Newman News Term 2 Week 6: From the Vice Principal

Another busy fortnight for our Newman community across the arts, examinations, reporting, excursions and teaching and learning. We celebrated Reconciliation Week during Week 6. The theme calls all Australians to reflect on real ways in which we can be a voice for reconciliation in our everyday lives. We are now well into the term, staff and students are tracking well as we move into the latter weeks of Term 2.  

On 31 May was the Marian feast day of the Visitation. It is an important occasion in the life of Marists, who began their vocation honouring Mary as the Little Brothers of Mary. The feast of the Visitation is based on the story of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth, as told in the Gospel of Luke. Mary and Elizabeth were both pregnant at the time, unbeknownst to each other. Mary with Jesus and Elizabeth with John the Baptist. When Elizabeth greeted Mary, she recognised the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb when her own infant leapt for joy in utero. Mary found herself visiting her cousin after being led by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. To find her older cousin Elizabeth pregnant, and for Elizabeth to automatically recognise the presence in Mary’s womb, confirmed for her the truth of her prompting from the Holy Spirit.  

I had the privilege to visit Ein Kerem in the southwest of Jerusalem, the Place of the Visitation, while on the Marist Pilgrimage. The artwork at the site, and dedications to Mary and the story of the Visitation, were powerful reminders of the central place of Mary in our faith as Marists; particularly Mary as an example of saying yes to Jesus by listening to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit and therefore truth in our lives. 

Updates to the Newman College Newsletter Format  

Newman College recently conducted a comprehensive analysis of our communication platforms. As part of this assessment, we formed focus groups consisting of parents and staff members to evaluate different communication aspects and identify areas for improvement. One such platform identified for enhancement was the Newman College newsletter.  

By leveraging the insights that we gained during the analysis, we were able to ascertain the most pertinent information for parents, as well as the content best suited for sharing through our social media channels. Consequently, the Newman College newsletter will undergo modifications in its format and presentation.  

In the new format, our Principal, Mr Andrew Watson, will offer a video summary of events and achievements that have transpired in the two weeks since the previous newsletter. Moreover, we shall continue to provide crucial operational dates and information regarding your child’s events, while our Vice Principal will share essential details for families across the various areas of the College.  

We believe that this revamped newsletter will better serve the needs of our families by delivering more focused and relevant information.  

Your feedback and suggestions are valuable to us, so please do not hesitate to reach out to our communications team at communications@newman.wa.edu.au should you have any concerns or input. 

Zero to Hero – Parent Series

Next Wednesday 7 June @ 6.30pm, the College will be hosting the second of our Zero2Hero Parent Information Events in the Marist Auditorium. This is an event that the College encourages all parents or guardians to attend. The topic for the presentation is mental illness and your child, with two outstanding leading experts to discuss the challenges your children face, and how parents can respond. Brad Williams from Behaviour Tonics will speak to self-regulation and the overwhelming emotions associated with adolescence. Amy Coombe specialises in eating disorders and mental health struggles and wellbeing promotion. I will join our guest speakers in an audience Q&A after their presentations. This evening will provide parents with an understanding of the processes in place at Newman College to assist students as they navigate through their childhood and adolescent years. 
   
This Zero2Hero Parent Information Event is suitable for parents of students across the College; however, we strongly encourage all families in Y7-12 cohorts to attend. 
 
Please click HERE to purchase your tickets now. Newman College parents receive 50% off the ticket price when they enter the code ‘healthy’ 

Lion King JR

The African savannah comes to life on the Marist Auditorium stage with Simba, Rafiki and an unforgettable cast of characters as they journey from Pride Rock to the jungle… and back again, in this inspiring, coming-of-age tale. 

With four amazing shows spanning from 15 to 17 June, you get in quickly and secure your tickets and seats! 

Purchase your tickets here   

PK-12 Art Competition

We are excited to announce that Newman College will be holding an Art competition in celebration of the Marist theme for 2023 – Created and Called: A revolution of love and kindness. We invite all students to participate and showcase their artistic skills by submitting a piece of art that is related to or reflects this theme. Students are welcome to submit a short statement accompanying their artwork if this helps to explain the meaning of their piece in relation to this theme.   

The competition will be divided into three categories:   

  • PK-Year 2  
  • Years 3-6  
  • Years 7-12  

There will be several prizes awarded – Art & Stationery Gift Packs for the Primary categories, and Jacksons Drawing Supplies Gift Vouchers for the Years 7-12 category. The winning artworks and honourable mentions will be entered into the Angelico Exhibition of the Catholic Performing Arts Festival, as well showcased at the PK-12 Arts Festival in Term 4.   

