Category: Early Childhood

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop – A Saint for all Australians

‘Do what you can with the means at your disposal and leave the rest calmly to God’ (St Mary MacKillop, 1871).

On Wednesday 8 August, the Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop was celebrated across the world. At Newman College, our community gave thanks for the life and practical witness to faith of Australia’s first saint with Masses celebrated on Wednesday and Thursday by both our Year 9 students, and the MacKillop Guild at the Marcellin Campus, while our Lavalla Campus was led in a moving prayer assembly by Mrs Lara Gray and the students of Year 3 Green.

As a College community, may we continue to take the practical inspiration from the life of St Mary MacKillop as we seek to live authentically as a Christian community.

What kept you going ‘soft eyes’ St Mary of the Cross?
Love of God and love of people,
Battler, mug, the poor, the rich and the stray.
‘Soft eyes’ Saint Mary of the Cross, Mackillop
Keep us calm and safe.
Mary keep your gaze upon us,
here down under
Mellow our hardened nation’s and church’s hearts
Through Christ Jesus,
In the sunlight of the Spirit
Bless all of us who live under the Southern Cross

 

K-12 Assumption Day Celebrations – Week 5

Wednesday 15 August 2018 is the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast day chosen for the Marist Brothers at the time of their foundation by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers and of Marist Education. To mark this significant Feast and Day of Holy Obligation in the life of the Church as well as the international Marist Institute, our PK-12 College Community will be celebrating the Feast of the Assumption across the College in Week 5.

On Wednesday 15 August, the Marcellin Campus will gather for Mass in the Gym during Period 1. On Friday 17 August, Marian and Lavalla Campuses will both gather at Lavalla Campus for a combined Mass, Buddy Day activities and the annual Lapathon to raise money for the work of Australian Marist Solidarity.

Families can learn more about the work of Australian Marist Solidarity online.

For further information, please refer to the K-12 letter that was sent home by the College in Week 3

Past Events

Building Bridges Project

On Wednesday 8 August, Newman College hosted the Building Bridges project. The Building Bridges Project aims to assist secondary students of different religious backgrounds and cultures, from Years 10 and 11 to build bridges of trust and friendship. Click here to read more and see more photos from the day.

Marist Young Adult Retreat

The Marist Young Adult Retreat took place in Sydney from Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 July 2018. Two of Perth’s Marist Youth Ministry (MYM) team, Emily Redwood and Michael Heelan, attended the conference with the support of Newman College. Michael writes that; “the weekend was very fruitful for our own personal growth, and has offered us a unique insight into the practical application of Christian and Marist values in our day-to-day endeavours.” Click here to read more.

Governors Prayer Breakfast

The Governor’s Prayer Breakfast is an annual event where state leaders join with the community in fellowship and prayer for Western Australia, displaying unity across the denominations. The breakfast is regularly attended by the Chief Justice, the Governor, the Premier, senior State Members of Parliament, the Police Commissioner or his nominee, High School Students and prominent business and community leaders. This year, Year 10 students Mitchell Harris and Celeste Pereira represented the College with Mr Lynch (Deputy Catholic Identity and Mission) and Miss Cole (Leader of Youth Ministry and Advocacy).

24:7 Floreat Youth Group

The Floreat Youth Group meets on Sunday nights between 6pm to 8pm in the Floreat Parish Centre. Almost 30 young people in Years 6 to 12 gathered last Sunday 3 August for a night of fun games and interactive activities that help young people learn about the Christian Faith. Everyone is welcome to join the Youth Group, so if you are interested in participating please call the 24:7 Floreat Youth Ministers, Angela 0455 960 174 or Sebastian 0403 230 395 for more information.

Remar Blue Solidarity Camp

Preparations have begun for the Remar Blue Solidarity Camp which will take place from Wednesday 22 – Tuesday 28 August, in Mullewa, Western Australia. Students began their preparation learning about the meaning of ‘solidarity’ and the importance of being present to people. The second session centred around cultural understanding, where students learnt about the Yamaji people and Wadjarri people; as well as Mullewa and surrounding areas. The next two preparation sessions will focus on the practical aspects of the camp. The Blue rowers and teachers are excited about the trip to Mullewa and are looking forward to walking in solidarity with the community.

Weekly Thursday Morning Community Mass (Champagnat Chapel – 8.10am – 8.35am)

All parents, guardians and families across our PK-12 College are invited to attend the weekly Thursday morning Mass celebrated by Fr Joseph Tran and Fr Mark Baumgarten. Our weekly Newman College Community Mass is an important way that we as a Catholic community seek to nourish and live-out our faith in community with one another.

