People listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses. – Evangelii Nuntiandi
As a Catholic community we strive to be witnesses to our young people and each other through our actions. The final two weeks of term 3 sees our attention drawn to our Year 12 students. Our prayer in the final two weeks is they finish and finish well, recognising the dignity of each other and celebrating the success of their time at Newman College. As a Marist community we like Champagnat, hope that their lives may be an echo of what they have been taught during their time at the College.
Newman College Parents Morning Retreat: Golden Thread
Our Marist Tradition offers our community so many different opportunities for formation. This term we are offering a Parent Retreat. Br Bill is the Director of the Hermitage located in Mittagong NSW. Throughout the year, he comes to Newman College to work with staff in faith formation. He is scheduled to return this term in Week 9 and once again spend the week with staff across the College. This time we are offering a Parent Retreat focussing on the Golden Thread. All are invited to attend, regardless of their religious experience. Please register here.
Morning session: Thursday 15 September 9.00am – 11.00am
Community Mass
A warm welcome is extended to the whole Newman College community to join us for our regular Thursday morning Community Mass commencing at 8.10am in the Champagnat Chapel on the Marcellin Campus. The Mass is celebrated by a Priest from one of our local parishes and is hosted by both secondary and primary school students. The schedule for the next 2 weeks is as follows;
Week 9 Thursday 22 September, Fr Garner hosted by Catherine & Yr6 Blue
Week 10 Thursday 29 September, Mons Kevin Long hosted by Brigid & Yr6 Green
Thu 15 Sep – Y6 IPSHA Athletics Carnival, All Saints College, Bull Creek
Thu 15 Sep – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Opening Night, 6.30pm, Marist Auditorium
Thu 22 Sep – Year 12 last day
Thu 22 Sep – Year 12 Ball, 6.30pm – 11.00pm, Frasers Restaurant, Kings Park
Fri 23 Sep – End of Term 3
Welcome to Week 8 and welcome to spring. This week there were a number of focuses on wellbeing and resilience across the school. As we finish another busy and productive term, it is a timely reminder to check in on each other to ensure our Marist family are travelling well. Over the last two weeks we have had Newman students compete across the school in the Speak Up finals in Primary and the Spirit of the Arts, Catholic Performing Arts festival continues for students in Years 3 to 12. Our Primary Athletics Carnival was a great success today, with the sun coming out to shine as our young people exhibited the sportsmanship and participation that defines our Marist family. The Year 7s came together to dance the night away on Thursday of this week and our Year 10 Children, Family and the Community students took on a virtual baby during Week 7 – they were shattered by the end of the week. There were numerous excursions and camps across Primary and secondary, including Outdoor Education, Humanities, Science and Gamechangers. It is magnificent to see that we are once again able to provide these life-giving experiences of challenge, collaboration, and celebration to our students.
NAPLAN
NAPLAN Reports for our Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will go live on SEQTA next week, Friday 16 September. Hard copies will be posted to your mailing address.
R U OK? Day
Yesterday was R U OK? Day, the National Day of Action to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. Students and staff were reminded that every day is the day to ask “are you OK?” Starting meaningful conversations when we notice signs that people we care about might be struggling could help them to open up. Asking if someone is okay is not always easy, but it could change a life.
Staff and students were encouraged to accessorise with yellow items. Yellow iced cupcakes were available for sale on all campuses, proceeds of which will go to R U OK to use towards mental health awareness.
Zero2Hero
On Monday 5 September we held the first of our parenting series presentations. In partnership with Zero2Hero, Newman College invited three well known experts to our Marist Auditorium to speak to our parent and broader community on Resilience, specifically providing thoughtful insights into how to develop Resilient Young Minds, Claire Eaton, Claire Orange, and Linda Stade. As a mother to a lively 13-year-old, I certainly found the session useful, and entertaining. My take aways…there is no substitution for connection and presence with your child. Teach you tween or teen how to focus on trying to stay above the line at least 80% of the time. When your young person approaches you with outrageous comments or tricky topical conversations, raise your eyebrows in a curious manner and seek further information. Finally, when conflicts and disagreements occur in peer groups, try not to get involved. Instead encourage your young person to Look for the good, Lift others up or failing that, Leave the person alone, give them space. Claire Eaton referred to these as the three Ls.