The artworks can be created using any medium of choice, including painting, oil pastels, drawing, or sculpture.   

The submission deadline for the competition is the end of Term 3, which is Friday 22 September. We urge all students to submit their entries by this date to be considered for the judging process.  

To submit your artwork, please have you or your child bring it to your child’s relevant office administration, where it will be safely stored until the judging process is completed.  

We encourage all students to unleash their creativity and imagination to create a unique and meaningful artwork that reflects the theme Created and Called: A revolution of love and kindness. We look forward to seeing creative and inspiring artworks and wish all participants the best of luck in the competition.  

Uniform Review and Alignment Committee

Sincere thanks to those parents and staff who completed the Uniform Review and Alignment Committee expression of interest form.  Details regarding this committee will be distributed via email early next week.

The Importance of Student Attendance

Schools are required to monitor attendance and intervene to support improved attendance for students at educational risk. Likewise, all parents are required to make their best efforts to ensure their children attend school.  We ask all families to read the below document to understand how the College records daily attendance – Student Attendance

Timely Reminder Regarding Cases of Head Lice

The College has been made aware of a number of cases of head lice within our student community. Head lice infection is a problem due to it being so highly contagious.  

Parents/carers are primarily responsible for detecting and treating head lice but the College also has a role in the management of head lice outbreaks by providing information and support for parents and students.  

To eradicate both lice and their eggs (nits), products are available from pharmacies without prescription.  Head lice are only pin-head size and very difficult to see.  We seek your cooperation in the examination and possible treatment of your child’s hair. 

Students identified with head lice should not return to school until after treatment has commenced. 

Please note that constant checking of hair is necessary because eggs may not be evident until two days after the infestation. 

A Head lice fact sheet is available at http://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/F_I/Head-lice 

Traffic Warden – Tuscany Way (Marcellin Campus)

The College has been advised by the Children’s Crossing Unit, that they are unable to provide us with a Traffic Warden for the crossing on Tuscany Way for the remainder of Term 2.  We ask you share this information with your child/children.  Students and families are asked to take extra care when using this crossing.  

Uniform

The College would like to ask our families to check their child’s uniform items to ensure they have their own pieces and not those of other students.  Named items not belonging to you can be returned to the applicable administration office and we will return them to the appropriate family.  We currently have a lot of unnamed items in our lost property and therefore remind you to make sure all items are named clearly with your child’s name. 

CODE OF CONDUCT

Newman News Term 2 Week 6: From the Deputy Principal Primary

Cross Country Carnival – Y3-6 Results 

Congratulations to all of the students that participated in the cross country carnival, which was held on Friday 19 May. It was a fantastic day witnessing students challenging themselves around the course and celebrating each other’s efforts and wonderful achievements. 

  

I would like to congratulate the top three students of each year group. 

​​ Year 6​​ ​Year 6​ 
1st​​ Stefan Moschopoulos​​ Allegra Clark​​ 
2nd​​ Austin Cumberworth​​ Jessica Avins​​ 
3rd​​ Gatano Capolingua​​ Layla Bornmann​​ 
​​ Year 5​ ​Year 5 
1st​​ David Van der Walt​​ Amelie Santoro​​ 
2nd​​ Finan Smith​​ Mia Dorrington​​ 
3rd​​ Julian Cameron​​ Olive Mollet​​ 
​​ Year 4​​ Year 4​ 
1st​​ Jack Truscott​​ Lila Adamini​​ 
2nd​​ Sam Baily Amelia Heath​​ 
3rd​​ Asher Ebert​​ Annabel Gilbert​​ 
​ Year 3​​ Year 3​ 
1st​​ Nikhil Nair​​ Sicily Moschopoulos​​ 
2nd​​ Harvey Anderson​​ Clara Schlitter​​ 
3rd​​ Izei Goldaracena Zubiri​​ Nina Gordon​​ 
  FACTION POINTS 
1st​  Delany​  323​  
2nd​  Knox​  297​  
3rd​  Brigid​  241​  
4th​  Marcellin​  239​  

Congratulations to Delany for being awarded the champion cross country faction. Well done to Isla Kalebic and Stefan Moschopoulos our Delany sports captains. 

