NEW UNIFORM

Over 300 bookings for fittings have already been made and more bookings are having to be opened up by our new Uniform Suppliers, Noone (pronounced noon). While COVID-19 has certainly increased the pressure to ensure supplies arrive in a timely fashion, we are very excited about not only the new designs, but the very positive feedback we are hearing from families.

Once again, I must reiterate if any families are experiencing financial difficulties and may need support with moving to new uniforms (Years 7, 10 and/or 11 2021) please do not hesitate to contact the College Office and a meeting with myself can be arranged.

PRESENTATION DAY

Due to existing COVID-19 restrictions our Presentation Day will look quite different this year. Still held at St Gregory’s College Hall, the presentation itself (on Monday 14 December) will need to be shorter in duration and therefore will be aimed at Award Winners (with one member of each Award Winner’s family invited). Badging of our Student Leaders, and SRC members for 2021, will also occur as part of the occasion. More details will be provided in due course.

BEGINNING OF ADVENT

Sunday marks the commencement of Advent. The Season itself is an opportunity to reflect on the dichotomy between our everyday routine and the unexpected joyful arrival of the Lord.

Pope Francis has spoken often about the importance of this Liturgical Season and has reminded us that we should not be: “dominated by the things of this world”. Instead, Pope Francis tells us that we need to remain resolute and focused on that which is truly important in our lives. The Pope tells us that: “if we allow ourselves to be overpowered by a concern for material things, we will not be able to perceive what is much more important: our final encounter with the Lord”. Thus, to the Pope, Advent is a critical time and a timely reminder and invitation to: “vigilance, because, not knowing when He will come, we must always be ready to depart.” Indeed, for Pope Francis we are: “called to enlarge the horizons of our hearts, to be surprised by the life that is presented each day with its newness. In order to do this, we need to learn to not depend on our own securities, our own established plans, because the Lord comes in the hour which we don’t imagine.”

PRAYER

Often it can be helpful to turn to the writings of others in order to seek a mediation of something that might be occupying our minds. As we approach the Christmas season, we might notice this space alluding or stopping one from peace, serenity and calm. Here, I offer a reflection from the writings of John O’Donohue, an Irish poet who draws on his Celtic traditions and the natural beauty of our world, to bring comfort and inspiration as we each journey together through life.

“A Blessing for Presence”

Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses. 

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews 

End of year Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will be held on Wednesday 16 December. The College had some great feedback after we conducted Zoom Interviews in Term 2, and our final interviews will be again conducted through Zoom. Detailed information regarding booking interviews and Zoom procedures will be sent through Compass in Week 9.

HSC National Minimum Standard Testing

Year 10 students have been completing catch-up HSC NMS Tests through Week 7.

These tests are necessary for students to attain the HSC credential. Students do not require HSC NMS tests to attain an ATAR.

Letters will be sent home to indicate if your child has yet to attain the HSC NMS in Writing, Reading or Numeracy. Tests will recommence in Term 1 of 2021, with students able to sit for tests up to 3 times each year. 

Questions regarding HSC NMS tests can be forwarded to Miss Stephanie Phillips.

HSC Assessment - Supporting Students to Study

With a new HSC year commencing, Year 11 students have become Year 12 students. With this comes assessments, and all students are now preparing for multiple HSC assessments. 

Students have worked through official NESA assessment requirements and have explored approaches to thinking and preparing for assessments. 

How can I support my child?

• Ensure you know what assessments are due this term and help your child complete their assessment planner. 

Each student has been given access to an electronic Assessment Planner for Term 4, which allows students to add in due dates and plan their study time. Students should add in time when they are working, engaging in sporting commitments, etc. It is recommended that students share these with parents/carers to allow everyone at home to know the study schedule students are working towards.

• Speak with your child about their HSC goals.

The first HSC Assessments are the first steps towards achieving HSC goals. Students should think about their level of performance in each subject in the Preliminary Exams. Is this the level of achievement they are striving for? What would they like to achieve in the HSC and what have they put in place to move forwards in their learning?

On Wednesday 18th November, Year 7 had the opportunity to participate in a Pastoral Care Day. On this day there were many fun wellbeing activities including My Resilience workshops, respectful relationship presentation, Police social media talk and a presentation delivered by the CEO Youth Ministry team. This was a day full of fun. We learnt a lot about different aspects of wellbeing. The knowledge that we have retained during this day is something all Year 7 will remember.  

In My Resilience workshop, we got the opportunity to learn and take care of our wellbeing. During this session, we took a personality quiz and found out our top 3 quality traits and learnt how to expand our knowledge on each trait. With Mr Manns, we discovered what makes a healthy relationship. In this workshop we discussed in groups what the difference between a healthy and toxic relationship.and we learnt about how we can help prevent toxic relationships. In the next session, we met with the Police Liaison Officer. He shared with us the dangers of sharing too much on social media. This opened our eyes to the impact of sharing too much and how it can affect our lives in the future. Lastly we participated in a presentation by the CEO Youth Ministry team on how to live life to the fullest. They played a lot of great songs and had a lot of activities for us to participate in.

