Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Vice Principal

Key Dates

Updated COVID restrictions have seen events and camps re-instated into the College Calendar. We remind parents to please check the College Calendar on a regular basis.

Marist Focus  

This week at assembly our Year 12 Captains and leaders spoke to students about the impact of communication on our relationships, and the necessity of our Marist characteristic of presence, when listening and interacting with all community members. The Year 12 captains specifically referred to being present through listening to understand, rather than listening to respond.  As we move further into the term, it is timely for us all to be present to each other and to recognise that we are all at different points. Responding to people from where they are, and accepting and understanding this point, is at the heart of our Marist culture.   

Newman Parents Consultative Committee 

The NPCC met last Monday 16 May.  Unfortunately, we had trouble with our online meeting link.  It was decided to reschedule this meeting to another date in the term.  Families will be advised of the date shortly.    

Agenda items were to include the reframing of the NPCC, the call for formal expressions of interest Expression of Interest NPC and Executive for the parent representative group across PK to Year 12, and the Homework Club Revitalisation.   

RAT Distribution  

Family distribution of RAT tests provided by the Western Australian Government commenced Monday 16 May.   The eldest child in the family were allocated tests for each sibling.   

Families who have not yet received/collected the RATs can collect them from the applicable campus administration office where the eldest child attends. Parents are required to collect them for Primary students, however students in Years 7 – 12 can collect them on your behalf at the end of lunchtime or afterschool. 

 DISA 

The College will run the Diagnostic Inventory for School Alignment (DISA) online tool again this year to measure our success against key criteria. The DISA consists of three surveys (teacher, parent, student) that together report the changing successes and challenges of our community.  

The diagnosis is based on the Research-based Framework for Enhancing School Outcomes. This framework provides insight into how well our key organisational elements are aligned. The College ran the DISA in 2016 and again in 2019. We will be seeking input from teachers, parents and students early next term. For more information, please visit the DISA website

Technology Committee 

Our Technology Committee at the College is comprised of key personnel across primary and secondary. The major functions of the committee are to research technology initiatives and solutions and allocate sufficient resources to strategically achieve the intents within each Priority Area of our Strategic Plan, moving the College towards the forefront of innovative practices.  

We are currently reviewing our Primary school device strategy for student use. We hope to transition to a new strategy for 2023 and more will be brought to the community shortly. If you have any questions or feedback to that end, please email me on lucie.mccrory@newman.wa.edu.au  

Alignment Review 

Over the next two years, we will be coming together as one PK- 12 community on one site. Prior to this occurring, the College will be conducting a robust audit of policies, practices, resourcing, uniform, and operating norms. This audit will enhance alignment and ensure a smooth transition in the consolidation. More information will be provided, and parent consultation will be called for at an appropriate time. 

New Staff 

We said farewell to Regan Dyer last week, Leader of Wellbeing Year 10.  Simon Martino will look after the cohort until Sarah Ellam begins later this term. Sarah has significant leadership experience over ten years and is looking forward to joining the community. Scott Smith stepped into Leader of Wellbeing for Year 8 as Kelly Fitzpatrick left to be a first-time mother. Scott has significant pastoral leadership experience and is looking forward to getting to know the Year 8s. Fiona Hassle started as Leader of Learning Science as Hannah Parker departed to take up her role as first-time mother. 

Maria Famiano will join us later this term as an experienced Italian teacher and will replace Anj Duncan in Semester Two, as she enjoys her long service leave. Joanne Smith will be starting later this term and comes from Iona to teach English and Humanities. Joel Kaldiah is coming to us from Scotch and will start Term 3 teaching Economics, Humanities and has an Innovation leadership role. These new teachers are replacing Leila Chandler and Miranda Whitley who will leave our community to take up opportunities in other Catholic schools.  

Examinations 

Examinations begin next week, starting with Year 12 and then Year 11 the following week. Communications have been sent home via email from the Leaders of Wellbeing.   

Year 11 examinations commence in week 5 – Monday 23 May. 

Year 12 examinations commence in Week 6 – Monday 30 May. 

