College Newsletter
Term 1 Week 4 Friday 19 February 2016
A Message from the Principal
Cerdon College's Parents and Friends Association meets each term on Monday Week 3 at 7:00 pm. All parents are welcome to attend and support the work of the Cerdon College community, by providing input into initiatives undertaken by the College.
2016 Parents and Friends Association members:
President: Mrs N Favotto
Secretary/Treasurer: Ms C Yorkston
Committee Members:
Mrs S Burton
Mrs M Crelley
Mrs T Frasca
Mrs T Maldigri
Mrs J Subramaniam
Last week as a College community we were joined by students from our 2015 HSC class who achieved outstanding results in their courses of study.
The list of 2015 HSC Prizewinners is as follows:
2015 Dux - Esther Duruchukwu
Esther Duruchukwu
2015 All Round HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Biology
Chemistry
English Advanced
Modern History
Studies of Religion 2
Illeana Prieto
2015 All Round HSC Achievement
Excellence in HSC Performance
Sixth in State in Drama
First in Subject
Drama
Extension 1 English
Anna Tran
2015 All Round HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Economics
Legal Studies
Marianne Chemuel
Excellence in HSC Performance
Tenth in State Studies of Religion 1
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Legal Studies
Studies of Religion 1 Unit
Martina Gambacorta
Excellence in HSC Performance
Second in State Extension Italian
Fourth in State 2 Unit Italian Continuers
First in Subject
Italian Continuers
Italian Extension
Athanasia Valsamou
Excellence in HSC Performance
Fourth in State Extension Modern Greek
First in Subject
Modern Greek
Modern Greek Extension
Damaris Aguayo
First in Subject
Italian Beginners
Caitlin Beckwith
First in Subject
Music 1
Grace D’Agostino
First in Subject
Hospitality Food and Beverage
Lidija Duric
First in Subject
Food Technology
Rita El Takchi
First in Subject
Music 1
Natalya Jozic
First in Subject
Food Technology
Christina Kheir
First in Subject
Mathematics Extension 1
Tuyen Vy Mai
First in Subject
Textiles and Design
Latonya Mataia
First in Subject
Music 1
Samantha Murjadi
First in Subject
English Standard
Rasha Salim
First in Subject
Entertainment
Vanessa Sarmento
First in Subject
Business Services
Eman Sediqi
First in Subject
Ancient History
Kelly Seymour
First in Subject
Hospitality Kitchen Operations and Cookery
Caitlin Stutsel
First in Subject
Entertainment
Susie Sukarieh
First in Subject
Mathematics 2 Unit
Mathematics Extension 1
Riannah Toufan
First in Subject
Music 1
Nina Aoun
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Hospitality Kitchen Operations and Cookery
Amy Camilleri
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
Kimberly D’Cruz
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Mathematics General 2
Shantelle Dang
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Extension 1 English
Michelle Elias
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Extension 1 English
Matina Frelingos
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Modern Greek Beginners
Elissa Hadchiti
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Community and Family Studies
Karen Kafrouni
Outstanding HSC Achievement
Pamela Kahwajy
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Extension 1 English
French Continuers
Physics
Alicia Kotsiopoulos
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Business Studies
Catherine Le
Outstanding HSC Achievement
Mia Miranda
Outstanding HSC Achievement
Elizabeth Serbin
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Geography
Ellen Taniane
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Extension 1 English
Victoria Tran
Outstanding HSC Achievement
Carina Uremovic
Outstanding HSC Achievement
Allison Vassallo
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Information Processes and Technology
Jaida Walker
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Extension History
Serah Yi
Outstanding HSC Achievement
First in Subject
Earth and Environmental Science
Visual Arts
Also at this Mass, our 2016 student leaders were inducted -
YEAR 12
College Captain: Susie Sukarieh
Vice Captains:
Emily Green (Sport)
Christina Kheir (Academic)
