College Newsletter
Term 1 Week 6 Friday 3 March 2017
A Message from the Principal
Work has now commenced on the demolition of D Block. The replacement building will include two Science laboratories, a presentation space and three classrooms. It will also link the library with E Block, making movement around the College easier for students.
This means that part of the staff carpark on Sherwood Road is unable to be used, making it more important that NO parents enter the carpark to pick up or drop off students.
Cerdon College asks parents to NEVER attempt to drop off or pick up students in the TWay Bus Lane. During this week's wet weather, there was a near miss for a parent doing this, when a bus was forced to brake suddenly to avoid this car. Please do not endanger your daughters by STOPPING THIS UNSAFE and ILLEGAL PRACTICE.
Our prayer was the final prayer used at our school Ash Wednesday Liturgy -
Merciful God,
You called us forth from the dust of the earth,
You claimed us for Christ in the waters of Baptism.
Look upon us as we enter these forty days of Lent bearing the mark of ashes.
Bless our journey through the desert of Lent to the re-birth of Easter.
May our fasting be a hunger for justice;
Our donations forging a way to peace;
Our prayers the plea of humble and grateful hearts.
All that we do and pray is in the name of Jesus, for through his cross and suffering
We proclaim our love for our God.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
Urgent Safety Notice
All parents are reminded that students are not to be dropped off or picked up from the Sherwood Road or Kenyons Road staff carparks at any time.
A number of parents continue to enter the Sherwood Road Staff Carpark, putting staff and students in danger. PLEASE STOP THIS UNSAFE PRACTICE immediately.
Also DROP OFF AND PICK UP at BP is strictly forbidden and NEVER STOP IN THE T-WAY.
Parents are also reminded that Police and Council Parking Rangers are very active in this area and they will not hesitate to fine you for inappropriate parking or driving within the designated school zone.
Mrs L Parker
Assistant Principal
Homework
Students should now be settled into their courses of study for 2017 and all students from Year 7 to Year 12 should be undertaking home study every night. Year 7 and 8 students should be spending 1-1½ hours each night on homework. Students in Year 9 and 10 should be spending 1½-2 hours each night on homework and Year 11 and 12 students should be spending 2½-3 hours each night on homework.
This homework should include some time for general reading, but also time completing work assigned in class, research assignments or projects and assessment tasks.
Students needing assistance with this homework should come to Learning Plus sessions held in the Library during each lunchtime.
Student Medical Update
The College is currently updating student medical information for the 2017 school year. If your daughter has a medical condition that requires an Action Plan eg Asthma and Anaphylaxis, please submit these to the school as soon as possible.
Administering of Paracetamol
Cerdon College is not able to distribute Paracetamol tablets to students. If for some reason, your daughter is required to take this medication, a note from parents, together with clearly labelled medication and dosage instructions should be sent to the College Office.
School Fee Statements
Please contact Mrs Baliva at the College on 8724 7308 if you have not received your School Fees statement from Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta, or if you require any further information. Thank you.
Finance Department
Cerdon College
BUILDING CONCENTRATION SKILLS
Many students find it difficult to concentrate and stay focused when they are doing their schoolwork at home. So what can we do to improve concentration levels? Try these top tips:
1. IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT: Have a good hard look at the environment you are trying to concentrate in. Is it noisy? Are there more exciting things happening around you? Is it too hot? Too cold? Are you uncomfortable? Too comfortable? What can you do to make the space more conducive to concentration?
2. BLOCKS OF TIME: If you are someone who finds it difficult to concentrate at home don’t try and study for too long at a time. Instead tell yourself you will work for 20-30 minutes then you can have a break. If you know it is only 20-30 minutes it is much easier to concentrate than if it was for an indefinite period of time.
3. ANCHOR TO THE PRESENT: Create a focus word that brings you back on task. We all daydream. The key is to start to pay more attention to when you are doing it and then immediately take action. If your key word for example was ‘orange’ when you notice you are day-dreaming say ‘orange orange orange’ to refocus your attention to your work.
4. RESET THE BRAIN: Sometimes you just need a time-out from what you are doing in order to be able to concentrate again. If your attention is constantly wandering, then get up and have a drink, walk outside, kick a ball – just take 5 to 10 minutes to clear your head so you can come back fresh to your work.
5. WORK OUT PEAK TIMES: Start to pay attention to what time of the day you are most focused. That’s when you need to do the harder work or the work that requires greatest concentration. If you know you get tired after dinner don’t leave the difficult work until then.
