St Benedict's Catholic College
Newsletter - Friday 14 September, 2018
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Dear Parents and Carers
Stage 5 Monte Cassino Programme
Recently we held a “reimagining” of the old “Electives Information Evening” that most of our families have been to since they themselves were at school. At that evening, the curriculum staff and a variety of teachers would undertake to explain the electives that were being offered and the process of selection. This year, in keeping with information sessions we have held for Stage 4 Parents, we attempted to give our Stage 5 (Years 9 & 10) families a much more detailed overview of the opportunities the College provides over the next few years.
It was wonderful to see, for the first time, our Library filled with just on 500 people as we introduced the rebadged Monte Cassino programme. This includes the NESA recognised Leadership Diploma (Purple and Gold) and the strengths-based Positive Education programme which will begin in 2019. We also gave a detailed explanation of the rationale behind, and the experience of, the Outdoor Education Programme. I am grateful to our partners at Somerset Outdoor Education for their attendance on the evening and to Year 11 student Justin Waights who spoke about his personal experience of the programme. We provided parents with a snapshot of the recent results of the ACER Social and Emotional Wellbeing Survey (SEW) for the whole school and for Year 8 in particular. Parents went home with a much greater understanding of how the Outdoor Education programme is not just a school camp but a tightly targeted series of activities to build resilience, experience “desirable difficulties” and overcome them. By building “resilience memory” we better prepare our students for some of the challenges they will soon face in accessing the workforce or the rigours of Stage 6 HSC work.
Successes
Our girls Hockey team established St Benedict’s College as a force to be reckoned with by becoming Diocesan Champions - our first ever Diocesan Championship in any sport- and did it in style by defeating both the perennial finalists St Patrick's College and then St Mary's College Wollongong in the final. Congratulations ladies!
The Public Speaking and Debating season is rapidly coming to an end and the College is very proud of its excellent results. Over the last fortnight our Year 8 debating team has continued its unbroken run of wins and moves into the MISA Finals with confidence. Our History Debating team is into the semi-finals and this week will meet Sydney Technical Boys' High School, Bexley in an away match.
In another first, Bennies has its first winner of the Lions Club Youth of the Year Competition, with Year 9 student, Hannah Small, winning in excellent company at the event held at Mt Carmel last week. Congratulations also to Nicholas Perez, who was a highly commended in the boy’s section. Hannah now progresses to the State final and we wish her well.
Supporting Parents
It would be true to say that, from the school’s standpoint, nothing causes more frustration to parents that young people’s poor use of social media in particular and the web more generally. I therefore commend to you an Evening with the E-Safety Commissioner, next Wednesday night in the Library. Mr Turner has sent home information relating to the evening so please check that flyer for the details. Information is power and, if you are one of the parents who want the information and the strategies, then this is a must attend evening. I also recommend you have a look at the excellent resources for parents and students on their website www.esafety.gov.au. We look forward to seeing you on the night.
Michael Hanratty
Principal
FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF MISSION AND VISION
Come closer to God and he will come close to you
Year 8 Retreat
Last week students in Year 8 went to Mt Schoenstatt in Mulgoa to celebrate our annual Religious Retreat. The theme of this day was ‘The Value in me, the value in other’s’. The student’s were able to participate in a range of activities relating to this theme. Although we were blessed with a large downpour of much needed rain in the early hours of the morning, the following clear skies allowed us to enjoy the sunshine while playing some ice breaker games. This allowed students to get to know each other better.
After a delicious morning tea of fruit, muffins, chips and poppers, students came together in their RE classes to participate in activities that had them thinking about the values we each have and need, in our society. The highlight of the day for many students was a trip down memory lane as we watched an excerpt from the family classic Toy Story!
It was a great day, and thanks need to be extended to Mrs Holland (Year 8 Coordinator) and the staff who came and worked closely with the students to ensure they had an engaging experience.
LIVE Festival Wollongong
In the last fortnight, students at St Benedict’s have had the opportunity to be involved in two separate LIVE events. These events, run through the Catholic Education Office, provide students with an opportunity to engage in youth ministry initiatives and activities.
Our first major event was the combined LIVE Festival held in Wollongong. Mr Hayden, Ms Wojcik and myself took 42 students from Years 9 and 11 on the bus to the venue, Cafe Essay. This event was shared with all high schools within the Wollongong Diocese and had a festival atmosphere with the theme of ‘Now’. On arrival we found a Live band, music, stalls selling merchandise and students dancing and singing.
