College Newsletter
Term 4 Week 5 - Friday 15 November 2019
A Message from the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff and Students
As we move to the halfway point in Term 4 of our academic year, our Year 12 students have finished their HSC examinations and will celebrate the conclusion of 13 years of secondary education at their College Formal tonight at Conca D'oro Riverwood.
Year 11 students have now transitioned formally into their HSC courses of study and are preparing for the first of their HSC Assessment Tasks.
Year 8 to 10 begin their end of year examinations on Monday 18th November and Year 7 will be undertaking class examinations and assessments in all of their subjects.
School Reports for Year 10 will be issued at 3:10 pm on Thursday 12th December. Year 7 to 9 Reports will be issued at 3:10 pm on Friday 13th December. Reports will not be finalised until those dates so please do not contact the College and ask if you can get your daughter's report early.
As of Monday 18th November, I will be taking a period of renewal leave, so as to visit a number of schools overseas and to then meet up in Rome with staff and students travelling on the Cerdon to Cerdon pilgrimage.
During my absence -
Mr Frank Caristo will be Acting Principal
Mr Ryan Zammit will be Acting Assistant Principal - Teaching, Learning and Curriculum
Ms Suzana Rimac will be Acting Assistant Principal, Mission and Administration
I am sure all students and parents will help these staff members as they fill these roles.
May I take this opportunity to thank all staff, students and parents for their support, friendship and co-operation over the past academic year and I wish each of you a very peace filled Christmas. I look forward to working with staff, students and parents in the 2020 academic year.
Lord,
there is so much that I don't know,
and I ask you to inspire me
with a thirst for knowledge.
I pray, too, for wisdom
that I may use my knowledge well.
I give thanks
for many people I have never met
whose knowledge and understanding
have been passed on to me.
I ask that I may benefit
from their work and experience
and may contribute, in turn,
to the well-being of others.
Amen
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
Save the Date - Cerdon College 60th Anniversary in 2020
Please save the date!
Further details soon.
School Fees
All other outstanding 2019 School Fees are now overdue.
The College would appreciate your assistance in finalising these accounts as soon as possible.
Cerdon College Finance Department
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony
Congratulations to all our 2019 Year 12 Graduates and to our First Place and Special Award prizewinners -
FIRST PLACE AWARDS
Italian Continuers
Italian Extension
Isabella Allegretti
Food Technology
Georgia Ashkar
Ancient History
Modern History
Visual Arts
Emma Balogh-Caristo
Design and Technology
Drama
Geography
Tamsyn Balogh-Caristo
Business Services
First Place and ACHPER Award for Excellence in
Community and Family Studies
Olivia Carniel
English Extension I
Jemma Lee Dickson
Mathematics Extension I
Mathematics Extension II
Physics
Quynh Doan
English Studies
Exploring Early Childhood
Jocynta Elbazi
First Place and ACHPER Award for Excellence in
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
Angelina Elias
Science Extension
Ma. Dominique Espinosa
History Extension
Keti Gobena
Studies of Religion I
Caitlin Hitti
First Place and ACHPER Award for Excellence in
Community and Family Studies
Christal Kassab
Business Studies
Economics
Legal Studies
Alisar Khalil
Catholic Studies
Earth and Environmental Science
Isabel Mateos
English Standard
Elise Noble
Music I
Emily Pham
Entertainment
Dalya Shaddad
English Extension II
Sabah Shekeb
Hospitality – Food and Beverage
Bella Shepherd
Biology
Chemistry
Annie Taniane
English Advanced
Mathematics Standard II
Studies of Religion II
Sarah Vella
SPECIAL PRIZES
SISTER AQUINAS AWARDS FOR LEADERSHIP
College Captain
Lara Chahin
College Vice Captains
Annie Taniane (Academic)
Angelina Elias (Social Justice and Community Service)
Renee Singh (Creative and Performing Arts)
Elise Noble (Sport)
SR ANN-MARIE WEBB AWARD
FOR DEMONSTRATING MARIST VALUES
Giovannina Melisi
FR JEAN CLAUDE COLIN AWARD FOR CONSISTENT INVOLVEMENT
IN THE MARIST COMMUNITY
Perpetual Nkatiaa Boadu
MARIE JOTILLON AWARD FOR STRIVING FOR PERSONAL EXCELLENCE
Olivia Bleeker
Sehej Sehmbhi
SR CARMEL CONRAN AWARD FOR CONSISTENT EFFORT
Ma. Dominique Espinosa
BISHOP’S AWARD FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE
Angelina Elias
OUTSTANDING LEGAL STUDIES STUDENT AWARD
Alisar Khalil
DEBBIE ABRAHAMS AWARD FOR YOUTH AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Jade Williams
CUMBERLAND COUNCIL PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AWARD
Amelia El-Halabi
ADF LONG TAN LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK AWARD
Daniella Elakcnouch
NSW POLICE YOUTH COMMAND ETHICAL STUDENT AWARD
Monica Chan
AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC CHANGE-MAKER AWARD
Elise Noble
PDSSSC BLUES AWARD RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE IN CRICKET IN 2019
Elise Noble
AWARD FOR SPORT EXCELLENCE AND INVOLVEMENT
Elise Noble
CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE AND INVOLVEMENT
Rachel Chaaya
CERDON COLLEGE AWARD FOR ALL-ROUND PERFORMANCE
Sarah Vella
PAUL DOLAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Emma Balogh-Caristo
Quynh Doan
Alisar Khalil
Annie Taniane
World Diabetes Day
On Thursday 14th November we celebrated World Diabetes Day, in memory of staff member Elissa Kitchin. As part of the celebrations, students donated a gold coin in exchange for a ribbon, to symbolise their support of the cause. At lunchtime we promoted physical activity through a staff vs. student game of netball and soccer.
