College Newsletter
Term 2 Week 4 Friday 20 May 2016
A Message from the Principal
Last Sunday the Church celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, which recounts the birth of the Church. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and were moved to spread the Good News.
The significance of the Pentecostal message is summarised in the opening prayer and is a call to each of us to open our hearts to the Gospel and bear witness that we are children of God:
God our Father,
let the Spirit you sent your Church
to begin the teaching of the gospel
continue to work in the world
through the hearts of all who believe.
Amen
The challenge to everyone in the school community is to be open to the gifts of the Spirit and use them to live out the purpose to which each are called.
This week we received a letter of thanks from Sr Lavinia Henry, Leader of the Marist Sisters in Fiji for the money we raised in the wake of Cyclone Winston to help repair the damage to some of their schools. A copy is included below.
God Bless
Mr Frank Caristo
Acting Principal
In Sympathy
May they rest in peace.
Amen
Parent-Teacher Evenings for 2016
The Parent-Teacher Nights will be held this term and in Term Three. Details of each evening will be advertised to you via the newsletter and Skoolbag (we ask all parents to download the Skoolbag app as soon as possible). Dates for each night are as follows:
Year 7 Wednesday 25 May (bookings are now open; please see Skoolbag)
Year 11 Wednesday 8 June
Year 8 Wednesday 29 June
Year 9 Wednesday 20 July
Year 10 Wednesday 27 July
As in the past, all appointments can be made via School Interviews. Codes for each evening will be sent to parents via Skoolbag one week prior to the advertised date.
NAPLAN for 2016
Students of Year 7 and 9 between 10th and 12th May completed their NAPLAN assessment. The assessments included tests of reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy. Friday 13th May was used to catch up on tests that students had missed through absence. No other dates can be used to catch up of tests, therefore if students were away they will not be required to complete the NAPLAN test.
Parents are directed to go to the BOSTES site should they wish to obtain further information about their daughter’s NAPLAN tests or results. This can be accessed through:
https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/naplan/info-for-parents.html
Mr N Mulheron
Lesson study in Mathematics
ACU Step Up Programmes
Step Up into Teaching (SUIT)
The Step Up Into Teaching (SUIT) program will be available for current Year 11 students to apply for the 2016 cohort.
Students will be able to study 1 module from the ACU Bachelor of Education/Teaching, which counts as a 1 unit HSC BOS endorsed course. The Unit is a Foundation Unit which can be claimed as a credit depending on individual courses of study. The course does not contribute to their ATAR mark however they will be eligible for a 5 mark credit with ACU if:
- they apply to ACU (as their first preference) to study a Bachelor of Education/Teaching
- and they have achieved a Credit average in SUIT.
Students who pass the Foundation Unit of SUIT are also eligible to apply for the Early Achievers’ Program which guarantees a place at ACU before HSC results are released.
Step Up – Health Science (USU)
This is a great program which has been designed by Equity Pathways and The Faculty of Health Science to support students transition to university. It has the dual purpose of inspiring students to aspire to Higher Education as well as providing students with the opportunity to gain credit towards their units in Health Science if they choose to study at ACU at no HECS cost.
This course does not contribute to their ATAR but does contribute to their university study at ACU.
The USU – Health Science program will be available for current Year 11 students.
This course will take place 16 – 20 January and applications close on 26 August. Students MUST NOT have other commitments during the course delivery week.
Student and Parent Information sessions are available on request.
Selection to the program will be based entirely on information in the application form, additional criteria and school report.
HSC Workshops
As an ACU Equity Pathways partner school, Cerdon College students are invited to engage in the free HSC enrichment workshops facilitated by Australian Catholic University during the July school holidays. The limited places typically fill up within 1-2 weeks of this flyer being sent out to schools.
The HSC Workshops are designed to assist HSC students in their exam preparation in English (ESL, Advanced and Standard) and Mathematics (2- Unit and General), with the wider aim of boosting their ATAR and increasing their opportunities to continue to higher education post-Year 12.
I have attached to this link a flyer for students outlining the details of these workshops. Students may register online at the following link: http://bit.ly/215uxB The cut off for registration is 16th June or as soon as places are filled.
These workshops were highly valued by students last year. Students reported that their understanding of content, study strategies and motivation were increased through participation in these enrichment sessions. The presenters were also commended on their knowledge and presentation skills.
Key reasons for students to attend:
· Free – Students from ACU Equity Pathways partner schools are invited to attend
· Develop writing skills, expression of clarity, revision techniques, and analyse questions from past papers
· The opportunity to be “on campus”
Year 9 and 10 Exam Schedule
College Uniform Shop
The College Uniform Shop is now stocked with all sizes of the Winter Uniform range.
Please note that as from next week (Week 5) the Uniform Shop will only be open on Mondays between 8:00 am-2:00 pm and will be closed on Monday 13 June as this is the Queens Birthday Public Holiday. The shop will not be open another day in that week.
Please see the regular trading hours below to assist you.
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)
School Fees
School Fee Statements were posted to families by the Catholic Education Office last month.
Term 2 School Fees are due for payment by 30th May 2016. The various payment options available to you are provided on the Statement.
