College Newsletter
Term 1 Week 10 Friday 31 March 2017
A Message from the Principal
As we come towards the end of the term, Year 12 students are currently undertaking their Examinations. Please keep these students in your prayers as they complete their preparations for these exams.
Year 7 to 11 students are completing Assessment Tasks for the units of work they are completing in Term 1. Year 7 students are looking forward to the Year 7 Camp next week.
After a slow start, because of the extremely wet weather, the demolition of the old D Block is nearly completed. Again I ask parents to ensure they take great care as they drive near the school and make sure students are not dropped off or picked up in the T-Way. Work on the Year 7 and 8 playground will begin in the school holidays, so students and parents will soon begin to see the structures for the new building emerge from this site.
I take this opportunity to thank parents and students for their support during Term 1. I hope all students and families have a relaxing and renewing school holiday and Easter break.
Christian history reaches its crescendo point in the Resurrection of Jesus. The risen Jesus is the final revelation of the heart of God - a God who teaches love rather than hate, forgiveness rather than blame, non-violence rather than violence. Jesus comes in a human body to show us the face of God, the One who is eternally compassionate and eternally joyous, who stands with us in our sufferings and our joys.
(From Every Day Catholic).
Let us be happy, let us celebrate!
At this Easter season, as we follow the Way of the Cross let us pray:
Lord, during Baptism
each of us was marked
with a Sign of the Cross.
We were singled out
to spread your Gospel message.
Each day may this Sign of the Cross
encourage us to live simply,
love tenderly
and act justly in your name.
May the small crosses in our lives
act as an invitation to grow
and place our trust in you
so that by the way we live
we may loudly proclaim that you Lord
are the Way
the Truth
and the Light.
Amen
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
Attendance
As parents are aware, the College takes student attendance very seriously. Guidance Coordinators have been meeting with parents this term to help support them in making sure their daughter's come to school each day.
According to the Education Act 1990, students of school age must attend school each day. Parents are discouraged from taking their daughter's out of school for holidays or other 'family events', as days missed from school have a demonstrable impact on student learning and achievement. As NAPLAN is a now high stakes examination, missing any school in Years 7, 8 or 9 may have a profound impact on whether a student can be awarded the HSC.
Parents are reminded that Leave will not be granted for applications made during NAPLAN and other examination periods in the school. We encourage parents to discuss the timing of an Leave applications BEFORE planning a trip. All examination periods and all assessment tasks for Years 10 through to Year 12 are on the school calendar, and all assessment tasks and their timings for Years 7 through to Year 9 can be found in the respective Assessment Handbook.
School Calendars
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.
Winter Uniform
All students are expected to be in full Winter Uniform for the return of school on Monday 24 April 2017. There are only two trading days remaining this term to access the Uniform Shop ie next Monday and Wednesday between 8:00 am—2:00 pm.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNIFORM SHOP
The Uniform Shop will not be open during the School Holidays.
Year 7 Parents are requested to collect blazers that have been ordered on either Monday 3 April or Wednesday 5 April. There are a large number of orders still awaiting collection.
The Uniform Shop can be very busy in the morning from 8:00-9:30 am with parents who are trying to purchase uniforms before they go to work. So as to avoid delays with service, it is advised (if possible) to shop after 9:30 am.
Regular 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)
Cerdon College Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (During trading hours only)
HSC Dates for Practical and Performance Examinations
Students will receive their personalised HSC Examination timetables from NESA once NESA has finalised this year's programme.
Students can also review this timetable on the Student Portal.
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
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.
Subscribing to Push Notifications in Skoolbag
1. Open the CCM Skoolbag app on your phone
2. Click "More" (located on the bottom right-hand side of the menu bar at the bottom of the screen
3. Select "Setup Push Notifications" from the menu
4. Toggle the switch from "off" to "on" (green) for the year group(s) you wish to receive notifications about.
For parents yet to download Skoolbag, please follow the instructions on the flyer below.
All major communications, newsletter, notes, etc are coming out to parents via Skoolbag.
School photographs are scheduled to be taken by advancedlife Photography.
Whilst an envelope and flyer will be distributed shortly, if possible, it is our preference that ordering be completed online to reduce administration and potential security issues related to the return of cash and envelopes on photo day.
