Category: Primary

Dear Parents and Guardians

New Principal 2023

This week I met with Mr Andrew Watson who visited our College. We will be meeting regularly over the coming months in preparation for his Principalship at Newman.

Book Week

Since 1945 schools and public libraries have been celebrating Book Week across Australia.  This year the theme is “Dreaming with eyes open”.  We held a number of events across the College throughout the week, including our annual book parade in the primary.

The creativity and imagination displayed by our students is a testimony to their enthusiasm for reading. A love of reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. Every day I sit with my son Stephen and read to him or with him. He is growing an appreciation of literature based on interest but also because of my presence. My interest in his reading has assisted his development and hopefully a lifelong pursuit. One of the great joys in my leadership has been to read to students in the primary school. There is something very special in witnessing students listen with intent to the words that come off the page. The benefits of reading are many. For example, reading increases your imagination; enhances your knowledge; improves your concentration and memory; it reduces stress; expands your vocabulary and strengthens your writing.

Our Annual School Improvement Plan Priority Area – Transformational Learning – has prioritised Literacy over the last two years. We have seen learning gain in our reading across the College supported by our PK-12 Literacy Plan. In 2022 a key strategy has been the introduction of Talk for Writing across K- 10. Talk for Writing is a unique process that uses spoken activities to develop writing skills. Quality writing is created by first expanding and developing students’ oral language skills and then teaching the necessary steps for exceptional sentence, paragraph and text construction.

This strategy is starting to bear its fruit because we are seeing more student engagement in writing and reading. So, as we conclude book week, let us continue to encourage our students to read. Let us see it as a gift, one that can transform their learning and their lives.

Thank you to all staff and students for immersing themselves in the spirit of Book Week at Newman College.  Please see other reports and photos within this newsletter.

Da Vinci Decathlon

The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Students compete in engineering, Mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, Science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy tasks in a collaborative team of 8.

This week, I invited the teams to have lunch with me to celebrate their achievements:

• Year 5 team won first place for Art & Poetry
• Year 6 team won third place for Art & Poetry
• Year 8 team won first place for creative producers
• Year 9 team won third place for Mathematics

Congratulations to all students and to Mrs Lara Ognenis for her leadership and preparation of the students in this wonderful initiative.

Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat – National Assembly III, 26-28 August

The third National Assembly will be held at Mary Mackillop Place in Sydney this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The National Assembly is an opportunity for Marists to carefully discern where we are called to be and what we are called to do in our discipleship of Jesus.

Newman College will be well represented by Director Mission and Catholic Identity – Mr Simon Martino, Leader of Learning Primary – Ms Katya Anderson, Leader of Wellbeing Primary – Mr Stuart McClorey and me.

During our visit to NSW, Mr Martino and I met with several Principals from Marist schools, one of those being Matt Brennan, Principal of St Gregory’s College in Campbelltown. St. Gregory’s is K-12 College, co-education K-6 and a Boys Boarding School Year 7- 12.

As we move towards the second half of the Term let us continue to let our light shine in the weeks ahead.

John Finneran

Key Dates 

Friday August 15: Staff Wellbeing (PUPIL FREE DAY) 
Monday August 18: Faith Day (COLLEGE CLOSED) 
Thursday August 25: PK-Y2 Book Week Parade 
Friday August 26: Y3-Y6 Book Week Parade 

Feast of the Assumption 

Today, Thursday 11 August we celebrated Assumption Day as one whole K-12 Community, and as a part of our Wellbeing Week. We started the day with the Eucharist and then moved to a lapathon, followed by buddy activities in the Primary. Assumption Day is the chosen Feast Day of the Marist Brothers, which is 15 August. Assumption is the doctrine that Mary the mother of Jesus was taken (assumed) into heaven, body and soul, following the end of her earthly life. The meaning of the doctrine is that Mary’s full redemption involved a glorification of her complete personality – it is appropriate for both her human body and her soul to be reunited with God given her impeccable nature whilst present on earth. This glorification, or celebrated salvation, anticipates the promised state offered to all humankind wanting to follow Jesus through Mary’s example. One of our important Marist quotes that guides our aspirational way of being is ‘all to Jesus through Mary’. Mary is our model for Presence and Simplicity. Her surrender and humble acceptance of her significant place in the Church and in the world, epitomises what it means to live ‘in the way of Mary’. The theme for the day was Connected, which gave our students the opportunity to connect with their faith, teachers and with each other as one College Community.  