Over the course of the day, Father Rob Galea (the priest made famous on the TV show The Voice) joined us and spoke to everyone about his very interesting life experiences that led him to where he is today. He revealed his path to God was not a straight one and he made many poor choices in his early life. The constant in his life was the love and support of his mother. Father Rob challenged us all to take the approach to life that we need to choose between being good and being the best. To do this he said there are some decisions in our life we need to make daily.
This includes:
To pray: God is interested in every part of our lives. We need to speak to him and take the time to listen to him.
To Shut Up!: We need to find the time to be silent, to think and absorb - in the words of St Benedict - Be still and know that I am God.
Use our gifts and talents - we need to do what we enjoy and use the special gifts we have been given.
Find our spiritual direction - ask wise people in our lives to help us in the right direction in life.
Be humble
Do it scared!: This means we need to let the light in, don’t let fear control us.
Overall, it was a long (at times very wet!) and worthwhile experience that we were able to share with many other staff and students within our Diocese. In the evening, students also participated in prayer circles and had the opportunity to go to reconciliation. I would like to thank all the students who attended for their exemplary behaviour throughout the day.
Live Festival - St Benedict’s
Last Friday we hosted our second school based Live event. Our Diocesan Youth Ministry team came to St Benedict’s to run a session of music, prayer and discussion with a number of our junior students. The students discussed the idea of good relationships and having respect for each other.
The night finished with some yummy pizza and prayer. We extend our thanks to Joel and Seth from the Youth Ministry Team for overseeing this event - even in the torrential rain. Also, a big thanks to Mr Hayden, Miss Brown, Miss Kelleher, Miss Wojcik, Mr Turner and Mr Bulfon for giving up some of their Friday night to share this opportunity with the students.
God Bless;
Mrs Tarnya Grana
Acting Director of Mission and Vision
DATES TO REMEMBER
Year 11 Study Evening - Wednesday 19 September
Year 11 Preliminary Exams - Thursday 20 - Friday 28 September
Year 12 Final Farewell Assembly - Tuesday 25 September
Year 12 Report Distribution - Wednesday 26 September
Year 12 Graduation Mass - Wednesday 26 September
eSafety Commissioner Workshop
To assist our students and their families in the development of their online safety, St Benedict’s will be hosting a FREE workshop to be delivered by the eSafety Commissioners Office that will provide parents and carers with resources and skills to support online safety for the whole family. This will be delivered in the College Library on Thursday 20th September from 6:15 – 8:00pm
The e-Safety Commissioner is responsible for promoting online safety for all Australians. If you care for a young person or a child and would like extra skills to support online safety use, you are invited to attend this free practical skills workshop.
Where: St. Benedict's Catholic College Library
When: Thursday 20th September
Time: 6:15pm-8:30pm
Cost: Free
The College sees this as an excellent opportunity to work with families and professionals in supporting safe online communities.
Regards,
Mr Michael Turner
Director of Wellbeing
LITERACY CORNER
Reading a text once is not enough!
In order to aid comprehension, a text should be read more than once. The image below is a useful tool that teachers can employ in the classroom, to help their students consider different aspects of a text while reading.
The deconstruction of the text focuses on three key elements – what the text says, how the text works, and what the text means. These are all unique aspects that when considered together, allow the student to maximise their comprehension.
What the text says
In this first phase, students are asked to find the main idea of the text. Summarising or retelling, or noting key details such as names, dates, places and events can do this. For this phase, the answers are found in the text and no inference is required.
How the text works
This phase focuses on how the text is put together. The structure of the text is explored, as well as the purpose and audience of the text. These are all important and interdependent factors.
What the text means
The last phase requires students to make an inference about the text, which is ‘reading between the lines’ and working out the main message. In this phase, students can connect the text to their own life and experiences, thereby making a personal connection with the text. Additionally, they are encouraged to form their own opinion and express it with supporting evidence.
YEAR 10 OUTDOOR CAMP
Wednesday of Week 6, Year 10 departed for their Outdoor Education program at Camp Somerset, which is located in the beautiful Colo Valley just past Windsor. Students experienced a range of settings that have been developed to improve their self-confidence and self-resilience. Once we arrived at Camp Somerset, we unpacked our bags and loaded up our rucksacks.
We participated in cohort activities that were fun, whilst at the same time challenging to the students, both physically and mentally. These included high ropes course, kayaking and the ‘wombat hole’. By far the most challenging activity was the hike. This pitted the young men and women against themselves over an 8km trek carrying their rucksacks. The sheer determination of the groups was phenomenal. They showed tremendous courage and camaraderie whilst completing this difficult task.
Special thanks must go the absolutely fabulous group of teachers that accompanied the group. By giving up time away from their own families they have helped the students develop very important attributes for the many hardships that life may throw at them.