Orders for packages and sibling photographs can be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our school's unique 9 digit Online Order Code (above).
Portrait and group package orders are due by photography day.
Should you wish to purchase a sibling photograph online, the order must be placed no later than the day before photography day.
Sibling photographs will only be taken if an order has been placed.
Should you have any queries concerning school photographs or online ordering, please direct them via email to enquiries@advancedlife.com.au.
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
Captivate Performance
On the 11th March some of our talented dancers performed as pre-game and half-time entertainment for the Sydney University Flames Basketball Finals. The students, Rochelle Salatino, Natalie El-Helou, Angela Pham and Joanna Dejoras represented the school as part of the Captivate Dance Ensemble. Congratulations on a great performance!
Congratulations
In an article in the Parramatta Sun on Tuesday 28 March, Sarah expressed her enthusiasm at being involved in the program. Please click here to access this story in the Parramatta Sun.
Well done Sarah!
Dream Cricket Day
Dream Cricket has been developed to provide an opportunity for Primary school students with special needs to experience a sporting program that promotes physical and mental stimulation and growth and empowers them to feel part of the community.
Two of our Year 10 Service Leaders, Elise Noble and Annie Taniane, kindly agreed to work as volunteers at this event. The Holroyd Rotary Club were very appreciative of their assistance and stated that they couldn't praise these students enough for their efforts at this event and that it was a pleasure to have them helping Rotary.
Well done girls.
Mrs L Parker
Assistant Principal
Mission and Administration
Year 7 Geography Excursion
On 9th March, Year 7 were very excited to go on an excursion to The Blue Mountains. Year 7 have been learning about Landscapes and Landforms in Geography. On the long bus ride we marked off how many metres above sea level we were.
Our first stop was Scenic World where we caught the scenic railway. This is the steepest railway in the world. We looked at our surroundings and wrote down the plants and animals we saw. We continued along the boardwalk to the rainforest classroom and answered questions about what we saw, heard, smelt and what would happen if there was a natural disaster. We ascended from the valley floor by the Scenic Sender, a cableway which takes visitors to and from the valley floor.
Feeling hungry we caught the bus up to our second stop - Echo Point, where we had lunch and sketched The Three Sisters. We discussed the importance of the land as a World Heritage Site and to the Aboriginal people. Even though it was cold, it was an enjoyable day.
Lauren Seymour 7E6
Numeracy at Cerdon
Problems, Patterns, Pictures, Puzzles: Problem Solving Workshop
On Wednesday 29th March, Year 8 participated in a problem solving workshop facilitated by Inquisitive Minds.
The incursion aims at improving both the students’ ability and confidence in problem solving. Problem solving is one of the main focuses we have in Numeracy here at the College as a result of its increased demand in all aspects and levels of Mathematics.
Students were first exposed to new problem solving strategies and then worked in pairs to apply these strategies to challenging problems. Students found they could solve these problems and had fun doing it, often to their own surprise.
The Year 10 Accelerated Maths students generously assisted throughout the day by checking the Year 8 solutions. Without their help the day would not have been as successful as it was.
The day was a very positive and beneficial day. A lot of fun was had and many chocolates were won!
Grace Muscat (Maths Co-ordinator) and
Anne-Maree McEwen (Numeracy Co-ordinator)
Enrichment@Cerdon
Much has happened during this first term and even in the final weeks a number of students are enjoying a number of opportunities. This weekend a group of students from Year 9-12 will be participating in the Equality Summit run by UN Youth Australia. Some students in Year 10 will be participating in the RYPEN camp, a leadership and self growth experience sponsored by ROTARY. Students in Year 11 are preparing applications for the National Science Youth Forum while students in Years 9 and 10 are preparing applications for the STEM camp at The University of Wollongong. Many students have also taken the opportunity to enter both the Write4Fun Competition and the What Matters? competitions.
In this week’s edition read about the reflections from students involved in the Kids Lit Quiz. This event once again proved to be a fun learning experience for all those involved.
The holidays are a perfect opportunity participate in an enrichment activity such as a film or photography competition. Some suggestions are listed later in this edition.
