SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Another College Swimming Carnival has now been and gone and what a wonderful day it was!

Times were sizzling in the pool, with 15 – yes 15 – new College records being set. A huge congratulations to the following students who all broke records on the day:

• Caitlin Demeary (Under 12 Girls 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, Junior Girls 200m IM)
• Jacob Simpson (Under 16 Boys 100m freestyle, 50 m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, Intermediate 200m IM)
• Jack Beeby (Open Boys 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke)
• Aleksander Moore (Under 12 Boys 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke)
• Abby Joyce (Intermediate Girls 200m IM)
• Alex Jeffries (Intermediate Boys 200m IM)

A big thank you as well to our Year 12s who entered into the day with such great enthusiasm, some excellent fancy dress outfits and some fine organisation of students in Junior Years.

We had improved attendance this year, more activities at the Pool and there was excellent College and House Spirit visible on the day. I would particularly like to thank Mr Tim Manns, Mr Chris Kennedy, the PDHPE Faculty and all staff who were so active and present on the day.

Presentations for the Carnival will be made at a future Assembly.

NEW PARENTS AND FRIENDS EXECUTIVE

20 of us met on Tuesday evening to have our first Parents and Friends’ (P & F) Meeting for 2019.

As per the P & F Constitution, the maximum term a person can serve as President is three years and so I would like to publicly acknowledge the wonderful contribution Mr David Cornett (outgoing President) has made to Magdalene. David (and his family) was incredibly generous with his time and energy and brought a number of initiatives to the College. Amongst other things, Mr Cornett was a key driver behind the P & F’s support behind Air Conditioning the College, the purchase of a College bus and other environmental initiatives. Thank you for your skills and efforts over the years.

Congratulations go to our newly appointed P & F Executive:

• President, Mr Steven Grabowski
• Treasurer, Mr Pablo Medina
• Secretary, Mrs Angela Young

I am looking forward to working with them across 2019 and to explore ways in which the student and parent body can be best supported.

PUNCTUALITY OF A MORNING

I would like to remind all parents/carers and students that each day, classes commence at 8.15am.

This does not mean that students can be walking into the College at this time but rather they should be walking into class (Period One), having already dropped off items in their lockers and the like before then.

The first movement bell commences at 8.10 and this gives students ample time to be best prepared for their day’s learning.

The Mathematics Faculty is looking forward to celebrating ‘Maths Week’ in Week 7 of this term. The week will see students have the opportunity to involve themselves in a range of fun numeracy-based activities both in class and during break time. Thursday of Week 7 (March 14th) will be particularly special as it is the globally celebrated ‘Pi Day’. Pi is used to represent a constant; the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It has a value of approximately 3.14 (hence March 14th).

Activities will vary in the numeracy skill they demand from students. Giant Connect 4 competitions, a pi-reciting competition and teacher-student math races are just a few activities the Mathematics Faculty has in mind. Students should keep watch over their daily announcements as Maths Week approaches so that they can express their interest to activity organisers.

All students in Year 7 and 8 will both be receiving an Assignment this week (check for a Blue Assessment form). The task will be asking children to 'get creative' in Maths. The students' works will be on display in the library and for the public to view on Open night in Week 6, as well as during Maths Week in Week 7.

Currently Year 9 and 10 and 11 Standard are studying the topic of Financial Mathematics. The faculty would love it if you shared with your child stories pertaining to budgeting, expenses and tax returns. This will help them see the relevance of Mathematics in your daily life.

We would like to welcome our new staff member, Lauren Broady, who joined us at the beginning of this year as Assistant Leader of Learning of Mathematics.

Welcome to all the new parents and students. Please feel free to make contact with the Mathematics faculty if you have any questions or concerns.

Renee Pickles and Lauren Broady

Leaders of Learning

Mathematics

Did you know?

Flower colours of red, pink, blue and purple come mainly from the pigments called anthocyanins, which are in the class of chemicals called flavonoids.

2019 has started well for Science with all the students keenly engaging in their classes.

The students of Year 7 are rapidly learning the practical skills and all seem very keen to start using the Bunsen burner!  Meanwhile, Year 8 are mastering the skill of the microscope to see the "tiny".  They are also working on the skills they will need to undertake their Student Research Project that will begin around Week 8 of this term.

The issue of Global Warming is being explored by Year 9. They are busily looking at the fact and fiction of the science behind this challenging issue facing the world today.  To do this the students are delving into the complexity of our world and how many aspects need to be considered when looking at Global Warming.

Year 10 have covered the fundamental structure of the atom and are starting to learn the language of Chemistry.  Very soon they will be getting their hands dirty in the potions and bubbles of chemical reactions.

The senior science students of Year 11 are becoming more adept in coping with the increasing demands on them in Stage 6.  They are busy preparing for their first assessments that will occur at the end of this term.  The Year 12 science students are now over a quarter the way through the HSC course and are gearing up for the mid-course assessment.

This year we will be providing the students with the opportunity to take part in several competitions taking place over the year.  More information will be coming out about these in the coming weeks.

• RACI Crystal Growing Competition ($10 per school) TERM 2
• ANCQ Australian National Chemistry Quiz ($6 per student) TERM 2
• NSW Schools Titration Competition
• TERM 2 2019 Big Science Competition (Online $7 per student) TERM 2

The Science Facility