Languages / Multicultural Week
The Languages Learning, once again, provided our students with various events throughout the week, Taiko – Japanese drums, Brazilian dancers, Indonesian musicians, accordion performance, and the ever-popular gelato van! These events are just some ways we can bring greater cultural awareness to the College.
Historically, this week is about celebrating those who have come from other areas of the world, and being able to share their culture, beliefs, and values with our multi-cultural country.
Year 7 2023 Parent Information Evening
The College is running the Year 7 2023 Parent Information Evening on Monday 12 September at 6.30pm in the Marist Auditorium. This presentation covers relevant information about your child’s Year 7 experience in preparation for their transition from their current schools into their first year of secondary schooling here at Newman.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – College Production
Excitement is building as we get closer to the opening night of our College production. Students, staff and members of our College community have been working very hard to ensure they dazzle you with their musical skills and creativity.
Based on the famous novel by Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features an original score composed by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray) and a book by David Greig. The score also pays homage to the Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley score from the 1971 film with songs from the motion picture including “Candy Man,” “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” “Oompa Loompa Song,” and “Pure Imagination.”
Tickets are going fast so be sure to secure your tickets to a night of pure imagination! Click here to purchase your tickets.
15/09/22 Opening night: 6.30pm
16/09/22 Performance 2: 6.30pm
17/05/22 Performance 3: 11.00am
17/09/22 Performance 4: 6.30pm
18/09/22 Performance 5: 11.00am
SHINE Announcements
It is with great pleasure to announce some of the wonderful events our SHINE students have participated in recently.
Firstly, at Lavalla several students participated in the Children’s Book Council of WA Create a Book competition. Students spent time carefully curating their books and developing their stories. It is exciting to announce that Kate Gordon in Year 4 achieved second place for her book “Brother, Sister” in the story book category. We congratulate Kate for her efforts and her success in this wonderful competition. Well done Kate, we cannot wait to read more of your wonderful stories.
This term we have several students working towards the FameLab Academy Science communication competition. The FameLab is the world’s leading science communication competition that aims to discover charismatic early career scientists who can inspire people to see the world from new perspectives. We commend our school finalists – Ethan Wynne (Year 9 – Physics); Holly Kallawk (Year 9 – Space); Leyla Do (Year 9 – Height); Hannah Woolfrey (Year 8 – the heart) and Alyssa Petracca (Year 8 – Fingerprints). It is exciting to commend Leyla Do (Year 9) who will participate in the State Final on September 20 at the Heath Ledger Theatre.
Students Who Have Participated in State and National Representation
The College would like to recognise and celebrate the achievements of those students who have represented their team, sport, or activity at a state or national level. If your child has participated in an activity that falls within that category, we would love to hear from you. Please complete this form to let us know of your child’s achievement.
This week we announced the appointment of Mrs Lisa McClue to the position of Principal at Our Lady of Good Counsel Karrinyup.
This is a wonderful and well-deserved opportunity for Lisa. She is an authentic faith filled leader who has great passion for young people and their learning. She has a great technical proficiency to analyse a student’s learning journey and respond both strategically and operationally. She is a people person who engages well with all members of the community. Lisa has been a highly valued member of the College Executive and Senior Leadership Teams.
We look forward to farewelling Lisa at the end of the year to wish her well and to acknowledge her vast contributions to Newman College during her tenure.
I will be working with Marist Schools Australia in the coming weeks on the appointment process for the replacement of Lisa, to commence at Newman College in January 2023.
Acting Deputy Principal Secondary
This week we farewell Mrs Carla Pastorelli, Deputy Principal Secondary, as she commences parental leave. Our best wishes go with Carla as she embarks on this new phase of her journey.
Mr Simon Martino, currently Director of Mission and Catholic Identity, has been appointed Acting Deputy Principal Secondary, commencing this week. Mr Stuart McClorey has been appointed to the position of Acting Director of Mission and Catholic Identity.