Study Techniques 

For students to be best prepared for their exams, it is a timely reminder they are utilising the best study techniques and routines.  Regular reviewing and revising are extremely important parts of the process of knowledge consolidation. See the below post from Edutopia for study tips. 

Questions students should consider: 

  1. Have you got a study routine in place that includes breaks and down time? 
  1. Have you asked someone to keep you accountable to your study routine? 
  1. Are you studying effectively? 
  1. Is your learning space conducive to study? 
  1. What does the research say about studying? Read the below except from the article written in Edutopia ‘5 Research Backed Studying Techniques’ 

5 HIGH-INTENSITY STUDY HABITS 

Homework Club

Researchers have found that the following techniques increase sustainable learning and retention when incorporated in students’ daily study habits. These techniques are difficult and require effort, and they slow down learning. Initially the learning gains seem to be smaller than with some ineffective practices. However, these techniques lead to long-term mastery. 


The book Make It Stick identifies several research-proven studying techniques. 

  1. Pre-test: When students practice answering questions, even incorrectly, before learning the content, their future learning is enhanced. Research has shown that pre-testing improves post-test results more than spending the same amount of time studying. 
  1. Spaced practice: Spacing out study sessions—focusing on a topic for a short period on different days—has been shown to improve retention and recall more than massed practice. The book How We Learn explains that spaced practice can feel difficult due to an initial forgetting of knowledge—reacquiring that knowledge takes effort. 
  1. Creating flash cards that can be used for spaced practice and self-quizzing is effective. Students should create different piles when reviewing the flash cards. The cards they’re able to answer immediately should be placed in a pile to review three days later; those answered with some difficulty should be reviewed two days later; and those that they answered incorrectly should be reviewed the next day. 
  1. Self-quizzing: Testing has a negative connotation in this era of standardized testing, but it is a form of active retrieval practice. Encourage students to make test questions for themselves as they learn a new concept, thinking about the types of questions you might ask on a quiz or test. They should incorporate these quizzes into their study sessions, answering every question, even those they believe they know well. 
  1. Interleaving practice: Students may rely on blocked practice, studying a set of problems—such as multiplication problems—as a group until they feel mastery. A more effective method of studying is to work on a set of problems that are related but not all of the same kind—for example, a set of math word problems that call for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. The consecutive problems cannot be solved with the same strategy. This is more effective than doing one multiplication problem after another. 
  1. Paraphrasing and reflecting: Many of us have read a few paragraphs in a textbook only to realize that we didn’t retain a single concept or key point presented in those paragraphs. To show your students how to combat this, have them utilize intentional learning strategies. These include relating what is being learned to prior knowledge, thinking about how they would explain the content to a 5-year-old, and reflecting on and asking questions about the content. 

Code of Conduct

Please click here to download the Newman College Code of Conduct for Parents

Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Director of Mission and Catholic Identity

Key Dates

College Calendar Link – In recent times, our school calendar has changed regularly. 

Year 4 Holy Communion Retreat

On Thursday our Year 4 classes joined together for a retreat, led by 24:7 School Ministry to further their understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as they prepare to receive the sacrament in their parish later this year. 

I really enjoyed the fun activities, especially the craft activity where on the back of pictures of grapes, we wrote a prayer to Jesus, things we are thankful for and learnt about the symbols of baptism. We joined these together to make a vine. 

Finán Smith 4 Green

 I really enjoyed the fun and entertaining games. My favourite game was playing musical bobs. I loved learning about the different Sacraments including Baptism, Reconciliation and the Eucharist.  

Isla Wallace 4 Red

We wrote a message of thanks to Jesus, we learnt about the Eucharist and how you can always reconnect with God by receiving the Sacraments, praying and going to Mass. My favourite activity was making the grape vine, reminding us of all the gifts we get from God. 

Flynn Murphy 4 Blue

LifeLink Launch in Secondary Schools

Representatives from all year groups at Newman College attended the online Launch of Lifelink on Thursday 19th May. This is the organisation we fundraise for in our Term 3 Walkathon. Students were able to hear firsthand the message of Archbishop Timothy Costello. In his address, we were called to know Jesus, precisely who he was and what he did. The Archbishop ascribed Jesus’ main message as one of being of service to others, this was the sole purpose that his life exhibited, even to his death, a service of sacrifice.