We would like to thank everyone for their donations and participation in the activities. We raised just over one thousand dollars for Diabetes Australia and successfully spread awareness about this complex condition.
PDHPE Department
Remembrance Day Service
Over 40 Cerdon College students attended the ceremony. Year 11 Modern History students, the 2020 School Leaders and the Cerdon College Choir proudly represented the College at this significant commemorative ceremony.
Our School Leaders, Nora-Lee Doueihi, Victoria Georges, Alexzandria Smith and Sarah Vella, lead the Remembrance Day ceremony. Thank you to Mrs Baker for her Address and to Mr Bridges for his role in acting as the Master of Ceremonies. Our College Choir sang beautifully and were accompanied by Mr Viera and Ms Gerardis.
Thank you to those who attended and helped create a ceremony that was an opportunity to reflect and honour those who have served and sacrificed for this country.
It was a privilege to be asked to present the ceremony on behalf of Merrylands RSL.
Well done Cerdon College!
Ms Tasioulas
Fiji Immersion
On the 8th of October, 8 Cerdon students and 2 teachers set off for the annual Cerdon College Fiji Immersion. The students who attended consisted of Kate Bell, Sophia Vicic, Angelina Portelesi, Sarah Vella, Nicole Wang, Theresa Ndaira, Antoinette Azzi and Alyssa Hanna alongside their teachers Ms. Stephanie Ackaoui and Mrs. Grace Muscat.
Our group was welcomed into the warm home of Sister Sia and Sister Titilia who showed us a great deal of hospitality throughout our entire stay. The home cooked meals, fresh fruit platters and hearty breakfasts are just some examples of how much the sister’s spoilt our group. By the end of the trip we were sad to leave behind two, such kind-hearted souls.
We had the fortunate experience to immerse ourselves culturally by sharing in the annual celebration of ‘Fiji Day’ by dancing alongside the local Fijian students and watching some pre-prepared dances of welcome. The experience involved our Cerdon students engaging with the students of Nadelei Catholic School and Mt. Saint Mary’s in Nadi, working closely with them and their teachers and also teaching them some popular games like Uno and ‘Bang’ which were no doubt a hit. Mrs. Muscat presented various numeracy strategies which left a refreshing understanding of numeracy for the teachers and students at the school. Above all, the time spent in Nadelei meant creating a special bond with the local children, leaving us all with lasting memories of our time spent with them. The teary goodbyes were testimony to the impact the children had on our students and vice versa.
The immersion was a display of the love our Cerdon students have for others and their desire to serve others with generosity. Nothing was too difficult for our students, and they involved themselves with great enthusiasm. The children of Nadelei and Nadi were showered with new resources for the classroom, a heap of sporting gear, games, and an abundance of lollies. I’d like to send a very warm thank you to the students who attended the immersion and offered many generous donations. I’d also like to extend a warm thanks to members of the Cerdon community who donated to the Sisters and schools in Nadelei and Nadi. These donations were accepted with sincere gratitude.
Miss Ackaoui
Assistant Religious Education Co-ordinator
Engineering Link Project
Over the Term 3 holidays, Jasmine Bui, Kha Tu Doan, Thuy Ann Nguyen and Sophie Vo, attended the ‘Engineering Link Project’ (ELP) workshop at the University of Technology, Sydney. The two-day program aimed to provide high school students from Years 10 to 12 with an opportunity to explore and extend their interests regarding potential professions within the field of engineering.
There were four different sessions available: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, and IoT - with each session providing a unique experience relevant to its designated sub-field of engineering. Sadly, students were only allowed to select one option and attend two of the four sessions, but we enjoyed the experience nonetheless.
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering has always been a field of interest that I have wanted to explore, and it gave me the opportunity to experience the reality of the problems that engineers face in the workforce. In small groups, we were given a limited number of resources (rope and wooden planks) and had to construct a bridge that could support our weight. Using our knowledge of physics and mathematics, we calculated the length and width of the bridge and used key engineering principles to create a structurally sound design. I liked the practical component in the activity the most! I enjoyed the ‘hands on’ aspect using different tools and learning new techniques that assisted in bringing our ideas to life. You could say that it really helped me ‘bridge’ the gap between theoretical concepts in engineering and the application in real life.