National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC)Conference
Earlier this week I attended the NCEC Conference “The Future is Listening” in Melbourne.
Delegates were addressed by the Most Rev Peter Comensoli – Archbishop of Melbourne, Nicholas Moore – Chair NCEC, Hon Jacinta Collins – Executive Director NCEC, Federal Minister for Education – Jason Clare MP, as well as other notable speakers.
The major themes that emerged were:
The ongoing formation of staff, students and families respective to the declining number of Catholics as per the last census.
School improvement – sector and school strategic priorities and measurement to ensure learning gain for each student over their primary and secondary education.
Educational pathways that are responsive to technology, sectorial needs.
Student agency.
Wellbeing of staff, students and appropriate resourcing.
Funding allocation for Catholic schools.
Workforce retention and recruitment.
Our school is entering the final year of a 3 year strategic directions plan as of the end of 2023. We have just completed our school climate survey (DISA) which will provide significant feedback and input into the consultation period for our Strategic Directions going forward. The aforementioned themes will be instructive in determining the future directions of our community. What continues to be assured is the importance of teachers, their development and their capacity to ensure that our students have the very best learning experience.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I highly recommend families attend our 2022 College Production. This musical is based on the 1964 children’s novel by Roald Dahl and has devoured the hearts of readers and theatre goers over many years. I am sure that everyone will enjoy seeing Charlie Bucket and his Grandpa Joe as they join a small group of contest winners who get to tour the magical and mysterious factory of the unusual candy maker Willy Wonka.
The very first parent centred partnership event with Newman College and Zero2Hero was held on Monday evening.
A big thank you to all those staff, parents and guardians who attended the event. 500 people attended and enjoyed a highly engaging and educational session, focussing on building the resilience of our children. The feedback has been extremely positive.
Zero2Hero has committed to developing a series of similar events across the Calendar year to educate and engage our parent community. Should you wish to provide input into which topics are chosen, please click here.
Thursday 1 September – Lavalla and Marcellin Father’s Day Celebration Friday 2 September – Marian Father’s Day Celebration Monday 5 September – Resilient Young Minds Presentation, Marist Auditorium 6.30pm
Introduction
The last two weeks has been a busy period for events at the College. This week alone saw our Book Week celebrations, author visits and parades across the College. Our STEM festival ran activities from Years 3 to 12, our Year 11 Gamechanger students attended their Solidarity Immersion in Mullewa and our NAS carnivals occurred in the secondary years; the students and staff should be recognised and acknowledged for their engagement in these activities. The Catholic Performing Arts Festival ‘Spirit of the Arts’ continues to run for Catholic Schools across the state, and our musicians have been performing fabulously and should be commended.
URGENT Parental Assistance Required Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment (DISA)
As mentioned in earlier correspondence, Newman College is committed to annual school improvement, and we are seeking feedback from all members of our community to refine practices. This requires your engagement through the completion of the DISA survey.
The DISA is a longitudinal survey that evaluates the perceptions of students, parents and staff on the progress of school improvement strategies and our Vision for Learning. It would be greatly appreciated if you could complete the survey here. It is anonymous, no log-in or password are required, and it takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Your responses will play a valuable part in shaping the strategic vision of Newman College for the years to come.
Sincere thanks for your ongoing support.
Resilient Young Minds – Monday 5 September, 6.30pm, Marist Auditorium
Newman College, in conjunction with Zero2Hero, are pleased to be hosting their expert panel, Claire Orange, Claire Eaton and Linda Stade. They will deliver a presentation that addresses how we can best support our children by creating ‘Resilient Young Minds’. We strongly encourage parents to attend this very informative event.
Please note: this is a ticketed event for catering purposes. Please click HERE for details and to purchase tickets.
Father’s Day Celebrations
In the lead up to Father’s Day, the College will celebrate Dads, Grandads and all the significant men in our students lives. We will honour these special men at the following events.
