From the Vice Principal – Term 2 Week 2

Champagnat Day

Please note that the date that the College will celebrate Champagnat Day has been changed to Friday, 14 June. All students, including Years 11 and 12 with Work Placement and/or TAFE, are required to attend the College celebration.

Extended Absences 

Parents are reminded that all extended absences (3 days or more) must be referred to the Vice Principal by email. 

Year 12 Externally Set Tasks

During Weeks 4 and 5 Year 12 students in General and Foundation Courses will sit Externally Set Tasks, which are compulsory and form part of the school-based assessment.

  • The EST:
    • is a written assessment task
    • is constructed to be completed in 50 minutes
    • is based on selected syllabus content from Unit 3
    • has a 15% weighting

It is important that students attend, and the College’s Assessment Policy will be followed.

Game Changers Retreat Year 9/10

The Year 9/10 Game Changers retreat will take place this Wednesday 1 May. Students will gather to reflect on the role of simplicity in their lives, and how as young Marists, they are encouraged to live in the present. The group will also explore Christian leadership and service through the stories and experiences of Marcellin Champagnat in La Valla and Jesus’ ministry in Capernaum.

Year 3 Reconciliation and Year 4 Eucharistic Retreats

Over the next few weeks, the Year 3 and Year 4 students will have the opportunity to participate in a Sacramental Retreat to deepen their understanding of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, which they have been learning about in class. The retreat days (Year 3 Reconciliation, Thursday 2 May and Year 4 Eucharistic, Thursday 9 May) begin with students participating in our Community Mass, followed by the Retreat, facilitated by 24:7 Youth Ministry. The facilitators provide meaningful and engaging activities that explore how the Sacraments can draw us closer to God and one another. Our prayers are with our students as they prepare to receive the Sacraments.

Year 7 Camp, NAS competition and Science Excursion

The Year 7 cohort have a busy couple of weeks coming up.

The Year 7 cohort will hold their year group Camp at Swan Valley Adventure Centre from Monday 29 April to Wednesday 1 May. The Camp’s theme will build on the Year 7 overarching theme of EMBRACE, fostering bonds, expanding horizons, and stepping out of their comfort zones. Through group activities such as orienteering, bushcraft, and canoeing, they will forge friendships and discover newfound passions, all amidst the stunning backdrop of the Swan Valley. We wish the Year 7s, Leader of Wellbeing Year 7, Mr Hofman, and the dedicated staff attending a wonderful time.

  • On Monday 6 May, the Year 7s will attend the Northern Associated Schools Winter Carnival. Students will participate in Soccer, Netball, Football, Badminton and against 4 other Catholic schools.
  • Thursday 9 May, the Year 7s will be attending the Perth Zoo to assist with their Science curriculum. Guided by zoologists and Perth Zoo staff, students will explore the hierarchical systems and naming conventions that are used to discover more about a selection of fantastic animals. They will explore the concept of taxonomic classification and how other types of classification, such as diet and conservation status, are essential in organising and caring for animals.

ICT Social Media Usage

Please see the link below for information regarding ICT Social Media Usage at Newman College.

ICT Social Media Usage

Staff Farewells

We would like to officially acknowledge those members of staff who concluded their time at Newman College at the end of Term 1 and the beginning of Term 2. We sincerely thank them for their dedication and support of students, parents, and staff during their time at the College and wish them well in their future endeavours.

New Staff Commencing

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the following staff members to our community in the indicated roles.