Amelia Menouhos (Social Justice and Community Service)
Catalina Valdivia (Creative and Performing Arts)
Class Captains:
12FF2 Tiana Totaro
12FF3 Zoya Shah
12FF6 Niamh Hughes
12FF8 Portia Cheung
12GL4 Emily Gittany
12GL5 Antonella Bova
12HA Sally Al-Saffar
YEAR 11
Class Captains:
11F11 Christine Ghaleb
11F12 Diana Nguyen
11F14 Lamya Saba
11F15 Alexia Abouhamad
11F16 Natalie El-Helou
11F17 Zaynab El-Hussein
11F18 Angela Pham
House Captains:
Colin Lauren Smith
Marcellin Claire Duffy
McOscar Natasha Milakovic
Perroton Julia Achmar
Prefects:
Yasmine Abou Hamed
Melissa Aoun
Simran Borges
Jane Bui
Riley Carroll
Alycia Chand
Rebecca Dinh
Nicole El Jammal
Aneesa Eldick
Carmela Espinosa
Alena Fares
Marin Fares
Tina Giang
Claire Gittany
Allyson Issa
Alexia Kazanzidis
Dannesa Law
Thy Mai
Ysabella Mani
Theresa Nguyen
Tayla Noble
Tram Pham
Lauren Quigley
Catherine Raftopoulos
Kathy-May Sanayeh
Emily Stoove,
Gloria Tomic
Social Justice Leaders:
Anadora Alejo
Melissa Aoun
Kylah Beshara
Simran Borges
Yi-Jun Mojie Ding
Nicole El Jammal
Aneesa Eldick
Hayley Fisher
Allyson Issa
Lucinda Lau
Emily Stoove
Rachael Summers
Library Assistants:
Felicia Aung
Erin Cahill
Olivia Dunn
Yi-Jun Mojie Ding
Theresa Hoang
Hannah Sediqi
YEAR 10
Class Captains:
10F13 Emily Galea
10F19 Isabella Matsias
10F20 Aya Ali
10F21 Elizabeth McDonald
10F22 Emma Tuhmeh
10F24 Nicole Gereige
10FD1 Gabriela Badrov
Vice Captains:
10F13 Natalia Matar
10F19 Annamarie Subramaniam
10F20 Minh McCarthy
10F21 Natalie Bainou
10F22 Samantha Lindermann
10F24 Mai Truc Anh Nguyen
10FD1 Zali Aquilina
Mission Promoters:
10F13 Alana Cohen
10F19 Georgia Azar
10F20 Alisha Jimenez
10F21 Kiara Correia
10F22 Dima Ahmad
10F24 Lucy Tan
10FD1 Jessica Li
House Vice Captains:
Colin Dorsa Faghireh
Marcellin Briana Titmuss
McOscar Claudia Ong
Perroton Janine Udan
Service Leaders:
Louise Awad
Emma Banboukjian
Chantelle Chan
Natasha Chan
Anh Dinh
Angelique Dunn
Dorna Faghireh
Dorsa Faghireh
Kayla Furness
Quyen Nguyen
Peer Support Leaders:
Zali Aquilina
Gabriela Badrov
Charlotte Chidiac
Kiara Correia
Elise Cribbin
Tahlia Del Principe
Bianca Frasca-Villagran
Kayla Furness
Emily Furtado
Emily Grasinger
Sara Haider
Shuashawnee Hancock
Kate Hughes
Georgia Kalisperis
Kiranpreet Kohli
Jasmine Kramer
Coreen La Rocca
Isabelle Langan
Jessica Li
Elissar Maalouf
Isabella Matsias
Elizabeth McDonald
Mikayla Menouhos
Kelly Nguyen
Mai Truc Anh Cecilia Nguyen
Louise O'Neill
Shelby Pahuta
Antonela Pavlovic
Maria Razouk
Olivia Resman
Madison Reynolds-Pace
Anna-Maria Sciamanna
Balpreet Sunner
Wei Yee Tan
Layla Toufan
Nicole Yu
Carissa Zajac
YEAR 9
Class Captains:
9I31 Sophia Hassarati
9I32 Brooke Moody
9I33 Annie Taniane
9J28 Monica Chan
9J29 Georgia Ashkar
9J30 Tayla Contreras
Vice Captains:
9I31 Jami Younes
9I32 Caroline Sarafoglou
9I33 Bella Shepherd
9J28 Daniella Elakcnouch
9J29 Katie Meechan
9J30 Mariann Khouri
Mission Promoters:
9I31 Emerson Walshaw
9I32 Sarah Orlando
9I33 Amelia El-Halabi
9J28 Nancy Maldigri
9J29 Mary El-Helo
9J30 Trinity Taylor
YEAR 8
Class Captains:
8G23 Sarah Vella
8G24 Nora-Lee Doueihi
8G25 Kalliope Mentis
8G26 Olivia Achmar
8G27 Sophia Turano
8GL3 Bailey Soo
Vice Captains:
8G23 Shanice Seaib
8G24 Layelle Kassem
8G25 Stephanie Portelli
8G26 Antoinette Azzi
8G27 Renee Helou
8GL3 Renee Kristiansen
Mission Promoters:
8G23 Theresa Ndaira
8G24 Mia Bergamin
8G25 Claudia Kukucka
8G26 Annabelle Hanna
8G27 Mia Gauci
8GL3 Charlize D’Souza
YEAR 7
Class Captains:
7E5 Charlie-Rose El Riachi
7E6 Juliana Chahine
7E7 Chanelle Serhan
7E8 Mary Sleiman
7E9 Paris Kambouris
7E10 Zainab Kamara
Vice Captains:
7E5 Rachel Attard
7E6 Molly-Kate Costello
7E7 Rita Dagher
7E8 Nicola Lubczyk
7E9 Briana Wilson
7E10 Katrina Sallit
Mission Promoters:
7E5 Alaura Mae Lassiter
7E6 Emily Contreras
7E7 Laura Buratto
7E8 Hannah Khoury
7E9 Ivana Rimac
7E10 Sophia Siderides
Let us pray in the words of Saint Ignatius:
Teach us, good Lord,
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and to ask for no reward,
save that of knowing
that we do your will
Amen
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
Whooping Cough
Please see information below regarding Whooping Cough
Time from exposure to illness