Lavalla and Marcellin Campus – Thursday 1 September at 8.10am Community Mass in the Champagnat Chapel, followed by refreshments.
Marian Campus – Friday 2 September at 8.00am BBQ Breakfast on the Marian Oval Followed by a Liturgy at 9.00am at St Cecilia’s Church.
For catering purposes, please click HERE to register your attendance.
Book Week
Throughout Week 6 our students celebrated the important role reading plays in our lives and in education. This year the theme was “Dreaming with Eyes Open”. Students enjoyed a variety of events including meeting authors HM Waugh and Raewyn Caisley, and Captain Cleanup visited the Marian Campus.
As usual, the highlight for our Primary students was our Book Week dress up parades where students and staff came together to parade their wonderfully creative costumes of their favourite book characters.
National Science Week (STEM)
This year to celebrate National Science Week the College held a combined event running over two weeks. Both Marcellin and Lavalla students were involved in the 14 events that were organised by the Science, Technologies, and Mathematics Learning Areas. More information to come in upcoming newsletters.
Wellbeing Framework
This week our PK to Year 12 teaching staff came together to collaborate on a Vision for Wellbeing. Our Vision for Wellbeing has its roots in our Marist charism, positive psychology, and the latest research on student wellbeing.
We know that spirituality plays a significant role in assisting humans to feel a higher sense of purpose, peace, hope, and meaning. A rich spirituality assists humans to experience better confidence, self-esteem, and self-control. Our Marist spirituality and characteristics can help students to make sense of life’s experiences in a hope-filled manner. When unwell, our connected spirituality can at times help us to access inner strength and may result in faster recovery.
We aim to launch this framework at the start of next year. Phase two of the collaboration will include student and parent feedback.
Students Who Have Participated in State and National Representation
The College would like to recognise and celebrate the achievements of those students who have represented their team, sport, or activity at a state or national level. If your child has participated in an activity that falls within that category, we would love to hear from you. Please complete this form to let us know of your child’s achievement.
NPC Minutes
Please click HERE to access the minutes from the last NPC meeting which was held on Wednesday 10 August.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 31 October. Reminders will be sent nearer the time.
Staff Appointments
Compliance Officer – Kaine James Administration Assistant – Sarah Migro Italian Secondary – Miriam Dell’Oro
This Sunday 28 August is Social Justice Sunday and coincides with the launch of the Social Justice Statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. The Statement Respect: Confronting Violence and Abuse aims to respond to the calls for a greater awareness to respect in relationships. The message from the Bishops seek to support those who suffer violence and abuse and seeking to promote change in attitudes and behaviour. As a Marist community we continue to promote this message through our Marist theme for 2022 Dignity for All: Known and Loved. The statement outlines the voices that need to be heard, it identifies the major enablers and drivers of the issue, why this is an issue for us as a Church and steps we can take as a community to create a community that recognises the dignity for all that builds respectful relationships.
An excerpt from the statement below:
Jesus Rejects Violence
Jesus’ way of relating to women could not be more different from the toxic masculinity of the ‘man box rules’. Consider the story of the woman threatened with stoning (John 8:1-11). A woman – but somehow not the man – caught committing adultery is dragged in front of Jesus in the temple by the Scribes and Pharisees in order to set a trap for Jesus. Her life hangs in the balance, but she is not allowed to speak. She is treated as a non-person, disposable, just a tool in a power game.
Jesus uses his status as a male teacher to turn the situation around. He rejects the Scribes’ and Pharisees’ understanding of sin and God’s response to it, which appears to justify violence against women. He actively intervenes to prevent it. Jesus’ response shows that an authentic understanding of the righteousness of God concerning relations between women and men is transformative and saves all concerned from such violence. In this story Jesus rejects the use of religious traditions to justify violence.
With Father’s Day approaching on Sunday September 4, we are taking the opportunity to celebrate the importance of fathers and father figures in our families and to thank them for their contribution to our community.
On Thursday 1 September we warmly invite fathers, grandfathers and father figures to join us at 8.10am for our Community Mass in the Champagnat Chapel and to stay after Mass for refreshments with staff and students.
