Term 1 Week 7

Dear Parent/Carer 

As we enter the final few weeks of term, I am drawn to comment on our student's settled nature and our teaching staff's wonderful educational experiences.  The class activities, together with the variety of excursions – demonstrate a willingness to provide opportunities that challenge and develop critical thinking and to apply what is learnt to the 'real world'. 

There was an opportunity to speak with Year 12 students on retreat about the value of the journey we take with others.  We considered that we have much to learn from those around us, and we should be open to their stories, their realities and their aspirations for the future.  By listening deeply to others, we gain a better sense of self and understand that meaning in life is derived from what we learn from those around us and what we give of ourselves that make others' lives better and more meaningful.

The Secret will always be the knowledge and skills we learn at school.  To engage in meaningful conversations and complete class activities gives us a sense of worth and allows us all to explore what brings us joy and what may hopefully lead us into a meaningful and productive experience in the 'world of work'. 

I take this opportunity to acknowledge Mr Will Pollock, our current Year 11 Pastoral Care co-ordinator, who has been successful in a temporary appointment as Assistant Principal - Mission at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School. He will commence in Term 2 until the end of the academic year.  Mr Pollock will contribute a great deal to St Joseph's.  I anticipate that he will bring significant learnings back to our College to further our collective wish to have a seamless Catholic educational experience from Kindergarten to the Higher School Certificate in this region.

Over the next week, several of our staff will be taking part in professional development to enhance our student's educational experience.  We will be focusing on Lyn Sharratt's work to develop further 'precision in teaching practice' through a heightened collaboration level creating HIGH EXPECTATIONS.  We will also be finalising our School Improvement Plan (SIP) and looking further into our HSC results.  It is always useful to have such opportunities to be better at what we do and to set clear goals for where we wish to be. 

St Paul's Catholic College, Kempsey, has a significant presence within the region. 

• We have past students who have re-engaged with the College enrolling their children.
• We have students who have returned as teaching staff and many students involved in or run businesses in and around the region.
• We also have past students who have left the region engaging with study and employment. 

What is noticeable is that we have many ex-students who wish to return to the College to share their journey with current students and offer advice, support and reassurance to assist them in navigating College life and transition into the World of Work.

Like our patron St Paul, we all 'journey' on the road to Damascus and we, at times, need to be guided before our eyes are truly open to our futures of hope. 

To this end –we will welcome throughout the school year past students to speak with current students about:

• Where they went upon leaving school?
• What did they do?
• What have they learnt and what advice they may have? 

Last week we were introduced to LEROY, a student from the Class of 2012.  

Leroy left school and pursued lots of different options.  These included university and, more recently, working for a Pharmaceutical company in Sydney.  His journey was more of one of self-discovery and shared with the students his struggle with sexual identity.  Leroy spoke of confusion, loneliness and an inability to identify and seek out people to talk with across the time he was at school and in his first few years out of school.  He explained that St Paul's made him feel safe BUT he needed more support on this journey.  Leroy emphasised that it is critical to reach out and ask for help, that we are all valuable and have something to contribute within the community.  There is always someone prepared to listen and ready to support, if and when required.  Leroy now identifies as gay and feels he learnt much about himself as he has worked through this.  He reminded our students that it is OK to reach out and ask for help with confusing, complicated things that create anxiety and stress.  As a Principal, I was proud that an ex-student was keen to reconnect with the College to give something back and be a 'voice of strength' for our young people who can sometimes feel disempowered, disconnected and unable to navigate through the trials and tribulations of life....... 

Kind Regards

Mr David JOHNS   B.Ed., Cert. Gifted Ed., Grad. Cert. Adol. Health and Welfare, M.Ed. (Ed Lead), M.Ed. (Theol) 

College Principal

david.johns@lism.catholic.edu.au

The last two weeks have seen some wonderful opportunities for St Paul's Leadership,

staff and students to collaborate with Fr James Foster and our friends at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Kempsey.  Many of these are central to the Mission of our schools and planning for the future.  We were honoured to be selected to open one of the Clergy and Principal's Conference day with prayer.  Special thanks go to William Butler in Year 12, who not only featured in the prayer but used his valuable time to edit the prayer to be shared all over the Diocese and world with our International guests.  Thank you to the students who were involved in showcasing our fantastic Kempsey Catholic schools. 

Please visit our College's website under "latest news" if you would like to watch the prayer. 

https://www.kmpslism.catholic.edu.au/ 

Special thanks this week to Mr Dominic MacAndrews, who proudly led the Year 12 Retreat to the Francis Retreat centre in Bonny Hills, and to the staff who gave up their valuable time with families to assist: Mr Tom Salter (Year 12 Pastoral Co-ordinator) Mr Doug Gately, Mrs Cindy Newman (College Counsellor), Mrs Magenta Kerr, Mrs Trish Green, Mr Adam Mascord, Ms Ebaney Cook and Ms Mikayla Greenhalgh-Boyd our Youth Ministry officers.  I am sure there were some tired bodies last weekend but spiritually fulfilled.  