Please contact the College if you have not received your statement or if you require any further information.
Thank you
Finance Department
Cerdon College
Introducing Skoolbag
We will continue to publish a fortnightly newsletter which will be emailed to parents, but you will also find that each newsletter will also appear in the Skoolbag app.
As Skoolbag will become an integral part of our communications with you we'd like to encourage all parents and students to download the app. Instructions for doing so are located below.
Updated advice for HSC students about examinations
Advice for HSC students about examinations has been updated on the Students Online website to include important information about the 2016 HSC examinations.
It covers a range of topics including revised syllabuses, changes to specifications and courses where personalised answer booklets are being introduced.
Launching Lynda.com for students
Exciting news! Cerdon has recently subscribed to Lynda.com for all students and teachers. Lynda.com provides access to high-quality, current, and engaging video tutorials presented by recognised industry experts in the fields of technology, design, education and business. For student learning, teachers may integrate courses (or parts of courses) into lessons to support the development of skills in particular areas (for example, in learning how to use Photoshop for an art project or learning how to create an iBook for an English or LOTE assignment). Students can use Lynda.com independently at home to develop skills in areas in which they have a particular interest (for example, photography or web design). Lynda.com can also be used to help students troubleshoot issues they may encounter when using technology or to further develop their tech skills from a beginner level to an intermediate level or higher.
Lynda.com is useful not only for developing tech-related skills but for developing skills in other areas as well (such as public speaking skills, memory skills and note-taking). New courses are added every week. You can access Lynda.com via the web, or through the Lynda.com app for iPad or mobile devices. Click here for details on how to access Lynda.com. This information has also been shared with students via their school email address. Watch this introductory video for a quick overview of Lynda.com.
Mrs Sylaprany
A few suggested courses for learning new technology skills:
· iBooks Author Essential Training
· Google Drive Essential Training
· iMovie 10.0.2 Essential Training
A few suggested courses to support study skills and school work in general:
· Public Speaking Fundamentals
Year 8 Excursion to St Mary's Cathedral
On Tuesday 10th May, the Year 8 students of Cerdon were not only blessed with beautiful weather, but also with the opportunity to tour the centre of Catholic worship in the Sydney Diocese. After a relaxing morning tea in Hyde Park, students were taken on three different tours of St Mary's Cathedral that gave them a greater insight, not only into this amazing gothic structure of worship, but also the opportunity to better understand the history of the Catholic Church in Australia.
Students completed work that covered the outside of the cathedral, including the major statues and structures that make up the sandstone building. Of note were the two most recent additions, a statue dedicated to St Mary Mackillop and another to St Pope John Paul II. Inside the cathedral students were able to take a close look at the number of chapels and altars that surround the walls. We were also fortunate to a have a tour of the crypt to see the final resting place of many of the early church bishops and cardinals.
Following our tours, Year 8 attended the lunch time Mass at the cathedral. This gave us the opportunity to celebrate our faith as a year group as well as witness the cathedral as a living place of worship for the Catholic Church in Australia.
Mr N Mulheron
Loyola Trade Training Visit
On Wednesday 18th May, Representatives of Loyola Trade Training Centre spoke to some Year 10 students who were interested in exploring different learning pathways for Years 11 and 12. By attending Loyola TTC, students can achieve their non-ATAR HSC certificate plus additional Certificates in their chosen field of study such as Childcare (Children’s Services) Hairdressing, Shop Fitting, Electro-Technology (Electrician), Automotive, Engineering (Metals), Hospitality, Plumbing and Carpentry. Any parents interested in pursuing this learning pathway for their daughter, are strongly advised to attend the Loyola TTC Open Day on Tuesday 31st May.
Please see Ms Kemp (Careers Advisor) for any further information.
Numeracy at Cerdon
20 May 2016: Interesting Numerical Facts
- The 140th day of the year
- ‘Score’ is another name for 20. ‘Three score years and ten’ means 70 years
- 20 is a tetrahedral number – it is the sum of the first four triangular numbers 20 = 1 + 3 + 6 + 10
- A darts board is divided up into 20 sectors
- Twenty-twenty vision is perfect eyesight, proved by reading letters on a chart from 20 feet (about 6 metres)
- Human infants normally grow 20 teeth, which are replaced by 32 adult teeth
- Penta means 5 e.g. pentathlon, pentagon, pentagram (a five pointed star)
- We have 5 digits on each hand and foot. V, the Roman symbol for five, may have originated from the image of a hand with the five fingers spread
- A pentasyllabic word has five syllables, like the word pentasyllabic itself
- The five Olympic rings symbolize the five major continents linked in friendship
- Punch is a drink that traditionally has five ingredients – usually spirits, water, sugar, lemon juice and spice. The name punch comes from the Hindi word for punch.
These and other interesting number facts can be found in Richard Phillips’ “Numbers: facts, figures and fiction”.
Grace Muscat
(Numeracy Coordinator and Acting Mathematics Coordinator)
Enrichment@Cerdon
This coming weekend a group of students will be participating in the Mini United Nations Assembly (MUNA) at NSW Parliament House. The Year 11 students, supported by Year 10 students and former Year 12 MUNA participants, have been meeting regularly to work on a variety of resolutions. The girls will be representing the country of Pakistan and we wish them well with the competition.
