Category: Secondary

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 21^st 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  

Our Marist characteristics of Presence and Family Spirt connect directly to the Gospel this weekend, where Jesus prayed to his Father asking for his followers to remain connected and united in his absence. When we have a connection with someone, we typically make time to listen to and be with him or her; we think about one another and are driven to help during difficult situations. Connected people have a joint desire to want the best for the other person. They experience love for the other, to the extent that the person loves themselves. Jesus’s great hope for his disciples was that they would be united and experience the joy of each other’s presence, just like Jesus experienced the Father’s presence. In any community, no one is really separate. Each person impacts others through actions, words, and attitudes. We are blessed to have a vibrant and welcoming community here at Newman, for this Marist foundation built on Family Spirit, and Presence are necessary ingredients for learning and growth.    

Newman Parents Forum

Our next Neman Parent Forum is on Monday 22 May at 6.00pm in the St John Henry Newman Learning Hub. It will be a great opportunity to meet the new Principal, Mr Andrew Watson, speak with Executive members and collaborate with other parents. Agenda items and a link to join online can be found in the Principal’s section of the newsletter. We encourage as many parents as possible to attend and look forward to seeing you there. 

Zero to Hero Parent Information Series – Wed 7 June, 6.30pm Marist Auditorium

Zero to Hero and Newman College are proud to present a seminar not to be missed.  This information session is designed for all parents of children in both Primary or Secondary, and we strongly encourage parents to attend. A leading panel of experts in youth mental health and behavioural/emotional coaching will provide you with information and tools to help your child navigate adolescence. This is a ticketed event – click HERE to purchase.

Uniform Review and Alignment Committee

Thank you to those parents and staff who have submitted their expression of interest to join this committee. We will contact individuals in the coming week with more details.

Examinations

Examinations begin next week, starting with Year 12 and then Year 11 the following week. Communications have been sent home via email from the Leaders of Wellbeing.    

Year 12 examinations commence in Week 5 – Monday 22 May (Timetable) 

Year 11 examinations commence in week 6 – Monday 29 May (Timetable) 

Examination Rules   

Study Techniques

For students to be best prepared for their exams, it is a timely reminder they are utilising the best study techniques and routines.  Regular reviewing and revising are extremely important parts of the process of knowledge consolidation. See the below post from Edutopia for study tips.  

Questions students should consider:  

1. Have you got a study routine in place that includes breaks and down time?  

2. Have you asked someone to keep you accountable to your study routine?  

3. Are you studying effectively?  

4. Is your learning space conducive to study?  

5. What does the research say about studying? Read the below excerpt from the article written in Edutopia ‘5 Research-Backed Studying Techniques’  

FIVE HIGH-INTENSITY STUDY HABITS

Researchers have found that the following techniques increase sustainable learning and retention when incorporated into students’ daily study habits. These techniques are difficult and require effort, and they slow down learning. Initially, the learning gains seem to be smaller than with some ineffective practices. However, these techniques lead to long-term mastery.  

 
The book Make It Stick identifies several research-proven studying techniques.  

1. Pre-test: When students practice answering questions, even incorrectly, before learning the content, their future learning is enhanced. Research has shown that pre-testing improves post-test results more than spending the same amount of time studying.  

2. Spaced practice: Spacing out study sessions—focusing on a topic for a short period on different days—has been shown to improve retention and recall more than massed practice. The book How We Learn explains that spaced practice can feel difficult due to an initial forgetting of knowledge—reacquiring that knowledge takes effort.  

3. Creating flashcards that can be used for spaced practice and self-quizzing is effective. Students should create different piles when reviewing the flash cards. The cards they’re able to answer immediately should be placed in a pile to review three days later; those answered with some difficulty should be reviewed two days later; and those that they answered incorrectly should be reviewed the next day.  

4. Self-quizzing: Testing has a negative connotation in this era of standardized testing, but it is a form of active retrieval practice. Encourage students to make test questions for themselves as they learn a new concept, thinking about the types of questions you might ask on a quiz or test. They should incorporate these quizzes into their study sessions, answering every question, even those they believe they know well.  