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 its 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. Click here for NSW Health Whooping Cough Factsheet.
College Uniform Shop
Year 7 Parents
If you have not placed an order for your daughter's blazer and require a blazer for your daughter for the commencement of Term 2, please see the staff in the Uniform Shop during trading hours ASAP.
Regular 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)
Student Medical Information
Student Attendance
Attendance
Regular attendance at school is critical for each student’s academic growth and social development.
Students should attend school EVERY day unless they are SERIOUSLY unwell.
Family holidays should only be taken during designated school holiday times as any absence will impact on a student’s progress and student’s will struggle to catch up on skills and concepts missed. Any request for leave should be made well before the leave commences.
Every student MUST bring a note explaining their absence on the first day they return to school. Any senior student (Year 10 to 12) will need to provide a Doctor’s Certificate to explain an absence from an Assessment Task or Examination. All notes must clearly state the student name, dates of absence and reason for absence and must be signed by a parent/carer.
To assist you, we have attached an absence notification that you are able to download and complete with the relevant information relating to your daughter's absence. Alternatively, a handwritten note with all the required information is adequate.
Partial Student Absences
All students are expected to be punctual to school and remain at school until the conclusion of the school day unless there are exceptional circumstances. Parents must have notified the school prior, so that students know that they must leave class early. These circumstances do not include leaving early to collect children from other schools, attending appointments that can be scheduled out of school hours, part-time work or catching a connecting bus or train. It is impossible to expect Cerdon College staff to collect students from class for parents who wish to pick them up early without notification.
Change of Contact Details
Please notify the College Office if you have changed any of your contact details ie. address, telephone number, email address, etc so that we are able to update our records accordingly.
Thank you
School Fee Statements
2016 School Fees Statements will be issued to families by the Catholic Education Office this week. Term 1 school fees are due for payment by Monday 7 March 2016. Included with your statement are the various payment options available to you. Should you decide to take one of these options please complete and return the paperwork promptly in the envelope provided.
Please contact the College if you have not received your statement or if you require any further information. Thank you.
Finance Department
Cerdon College
School Excursions and Incursions
As you are aware, you have provided the school with permission to conduct certain excursions and incursions and sports activities. For those activities covered by the general permission note, you will receive a notification where it is appropriate to do so (eg for an excursion).
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 payment.
A copy of each notification and permission note is also available from the College Website.
Ash Wednesday
As a school community we gathered together for the first time in the assembly area to mark the start of the liturgical season of Lent. Our school leaders for 2016 led the community with the readings and Fr. Peter proclaimed the Gospel and spoke to us about our relationship with God. He challenged us to look at ourselves and see what our priorities are and whether we do anything that prevents us from having a relationship with God. We all received our mark of ash as a sign of our repentance and heard the words, “Repent and believe in the Gospel”.
We have now commenced our Project Compassion collection in our homeroom classes. All students are encouraged to support this initiative of Caritas. Thank you to all those who have already supported our collection.