  • Joti Bhandari – ICT Support Officer
  • Sarwat Ayan – ICT Systems Administrator
  • Jess Wiedermann- Administrative Assistant PK – 2 (Mon-Wed)
  • Ned Shannon- Science and Religious Education Teacher Secondary
  • Rachael Mowatt – Food Technologies Teacher
  • Julia Farinaccio – Religious Education Teacher
  • Elija Meegan – Education Assistant
  • Anne-Marie Terry- Numeracy and Literacy Support Teacher Y3-6
  • Christine Polglaze – Dance Teacher Secondary
  • Rosalba Bottega – Gifted and Talented Teacher 3-6
  • Grace Walker – Languages Teacher Years 3-6 & Secondary
  • Monica Marziano – Languages Teacher Secondary

BETH MURPHY

ACTING VICE PRINCIPAL

From the Principal – Term 2 Week 2

Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome to our first newsletter for Term 2! As we enter this new term, I hope each of you had a blessed Easter, celebrating the joy of Christ’s resurrection and the promise of new life. I trust your break was not only restful but also filled with moments of reflection and renewal, surrounded by the love of family and friends.

Marist Formation Day

Our staff commenced the term with a meaningful Marist Faith Formation Day. We were honoured to welcome the Marist Formation Team from NSW to lead us in a day focused on the theme “First Light – Reveal the Spirit.” The sessions, facilitated by Br Michael and Michael Nayla, were enlightening and deeply appreciated by our staff.

One of the highlights of the day was a reflection on finding the presence of the Holy Spirit in ordinary moments of our lives. This exercise reminded us that God’s grace is always around us, waiting for us to notice and embrace it.

The day was not only educational but also a spiritual rejuvenation for our team, reinforcing our commitment to nurturing our Marist faith and community within our school. We look forward to carrying this inspiration throughout the term and continuing to grow in our understanding of the Marist values that guide us.

ANZAC Services

On Wednesday 24 April, our three campuses united in solemn remembrance during student-led ANZAC ceremonies. Together, students and staff paid tribute to the courageous Australian and New Zealander service personnel who have selflessly served and sacrificed in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping missions.

These ceremonies provided a poignant moment for reflection as we honoured the memory of those who left their homes, including the young men who embarked from Perth to Gallipoli, embodying dedication and values that continue to inspire us.

As we commemorate their sacrifices, we are reminded of the precious freedoms we enjoy today, made possible by the bravery and commitment of our service men and women. Let us always be grateful for their sacrifices and honour their legacy by upholding the values they fought to defend.

Together, we will remember them. Lest we forget.

Y7-Y12 Parent Teacher Interviews

We recently conducted our Year 7-12 Parent-Teacher interviews, both in person at the Auditorium and online. These discussions focused on celebrating student achievements and identifying areas for growth, aiming to provide valuable support for students on their educational journeys.

We encourage both parents and students to actively engage with the feedback provided by teachers. By working together in this partnership, we can effectively support each student in reaching their academic and pastoral goals to ‘let their light shine’.

Thank you to all parents and teachers for your commitment to our students’ success and wellbeing.

School Production – The Tempest

Monday evening was a delightful experience as I had the privilege of attending the first evening show of our captivating adaptation of Shakespeare’s final play, “The Tempest.”

The students’ performance in our Year 12 College production was truly remarkable. Their talent, dedication, and infectious enthusiasm shone through, captivating the audience from start to finish. Each actor brought their character to life with such authenticity, a testament to their hard work and countless hours of rehearsals, leaving the audience spellbound.

A heartfelt congratulations to Mr Joshua Lang and our talented Year 12 Drama students for their exceptional efforts in making the performance a resounding success. A special thank you goes to the dedicated team of teachers and the behind-the-scenes crew whose tireless work ensured a seamless and memorable show.

Wishing you all well for Term 2.

MICHAEL CHIERA
ACTING PRINCIPAL

Primary Update – Term 2 Week 2

Welcome to Term Two! I hope all primary families enjoyed a wonderful Easter holiday break. It has been so nice to have students and staff return to school this week so full of energy and enthusiasm for the term ahead! This term, amongst the engaging curriculum our teachers have prepared and the anticipation of the opening of the 3-6 Building, we have the introduction of two exciting initiatives within the Primary; the URSTRONG Friendship Curriculum and the redevelopment of the Primary Newman Norms and introduction of a positive behaviour system across the Primary. More details can be found further down in this Newsletter.