On Friday September 2, the children and staff at the Marian Campus would love to see all the fathers, grandfathers and father figures for an early breakfast at 8.00am on the Marian Oval before continuing with a special Father’s Day liturgy in St Cecilia’s Church.
Please complete this form to register your attendance for catering purposes thank you.
We wish all the Fathers in our Newman College community a very happy and enjoyable day next Sunday.
Year 11 Solidarity Mullewa
Thirteen Year 11 Game Changers have spent this week experiencing a Solidarity Camp in the regional town of Mullewa, 450 Kms north of Perth. Students were led by Bonnie Keynes (Year 11 Game Changers Leader), Aleisha Bryson (Leader of Youth Ministry and Advocacy) and fortunate to have Br Paul Murphy accompany them.
As we seek to respond to Champagnat’s call to form good Christians and good citizens, through discernment and reflection students have an opportunity to experience ‘service’ and we hope will be inspired to take further action in recognising the dignity of all whilst deepening their experience of communal living within a Christian context.
On the quiet bus back we tiredly reflected on having to say goodbye to the bright welcoming faces of Mullewa. The friends we made along the way, in particular the students of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Father Rob O’Bryan, and Kevin, were all sad to see us leave especially after our incredible hosting of the whole school disco on Thursday night. We spent our lunchtimes playing countless numbers of tag and together we helped the community clean up the cemetery. The peak of our community service was when the group assisted in setting up for the town’s local wildflower and agriculture show where we met the wonderfully devoted volunteers of Mullewa. We spent our afternoons hanging out at the local youth centre where we fixed a bike, made landscape artworks, and bonded with the locals. We arrived hopeful and our expectations were far exceeded.
Reflection written by Michael and Emily
Marist Connect Night
On Tuesday evening, students from Bunbury Catholic College and St Joseph’s Northam met together with our Year 12 students for a Marist Connect Night held in the Champagnat Chapel. This event is an example of our three Marist communities coming together to celebrate our relationship and commitment to the Marist charism.
Students enjoyed making connections with their peers, exploring the concept of “dignity for all” with the Youth Ministry Team and hearing about the challenges and joy of post-school life.
The connection of our young people across the three schools is an exciting opportunity presented to our students because of our connection to the Marist family. We look forward to the schools gathering again in Term 4.
The Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat
The Perth local Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat continues to gather regularly to foster community and offer formation for people who are committed to living in the Marist Tradition. On Sunday 21 August, people came together to celebrate the Eucharist at St Joseph’s Subiaco and gathered in the Upper Room with family and friends to share a meal. The group took the opportunity to reflect on the importance of why we gather as some of its members prepare to head to Sydney to participate in the third National Assembly. This event is a coming together of Marists from all around the country to reflect on what it means to be Marist and what it means to belong to the Marist Association. I look forward to sharing back to the community on how the Marist Association will continue to offer formation, outreach and community for those who are seeking to live our Marist charism.
Newman College Parents Morning Retreat: Golden Thread
Our Marist Tradition offers our community so many different opportunities for formation. This term we are offering a Parent Retreat. Br Bill is the Director of the Hermitage located in Mittagong NSW. Throughout the year, he comes to Newman College to work with staff in faith formation. He is scheduled to return this term in Week 9 and once again spend the week with staff across the College. This time we are offering a Parent Retreat focussing on the Golden Thread. All are invited to attend, regardless of their religious experience. Please register here.
Morning session: Thursday 15 September 9.00am – 11.00am
Community Mass
A warm welcome is extended to the whole Newman College community to join us for our regular Thursday morning Community Mass commencing at 8.10am in the Champagnat Chapel on the Marcellin Campus . The Mass is celebrated by a Priest from one of our local parishes and is hosted by both secondary and primary school students. The schedule for the next 2 weeks is as follows;
Week 7 Thursday 1 September (Father’s Day Celebration): Fr Hyginus, Thomas More and Year 3 Green
Week 8 Thursday 8 September: Fr Hyginus, Marcellin and Year 6 Red
