competition for 2015. This competition offers students the opportunity to have their artwork viewed not just by their teachers and classmates, but by millions of people across the internet. This year’s theme is “If I could travel back in time I would …” This is a fantastic opportunity for students to use their creativity and imagination to produce a doodle.
For further information, interested students can visit
https://www.google.com.au/doodle4google/
All submissions need to be processed through school. Entries are due to Mrs Agius by August 14, 2015
Mrs S Agius
Enrichment Co-ordinator
PDHPE and Sport Report
Sport Aerobics State Championships
On Friday 17th July, the Cerdon College Sport Aerobics team competed in the NSW AeroSchools State Championships. The event, held at the Novotel Rooty Hill, provided the athletes with an opportunity to perform their routines alongside other schools from across the state. Our teams were very successful in each of their divisions, with three of our teams qualifying for the National Championships in Bendigo, Victoria on the 17th September.
GOLD: Level 3 Intermediate Group
Amy Townsend, Vera Chakti, Maddison Temple-Twindley, Vanessa Madeleine
GOLD: Level 3 Intermediate Trio
Rose Hanratty, Taylor Daoud, Sarah Vella
BRONZE: Level 5 Intermediate Trio
Rochelle Salatino, Angela Pham, Rachael Vella
Fourth: Level 3 Intermediate Pair
Olivia Bleeker, Natalie Matsias
Melissah Barbaro
Sport Aerobics Coach
Special thanks to Mrs Barbaro for all her work in coordinating the Sport Aerobics teams this year. It is great to see student interest in the sport grow over the years.
Ms MacKinnon
Ultimate Dance Challenge
Last Sunday, Mrs Sharp and Ms Murfet took four teams to compete in the Ultimate Dance Challenge at Cherrybrook High School. There were sixteen schools involved in this competition, including some Performing Arts schools. Our teams performed outstandingly, with all teams placing in the top three for their respective category.
Congratulations to:
Hip Hop A 1st Place
Nora-Lee Doueihi, Rowan Gardoce, Vanessa Madeleine, Maddison Temple-Twindley, Amy Townsend, Mia Aquilina, Nicole O’Connor, Rachael Vella, Angela Pham, Chloe Chatten, Alana Blazevic and Olivia Townsend.
Hip Hop B 2nd Place
Isabelle Geha, Carolina Ballone, Zyra-Jane Falcon, Rachel Chaaya, Rachael Hachem, Javiera Aguayo, Caley Donohoe, Emily Campos Rios, Olivia Bleeker, Jami Younes, Taylor Daoud, Nicole Yu, Georgia Kalisperis, Taylor Mansour, Celeste El-Rahi, Nicole El Jammal, Kylah Beshara and Emma Awad.
Choreographed by Rochelle Salatino and Natalie El-Helou.
Jazz A 2nd Place
Chloe Chatten, Alana Blazevic, Angela Pham, Tayla Noble, Olivia Townsend, Nicole O’Connor, Rachael Vella, Ciara O’Kane, Maddison Temple-Twindley, Vanessa Madeleine, Amy Townsend, Sophia Hassarati and Nancy Maldigri.
Contemporary A 3rd Place
Alana Blazevic, Angela Pham, Tayla Noble, Olivia Townsend, Nicole O'Connor, Rachael Vella, Rochelle Salatino, Ciara O'Kane, Leanne Purkis, Maddison Temple-Twindley, Vanessa Madeleine, Amy Townsend and Sarah Vella.
Special thanks to Mrs Sharp and Ms Murfet who have spent a considerable amount of time coaching the teams and for giving up their Sunday to go to the competition.
PDSSSC Netball
On Tuesday 21st July, Cerdon entered three teams into the annual PDSSSC Netball Championships. The competition this year was strong and our girls placed in the following positions.
Juniors 10th Place
Caley Donohoe, Jami Younes, Chloe Issa, Jordan Wyer, Jessica Rennie, Chelsea Kaua, Emily Campos, Tayla Contreras, Daniela Valdivia and Isabelle Geha.
Intermediate 6th Place
Julia Achmar, Shiarna Tarasenko, Louise O’Neill, Allyson Issa, Claire Duffy, Annamarie Subramaniam, Layla Toufan and Jessica Machin.
Seniors 5th Place
Rebecca Chamoun, Alanna Lee, Karla Ignazzi, Naomi Amosa, Tyler Nicholas, Rachael Vella, Rachel Lockhart, Wendy Fifita, Daniella Kady and Riannah Toufan
Best of luck to our teams at the next competition – the NSWCCC Netball Championships on the 18th August. Special thanks to Miss Hanson, Miss Meduri and Miss Bailey for coaching the girls at this competition. Thanks also to Madison Reynolds-Pace, Gabriela Badrov (both Year 9) and Hayley Fisher (Year 10) who performed umpiring duties on the day; and to Daniella Elakcnouch (Year 8) and Melissa Barron (Year 11) who also performed umpiring duties at the PDSSSC Primary Netball carnival on this day.
Ms K MacKinnon
PDHPE and Sport Co-ordinator
Upcoming Events
Monday 27th July PDSSSC Soccer Gala Day (U15s)
Monday 3rd July PDSSSC Futsal Gala Day
Friday 14th August PDSSSC Dance Championships
Tuesday 18th August NSWCCC Netball Championships
Wednesday 19th August PDSSSC Athletics Championships
Monday 31st August PDSSSC Oz Tag Gala Day
Whooping Cough Information
Usually 9 to 10 days (can range from 6 to 20 days).
Symptoms:
Starts with a running nose, followed by persistent cough that comes in bouts. Bouts maybe followed by vomiting and a whooping sound as the child gasps for air.
Do I need to keep my child home?
Yes, until the first 5 days of a special antibiotic have been taken.
How can I help prevent spread?
Immunisation at 2, 4, 6 months and 4 years of age. A particular antibiotic can be given for the patient and those that have been in close contact. The infected child should be excluded from childcare and school until 5 days after treatment begins. Unimmunised childcare attendees may be excluded from childcare unless they take the antibiotics.
Measles Information
Measles is a serious disease that is easily spread through the air. Immunisation is effective in preventing the disease. All children and adults born during or after 1966 should be vaccinated with 2 doses of measles containing vaccine if not already immune. Please download the Factsheet for further information.
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Factsheets/measles.pdfSchool Excursions and Incursions
For other excursions not covered by the general permission note, you may receive a permission note which will need to be completed and forwarded to school by the due date. Some of these excursions may incur a cost which will also need to be paid by the due date. There are no exceptions or extensions to the due date for these activities.
A copy of each notification and permission note is also available from the College Website.
Change of Contact Details
Thank you
College Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop's normal trading hours are as follows -
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)
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