6. CARROT AND STICK: Some people are motivated by working towards rewards, others by avoiding punishments. Give yourself a target time to focus with a little reward at the end if you achieve it – or maybe a little punishment if you don’t!
You can learn more about how to be a more effective student at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au by logging in with the details below and working through some of the units. There are also lots of useful grids and planners at the bottom of the Things to Print page.
Username: cerdoncollege
Password: achieve
Opening Mass
The 17th February provided the Cerdon community the opportunity to come together to formally commence the school year. This event was celebrated through the sacrament of the Eucharist. Our school mass provided staff and students alike to focus our attention to our theme for 2017 - 'From Dream to Action'. This year marks the 200th anniversary of two young women, Jean-Marie Chavoin and Marie Jotillon, going out into the world to start the female branch of the Marist project.
These courageous women took the dream of the original twelve seminarians who signed the pledge at Fourvière. Our opening mass also provided our school community with the opportunity to present those students with badges who have accepted positions of office. These roles included: Class Captains, Mission Promoters, House Captains, Prefects and Social Justice Leaders to name a few. Our College Captain, Nicole El Jammal led all office bearers in a prayer where students dedicated their service to the school in a manner in accordance with our Marist ideals.
Finally, our gathering also provided the school community the opportunity to recognise and congratulate the high achievers of the HSC class of 2016. Many of our ex-students who will shortly commence their tertiary studies attended our ceremony so that their efforts and achievements could be publicly acknowledged.
The Cerdon College is always grateful for the engaging Eucharistic celebration that Father Peter Strohmayer OSPPE provides us. We thank him for his time and efforts.
Mr N Mulheron
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Ash Wednesday
To acknowledge the commencement of the Lenten season, Cerdon students celebrated our Ash Wednesday liturgy on the 1st March. Due to inclement weather, we had to divide the school in half so as to fit students into the Hall for this occasion. Once again Cerdon is grateful to Father Peter Strohmayer who led our liturgy, encouraging us that our Lenten preparation for Easter is a time to: reflect, renew and repent so as our Easter celebration is a true celebration of Christ’s victory over death. As with church tradition staff and students received their mark of ash on their foreheads as a sign of our repentance before the Lord.
Mr N Mulheron
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Congratulations
Congratulations to the CAPTIVATE Commercial Dance Ensemble who were chosen to perform at The Sydney Flames basketball game on Saturday 25 February -
Joanna DeJoras (Year 7)
Natalie El-Helou (Year 12)
Angela Pham (Year 12)
Well done!
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
Excursion to North Parramatta Female Factory
On Friday the 10th of February, the class of Year 11 Design and Technology 2017 went on an excursion to the community of North Parramatta. With the help of our tour guide we gained knowledge and skills in the world of architecture that have greatly benefited us as we begin planning ideas for our first major project.
The excursion started with us learning a little bit about the local area and the history behind the surrounding buildings. We were dropped off at the front of Parramatta Female Factory Precinct which back in the 19th century became The Roman Catholic Orphan School (Child welfare institution).
Judith, was our tour guide for the day, and she guided us around the area specifically around the Female Factory site itself. She had very strong opinions that she happily shared with us about the site and the government's current ideas on renovating parts of the buildings. She provided historical knowledge which were have been able to use for our assignment. She also informed us about which building are currently listed on the Australian Government UNESCO Heritage list and the significance of these buildings on the history of the area.
The Parramatta Female Factory is said to be today's earliest surviving female factory, which currently forms Cumberland Hospital and the NSW Institute of Psychiatry. Although we were not able to go inside these buildings due to the current use of these facilities, we were able to see the exterior of the buildings and get a rough idea of what the space was like inside for our proposed redevelopment.
After a long, hot day all groups enjoyed the excursion and came away with a final idea for their projects. The excursion has been a great motivation for the design of our major projects and has been a great introduction to Design and Technology. To view our proposed redevelopment for the area, feel free to read our article attached below.
Kiara Correia and Emily Grasinger
Enviro Squad
Yesterday we completed the new Victoria Buckler memorial garden. Victoria was a student of Cerdon College in 2005 when she was tragically killed after being hit by a car when crossing the road on the Great Western Highway.
Numeracy at Cerdon
Year 7 Mathematics have just completed 4 weeks of Numeracy to assist students in building some of the number skills that they can use to strengthen their numerical ability.
Mental computations are among the number skills we aim to improve and develop. Throughout the year some of these mental computations will be shared and explained. It is hoped parents will encourage their children to use these strategies and perhaps along the way, parents will further develop their own skills in mental computation.