 
Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment (DISA): URGENT Parental Assistance Required

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. 

Winter Music Night 

Last Monday the College showcased the talents of students in the Marcellin Chamber Ensemble, SIP Band, Concert Winds, Newman Voices, Senior Concert Band, Contemporary Rock Bands, Glee and Ruah. Students had the opportunity of performing their items for family, friends, and staff.  This was a wonderful event that demonstrated their exceptional individual and collective talents. A big congratulations to our performers, comperes, and to the music teachers and support staff who all dedicated their time to enable the success of the event. 

Wellbeing Week 

This week students and staff celebrated Wellbeing Week. The College recognises the importance of educating and raising student awareness in this space. Our activities and learnings encourage students to continue to develop their own wellbeing, enabling them to contribute and participate in our College community. Each day had a different focus: Healthy, Present, Grateful and Connected.  Students participated in various activities across the College to highlight the importance of these themes to our wellbeing.  

On Friday staff will have the opportunity to listen to guest speaker Glenn Mitchell, ABC Sports Broadcaster, as he shares details of his personal journey, highlighting mental health. He will speak about how we can learn to overcome any challenges we may face. 

Thank you to our Wellbeing Captains and staff for their leadership and support of Wellbeing Week. 

Da Vinci Decathlon 

The Da Vinci Decathlon, an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students, took place last week.  Students competed in engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, Science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy tasks in a collaborative team of 8. 

We are very proud of our student participation and congratulate them for their outstanding performance and results. 

Year 5 Team – 1^st place Art and Poetry 

Berkley Blizzard, Grace Patterson, Summer Storey, Nicholas Heng, Gatano Capolingua, Jacob Parry, Sophie Parry, Thomas Abbott. 
 

Year 6 Team – 3^rd Place Art & Poetry 

Madison Bradford, Alessio Gismondi, Bailey Aylmore, Luca Trettel, Deion Fernando, Joshua Woods, Sienna Larcombe, Anabelle Adamini.   

Year 7 team 

Lucas Brunini, Alexander Byrne, Kean D’Souza, Benjamin Davies, Prince Teo, Lachlan Stevens, Felix Sanchez, Brayden Lim.

Year 8 team – 1^st place Creative Producers

Micaela Buddle, Arlo Gaunt, Hannah Woolfrey, Alyssa Petracca, Lachlan Moir-Scott.

Newman Parents Committee (NPC) 

Thank you to those parents who attended the NPC meeting last night. The reframing of this parent engagement forum is now complete, and members of the PK-12 Newman Parents Executive were announced. Thank you to all those who expressed an interest in joining the executive group. Congratulations to our Newman Parent Executives: Gina Thornberry, Benjamin Ker, Christina Folley, Stella Rapanaro. Deborah Attard Portughes. We look forward to working in collaboration with you and our wider parent community in this space. 

Chickenpox Notification

The College wishes to advise parents and guardians that we have been notified of some cases of chickenpox within our College community.   Please click HERE to access Department of Health information.  Our sole purpose in publishing this information is in protecting people’s health. In accordance with our Privacy policy, we preserve the identity of people with medical conditions.

Should you wish to engage in further dialogue pertinent to this information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Parent Teacher Communication Protocols

Parents are reminded that the most efficient and effective method for contacting teachers and support staff is through the staff member’s email address. In most cases, our staff will respond to the communication as appropriate, within 48 hours.   