Microsoft Reflect 

Many of our teachers and students from Year 2 – 6 have been using Microsoft Reflect as part of their Mindful Mornings. Microsoft Reflect is a powerful tool that allows our students to ‘check-in’ and engage in self-reflection while also providing valuable insights for both students and teachers. This digital platform enables students to express their emotions in real-time, fostering a deeper understanding of their own learning journey. 

Thoughtful reflection plays a crucial role in the growth and development of our students. By encouraging them to pause, ponder, and evaluate their thoughts and actions, we empower them to become active participants in their own education.  

The importance of reflection goes hand in hand with our ongoing mindful practices and The Zones of Regulation Program that is being run across the entire Primary school. By incorporating Microsoft Reflect into our Mindful Mornings, we provide our students with a holistic approach to self-awareness and emotional regulation. The ability to reflect on their thoughts and emotions helps students better understand themselves, their strengths, and areas where they can grow. It also enables our teachers to gain valuable insights into how our students are feeling, helping them tailor their support and instruction accordingly. 

We believe that by fostering a culture of reflection, we equip our students with essential life skills that go beyond the classroom. The ability to self-reflect promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and empathy, all of which are vital in today’s ever-changing world. 

Newman News Term 2 Week 6: From the Principal

The Power of Presence

The WA Day long-weekend has arrived and before long, we will be at the end of the term. Both this long-weekend and the upcoming holidays provide excellent opportunities for our students to take a rest from the busyness of life. Whether our children are quite young or moving quickly through adolescence, they can experience a sense of being overloaded with activities or their engagement with technology. Recently, I glanced upon an excerpt from author Richard Louv’s book ‘Last Child in the Woods’. Louv is a strong advocate for our children taking full breaks from ‘connectivity’ and activity to experience the peace and restorative possibilities in nature. He contends that Nature Deficit Disorder can lead to some of the troubling trends we see in our young people and regular breaks that bring us into contact with nature and natural beauty can do wonders for wellbeing. We all know this – How often do we catch ourselves commenting on the beauty of a sunset, a sunrise or the spectacular interaction we have with natural scenery? This weekend and the holiday breaks are great times to plan for our children, whatever their age, a break from ‘generation connect’ and spend time in nature-based activities. I am sure any opportunity you plan to support this break will help our young people be present in the moment and present to one another. The balanced use of technology which supports well-being over illbeing and a regular connection with nature are important factors in sustaining well-being.

There is something to be said about telling stories. Peter W Cobb writes ‘the hearer of a story becomes with the teller a shared caretaker of the story’. Wouldn’t it be so powerful to be able to borrow a person instead of a book from a library to listen to their life story for 30 minutes? Well, such a thing does exist in Denmark and more than 50 other countries. The aim of the project is to fight prejudices and awaken in people the action to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Each person has a title – ‘unemployed’, ‘refugee’, ‘homeless’, ‘domestic violence survivor’ and the act of listening carefully encourages empathy, perspective and respect. Next Wednesday‘s Zero to Hero seminar for parents doesn’t take us quite into the space of ‘borrowing a person’ but it does give parents the opportunity to have two incredibly valuable human resources present with story, knowledge and experience that aims to assist us with raising young people. If you can spare the time, I am sure you will gain important insights for guiding your child’s wellbeing journey.

ACC Cross Country

Congratulations to the Cross-Country team on a fine performance at this week’s ACC Cross Country Carnival. In near perfect conditions, the team performed very well against stiff competition from 80 schools. There were 4000 competitors at the carnival The final position for Newman was fourth and there were great individual performances and ‘personal bests’ achieved. Thanks to Marnie Barrett, Ciaran Allsop, Tiyana Kerimi, Cameron Tremayne, and Tom Williams for their coaching over the season and to Sport Captains, James Hart and Meg McAullay for their leadership.

National Reconciliation Week

This week we have joined in the national recognition of Reconciliation Week. The theme for National Reconciliation Week in 2023 is ‘Be a Voice for Generations ‘ and encourages Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise. Across the College, we have engaged with the important message of Reconciliation, and we look forward to the celebration of NAIDOC in coming weeks.

Marist Family Day

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday and it also marks the occasion of our Marist Brothers’ Community’s celebration of the Marist Family Gathering in Mass and a morning tea. The occasion also celebrates the Oak Marist Jubilee (80 years) of Br Noel Hickey and the Golden Jubilee of Br Paul Murphy with the Provincial, Br Peter Carroll in attendance. We congratulate Br Noel and Br Paul and give thanks for the presence and support of our Marist Brothers’ Community. Please keep them in your prayers.

Best wishes for a relaxing long-weekend.