New Staff

As this term has started, we welcome some new staff members to our Primary Campus:

  • Jess Wiedermann – Administration Assistant PK-2 (Mon-Wed)
  • Rosalba Bottega – Lavalla SHINE Teacher (Mrs Ognenis moving to an Acting Leader of Wellbeing role in the Secondary Campus)
  • Anne-Marie Terry – Lavalla Literacy and Numeracy Support (whilst Mr Kirry is on  leave)
  • Grace Walker – Italian Teacher Years 3-6

We are very lucky to have these wonderful staff members join the Newman College community and please make them feel welcome.

ANZAC Services

On Wednesday our primary students took part in beautiful ANZAC Services, informing and reminding us of the importance of honouring those who have sacrificed so much for our country. It is important that we continue to share this important part of Australia’s history with each new generation of children. Our students are to be commended for the way they were so respectful during these services.

Lavalla Homework Club

Lavalla Homework Club resumes this term for students in Years 3-6.

  • Commences: Week 3
  • When: Tuesday afternoons (Weeks 3-10)
  • Where: Years 5B & 5R classrooms.
  • Time: 3:05-4:30pm (please note pickup is strictly at 4:30pm)

Homework Club is an opportunity for your child to spend time in the afternoon completing their homework, collaborating with peers on tasks/projects, working independently on unfinished work, as well as receiving additional support from teachers who are supervising.

Students are provided time to have their own afternoon snack at 3:05pm, plus a short play, before commencing Homework Club at 3:30pm.

If your child will be attending Homework Club, you are asked to complete the below form so we are aware of expected numbers.

Homework Club Form

URSTRONG Friendship Curriculum

For those who attended my optional parent information session at the start of the year, I shared with you our plans to roll out the URSTRONG Friendship Program across the Primary, commencing in Term 2. URSTRONG is a whole-school strategy that empowers kids with friendship skills to create communities of kindness in schools.

URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. We are proud to now be a URSTRONG School and are committed to empowering our students with friendship skills.

You are invited to take advantage of a FREE parent membership to access hundreds of resources – including an 8 session video series. This will allow you to learn the same language & strategies being taught in the classroom through the Friendology 101 curriculum. We hope that, as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.

As a next step, we would recommend:

  • Click here to view an overview of URSTRONG.
  • Click here to view a video overview of URSTRONG.
  • Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
  • Explore the hundreds of resources available to you!

We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope that, together, we can support your children to have healthy, feel-good friendships.

Our roll out of the program commences next week (Week 3), and then a new lesson will be completed by each class across the primary every fortnight throughout Terms 2 & 3 (8 lessons in total). In each Newsletter, I will keep you updated with the focus of the fortnight, so you can start to use the same language at home with your children.

This program comes highly recommended, and the staff are excited to implement this worthwhile program.

Newman College Norms – Updated in Primary

The Newman Norms for the Primary have been reviewed and have been redeveloped to explicitly state the high expectations of our Primary students, from our Marist spirituality to our personal presentation, attitude, engagement, personal success, and integrity for ourselves and others.

A vibrant and enriching learning community results when these everyday norms are clearly aligned and understood by students and the wider community. Our collective commitment to the Newman Norms sets the stage for an inclusive educational environment where each student is encouraged to surpass their potential and contribute meaningfully to our shared success.

These norms are currently being printed and will be placed in every classroom and around the Primary campuses so they are constantly visible for our students. They will also be shared on the College website.

Positive Behaviour System

To tie in with the redevelopment of our Newman Norms, next week we are introducing a positive behaviour system, encouraging and rewarding students for demonstrating commitment to our College Norms.

Each week as a primary school we will share with the students a focus for the week (taken from our Newman Norms) and staff will focus on identifying and praising students demonstrating this Norm in their daily actions and interactions.