Opening Mass
Friday 12th February marked the day of the Opening Mass for our school community. Not only was it an opportunity to gather to mark the official start of the school year, but 2016 also marks the bicentenary of the Fourviére Pledge – the commencement of the Society of Mary, The Marists. In this celebratory year, we have been challenged as a community to “Dare to Dream”. Just as the twelve seminarians two hundred years ago dared to commence a new venture, the students of Cerdon were challenged to look at their own lives, their hopes, dreams and aspirations. This motto will be our theme for 2016.
Our Opening Mass also provided the College community with an opportunity to install students into the various leadership roles of our school. Many students received badges for positions such as: class captain, class vice-captain, mission promoter, house captain, house vice-captain, service leader, social justice leader, prefect and library monitor. These students are encouraged to take on these roles as a means of serving our community, just as Jesus provided the perfect example of servant leadership by washing his disciples feet.
We also used this gathering to celebrate and congratulate the high achievers of the 2015 HSC cohort. Those students who excelled in their studies were publicly acknowledged for their efforts and achievement. Following our mass many of last years Year 12 class returned to Cerdon to share their wisdom of the HSC experience with the current Year 12 students.
Mr N Mulheron
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Changes to the University of Sydney's admission requirements.
From 2019 students in some courses will need to have completed the Mathematics course (2 unit) and achieved a Band 4 (70 marks) or above to be potentially eligible for admission. A full list of courses and other important information is available from http://sydney.edu.au/study/maths.html.
This affects students in Year 10, as these changes are set to apply to admissions for 2019. These changes will be listed in the 2016 Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) Year 10 Guide, distributed to schools in May.
ELES Online Study Skills Handbook
ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS
A big step towards achieving your goals is developing and maintaining a goal setting mindset as the attitudes you have learnt and develop will influence the way you view goal setting. Approaching a task with a negative and self-defeating attitude makes it much harder to actually be successful at that task.
You need to have a positive attitude when you are setting and trying to achieve your goals. A positive attitude means you are looking for ways to succeed rather than focusing on the difficulties and obstacles that could be in your path.
To create a more positive attitude:
● Each day note down something you did towards achieving your goals.
● Note down any changes someone else has noticed eg. your teacher says well done on your work.
● Don’t stop trying if something goes wrong, rather reassess your goals or decide you need to work harder to achieve them.
● Find a mentor or helper to encourage you to achieve your goals, possibly someone who is interested in the same things or is good at the same subjects, but is a bit further ahead of you.
Other reasons why we don’t achieve our goals:
● No action plan.
● No true commitment to the goal.
● Not rewarding yourself along the way.
● Trying to focus on too many goals.
● Not preparing yourself for success.
● Fear of failure.
If you are still not achieving your goal try this:
● Clarify your goal.
● Write a list of actions.
● Analyze, prioritize and prune.
● Organise your list into a plan.
● Monitor the execution of your plan and review your plan regularly
.
You can learn more about goal setting and many other topics to help you achieve your best at school at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au, logging in with these details:
Username: cerdoncollege
Password: achieve
Numeracy at Cerdon
Year 7 Numeracy Evening
On Monday 8th February, the parents of many Year 7 students attended the Numeracy Evening. Parents experienced firsthand some of the mental computations and numeracy activities their daughters are currently taking part in during the first four weeks of their Mathematics lessons where the focus is on numeracy and assisting students to build a more solid foundation for Stage 4, Years 7 and 8, Mathematics.
Parents were given a bag of resources that they can use at home to work with their daughters as the more experience students have with these activities, the greater their numerical ability will be and, in turn, the more competent they will be in all subjects that involve numeracy such as Mathematics, Science, Geography and Technology. Parents were shown how to make the activities easier or harder so that they can be used with all students regardless of their age or numerical ability.
Thank you to the 20 staff members who were present to assist with the evening. All Mathematics and Learning Support teachers as well as Miss Parker and Miss Hanson were available to meet parents and assist them in learning the activities.
Grace Muscat
(Numeracy Coordinator and Acting Mathematics Coordinator)
Enrichment@Cerdon
It is encouraging to see increasing number of students who are involving themselves in enrichment activities. In this week’s edition read about the reflections from students who over the holidays, attended the Conoco Phillips Science Experience at the University of Sydney. This year Cerdon was very well represented at the event, with almost 20 participants. In addition, five more students returned to the experience as mentors to the program. Congratulations to all those students for taking this opportunity and for enriching their learning.