Mental Computation One: When multiplying two numbers, a question can be simplified if we halve one number while doubling the other.
For example: 14 x 4 is the same as 7 x 8
This is because 14 x 4 = 7 x 2 x 4 and 2 x 4 is 8
Here are some questions for you to try:
1. 14 x 5 (Hint: 7 x 10)
2. 18 x 4 (Hint: 9 x 8)
3. 20 x 42
4. 24 x 4
5. 8 x 15
6. 6 x 55
You can use the strategy more than once in the one question.
For example:
25 x 28 = 50 x 14 = 100 x 7
Try doing these questions mentally by applying the strategy repeatedly in each question:
1. 7 x 16 (Hint: 14 x 8 = 28 x 4 = 56 x 2)
2. 350 x 8
3. 44 x 25
4. 24 x 15
5. 8 x 610
6. 36 x 25
Grace Muscat (Maths Co-ordinator) and
Anne-Maree McEwen (Numeracy Co-ordinator)
Enrichment@Cerdon
The recently released movie Hidden Figures talks about a group of women, who despite difficulties, were determined to seek opportunities to enrich their learning and to make a difference in the world they lived in. It is wonderful to see that many of our girls, even our youngest students, have already shown some of that determination and have willingly taken up a number of enrichment opportunities, and consequently had an ‘awesome’ time!
Over the weekend a group of Year 11 and Year 7 students participated in Girls Programming Network workshop at the University of Sydney. During the holidays one of our Year 10 students participated in the Women in STEM Camp at the University of Wollongong.
A number of students have already entered a number of competitions...information regarding these opportunities is listed below and is also posted on the Enrichment@Cerdon Google Classroom page.
The Girls Programming Network
The Girls Programming Network is an initiative by the University of Sydney to provide computer programming experiences for girls. It is is essentially ‘girls teaching girls how to code’. These programs are very popular and supported by a number of IT companies. On Saturday 25th February, a group of girls from Year 7-11 participated in the program and by all accounts had a great time ‘I don’t see this as something extra to do but rather something I really enjoyed doing!’
Congratulations to Coreen La Rocca, Mikayla Menouhos, Anh Nguyen, Janine Udan, and our youngest participants from Year 7 Chloe Adams and Kiara Mooney for participating in the program.
On Saturday the 25th of February a group of girls visited the University of Sydney to participate in the coding workshop to learn how to program the game Tic-Tac-Toe/Naughts and Crosses. When we arrived we worked through some puzzles which were used to sort us into groups based on our level of programming experience and then sorted into labs based on Harry Potter! After that we went onto the computer and got to work. We used the program python to code TicTacToe and we learned some of the technical programming language. When we were finished we played some Harry Potter games and One Queen Chess and then went back to code our games. It was a great day as we got to learn how to code a TicTacToe game. We also got free pizza, garlic bread, fruit and lots of chocolates! Overall It was a fun day and we loved the experience and we would definitely do it again.
Chloe Adams and Kiara Mooney (Year 7)
The Girl's Programming Network crew presented yet another excellent and interactive coding day at the School of Information Technology, at the University of Sydney. Through lectures, a collaborative environment and continuous support from the tutors, we applied the coding terminology needed to programme a game of tic-tac-toe. After accumulating some information we were able to produce a series of coded instructions which we had generated ourselves . The tutors were highly experienced in the field of IT and included female students from the university and women who worked for companies such as Google, Atlassian and Data61.
All these women dedicated their time to create engaging games to advance our problem solving skills, accommodating different levels of programming experiences. Through our group discussions, our mentors shared their experiences , talking about the deserving roles they had achieved in their careers and encouraging and empowering young women to not hinder, but nurture their aspirations.
They had also generously provided us lunch and snacks throughout this unique and rewarding experience. ~ Janine Udan (Year 11)
Women in STEM Camp at the University of Wollongong
On the 15th - 18th of January I attended a Women in STEM Camp at the University of Wollongong, Innovation Campus. Around 55 female students from Year 10 and 11 attended from all over the state. I was not that excited about the camp at first because it was taking up time of my holidays but with a little extra encouragement from family members, I set off to Wollongong. I was so nervous as I was the only student from Cerdon to attend this camp.
When we first arrived we were handed our room key card and our map of the campus. This is when it sunk in... I am not going to have mum’s cooking for three nights. We had a range of activities planned for the camp which I was really thrilled and keen to try out. During the three days, I had discovered many different fields that branch from STEM related careers, played with robots, soldered, went into many different labs, made my own little computer (Raspberry Pi), made my own 3D model with a 3D printer, associated with many professional engineers, technical experts, biomechanists and many students at the university and ate some pretty good food.