International Women's Day

March 8 is a global day celebrating women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements.  The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.  I thought this day was too important not to share a photo of the wonderful ladies I have the privilege of working with every day who empower all students to be their best selves.

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

Year 12 Senior Retreat

Last week the Year 12 cohort partook in their Senior Retreat at the Francis Retreat in Bonny Hills.  The three days that the group had away together were truly unique and set our seniors up to get the most out of the time left together at St Paul’s.  As a year group, they were invested fully into the retreat experience from the beginning. That was evident by the fruit they reaped for them both individually and collectively.  Here are a couple of comments from some Year 12s about their retreat: 

“Wonderful, best retreat I’ve ever had.” 

“I’ve repaired four friendships, and I’ve never felt better. I liked being able to share with my small group as well.” 

“IT WAS LIT!!” 

Many thanks go to the families who supported this important experience and the staff behind the retreat.  I would especially like to thank the following staff for accompanying the Year 12s on their retreat: Mr Tom Salter, Mrs Trish Green, Mr Doug Gately, Mr Adam Mascord, Mrs Magenta Kerr, Mrs Cindy Newman, Mikayla Greenhalgh, Ebaney Cook, and also to Mr David Johns, Mrs Bronwyn Shipton and Fr James Foster for joining us on Thursday evening.

LEAD

Over the past two days, nine students from Years 11 and 12 participated in the Diocesan run LEAD Conference, at McCauley College in Grafton.  LEAD was a fantastic two days where our students were able to join with other senior students and Youth Ministry Officers across the Diocese to be trained and equipped in discipleship, prayer and Ministry leadership.  The Lismore Diocese YMO Band Wildfire powerfully lead the retreatants in the music ministry.   Our students also engaged in other talks, workshops and fellowship to fill them with zeal and vigour for the year ahead! 

I look forward to working further with our Ministry Leaders throughout the year to help spread the Gospel’s joy throughout our school community.  Thanks must go to our fabulous YMOs Ebaney Cook and Mikayla Greenhalgh for preparing our students for this formative retreat, as well as to Mr Aidhan Fahey and Miss Karen Fenly for accompanying and supporting our students in their faith journey. 

Years 9 Retreat

Next week, Year 9 students will participate in their retreat day, led by NET Ministries Australia, a team of young people trained and experienced in Catholic Youth Ministry.  NET Ministries is a dynamic peer to peer ministry that uses various games, skits, small groups, drama, personal testimonies, prayer ministry and more to give authentic witness to their faith in Jesus and transmit this faith to young people. 

The Year 9s will have their retreat day on Tuesday, 16 March.  Notes with further details have gone home with the students.  Please pray for the success of these important days for our students in their spiritual development. 

Year 7 Transitus

In Week 9 (24–25 March), nine Year 7 students and two Year 10 Youth Ministry students will have the opportunity to attend the Diocesan retreat, Transitus, at Yarrahapinni Adventist Youth Centre. 

Transitus is a retreat for Year 7 students from Parish Secondary Schools in the South of the Lismore Diocese to create a smoother transition to secondary schools, to celebrate and be nurtured in their faith at a Diocesan level.  The retreat will be a chance to bring students together to celebrate, grow and be supported in their Christian faith. The activities will be a mixture of large and small sharing groups and celebrating the Eucharist together. 

This retreat is for students who: 

• Regularly attend Mass,
• Are involved in some other form of Church involvement either at school or in the parish
• Show initiative, common sense and maturity, and
• Are seeking to grow in these areas 

Applications were made available to Year 7 students this week and are due this Monday, 15 March.  We are looking forward to a great retreat.

Project Compassion

It has been great to see so many PCs embrace the spirit of Lent in actively fundraising for Project Compassion.  We have had sausage sizzles, pancakes, lolly guessing competitions and more, all to create awareness of and raise funds for those in our world who are struggling. 

We are about halfway through Lent now, and I would encourage everyone to check out the Project Compassion website and view the stories of the people we are supporting, as well as consider donating. 

Date Claimer: Year 10 Retreat

We are planning for our Year 10 to have their overnight retreat in Term 2, from Thursday, 6 – Friday, 7 May.  Please put this date in your diaries now.  More information will come closer to the time. 