IoT (Internet of Things)
The workshop ‘Internet of Things’ focused on software engineering and allowed us to build our own circuit boards and program an app that allowed us to control it. The circuit board was able to display customised messages with the LED lights, measure the temperature and humidity as well as measuring the speed and distance through an accelerometer. We were given the materials and a set of instructions to complete the task and it was great to have the university students on standby just in case we needed any help.
Soldering was the final part to complete our circuit boards and it is basically the act of melting metal to join two sections together. I tried my hand at it for the first time and honestly it was difficult but very fun. The temperature of the soldering iron would reach as high as 300°! In all, I found this program extremely helpful as it further expanded on the core concepts and topics I’ve already learned it class.
Robotics
The ‘Robotics’ workshop was only available on the second day of the program, but it was not any less educational or enjoyable as the other sessions. The three students from our school who participated in the ‘Robotics’ session found it to be, in their personal opinion, the most engaging. It inspired and encouraged us to be more innovative and creative. We were given a lot of freedom to explore the various abilities of the Dobot (the robot shown in the image) and we didn't have to follow the manual word-by-word. I think that by giving us the liberty to do as we liked, it made the whole learning experience more effective.
At the end, each group had to design a 'project' and make the Dobot do any designated task we desired it to do. Some groups played 'Noughts and Crosses' with the Dobot. Some pre-programmed the robot to solve a puzzle. Our group joined forces with another group to carry out a variety of tasks for each robot. We labelled ours Robot 1, which had the task to write a message. The other robot, Robot 2, would pick up the messages and place it along a line to formulate a full clause. We had much bigger plans that were very possible to achieve......if only we had more time!!
Throughout the course of two days, industry experts and university staff and students mentored us through activities that challenged us to think beyond the obvious. My favourite part of the workshop was the fact that it was such a friendly environment, talking and interacting with students and mentors allowing me to expand my learning capabilities. Overall, the experience was highly beneficial as it provided all of us with an amazing opportunity to explore different engineering fields and we are most grateful to the generous people at UTS, The Engineering Link Group (TELG) and WestConnex.
Thuy Ann Nguyen and Sophie Vo
(Year 10)
NSW Parliament House Visit
The School Leaders were invited to lunch with Julia Finn MP on Thursday 24 October. Ms Finn MP is the State Member for Granville, Shadow Minister for Consumer Protection and Shadow Minister for Carers. Ms Finn extends an invitation to all new School Leaders in her Electorate to have lunch with her in the Strangers Dining Room at Parliament House, Sydney each year.
The School Leaders enjoyed a lovely lunch and were able to discuss a range of issues with the school leaders from other schools, including St Pauls College, Delany College, Granville Boys High, Holroyd High and Merrylands High.
Ms Tasioulas
Stage 5 TEA Competition Textiles Technology
Cerdon College students Arushi Kumar (Year 9) has been placed second in a Textiles Technology TEA competition to be exhibited in the 2020 TexStyle Exhibition at Ultimo and Chloe Adams (Year 9) achieved a Highly Commended for her work.
Each year the TEA association puts together a design brief for the students to fulfil and this year the subject was “ Cultural creations”.
Arushi’s work was based on her Indian culture. With a scratch-foam printed, red mandala design, this art piece was created using dyeing, sequencing, beading, and hand embroidery techniques. In the centre of the mandala is an embroidered outline of the Hindu god, Lord Ganesha; the remover of obstacles, and deity of good fortune. The mandala, which traditionally represents the universe, has two layers which are outlined with bronze and maroon hand embroidery, and in each of the 28 petals, there are golden beads or sequins. The colour scheme of the golds and reds holds great significance to the culture, as they are traditional colours.
Chloe’s work was based on the Japanese culture. She created a wall hanging of the Japanese nightlife, at the market. “My artwork is depicting a wonderful festival full of happiness and excitement. I chose the festival because I love how beautiful the lanterns are when they are hung up, and I love the crowded atmosphere. It makes the whole scene feel thrilling and alive. I also love the beautiful kimonos that people wear at festivals and wanted to incorporate it into my final design”.
Congratulations to both girls on this fantastic achievement and in particular to Arushi whose design which will be on display at ‘The Muse’ Harris Street Ultimo in March 2020.
Mrs T Gosden (TAS Co-ordinator)
PDSSSC Athletics
Congratulations to Talia Virzi (Year 8) and Trisha Castelino (Year 9) on their performances at the PDSSSC Athletics Carnival. Talia placed 2nd in the 100m and 200m sprint events, capping off a very successful year in Athletics following her performances at the Cerdon Athletics Carnival. Trisha placed 1st in the 800m run, continuing her great performances in running following a very successful year in Cross Country and Athletics. We look forward to both Talia and Trisha continuing their success in 2020.
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Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (during operating hours only)
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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