Mr Peter Morris
Year 10 Coordinator
MISA Youth of the Year Contest 2018
Do you know what is considered one of the greatest human fear? Public speaking. Glossophobia or speech anxiety, is the most common fear people have across the globe. In fact, it affects 3 out of 4 people or 75% of individuals.
The fear of public speaking is often established in schooling, as students are essentially trained to be listeners, not “speakers” of knowledge. But what if students could push past their fear of being heard and use their voice to form connections, influence decisions, and motivate change? I am proud to say that this school has students who decided they wanted to be part of the 25% of global speakers and use Public Speaking as a useful platform to be heard.
On the 31st of August, Nicholas Perez and Hannah Small journeyed to Mt Carmel Catholic College, Varroville, to represent our College in the 'MISA Youth of the Year Contest' for 2018. The format of the day was an interview before a panel of judges in the morning, followed by a prepared speech in front of an audience. Schools gathered across the Macarthur region to join in this event with 17 students producing exceptional speeches on diverse issues. Our students were questioned about their awareness and understanding of current affairs around the world and discussed some of the major political issues important to them.
On behalf of St Benedict's Catholic College, I would like to congratulate Nicholas Perez who developed outstanding interview skills on the day and was a worthy participant advocating for a deeper awareness of the drought. Additionally, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Hannah Small on receiving first place and titled the’ 2018 MISA Youth of the Year’. Hannah inspired her interviewer from the moment she started speaking and showed the utmost maturity in her thoughtful responses. Her speech encouraged the audience to think more intelligently about climate change and attained the power to motivate and incited the audience to do something to save our world. Both students are to be commended on their efforts and should be extremely proud of how captivating and fervent they spoke to their audience.
A great public speaker attains the power to encourage his or her audience to do something, stop doing something, change a behaviour, or reach objectives. Public speakers are leaders who are able to inspire their audience, to influence listeners and create an environment where everyone walks out ready to roll. I look forward to the students who will have the courage to stand before an audience next year in public speaking and be the next voice of our generation.
Mrs Grace Settineri
Year 8 MISA Debating team
Year 8 MISA Debating team won against Oran Park Anglican College today. The topic was "Reality TV should be voted off the island."
Rhiannon E.
Sophia L.
Annalysse S.
Joseph B.
This was their last debate and ended up only two points behind the overall winners.
YEAR 10 - FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Year 8 Technology Mandatory "Food Weekly" Course.
Year 8 Music Students
On Monday 3 September, the Year 8 Music students took part in a high energy, interactive and FUN performance by the amazing African Beat company.
Every student was given their own djembe drum to collaborate with the other students. Along with the interactive drumming the students sang in African and one group even danced in the African style. This ties in beautifully with the Year 8 Music Program of African Music for Term 4. The rhythms and use of the drum to communicate will give students a link between the classroom and the performance.
Just as African Beat advertises, the event provided students the opportunity to make music together, develop team spirit and group bonding, encourage cooperation above competition, improve communication and listening skills, promote equality amongst the students, enhance imagination and creative thinking – and best of all it was FUN!
Jennifer Koryzma
Music Department
YEAR 7 FUN FRIDAY
Year 7 enjoyed drama skits, Calligraphy, mindful colouring in, handball, reading and kahoot in the library.
COLLEGE SPORTING WEEK
Congratulations to the following students who were nominated as MVPs for Week 7
Soccer:
Paloma Castro
NRL:
Orlando Font, Luke Foti, Ryan Lane
UFC:
Bella Kitching, Oliver Tomac
Cricket:
Ella Young, Sienna Messina, Tauren McKenzie
Netball:
Zoe Surace, Andre Cortis
Indoor:
Jaidyn Wichkam, Riccardo Ferraro
Barefoot Bowls:
Morgan White
Golf:
Damian Eagles, Emily Murdoch
Gym:
Alex Kingsley
Kickboxing:
Sebastian Hurtado
Skating:
Mia Gibbs-White, Indhi Downie
Beach Sports:
Samantha Mago, Nicholas Perez
Bootcamp:
Bianca Bournes, Dylan Birkbeck
MISA Sport
Our MISA teams had their 7th week of competition against John Terry Catholic School
Year 7-8 Girls Soccer Loss
MVP: Liana Corbo
Year 9-12 Girls Soccer Loss
MVP: Tahlia Skeets
Year 10-12 Boys Basketball Loss
MVP: Lachlan Parker
Year 10-12 Girls Basketball Loss
MVP: Isabelle Brown-Rodgers, Madelyne Manny
Year 10-12 Mixed Frisbee Loss
MVP: Daniel Hanser
Year 7 Girls Netball Win
MVP: Kayla Cortis
Year 8 Girls Netball Loss
MVP: Eden Beringer
Year 7-9 Girls AFL Loss
MVP: Lachlan Hort
Year 7-9 Boys AFL Win
MVP: Grace Cremen
Yours in Sport
Miss Liska
The BEARS
This term, an exciting new club has been formed at Bennies - a club with a focus on improving the environment at our school and minimising the negative impact we have. We are called The BEARS, which stands for Bennies Environmental Action Representatives and we are so excited to stand up and fight for the environment. A group of about 25 students now meets every Tuesday to plan for and implement a range of exciting initiatives at our school.