Peace and blessings,

Mr Dominic MacAndrews - Leader of School Evangelisation

dominic.macandrews@lism.catholic.edu.au

RENEW 2020-21

RENEW is an initiative of the Lismore Catholic Schools Office to introduce project-based inquiry learning in Years 7 and 8 Catholic Studies.  It will then move to other faculties in the future. This initiative commenced last year to Year 7 students. 

Last week the author of ‘Rigorous by PBL by Design’, Michael McDowell, from the Ross School District in California, and Mrs Joan Lancaster from the Catholic Schools Office, presented an in-service to Catholic Studies teachers. 

Rigorous Project Based Learning emphasizes clarity of learning outcomes and success criteria, challenging students through targeted instruction and feedback and ensuring a culture where students take ownership over their learning. 

Students are taught to recognize their knowledge at surface, deep and transfer levels where experience enables them to achieve higher-order tasks such as analysis and comparisons in various situations.

Mr Ron Walker - Leader of Catechesis

The Opportunities Presented in the Classroom

The learning and teaching life is in full swing at St Paul’s College.  There are many opportunities currently presented within classrooms as Years 7-12 progress throughout Term 1.  At the heart of any successful teaching is developing relationships within the classroom.  Students and teachers ally and work together to drive learning and increase student’s opportunities as they progress through their school careers. 

The staff at St Paul’s have begun the year with clear protocols to begin the classroom lesson.  Guidelines were discussed with students, so a consistent approach exists.  Consistency allows for an ordered and positive beginning to each period. These include: 

Line up in two lines→ Enter and wait quietly behind your chair→ Greet your teacher→ Leave any technology device closed until instructed by your teacher→ At the end of each lesson, wait quietly to be dismissed. 

The protocols outlined above allow the lesson to proceed and support good teaching. Students at St Paul’s are responsible for beginning each class with focus and enthusiasm, no matter what subject or what mode of learning is required.  Students must be organised and have all of their equipment ready to go.  However, the most critical aspect of a lesson’s commencement is their readiness to develop the learning relationship with the teacher in class based on respect and engagement supporting each other.  There is an expectation that students support their teachers with positive conversations and manners that embrace the clear mission of the College.  Learning at St Paul’s is student-focused.  There is terrific staff committed to ensuring each student’s academic, social, spiritual and emotional growth.  They have a clear understanding of the natural strengths and talents that each individual brings to the table, which often manifests into the 80:20 rule of learning; 80% of learning is achievable, and 20% of learning is difficult.  So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work together!

Parents have a vital role to play within this partnership of building strong relationships. There are many options for parents to act as co-workers in supporting their child at the school, including this week’s Meet and Greet, email opportunities directly with staff, PC teachers, Pastoral Co-ordinators, Leaders of Learning and Executive members of the College.  I am delighted to discuss the growth of your son or daughter with you throughout the school year.  We are all working together to get the best result. I cannot overstate the importance of your child working closely with their teachers on developing responsible and respectful relationships that support their learning.  If you have any questions or comments on these matters, please contact me at St Paul’s.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

An important role that parents/carers can undertake to assist their child in achieving, both at school and in life, is to ensure they have a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.  In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are fixed traits.  They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them.  In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point.  This view creates a love of learning and resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.  Based on years of research by Stanford University’s Dr Dweck, Lisa Blackwell PhD, and their colleagues, we know that students who learn this mindset show greater motivation in school, better grades, and higher test scores.

Mrs Lesa Morrison - Leader of Pedagogy

Live Google Assessment Calendar

All students at St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College now have access to our LIVE Assessment calendar. You can also access this calendar using the link that follows:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=bGlzbS5jYXRob2xpYy5lZHUuYXVfbGpoMThoaGRmY2xpMG8wdmRkajg4MWt0ZGtAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ  and saving it to your own Google calendar.

Once you have loaded the calendar, you need to click on your son or daughter’s Year level to check which assessments occur on any given day or week. See below:

Click on Year 11 and the Year 11 Assessment Tasks occurring during the week beginning Monday, 8 March, will be displayed. See below:

This LIVE Assessment Calendar is a guide for students and parents.  The calendar will notify students of the exact day and time two weeks before the scheduled task date. Sometimes tasks change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Mrs Leon Robinson - Leader of Curriculum

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Vocational Education and Training or VET is ready for another great year.  After our win in the 2020 Australian Training Awards – School Pathways to VET category, the staff and the students are primed to continue achieving great things. 

Our Year 11 groups undertaking Hospitality, Construction and Primary Industries have strong numbers.  It can prove challenging to find work placement but, we are confident that with the team’s help at Mid Coast Connect and our extensive range of supportive business owners in the Macleay and Nambucca Valleys, we will be able to fulfil our obligations. 