Students actively living out the Norm focus will be given a raffle ticket, which will enter them into a fortnightly draw to win a small prize. The raffle ticket will also be ‘cashed in’ for a coloured token, which will be aligned to the student’s faction. At the front office in Marian and Lavalla, the tokens will be collected in our collection tubes, and the faction that fills their token tube first or has the highest amount of tokens after a certain period of time, will win a reward for the entire faction. More information on this exciting initiative will be shared in the coming Newsletters.

The Zones of Regulation

As per last year, we are excited to be continuing with our Social Emotional Learning Program The Zones of Regulation from Pre-Kindy through to Year 6. The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control.

The Zones of Regulation Framework provides a simple way to think about, talk, and care for our feelings. It uses easy language, a visual structure and is systematic in its approach. It uses four colours (red, blue, green, and yellow) to help us identify how we are feeling on the inside and allows us to explore the tools that support us with emotional regulation.

The Zones of Regulation provides a common language and compassionate framework to support mental health and skill development for all, while also serving as an inclusion strategy for neurodiverse learners, or those who have specific social, emotional, and behavioural needs. The benefits of using this framework in schools include improved self-regulation skills, better social interactions, and increased academic success. This program integrates extremely well with our new URSTRONG program.

We have shared some of The Zones of Regulation resources (linked below) for you to utilise at home including suggested picture books and novels for you and your children to read. We have also shared some information and visuals for each of the four Zones so you can discuss at home with your child.

If you have any queries or questions regarding this program, please feel free to ask your classroom teacher or email your relevant Leader of Wellbeing.

The Zones Book Nook (Early Years)

The Zones Book Nook (Ages 11+)

Zone Information

The Zones Visual

Mrs Battersby
Leader of Wellbeing (PK-2) 

Grammar Professional Learning

At the beginning of Term 2, the Primary Staff spent a day exploring the wonderful world of grammar. This professional learning opportunity aligns with our Talk for Writing approach, which is used in all classrooms from Pre-Kindy to Year 6. This approach follows the three principles of how students learn: imitation, innovation, and independent application. Teachers spent time deepening their own understanding of grammar before focusing on how to teach it within the context of written texts; for, it is in the context of the sentence that we see the function of the word. Some key takeaways from the day include:

  • Grammar is the way words can be put together in order to make sentences.
  • A simple sentence is not a simplistic sentence.
  • Teaching correct grammar terms from a young age is beneficial.
  • Quality over quantity is especially relevant when it comes to writing.

Primary Movie Night

Our Primary Family Movie Night is quickly approaching and I encourage as many Primary families as possible to attend this exciting event – it should be a wonderful event! I look forward to seeing you there!

For more information or to book your ticket click here.

Primary School Build

The Primary School build has been progressing rapidly, with major milestones reached in the first 3 months of the 2024 school year. Our new Administration Block has officially opened, and is a wonderful space to welcome parents and students into the Primary Campus. Landscaping around the building and along the path toward the existing Years 3-5 classrooms will occur over the coming few weeks, creating a beautiful nature play space for our students to utilise. As we enter Term Two, the excitement is building as we eagerly anticipate the opening of our state-of-the-art Years 3-6 Building, slated for mid-way through this term. The 3-6 building is a modern and carefully planned space, with bright, open classrooms and a large number of breakout spaces, catering for the flexible and contemporary curriculum and offerings within the Primary school. We look forward to the opening of this new building in the coming weeks, and welcoming parents to view this amazing space. Here are some progress pictures as we close in on completion.

Ryan von Bergheim

Head of Primary

Teaching & Learning – Term 2 Week 2

At Newman College, we are committed to constantly reflecting on our practices and seeking feedback from students, parents, and staff on our strengths and opportunities for growth. To this end, staff, parents, and students have been invited to participate in the DISA and Leuven surveys. The information collected from these surveys will be used to underpin our 2025-2027 strategic plan.

The purpose of the DISA and what it measures.