The Conoco Phillips Science Experience at the University of Sydney
From the 13th to the 15th of January 2016, a number of students from Year 9 and 10 signed up to complete ‘The Science Experience Program’ held at the University of Sydney. Tasked with a forensic themed investigation to complete, all students were divided into different specialty groups ranging from Toxicology to Psychology. The interactive games and activities which ran throughout the three days provided heaps of fun for all students and the opportunity to meet many like-minded science loving friends. With special lectures from numerous accomplished scientists such as Dr. Karl, students were left with a greater knowledge and appreciation of all current and past scientific accomplishments while daring to dream about possible future scientific endeavours. Overall, all participants had a great and exciting time in the program as they experienced first-hand the complexity and power of science.
Olivia Nguyen, Year 10
The Science Experience was an eye opener for me as it explored all aspects of Forensic Science within a Crime Scene setup. It introduced and explained how Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Psychology all aid a Crime Scene Investigation. The activities were fun and also very informative fostering an interest in Forensic Science. There were an abundance of games that helped everyone make friends from different schools and around the state as well. We also had the opportunity to discuss our university options with the older mentors. ... If I had the chance I would definitely go again for all the friendship and knowledge I gained.
Anadora Alejo Year 11
… Within the three days students from around the state took part in hands on workshops, lab work, lectures and of course, fun and games. The highlight of the program for myself would definitely be the biology lab work and the psychology lecture, although the maths lecture was enjoyable as well! The science experience was definitely a great experience to remember; great friends were made along the way and our passion for science was further enriched. I look forward to participating again next year !
Georgia Kalisperis Year 10
The Science Experience at USYD was amazing, fun and engaging. For me, it was a great way to learn about science since it taught me many different sciences from plant anatomy and biology to physics and psychology. It was also cool how I got to be a forensic scientist and put together all the information with my team to find the suspect. And we did!!! I enjoyed the biology and plant anatomy the most as it was the most engaging part of the program (well at least I thought it was). Testing blood and DNA or looking down the microscope to find little tiny particles of pollen fascinated me the most, as well as getting my hands on some expensive equipment!!! This program was fun and all the university staff made this program enjoyable!! I can't wait to participate in the upcoming programs this year!!
Lucy Tan Year 10
…New, like-minded friends were made along the way which made the experience much more exciting. All the university staff had a great sense of humor, encouraging and especially enthusiastic when it came to playing ice breaker games. One of the best parts of the experience was the "Surprise Event", where each group has to create a contraption out of a straws and masking tape only, to prevent an egg from cracking when dropped from a certain height. There was great satisfaction seeing eggs dropped and getting smashed.
The highlight of the event was the mock trial, putting all our evidence together and presenting it in an argument to argue that the suspect was guilty. There was heated tension between the prosecuting and the defending team with both teams presenting convincing arguments. The verdict by the jury found in favour of the the suspect and they were 'not guilty' despite the fact that almost everyone was certain that it was him before the trial!
Overall the experience allows students to be a forensic scientist for 3 days, interact and make new friends and shows that you can actually get away with murder if you have a good defending team.
Kylie Lai Year 11
… At the beginning of the experience, we were introduced to a sophisticated crime scene and given 6 suspects and, as a group, had to work as a team to figure out the murderer. This had everyone actively involved in conducting experiments and confidently sharing our findings with our team to make sure we identified the right suspect. During the 3 days, we experienced hands-on laboratory sessions in all different aspects of science including chemistry, biology, physics and plant anatomy. We were also given interactive lectures including maths, psychology and forensics. Personally, I really enjoyed the psychology lecture as it gave me a deeper insight into how understanding human behaviour can help solve such big crimes. …. Sara Haider
I absolutely LOVED the Sydney Science Experience 2016!!!
As a student, it was a great opportunity to get an insight into university life and to solve a crime. Sydney University opened their campus and facilities to 110 students, who came from all over New South Wales, to participate in the three day program. I met many new students from other schools and enjoyed the wide range of fields of science studied during the course of three days. We participated in biology, anatomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology and forensic science lectures, where we were taught all about the fields and how they are relevant to solving crime…..
Gabriela Badrov Year 10
…. It was a fantastic experience where we had to discover who the murderer was in a fake crime. We participated in many workshops where we had to test the suspects' DNA, blood and fingerprints. We also had to test different pollen and soil samples, animal bones and fabrics in order to find sufficient evidence to convict one of the six suspects. At the end of the three days there was a mock trial where suspects were asked questions and tried to prove their innocence. We were also treated to a lecture by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki who spoke about the future of technology and how we will be the first generation to live forever thanks to cloning. Overall, it was an incredible experience and I would highly recommend it to other students interested in science.