From time to time new opportunities and competitions are offered through the Enrichment@ Cerdon. To keep up to date with all the latest news, students can now join the Google classroom page by using the following code 6nxgq.
Sydney Writers Festival- Giant Harry Potter Colouring Mural
Sydney Writers’ Festival is a week-long celebration of ideas and literature. There are a number of free events on offer, which may be of interest to our many talented writers at the school. An event that will certainly appeal to a great number of our students is the Giant Harry Potter Colouring Mural which will be installed this Sunday in Sydney.
Organisers of the festival are calling all muggles and wizards to help them colour in a giant Harry Potter mural. Sign your name on the contributor wall, pick your favourite colours and get busy weaving your own brand of colourful magic!
The event is FREE and you do not need to book. The event will take place on Sunday May 22nd between 10:00 am - 4:00 pm at Bureau of Artistics (Bangarra Studio Theatre), Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Sydney. For further information on this event visit http://www.swf.org.au/program/swf2016/giant-harry-potter-colouring-mural-CYA18
For information on other Sydney Writers Festival events visit http://www.swf.org.au/
ATOM -1 minute film competition for school students
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 Diversity. The two first-place prizes include $1000 in cash.
All entries need to be uploaded by Friday August 5, 2016.
To find further information about the competition, including the terms and conditions, please visit http://1-minutefilmcompetition.org/about/
Village Art – Rio 2016
An exciting opportunity is available for all students to support and inspire the Australian athletes at the 2016 Olympic Games. For the first time the Australian Olympic Committee has invited secondary school students to participate in the Village Art Program. Students are asked to submit an art work on A3 paper which depicts or demonstrates an appreciation of the Olympic Games. This could include a moment in Australian Olympic history, their favourite Olympian both current and retired, or sport in general.
Students’ artwork will be used to decorate the Australian quarter of the Olympic village in Rio, for the upcoming Olympics.
For further information visit
http://education.olympics.com.au/programs/village-art/village-art
Entries are due to Mrs Agius at the end of the term.
Young Archie 2016 Competition
Budding artists are invited to submit a portrait for the Art Gallery of NSW as part of the Young Archie competition. As part of the family focused activities, students need to enter a portrait of a person who is special to them- a person is known to them and plays a significant role in their life. There are fantastic prizes on offer and finalists’ work will be exhibited online.
Further information is available on
School entries are due to Mrs Agius by June 2nd, 2016.
The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards 2016
All Australian school students are invited to participate in the 2016 Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards 2016. This is an exciting competition for all students who enjoy writing and would like the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes. Students have a choice to use the optional theme ‘waiting’ or use any subject. All poems must be the student’s own work. Entries must be submitted to Mrs Agius by June 5, 2016 for processing.
For further information visit http://www.dorothea.com.au/
Mrs S Agius
Enrichment Co-ordinator
HSC Dates for Practical and Performance Examinations
Permission to Publish Student Photographs and Work
You will also need to discuss this decision with your daughter and make sure that she understands that she has a role to play in reminding teachers that her name, photograph or work is not for publication. It is also her joint responsibility to remove herself from photos that might be published online.
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.
Urgent Safety Notice
All parents are reminded that students are not to be dropped off or picked up from the Sherwood Road or Kenyons Road staff carparks at any time.
A number of parents continue to enter the Sherwood Road Staff Carpark, putting staff and students in danger. PLEASE STOP THIS UNSAFE PRACTICE immediately.
Also DROP OFF AND PICK UP at BP is strictly forbidden and NEVER STOP IN THE T-WAY.
Parents are reminded that parts of Kenyons Road are NO PARKING zones. No student should ever be dropped off or picked up from a no parking zone.
Police and Council Parking Rangers are very active in this area and they will not hesitate to fine you for inappropriate parking or driving within the designated school zone. As this is a public road, normal penalties will apply to parents who break these laws.
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 students 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. If you have downloaded the Schoolbag app. you may also send to the school an electronic letter. All parents are encouraged to download and use the Skoolbag app. for this purpose.
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.
Homework
Students should now be settled into their courses of study for 2016 and all students from Year 7 to Year 12 should be undertaking home study every night. Year 7 and 8 students should be spending 1-1½ hours each night on homework. Students in Year 9 and 10 should be spending 1½-2 hours each night on homework and Year 11 and 12 students should be spending 2½-3 hours each night on homework.
This homework should include some time for general reading, but also time completing work assigned in class, research assignments or projects and assessment tasks.
Students needing assistance with this homework should come to Learning Plus sessions held in the Library during each lunchtime.
Opal Cards
- Tap on and off the bus every time.
- Misplaced/lost/damaged Opal Card's need to be replaced by Transport for NSW.
- Offer seats to paying customers without being asked, specifically the elderly or disabled. Remember you can't always see disability as it may be transient.
- Respect transport staff.
- Be safe.
As your daughter is travelling on the bus in her school uniform, she is not only letting herself down, but also the College, when she does not do the right thing.
Student Medical Information
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 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.
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.
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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