Diagnostic Inventory for School Alignment (DISA) is an online diagnostic survey tool, developed by the Leadership Research International (LRI) team at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), that will examine the College’s overall alignment and provides baseline data and gap analysis for the purpose of planning our improvement agenda. DISA is comprised of three surveys customised specifically for staff, parents, and students.

School improvement is a whole-school effort. Success is informed by a cohesive and clearly articulated direction that is identified by the school community, particularly the students, staff, and parents/carers. DISA provides the College with the means to identify our perceived strengths as well as areas requiring work and gaps that need attention.

The purpose of the Leuven and what it measures.

An authentically Marist curriculum will always be informed by Marcellin Champagnat’s core imperative—to educate people to be good Christians and good citizens. What is consistent is the purpose of a Marist school, its characteristic emphases, priorities, cultures, and pedagogical approaches. One of the needs is to ensure that, as a spiritual family, we adapt and contextualise to find fresh ways to articulate its spiritual traditions so that they speak with relevance and saliency to the time and place.

Research indicates that the specifics of charismic traditions rest in the relationships and the particular fusion of the characteristic features common to that charism. A Marist charism expresses its particular spirituality in and through a pedagogy that has a focus on the following characteristics:

  • A ‘synodal’ pedagogy of walking together.
  • A loving pedagogy
  • A pedagogy of holistic formation
  • A pedagogy of family spirit.
  • A pedagogy of presence
  • A pedagogy of simplicity
  • A pedagogy of the love of work
  • A pedagogy of a practical and innovative spirit
  • A pedagogy of effective and responsible solidarity with the poor

The tool measures the mix of these characteristics.

To date, our parent engagement in the DISA and Leuven surveys has been limited and we are still approximately 60 surveys below our target. If you have not yet had the opportunity to engage in the DISA and Leuven survey, it would be much appreciated if you could make time to complete the survey and contribute to the future strategic direction of our college. Details on how to access the surveys were emailed on 27th March 2024. If you no longer have access to this information, please reach out to Christine Antoine Christine.Antoine@newman.wa.edu.au.

From the Vice Principal – Term 1 Week 9

Parent Teacher Interviews (Year 7-12), Tuesday 16 April

To commence Term Two, we are pleased to offer parents the opportunity to meet with teachers at our secondary school to discuss their child’s academic progress. To accommodate the different availabilities of parents, we are once again providing both face-to-face and online meeting options. This ensures that parents can choose the mode of communication that best suits their schedule and preferences.

9.00am – 11.45amOnline Interviews via Teams
12.45pm – 5.30pmIn-person Interviews in the Marist Auditorium

Parents are encouraged to arrange meetings with teachers to discuss the student’s progress, particularly where the teacher has requested a meeting in the Parent Teacher Online system.

Students are required to be present for the interviews and are to wear the Full College Winter Uniform for in-person interviews.

Additional information and instructions for Teams Interviews will be emailed to parents a few days prior to the interviews.

Please feel free to contact Flora Hughes via email flora.hughes@newman.wa.edu.au should you experience any difficulty with logging in to the Parent Teacher Online system.

Student Winter Uniform from Term Two

We recognise the importance of collaboration between the school and parents/guardians in cultivating a culture of pride in students wearing the College uniform. Our staff is dedicated to improving the consistency of our student uniform standards, and we kindly seek your support in this effort.

Starting from Term Two, students are expected to wear the College winter uniform. We encourage students to prepare early to ensure their winter uniform is complete and fits properly, ready for the first day of Term Two. Additionally, we remind students and parents to use discretion regarding haircuts and permanent cosmetic enhancements, such as eyelash extensions, tattooed eyebrows, and facial piercings, during the holidays. These changes may not be easily reversed and likely go against our Uniform Requirements and Personal Appearance Guidelines. In extreme cases, students may be required to rectify their uniform discrepancies before they are permitted to commence classes.

We appreciate your ongoing support. I wish you and your family a happy and holy Easter, and a wonderful holiday break.