Currently, we are looking at improving our paper recycling in the classrooms, getting the vegetable patch up and running, and having competitions between homerooms and year groups to reduce the amount of single-use plastic at our school. We are always looking for new ideas so if you have any suggestions please don’t hesitate to come and see any of The BEARS students. We are really looking forward to having a positive impact on the environment and truly embracing our club motto: Sowing the seeds of change.
Miss Joyce
Year 9 - Spotlight
Every newsletter this term I will be acknowledging a Year 9 student’s external achievements. Within the year group there are a lot of talented, modest students who keep quiet about their wonderful accomplishments.
Mrs Smith
Peterson Caccamo
Peterson Caccamo is a dedicated and hardworking member of the Marconi Fencing Academy. Peterson trains four days a week at the Marconi Fencing Academy and the NSW Fencing Centre at Alexandria. Along with his training, Peterson helps younger fencers develop their skills. Parents of the fencing community praise Peterson for his nurturing nature and the guidance he provides to the younger fencers.
Peterson has attended the high performance program held at the AIS in Canberra for the past three years. This program is an invitation-only program and is run by the Australian National Fencing Federation for talented fencers. Peterson also recently represented the College at the National Schools Fencing Championships.
Peterson’s achievements over the last 18 months include:
Bronze in the Under 15 Foil Team at the Australian Championships 2018
Bronze in the Under 14 Boys Foil at the Marconi Cup Championship 2018
Bronze in the Under 14 Boys Foil at the Penrith Fencing Championship 2018
Most Skilled Foilist for 2017, Coaches Trophy 2017
Bronze in the Under 14s at the 2017 Foil 'Team A’ NSW Championships
Peterson’s dedication to the sport is admirable and he is to be commended on his efforts. The College congratulates him on his achievement of being currently ranked 7th in NSW in the Under 14 Boys Foil and being currently ranked 10th in NSW in the Under 15 Boys Foil.
* * * * *
Alannah Dale
Alannah Dale explores her love of horses by competing in equestrian.
She recently competed in the Secondary Combined Training Competition and the Secondary Working Hunter Competition. Alannah has worked hard and demonstrated her dedication by placing 13th in both competitions.
The College is very proud of Alanna’s achievements and commends her on the hard work she puts into working towards achieving her goals.
A Request from the P&F
The P&F are kindly asking if parents could help out by providing any home baked and/or store bought goodies. If you wish to assist us, can you please just send a quick text to either of the ladies below, just so we can get an idea of the number of donations.
Karen Caccamo 0418 462 197
Melissa Nicholas 0410 486 083
Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
P&F
A reminder that the Uniform Shop are taking bookings during September for Year 9 students to order their senior uniform.
If you haven't already done so, please see the attached flyer for details regarding booking appointments.
Parents and Carers are reminded that the speed limit for driving on College grounds is 10 kph. Please use set down areas as advised. If staying longer please park in a parking bay.
Please note that all access roads and parking areas within the Parish precinct are subject to NSW Road Rules and Regulations and subsequent fines and penalties. Council and the local police will be undertaking random checks in the area.
Parents are asked to email Year Coordinators between 7:40am and 6:00pm if requesting appointments or needing information; please allow teachers 48 hours to reply. The school office is open from 7:30am until 3:30pm. If calling for a teacher please allow them 24 hours to return your call. Parents are asked to remember that teachers are in class during the day and have meetings after school hours.
Parents are reminded that students should go to the office if feeling unwell. The office will call parents if student needs to go home. Students should not text or email parents first.
Mr Hayden
Something about me is that I am a keen rock climber. Three times a week my wife and I head to Sydney indoor rock climbing gym in St Peters together. Rockclimbing for my wife and I is a way to relax and let the stresses of the day melt away whilst keeping active and fit. When we climb it is like we are meditating because all you can think about on the wall is 'I'm going to die, I'm going to die!'. There is something about that feeling that makes everything else seem silly and insignificant. The feeling of climbing a wall that you have been trying to conquer for weeks is exhilarating.
Mr Hayden is also a BIG Jurassic Park fan.