We were challenged in this and, secondly called to be life-giving, to live a life with dignity and generosity, through following and understanding the example of Jesus. The group then considered methods through which we can raise awareness of the causes that LifeLink supports and gathered ideas for fundraising for these causes.

We look forward to seeing the fruits of the understanding and collaborating this of this launch event.

Thursday Morning Community Mass

We warmly welcome the whole Newman College community to our weekly Mass on Thursday mornings. Mass commences at 8.10am and concludes at 8.40am in the Champagnat Chapel on the Marcellin Campus and is hosted by a Priest from a local parish. Please see the upcoming schedule below; we look forward to seeing you there soon.

Thursday 26 May; Fr Christian Irdi, Romero and Y6 Red

Thursday 2 June; Fr Hyginus Ebede, MacKillop and Y6 Green

Thursday 9 June; Fr Emmanuel-tv Dimobi, Marcellin and Y5 Red

Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Principal

Primary Capital Development Community Consultation

Marist Auditorium  |  Wednesday 25 May  |  5.00-6.00pm

As families would be aware, Newman College is embarking on a once in a generation development that will see our Pre-Kindy to Year 12 community united for the first time in our history on a single campus.  I warmly invite all who are interested to attend a Community Consultation which will focus on:

  • Project Overview and Consultation Process
  • Forward Works Program
  • Design (including parking and access)
  • Community Impacts
  • Schedule

Please click here to register your attendance.

Newman Parents Committee

On Monday evening it was planned to conduct an NPCC meeting to focus on two significant items: 

  1. Reframing of the Newman Parents Consultative Committee
  2. Homework Club Revitalisation Plan

Due to the lack of number in attendance, it was decided to reschedule this meeting to another date in the term.  Families will be advised of the date in the near future. 

Champagnat Day

This year we celebrate 150 years of Marist education in Australia.  Later this term, our community will participate in Champagnat Day which celebrates Marist life moreover this Project started by St Marcellin Champagnat started over 200 years ago.  At the heart of this is to make Jesus Christ known and loved and we do this in this community by being an effective school that walks with our young people, it challenges them to be the best person God intends them to be.  As part of this celebration the College will be raising money to support Marist Solidarity, specifically supporting dislocated and disadvantaged children in the Philippines and development of a new school in Timor Leste.  This campaign recognises that the aspirations of every child, no matter what their background, should have every opportunity to build their success. 

School Registration

As a result of Marist Schools Australia Limited becoming incorporated earlier this year, Newman College was required to undertake a further School Registration Audit, conducted by the Department of Education WA.  This process was similar to the Audit conducted under Catholic Education WA in 2021 where the College received a very positive result.

The Registration process, which commenced in January concluded today with interviews with the regulator.  We now look forward to receiving the final report. 

Separate to the School Registration process, the College has commissioned a WHS audit of our school sites, a report of which will be forthcoming.

Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Deputy Principal Secondary

Key Dates

College Calendar Link – In recent times, our school calendar has changed regularly.

Year 7 Camp

On Wednesday 4 May, 216 excited Year 7 students headed off to Swan Valley Adventure Centre for our first camp together as a year group. As we lived and worked together for two nights and three days, camp offered us an opportunity to push ourselves outside our comfort zones, learn teamwork skills, strengthen our relationships, and spend time together. Mrs Bramanto set us the challenge to embrace all the opportunities on camp and work together.

On camp we participated in a wide range of activities including a movie night to relax, commando course, crate stack, flying fox, quiz night, writing a letter to our future selves, canoeing, scavenger hunt and orienteering. Throughout each of these activities we had to work together in our small groups, learn to compromise and challenge ourselves – for some this meant overcoming a fear of heights, or freezing cold water as we fell out of our canoes! Others had to learn to speak up and all of us had opportunities to show and strengthen our leadership skills.