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.   

CODE OF CONDUCT

Newman College code of conduct found Here

Dear Parents and Guardians

Wellbeing Week

This week we celebrated wellbeing with a particular focus on gratitude.  Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  As a Marist school a key characteristic is our Family Spirit.  As a school of 1900 it is this family spirit that binds us in how we walk with each other and in the relationships that we cultivate. 

In his book, the Kindness Revolution (2021), Hugh MacKay – a well-known sociologist, contends that we can restore hope, rebuild trust and inspire optimism through kindness.

In a world that has been so disrupted through COVID-19, geopolitical wars and the imperative of individualism and competition, showing gratitude, if not kindness, is fundamental to supporting the wellbeing of all people.

I attended the Years 9 and 12 assembly this week where students read out gratitude statements about their peers and teachers, a simple “thank you for charging my laptop”, “thank you for holding my books” or “thank you for saying hello”, were so powerful in their simplicity.  Our children are grateful for each other and for their families.  They imbue a Marist spirit that is predicated on the Gospel’s imperative of love.  Our Founder, St Marcellin Champagnat, asked his Brothers to know and love all people.  This is what we want for our College and this is why Wellbeing Week is one small step to ensuring every child, teacher and family member knows that they are valued, are valuable and are loved.

In a week when we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop of the Cross (8 August) and the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) it is appropriate that we reflect on our immediate and wider Marist family.  We give thanks for our Marist Brothers as they continue to provide support, wisdom and presence in our Marist Community.  I would like to welcome Br Joe Hughes as the newest member of our Marist Churchlands community and we look forward to his presence in our community.

Annual School Improvement Plan Intent – Sustainability

A key priority area in our Annual School Improvement Plan is Sustainability.  In 2022 we have committed to developing “sustainable practices to support an ongoing commitment to the protection of the environment and ongoing sustainability of College resources”, including recycling. 

At our last Secondary School assembly, our College Student Leaders, Isabella O’Rourke and Joshua Downes, challenged the students to consider how they could all be stewards for the environment.  They informed students that “over the coming weeks we are trialling recycling and asking students If the recycling bins are filled with food scraps or with items other than the ones we have just mentioned, then everything in the yellow bins is placed in landfill and is not recycled. Landfill breaks down very slowly and can emit toxins into our soil and groundwater, becoming an environmental hazard for years to come. We ask you all for your support and cooperation in using the recycling bins properly so we can make a start becoming a more environmentally friendly school.”

Our Mini Marist at Lavalla have done the same. 

Please click here to read the content of my speech.

Marist Schools Australia Biennial Conference, Brisbane

Last week, Vice Principal – Lucie McCrory, Deputy Principal Primary – Lisa McClue, Director, Mission and Catholic Identity – Simon Martino, and I attended the Marist Schools Australia National Conference in Brisbane.  Marists from around Australia and beyond gathered together for a series of symposiums and workshops.  Newman College presented two symposiums:

Learning Strand – To Live is to Change; to be Perfect is to have Changed often

Formation Strand – Vision for Mission: To Form “Good Christians and Good Citizens”

Both presentations were well received and we enjoyed very positive feedback.  Overall, the conference was outstanding and an excellent opportunity for our leadership staff to promote the College’s School Improvement agenda as well highlight the central role of ministry at Newman College. 

COVID- 19 Update

The Department of Health leads our state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advice from the Chief Health Officer is that mask wearing has proven to be a highly effective method of reducing the spread of COVID-19. The state government will continue to provide the public with timely and scientifically proven advice.  This information is updated regularly and can be found on HealthyWA.

Mask wearing is one of a number of measures we currently have in place to reduce the number of serious cases in the community and to protect ourselves from COVID-19. Whilst strongly encouraged, mask wearing is not mandatory except when travelling on public transport (including school buses) and when following the testing and isolation protocols as a close contact.

Working together, we can all help to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in our school.