In conclusion, the Year 7 Pastoral Care Day taught us a lot of different things that will impact our lives and influence our choices in the future, in a fun and exciting way. We learnt how to be resilient, about our qualities, how to be safe online and what not to do on our devices. We learnt about respectful relationships with friends, family and our community, as well as how to live our lives to the fullest. We are so thankful for the opportunity that Mr Manns has given us and all of the people who came out to teach us new important things. We all have learnt something new that we will use in our everyday lives.

Adelaide Bell, Sarah Macdonald and Bella Stevens - 7M

Year 7 Religion have been focusing on how to better themselves as Stewards of Creation. The Year 7 classes this week each planted their own flower or vegetable to take home and care for. We will track their progress in the coming weeks and discuss. Hoping they have blooming success! 

On Wednesday the 11th November, Year 10 Food Technology B took a trip to Mexico and planned and cooked a Mexican fiesta. The class had been recently looking at catering for events, and by planning this event allowed the class to truly understand everything that goes into catering for an event. With the class set up and food ready there was no hesitation to dig in to the food prepared, from tacos and quesadillas to refreshing drinks and to finish some golden churros. The class also received a visit from Mr McMahon who also seemed to also enjoy the food and gave it a big thumbs up!

Paige Holdsworth

Congratulations to Keely Sherwood for her nomination by HSC markers as exemplary for her outstanding Dance Program. Keely completed three practical components: Core Performance, Core Composition and Major Performance in which she received a nomination for 'Callback' for Core Performance and Major Performance. Callback is the showcase of exemplary performances and compositions by HSC students of Dance. The Core Performance and Major Performance were choreographed by her Dance teacher but the Core Composition was Keely's own choreography. 

HSC Dance Core Composition and Core Performances consist of a three minute dance followed by a six minute interview discussing the elements of dance (space, time and dynamics), safe dance practice, choreographic techniques and performance quality. The major performance is a five minute dance followed by a none minute interview which discusses safe dance practice, performance quality and interpretation of the work. Well done, Keely!

MISA Sport

The final two rounds of the MISA competition have been played, with Week 8 the finals round. All students have shown great commitment to their team and it has been rewarding to see the return of MISA this term. Results for Rounds 4 and 5 are shown below.

Round 4 - 17th November (MCCC)

Round 5 - 24th November (STP or SFCC)

MISA East Zone Grand Finals - Week 8 

Tuesday 1st December will see our MISA teams involved in the grand finals and play off matches. The matches are outlined below. Good luck to all teams and keep up the great work!

• Girls AFL - MAG vs JT (3rd vs 4th - Fairfax)

• Boys AFL - JT vs MAG (1st vs 2nd - Fairfax)

• Girls Oz Tag - MAG vs JT (3rd vs 4th - Kirkham)

• Boys Oz Tag - MCCC vs MAG (3rd vs 4th. - Kirkham)

• Girls Softball - STP vs MAG (1st vs 2nd - Cowpasture)

• Boys Indoor Cricket - JT vs MAG (3rd vs 4th - NIS)

• Mixed Ultimate Frisbee - STP vs MAG (3rd vs 4th - Onslow)

• Girls Volleyball - MCCC vs MAG (1st vs 2nd - MCCC)

• Boys Volleyball - SBCC vs MAG (3rd vs 4th - SBCC)

Further information about the current MISA season can be found at the MISA website https://www.misaonline.org.au/. 

School Sport

As in previous weeks, the Year 7 House Cup Challenge has continued with all students showing positive involvement in their matches. In Week 8, teams will be playing in the play-off round. Good luck to all teams.

Week 6 - 17th November

Week 7 - 24th November

Overall Points Table

Sport 2020

The final week for sport for 2020 will be Tuesday 8th December. This will include a sports assembly, with photos taken and made available to parents and carers. Further information will be communicated closer to the date.

Sport 2021

Arrangements for sport in 2021 will be finalised over the next couple of weeks. Information will be provided in the Week 9 newsletter and students will receive notes to bring home.

Upcoming Sporting Events 2021

NSWCCC Sport

• 2021 Sport registrations for NSWCCC will open 1 February 2021. HELP functions to assist in the registration process are available on the CSNSW homepage (https://csnsw.sport/) for parents or please contact Mrs Andruschko for details.

Please contact Mrs Andruschko via the College Office if there are any questions about sport at the College and information to be provided on sporting achievements.

Transport for NSW is excited to be trialling new technology in 2021 with an Opal student bag tag to make school travel easier for students.

Please see the attachment below with how this trial will take place.

* When collecting your child early for an appointment, please write a note in their diary. This will assist the teacher in allowing the child to move to the office, where they can be ready to be signed out when you arrive.

* If your email address or mobile phone number has changed, you can update this on the Compass portal (web browser only). Please alert the school in writing if you have changed your residential or mailing address.

Please see below important dates for the start of school in Term 1, 2021.

Wednesday 27 January - Staff Development Day

Thursday 28 January - Staff Development Day

Friday 29 January - Years 7, 11 & 12 commence (Full summer uniform)

Monday 1 February - Whole College returns (Full summer uniform)