Camp gave us the chance to truly embrace our Marist charism and family spirit as we came together to share meals and live together! We really enjoyed the late-night whisper sessions and the midnight feasts with our friends in our dorms, getting to know our teachers better and all the laughs we shared. We had so much fun on camp and have left with stronger friendships, new skills, and lifelong memories which we will cherish.

We feel very lucky that we were able to go on camp. We look forward to using our new skills throughout the school year and continuing to strengthen our relationships with each other. We thank all the staff who gave up their time to support us on camp and made our experience so much fun.

Kari Willesee and Bridget McDonald – Year 7 Students

Principal’s Assembly

On Wednesday the College celebrated our first Principal’s Assembly for the term. It was an opportunity for cohorts to come together and hear from our Year 12 Leaders about upcoming initiatives and activities. Thank you to all of our Student Leaders for their preparation of the assembly and to Newman Voices and the Year 12 VET Band for their performances.

Senior School Exams

The Examination Timetables and Examination Rules and Procedures for Years 10, 11 and 12 can be found below.

Year 10

Timetable and Procedures

Year 11

Examination Timetable

Examination Rules and Procedures

Year 12

I wish our Year 12 students all the best for their upcoming exams which commence on Monday.

Students who are absent for an exam due to sickness will require a medical certificate or proof of a positive COVID test. Students will be required to complete the missed exam supervised under exam conditions and will be counted towards their Semester One results. Students are encouraged to liaise with Mr Mat Puljiz – Leader of Wellbeing Year 12 to arrange an alternative time to sit the examination. Further information regarding examinations was sent to Year 12 parents this week.

Examination Timetable

Examination Rules and Procedures

Year 12 Exams – COVID Safe Measures

Year 12 students will require a negative RAT (or confirmation of immunity such a text from WA Health showing they have recovered from COVID within the last twelve weeks) for the following exams:

  • English ATAR
  • Chemistry ATAR
  • Uni Ready
  • Mathematics Methods ATAR
  • Mathematics Applications ATAR
  • Earth and Environmental Science
  • Human Biology ATAR
  • Modern History ATAR
  • Biology ATAR

Year 10 School Based Immunisation Program

Last term all Year 10 students were given a Year 10 School Based Immunisation Program envelope offering parents of students in Year 10 the opportunity to have their child vaccinated against Meningococcal ACWY. 

Students will receive this immunisation on Monday 13 June.  Students are allowed to wear sports uniform on this day. 

Reminders have been sent out to those families who had not completed the form, either giving consent or non-consent.  They must be returned to your child’s PCG Teacher by Friday 27 May 2022. 

Consent/Non Consent Form 

Information sheet 

STEM Guest Speaker 

Professor Phil Bland, Director of the Space Technology Centre at Curtin University will be visiting the College on Thursday 9 June.  Students in Years 10/11/12, interested in Science, Maths, Engineering or Physics, are invited to attend his presentation breakfast at 7.15am in the Marist Auditorium.  Professor Bland is Director of the Space Technology Centre at Curtin and is currently working with NASA to develop the Australian space exploration program. 

Date: Thursday 9 June 

Time: 7.15am (Breakfast will be provided for all attendees 

Venue:  Marist Auditoruim 

Students wanting to attend need to email justin.farley@newman.wa.edu.au 

SHINE Incursion

On May 5th 2022, Year 9 SHINE students were fortunate enough to have Mr Jason Dohele from Murdoch University facilitate a workshop on Game Theory. Students explored the interplay between psychology and strategy. Theories explored included: the prisoner’s dilemma, the Nash equilibrium and Hoteling’s Law. Year 9’s pondered how game theory and strategy are used in everyday situations and economics. Students involved included: Grace Gordon, Abigail Fowler, Holly Kallawk, Leonardo Mason, Laura Nolan, Charlie Cossom, Dyllan Roberts, Kate Le, Jack Manolikos, Jenna King, Ethan Wynne, Scarlett Jones and Leyla Do.