If you have a business in the local area related to either the Hospitality, Construction or Agricultural industries, or know someone who is a business owner in either of these areas, please contact the school.  We are always looking for supportive businesses to add to our growing network of work placement providers.  Work placement generally involves taking students for five days (minimum of thirty-five hours).  If you want to know more, contact me.  You could even drop in at the meet and greet night to introduce yourself. 

In recent weeks, our students have been settling into their new subjects.  The Hospitality students continue to produce a fantastic array of meals continually of a high standard.  Primary Industries and construction have had a rain-affected start to the year. 

Currently, on the Francis Farm, we are building a shed over the cattle yards.  This will enable us to provide better care for our animals regarding animal welfare when we train them to lead.  It will also provide an all-weather cover for our students to continue learning despite the weather conditions. 

Last Friday, we hosted the Year 6 students from St Joseph’s Primary School Kempsey.  The students toured the farm, where they learned about regenerative/sustainable practices.  They were shown new technological developments in agriculture, including virtual fencing, GPS guidance and automated steering, robotics, walk over-weighing, unmanned aerial vehicles and machine learning.

Mr Graham Bramley - Leader of VET 

Swimming

Our students have been in fine form in the pool over the past few weeks.  We had students travelling across the state for various carnivals and they have tasted success and personal bests with each.

NSW Country Championships

As members of the Kempsey Swimming Club, the students' training involves seven swimming sessions and two land sessions each week.  The students are (back row) Keeley Smith, Brielle Woodger and Jake Worthing with (front row) Adam Grant and Max Farrell.

Year 10 student, Max Farrell, achieved three top-ten finishes, eight personal bests and two club records in the 100m backstroke and 800m freestyle.  As a result of his record at the Championships, Max qualified in the 400 free 16-year age category for the Australian Age Swimming Championships and the Australian Swimming Championships to be held in April. 

Keeley achieved three personal bests and two top 10 finishes.  Brielle had two top-ten finishes, four personal bests and broke a club record in the 100m freestyle.  Jake Worthing achieved five personal bests, and Adam Grant had a top 10 finish in the 400m individual medley.

Adam Grant swam eight out of ten personal bests during this swimming meet and has qualified for the NSW state open. He placed 5^th in the 400m IM.

Diocesan Swimming

Our kids had a wonderful day in the pool at Lismore Memorial Baths last Thursday, with many students qualifying for NSWCCC Swimming at Homebush, Sydney.  Our school punched well above its weight, placing 2^nd overall at the Diocesan Carnival.  We had four of our twenty-five students awarded the Age Champion or Runners up. Thank you to the various parents who attended the carnival and supported our kids.

The following students are eligible to attend NSWCCC at Sydney: Adam Grant, Max Farrell, Harry Askew, Liam Askew, Jake Worthing, Cleo Schubert, Matthia Rudder, Brielle Woodger and Cooper Schubert.

A special mention goes to our Senior Boys relay team, who placed first overall.  It was a fast race, with the boys narrowly missing the Diocesan 4x50m freestyle record by .50s.  They travel to Sydney and swim as a team in both the 4x50 free and 4x50 medley relays. 

Our Junior Girls had a tight race, with 0.50s being the difference between first and third.  Unfortunately, they were a touch short but will be strong contenders for next year.

NSWCCC Cricket

Cooper has been successful in his trial for the NSWCCC U16's cricket team as a paceman. 

He attended the trail in Sydney along with ninety other boys from around the state. Cooper was fortunate enough to make the CCC team as a pace bowler.  He will be playing in the All-Schools carnival on 15March.  St Paul's wishes Cooper all the best with his selection and look forward to future results at the coming carnival. Good luck! 

Coming Diocesan Trials

This week and next, we have several students attending trials around the Diocese. We wish these students luck and success in their trials.

• Zoe Crilley, Year 10 – Opens Girls Touch
• Tom Moffitt, Year 8 – 15's Boys Touch
• Ryan McKiernan, Year 9 – 15's Boys Touch
• Nakirra Brien, Year 11 – Opens Girls Football (soccer)
• Ava Ryan, Year 9 – Opens Girls Football (soccer)
• Ruby Lennon, Year 10 – Opens Girls Football (soccer)
• Chelsea Hackenberg, Year 9 – Opens Girls Football (soccer)
• Joe Kable, Year 11 – Open Boys Football (soccer)
• Ricky Daniels, Year 10 – Open Boys Football (soccer)

Coming Events

• Lismore Diocesan Winter Trials (Football and Rugby League) – 9 March
• Netball – Schools Cup (Kempsey) – 10 March
• Diocesan Touch Trials (Sawtell) – 17 March
• Diocesan Open's Basketball – 25 March
• Diocesan Football Gala Day (Open's) – 31 March
• School Cross Country – Thursday 22 April

Mr Heath Needs - Sports Co-ordinator