The Kids Lit Quiz 2017
The Kids' Lit Quiz is an annual literature quiz held in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the USA for students aged ten to thirteen years. The quiz was founded by the New Zealand quizmaster Wayne Mills, who is a novel and literature enthusiast. Students of many schools take part in a number of rounds (or better known as “heats”) of quizzes based on a vast variety of categories. The winning team from each heat competes in a National Final and National champions compete in the World Final. On Friday the 17th of March 2017, The Kids’ Lit Quiz was held at Cerdon College and I along with with many visitors and students from other schools, had the honour of being a part of the experience and seeing enthusiastic, bright students having a wonderful and enjoyable time. It was truly an amazing sight to see! Clever students from varying ages answering questions that I would consider difficult. It truly displayed the student’s eagerness and passion in everything related to books.
The Kids’ Lit Quiz considers all students interests offering a variety of categories from literature such as food and animals to thieves and trees. It was evident to see that some students thrived more in some categories than others. Meriden 3 won the competition on the day. Cerdon achieved fourth place and missed out on third place by 1 point! Two of our teams won books and some of our girls also won cash prizes. This was by far our best effort ever and Cerdon is very proud of all our intelligent young ladies and congratulate them for participating and giving it your all! Congratulations to all the girls involved for a great effort and in particular Cerdon 3 for achieving fourth place!
(Hannah Rahimi, President of Cerdon’s Journalism Club)From the participants:
We all had a great time and learned many new things. The questions were very challenging so we had to use our brains!
It was an amazing and memorable experience!
Today was my first kids lit Quiz competition and I really liked it
The Kids Lit Quiz is an educational event that is both fun and educational.
It was a fantastic day! If I was able to compete again I would anytime!
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/
Cerdon College Bridge Building Competition.
Once again this year Cerdon College will be running a Bridge Building Competition. Using materials such as paddle pop sticks, string cardboard and glue, students are to design and construct model bridges following constructions guidelines which can withstand a variety of weights. Bridges will be assessed for visual appeal, workmanship, creativity and functionality. Girls will work in teams of three, with the winning team representing the school at the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition later in the year.
This is an exciting and challenging initiative and interested students who enjoy building should apply.
Further information on the Aurecon bridge Building contest can be found by visiting
http://www.aurecongroup.com/buildingbridges/index.php
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 9th April 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
Year 7 Splash Carnivals
On Monday March 6 and Tuesday March 21, the annual Splash Carnivals were held at Cerdon College Pool. The events showcased the planning and organisational skills of the Year 9 Physical Activity and Sports Studies (PASS) students, who convened the events. Both carnivals ran very smoothly and provided the Year 7 students with the opportunity to participate in a number of competitive and novelty events.
Special thanks must go to all Year 7 students for participating with enthusiasm and to the Year 9 PASS students, who fulfilled their roles with diligence. Of course, events such as these cannot run without the assistance of teachers and I would like to thank Miss Bailey and Mr Hanna for their guidance on both days. Congratulations to Marcellin House for accumulating the most points over the two carnivals. See the points tally below:
Splash Carnival Results
1st Place: Marcellin (354 points)
2nd Place: Colin (348 points)
3rd Place: Perroton (289 points)
4th Place: McOscar (281 points)
PDSSSC Swimming Carnival
On Friday March 24, 10 Cerdon students competed at the PDSSSC Swimming Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Homebush. Our squad was selected based on performances at the Cerdon Swimming Carnival earlier this year. I would like to acknowledge the following students for their efforts in representing the College at the Carnival:
Alexia Kazanzidis, Elise Noble, Emerson Walshaw, Anthea Kazanzidis, Trina Castelino, Trisha Castelino, Sophia Vicic, Sarah Denniss, Rebecca Georges and Olivia Budini
Congratulations to the following students who finished in the top three in their event:
Emerson Walshaw - 2nd Place U15 50m Butterfly, 3rd Place U14 50m Backstroke
Elise Noble- 3rd Place U15 50m Breaststroke
Congratulations to Emerson Walshaw for earning the right to proceed to the NSWCCC Swimming Carnival on Friday March 31. Best of luck Emerson!
Council of Catholic School Parents
'Parent Talk' is published each term as eNewsletter featuring articles of interest for parents of children in the 588 Catholic Schools across our NSW / ACT Catholic education community.
Please follow this link to access the latest eNewsletter.
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