Mr Dohele also introduced Year 10 SHINE students to the challenges that small businesses face as they adopted the role of small business owners. Students were challenged to critically evaluate the costs of running a small business against the potential profits. Mr Dohele proceeded to provide students with real-world daily business challenges to encourage students to develop their own accounting records. Students involved included: Harper Gamble, Jaydon Augustus, Sean Bolten, Zak Rodkiewicz, Charlotte Laurent, Ariana Mason and Angelica Rombouts.

Lost Property – Marcellin Campus 

Please help us reunite the copious amount of lost property with their owners.  If the item is named (all items should be), we contact students and ask they come to collect it.   

Unnamed items are stored in the general lost property cupboard.  It is disappointing students do not respond to lost property notifications or come to look for lost items.  

Please remind them to come and claim or look for their items. 

Dance for Sick Kids

Year 9 student, Addison Blizzard is working with Dream Dance Co to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House. Addison will be dancing to raise money for families and children who utilise the Ronald McDonald House services during their illness. So far Addison has raised more than 50% of her target of $750. If you would like to learn more or contribute to Addison’s fundraising, please click here.

Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Deputy Principal Primary

Key Dates

College Calendar Link – In recent times, our school calendar has changed regularly.

NAPLAN – Year 3 and 5

As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and mathematics – skills that will set them upon the path to success as adults.

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents and teachers to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia.

Years 3 and 5 students are to be congratulated for the mature way they have undertaken the NAPLAN assessments over the past two weeks. Whilst the data that is provided by the NAPLAN assessments is useful in understanding student learning and growth, it is also very important to remember that it is only one measurement of student learning. Maggie Dent recently reminded us to “remember, we are raising a child, a whole child. We’re raising a mind, a body, a heart and a soul – not just a brain on a seat”.

Scitech Incursion

Year 2 students were amazed by our recent Scitech incursion, with the learning consolidating their current Science unit on mixtures.

Pre Primary Excursion

Our Pre Primary students braved the cold, wet weather last Friday and paid a visit to Caversham Wildlife Park. They had a wonderful time exploring and visiting all the animals. A big thank you to the parent helpers that also assisted our students throughout the excursion.

Student Wellbeing – Growth Mindset

Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’ 

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Year 6 camp. One of my highlights of the camp was watching students climb the pamper pole. This is an 8m high pole that students climb, stand on a small landing, and leap off. It is my favourite activity to observe, because very often students are put off by its challenge or talk themselves into believing they can only go so far. I can recall one student this year who was sure they could only climb halfway up the pole, only for them to eventually reach the top, squat on the edge, stand up on the landing, and finally leap off.  

The theme of the Year 6 camp is ‘expand your paradigm’, encouraging students to think beyond what they think they can do, and instead of those things they can actually do. In the classroom, this looks like students adopting growth mindsets – a mindset where students feel their skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence; that they can become better at things through dedication, time, effort and energy. The benefits of a growth mindset include improved self-esteem, learning new skills, and an openness to new experiences.  

It is very easy for students to take the easy way out – to give up, to complain, or to just not try…and there is safety in this. However, real growth comes from being comfortable in the uncomfortable; from putting ourselves at the edge of what we can do, and pushing forward to challenge ourselves to do more (with the support of others of course). If I could, I would encourage families to have a conversation at home about how it feels to take on a challenge. A few suggestions could be: 

  • Mum or Dad could share a story around a challenging moment from their life and how they overcame it 
  • Discuss how it feels when you are ‘in the pit’ – in the midst of a difficult challenge and how to cope with this 
  • Reflect on something you once struggled with, but with determination and dedication you can now count as a skill 
  • Discuss how it feels to encounter new experiences 

If you would like to read more about growth mindsets I can suggest the following links: 

The research of growth mindsets – https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/ 

Nurturing a growth mindset in kids – https://positivepsychology.com/growth-mindset-for-kids/ 

Growth mindset vs Fixed mindset Quiz (Big Life Journal) – https://biglifejournal.com.au/blogs/blog/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset-quiz?_pos=6&_sid=afb798d82&_ss=r 

I hope that we can continue to go forward into the rest of this term with a growth mindset amongst our students, ready and prepared to encounter all challenges! 

Mr Stuart McClorey, Leader of Wellbeing PK-6