Andrew Watson

Principal

Lion King Jnr – Colouring in Competition

The Newman News on the Friday May 19 contains a link to the image for the colouring in competition. You can otherwise download the image here.

Upload your child’s completed picture to the form below by Friday June 2 to finalise the entry. Winners will be announced on Monday June 5.

One winner will be chosen from each year group Kindy to Y2.

This wonderful prize include:

  • Family Pass (4 tickets) to the matinee performance of Lion King Jnr: 11.00am Saturday June 17
  • Backstage VIP Tour
  • Unique Photo Opportunity with the Cast

Colouring in Competition – Lion King Jnr

Please provide your child’s details and upload their image to be part of the competition to win a family pass to Lion King Jnr Matinee on Saturday 17th June.

Max. file size: 50 MB.

Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome to another edition of Newman News!

Years 9 and 10 Singapore Immersion Trip

The recent Singapore Immersion trip was a great success, allowing our students and staff to further explore our pillars of challenge, collaborate, create and celebrate with Singapore Polytechnic School. 

Thank you to the Deputy Principal of Teaching and Learning PK-12, Beth Murphy, and teachers, Joel Kandiah, Kate McKnight, Adeline Hendriks who attended and created a memorable experience for our students.  

Marist Association Marian Lecture

On Tuesday 16 May, fellow Marist communities across Oceania attended the annual Marian Lecture, “A revolution of Tenderness” with keynote by Dr Medi Volpe, a moral theologian and ethicist.  The talk was held in the Marist Auditorium and online through a Zoom invitation.  The discussion entailed “what is means to be a Christian in the 21st Century through being revolutionists of love and tenderness in living our daily lives”

Year 7 Camp

I had the opportunity to visit the Year 7 camp last week, which is another important moment in the students’ transition into Secondary School.   The Year 7 students are to be commended for the positive way they stepped up to challenges presented on the camp.  The vibe and excitement that emanated across every activity exemplified the way the students have come together as a strong group. As always, we are grateful to our staff for their great work in organising and running rich and rewarding learning experiences. Well done, Year 7 Team! 

Mother’s Day Masses and Liturgy

Many thanks to those Mum’s, Grandmother’s and Guardians who were able to attend our celebration of Mother’s Day.  These Mother’s Day moments are wonderful celebrations and an important opportunity for Newman to say thank you to mothers for their place in our lives. Thank you to all involved in making the day so enjoyable.  I hope all the special women in our lives had a joyful day last Sunday.  

Years 7-12 Principal’s Assembly

The Years 7-12 Principals Assembly was held Wednesday morning.  The outstanding achievements of our award winners were formally recognised. In the assembly, I shared with the students a quote from Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhen and image from the Apollo space mission in 1968. The quote was inspired by photographs taken during the mission which showed humankind our Earth from a new perspective – a global village. “There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.” At Newman, we all play our role to be crew members in our part of this global village by holding to our Marist characteristics. The message of ‘character, commitment and connection’ was shared with our Secondary community as the means to being active crew members in this vibrant and supportive community. 

Years 11-12 Connect Night

Connect Night involves Year 11 and 12 students from Newman, Northam and Bunbury who come together to operate in the gamechangers for discussion around faith-based formation and Ministry.  

Year 3-6 Cross Country Carnival

The Year 3 –6 Cross Country Carnival was held on Friday.  We were very fortunate with the weather as it was a beautiful day.  The students competed with great spirit, enthusiasm and sportsmanship and we saw many great achievements on the field.    

Thank you to all staff members who organised the day.   It was a great success! 

Save the Date – Newman Parents Forum

Newman Parents Forum is scheduled for Monday 22 May at 6.00pm in the Learning Hub. The agenda is set for the meeting and includes discussions around Uniform Review and Alignment and College Events.  We hope you can join us on Monday.   

If you are unable to join us in person you may wish to join online, please click Here to access the link. 

To access the agenda please click Here

Morning Tea with the Year 12s

It has been an absolute pleasure to meet with our Year 12s.   The students are talkative and shared their thoughts and ideas over a supplied morning tea by the wonderful canteen staff.   I look forward to meeting the rest of the cohort over the following weeks.  

Events Ahead

Within the next few weeks, the events occurring include the Newman Parents Forum (NPF), Year 11 and 12 Semester 1 Exams, ACC Cross Country. 

I wish our Senior School Students all the best as they prepare for their upcoming exams.   

Every blessing for the weeks ahead.  

Andrew Watson  

PRINCIPAL