Elise Cribbin
…I really enjoyed the mock trial as my team won! The maths and psychology lectures were the most interesting. However my favourite part of the 3 days was the presentation by Dr Karl which sparked me to take action for the environment and to believe in myself and to help and work along others in my generation to improve and develop the world.
Very enjoyable 3 days where you have a chance to be real detectives working on a murder case … over all it was a pleasant experience meeting new people and being able to have the chance to feel like a uni student.
Teresa Tran
During the holidays (11-15 January) we had the opportunity to mentor other students at The Science Experience which took place at the University of Sydney. The programme consisted of two days of training and three fun filled days of working with students from across NSW. We met and worked with new people, made new friendships and shared many laughs together and got FREE pizza! Overall, being a mentor for The Science Experience is definitely worth it as you are given the opportunity to build up your confidence as well as your leadership ability. It is honestly the best feeling ever when you see your students having fun, which means that you are doing your job!
Mary Nguyen and Leanne Purkis (Year 12)
Emily Stoove, Nikhita Kaur and Theresa Nguyen (Year 11)
Opportunities available now…
Engineering Link Project @UNSW
An exciting opportunity is available for Year 11 and 12 students to work with REAL engineers across a wide range of engineering discipline. Students will be presented with real engineering problems and in teams, will design and create solutions. This program provides students with the opportunity to explore the diverse field of engineering and to see if engineering is a career for them. If you want to learn more about this experience, visit http://telg.com.au/register/ . The workshop will run on 18-19th April at UNSW and registration is now open.
The 2016 Kids Lit Quiz
The Kids Lit Quiz is an international reading competition for children aged 10-14. This competition puts young readers onto the stage and lets them compete for some fantastic prizes including the opportunity to represent Australia in the world final. Once again this year, Cerdon will be hosting the Sydney heat and just like every other year, it is shaping to be an exciting and fun filled event. Participants must be aged 14 years and under as of July 1st, 2016. If you enjoy reading and would like further information visit www.kidslitquiz.com see Mrs Agius.
Gifted Awareness Week – Australia National Poetry Competition
This poetry competition invites gifted students to express in poetry what ‘giftedness’ means to them. Poems can be in any form or text type and should be suited for national publication in print, websites and social media. Poems will be judged on creativity and originality. Submissions are due on Friday 26th February, 2016. For further information visit
WHAT MATTERS? 2016
The Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University, offers students in NSW and the ACT the opportunity to write a 400-600 word opinion piece of what matters to them and why. There are a number of prizes on offer and students will be judged in categories based on their school year. For further information and to download an entry form visit whitlam.org/whatmatters. The competition closes on May 6, 2016.
Write4Fun- Competition
Entry is now open in the 2016 Schools Writing Competition! Students all over Australia are invited to enter their poems OR short stories, and battle it out for the great cash prizes on offer including iPads, x-box1 and a first prize of $1000
Students are required to write a poem or short story on any theme. Students from all grades are welcome to enter. Entry is FREE and all entries must be in my Thursday 31st March 2016.
For further information please visit http://www.write4fun.net/
For information on these and any other enrichment programs please do not hesitate to contact the school
Mrs S Agius
Enrichment Co-ordinator
PDHPE and Sport Report
NSWCCC Softball Trials
Congratulations to Alicia Allan of Year 12 and Briana Titmuss of Year 10 who represented PDSSSC at the NSWCCC selection trials on Wednesday February 10 at Kelso Park Softball complex. Both students performed well but unfortunately missed out on selection in the NSWCCC squad. We wish the girls well for the remainder of the year in their sporting endeavours. We also congratulate Mrs Deegan for fulfilling her role as a selector for NSWCCC.
Athletics
Congratulations to Natasha Milakovic of Year 11, who has made it through to the National Athletics Championships to be held in Perth later this year. She finished third in the U16 Javelin event at the NSW Championships. This is a great achievement for Natasha and we wish her well at nationals.
Mr Zammit
PDHPE and Sport Co-ordinator
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 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
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.
There are 127 fixed digital speed cameras installed in NSW, of which 57 are in school zones.
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.
Year 12 Information Evening
Monday, Feb 22, 2016, 07:00 PM
Cerdon College, Sherwood Road, Merrylands West, New South Wales, Australia
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
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Twitter: @CerdonCollege