We were even lucky enough to get a tour of BlueScope Steel (a metal manufacturing factory) which will definitely be one to remember. On top of all of these, I met friends that I will definitely keep in contact with for a long time. Over the course of the camp, a competition was being run between the teams of 4. Points would come from participation in activities, braveness, contributing in projects and having fun. On the last day, the winners were announced and my team and I were ecstatic to find out that we came first. The first prize included a pair of Virtual Reality goggles, a bluetooth speaker and a 60% off voucher for a 12 week Devika Learning Program.
Overall, the experience was one that I will appreciate and take advantage of throughout my life and promote for future students to take part of. The camp is definitely applicable if you are interested in STEM related subjects or even just want to get an idea of what STEM is. In the end, I was very grateful that I was apart of the experience and I was so happy that in fact I didn't even want to go home!
Daniella Elakcnouch Year 10
The following opportunities are available now…
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
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
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
Triathlon
On Thursday February 23, the NSWCCC Triathlon Teams event was held at Penrith Regatta Centre. Cerdon entered 6 teams with a total of 18 students registering to take part. Whilst Cerdon did not place in the Junior, Intermediate or Senior divisions, all students willingly represented the College and are to be commended for their efforts. Thanks to the following students who attended the day:
Emily O'Brien, Catherine Raftopoulos, Alexia Abouhamad, Shanice Seaib, Alexzandria Smith, Katarina Planinic, Alexia Kazanzidis, Sarah Denniss, Hayley Starr, Claire Duffy, Bianca Buttigieg, Ashai Hawach, Trisha Castelino, Bianca N Cameron, Natasha Grech, Bethany Nicholls
Special thanks must go to Miss Hanson for accompanying the girls on the day.
PDSSSC Softball
Congratulations to Briana Titmuss of Year 11 on her selection in the NSWCCC Softball team for 2017. Briana performed exceptionally well for the PDSSSC team and her selection is a reflection of the hard work that she has invested in the sport over the years. Briana will take her place in the NSWCCC team at Aquilina Reserve, Blacktown on Monday May 1 2017. Best of luck Briana!
Mr R Zammit
PDHPE and Sport Co-ordinator
PDSSSC Basketball Gala Day
On Monday, 27th February Cerdon’s Senior team entered the PDSSSC Basketball Gala Day held at Cambridge Park. We were up against some tough schools in the initial pool games, but managed to win all 3 against Loyola, Nagle, and OLMC.
The most exciting game was against OLMC where we were down by 5 points with less than 2 minutes remaining in the second half. That is until ‘#OB’ Olivia Bourke sank two 3-pointers in quick succession to secure our place in the Semi-Final! Unfortunately, we could not repeat our success against Caroline Chisholm, but we managed to place 3rd overall out of 8 teams which is a huge achievement and very well-deserved.
Special mention to some outstanding performances by Olivia Bourke, Claire Duffy and Breeanna Mathews for their rebounds and points scored. I would also like to thank the whole team for contributing to the overall success of the day in terms of their defence and amazing Cerdon Spirit. The girls were a credit to the College in their attitude and sportspersonship during the tournament and it has been exciting to see them grow as a team over the last 6 years.
Miss A Parker
Assessment Booklets & Assessment Central
Students can access the document by logging into Classm8. They are to use their school username and password to log in and they can access the assessment handbook in Google Drive.
The documents are also available to parents to view and/or download via Assessment Central. Either click on the link provided in this newsletter or navigate to the Assessment and Curriculum page on the College website to access Assessment Central. Each year group will have its own assessment handbook and assessment schedule.
All formal assessment tasks for Years 10-12 are also entered into the relevant Google calendar (see below for links to each calendar).
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.
Future Makers: Easter Holiday Workshops
18–21 April
9:30 am–4:00 pm
Delivered during school holidays, Future Makers is designed to engage and support young talent through a technical, studio-based teaching, allowing students to explore their interests and develop new skills while making friends.
Our four day program offers an in depth exploration of ceramics, painting, drawing and photomedia for budding artists aged 10-14.
Students may select workshops from our suggested programs, or build their own program of workshops on individual days. Class sizes are kept small (a maximum of 12 students) to ensure students receive a unique and focused art-making experience.
Future Makers is led by experienced arts educators at the historic National Art School campus in Darlinghurst.
Cost: per day $130 / four-day program $500 – bookings essential
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