Why we Challenge our College Community daily

At Newman College, we seek to animate our delivery of teaching, learning and wellbeing as one, which is innovative, creative and rigorous, underpinned by contemporary and relevant practice. Our Vision for Learning Shine through Discovery (Mathew 5:16 Let your light shine) animates our learning community to create, collaborate, create and celebrate whom we are and what we seek to achieve. The principle of challenge is integral to this vision as it commits our learning community daily to set goals, participate, solve problems, be energised, get out of one’s comfort zone, and break down barriers. We challenge and inspire our students to reach the plan God has for them, to let their gifts and talents shine and ensure their hope and aspirations are fulfilled.

Synonymous with our principle of challenge is in the name of our College. The name Newman was chosen in recognition of the great religious thinker of the 19th century, John Henry Newman. Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman was one of the leading figures of the nineteenth century England known as an outstanding writer of English prose and poetry; he was also both a Church historian and a theologian. He published numerous articles and books which have brought greater understanding of the Catholic Church to many, both in the past and in the present. Newman’s beatification was officially proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 – Blessed John Henry Newman.

Newman’s work exemplified a deep love of learning. He challenged others to critically reflect on the role of education in their lives. He firmly believed that learning leads to discovery, exploration and critical thinking. Today, his vision of pursuing excellence in learning is seen across the world in the naming of schools, such as ours, and universities. We aspire and challenge our students to do the same.

#challengeyear12

As a direct example of how we challenge our students every day has been in the development of our #challengeyear12 program. As we near the end of the 2018 graduating class’ tenure, this program has been instrumental in providing strong support and intervention in these students’ final year. This has included but not limited to the expansion of the homework club with master classes across key subject areas; mentoring program including goal setting; expectations on College attendance; Wellbeing initiatives; plus other Year 12 initiated events like last night’s Year 7 disco.

We continue to pray and support our Year 12 students in these final weeks of their formal schooling at Newman College.

Save the Dates: Newman Arts Festival – Wednesday 10 – Friday 12 October 2018

The 2018 Newman College Arts Festival is a celebration of the PK-12 Arts learning journey at Newman College. The event also showcases the artistic endeavours of the STEM learning area.

The Arts Festival will be held in the Marist Auditorium over three days. The schedule of events can be found below:

Wednesday 10 October – The official opening of the festival. We invite the Newman College and wider community to join us in celebrating student Art works created throughout the year and Art projects that have been inspired by collaborative workshops with Artist in residence Andy Quilty.

Andy Quilty our Artist in residence will open the festivities and present a large scale collaborative piece he has created with the Newman College Year 12 Visual Art students. Games and Art activities, for our budding younger artists will be hosted on the oval. These creative endeavours will link to our Marist theme of “hope” and form part of an art installation in the foyer that celebrates the artistic gifts of our youngest members of the community.

Opening night will also include a presentation of the student awards, including a people’s choice award, instrumental, choir and drama performances.

Thursday 11 October – An opportunity for our student community to walk through the exhibition and cast their vote for their favourite work.

Friday 12 October – Parent Social Night. This is an opportunity for our parent community to enjoy drinks, canapes and jazz music with friends, whilst celebrating the student works of the Arts Festival . This parent event also presents an opportunity to bid for an Art piece produced by Andy Quilty. On this evening, Andy Quilty will present to the College community a commissioned portrait of Marcellin Champagnat.

More detailed information about this exciting event will follow.

Newman College is honoured to be the host of the 2018 Australian Marist Cricket Carnival. The Carnival will run from Tuesday 4 December to Tuesday 11 December 2018. Five Marist Schools from Australia will compete and 65 competitors will take part.

Tournaments such as the Marist Cricket Carnival can only be held because of the generosity of those families who billet visiting athletes and we thank those families who have already offered their support. The financial implications of accommodating athletes in hotel/motel type accommodation would soon put an end to such competitions as for many families the cost of the trip would then be beyond their means.

We ask that the Newman Community rally and assist in accommodating visiting athletes as we endeavour to make this Carnival a success. Having children on the Marcellin Campus is certainly not a pre-requisite for billeting athletes. We would be delighted to accept an offer to billet from families with children on our Marian and Lavalla Campuses.

The responsibilities of the billet family include;

• providing the athletes with meals and a bed
• laundry facilities
• ensuring that the athletes meet all the Carnival requirements

Billeting athletes is a wonderful and rewarding experience for both the athlete and the host family. Perhaps one day your child may be fortunate enough to be selected to represent Newman College at a Marist Sporting Carnival and require the generosity of a Marist Family during their interstate stay!

If you are able to assist in providing a visiting athlete with accommodation during the Cricket Carnival please contact Tania Bailey tania.bailey@newman.wa.edu.au or 9204 9444 between the hours of 8.00am to 4.00pm Monday to Thursday. I look forward to hearing from you and am very happy to answer any questions you may have with regard to the Billeting Program.

An advertising flyer with an offer to billet form is attached for your convenience Marist Cricket Carnival Billeting Flyer