5. Interleaving practice: Students may rely on blocked practice, studying a set of problems—such as multiplication problems—as a group until they feel mastery. A more effective method of studying is to work on a set of problems that are related but not all of the same kind—for example, a set of math word problems that call for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. The consecutive problems cannot be solved with the same strategy. This is more effective than doing one multiplication problem after another.  

6. Paraphrasing and reflecting: Many of us have read a few paragraphs in a textbook only to realize that we didn’t retain a single concept or key point presented in those paragraphs. To show your students how to combat this, have them utilize intentional learning strategies. These include relating what is being learned to prior knowledge, thinking about how they would explain the content to a 5-year-old, and reflecting on and asking questions about the content.  

The Importance of Student Attendance

We would like to share some information regarding student attendance with our community. 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 attendance on a daily basis.

New Staff

Please welcome the following staff to our Newman College Community.  
Mrs Cara Miraudo: Year 7 to 12 Student Administration  

CODE OF CONDUCT

Attendance General Correspondence

‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’ Matthew 28:18-20 

This month we have been celebrating May as the month of Mary. Earlier this week, Mr Nelson’s Year 11 PCG team led us in a crowning ceremony of Mary, to recognise her special place in our community. You can watch the ceremony here. 

Here is a short prayer that you might like to pray or share with others over the week. 

Dear God, 

As we gather together in this month of May, we ask for the intercession of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our spiritual mother. We thank you for the gift of her love, compassion, and guidance, which continues to inspire us and lead us closer to you. 

We pray for ourselves and each other, that we may be blessed with wisdom, strength, and grace as we seek lead and serve our school community. May we be guided by Mary’s example of humility, obedience, and faith, and may we always seek to put the needs of others before our own. 

We ask that Mary intercede for us in all our endeavours. May she help us to be faithful witnesses to your love and mercy, and may she guide us towards a deeper relationship with you. 

We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.  

Amen. 

Year 3 and Year 4 Retreats 

Over the past two weeks, students in Year 3 and Year 4 have had the opportunity to participate in a Sacramental Retreat, presented by 24:7 Youth Ministry. The students have been learning about the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist in their classrooms, and the retreats were a fantastic opportunity to deepen their understanding of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. We keep our Year 3 and Year 4 students in our prayers as they receive the sacraments this year. Some of our students have prepared reflections on their day. 

 I loved all the activities, especially the one when we cut the paper cup into pieces and we had to put them back together. This helped show us that it is hard when we break the rules, but we can say sorry and make friends again. – Leo Andrezejewski 

I learnt that sometimes your decisions can affect people around you and Reconciliation is a time when you say sorry for the mistakes you make. I loved the game which helped us learn about Reconciliation and the games where we linked arms. – Emily Anderson 

The Reconciliation Retreat was a fantastic day and we all had lots of fun. I learnt that you can always become friends with people again if you are kind and caring and say sorry. – Chanel Italiano 

Marist Connect Night 

Last night, some of our senior students joined students from St Joseph’s School in Northam for our Marist Connect night. These are held once every term and are a good chance for the young people of our College to connect with other students from Marist communities. The theme of the evening was perspectives, and how we can take the time to be more aware of ourselves and those around us. This helps lead us to be curious about others rather than judgemental and to try and understand others rather than enter into conflict. It was also a good time for students to take some time out from the very busy and sometimes stressful time of exam preparation and instead just connect with their friends while forming new relationships. A big thanks to our Izzy from Marist Youth Ministry for her support in coordinating and leading the evening. 

LifeLink Launch

Yesterday, Mrs Peters and I travelled with a group of students to Aranmore Catholic College for the launch of the Archbishop’s LifeLink Appeal for 2023. Led by the Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe, and Director of Catholic Education Western Australia Dr. Debra Sayce, the day was a great opportunity to better understand some of the work of LifeLink, as well as engage in some conversation about what it means to be part of the Church today. Students had the chance to discuss a number of contemporary issues including how we can make the Church inviting to those living on the margins of society, and the example we can draw from the words and actions of Pope Francis. It was a wonderful event, and we are looking forward to hosting the Primary Schools Launch here at Newman College in just a few weeks time. 

Year 8 Game Changers Retreat 

On the 9th of May, the Year 8 game changers group had the opportunity to take a day away from school to develop their leadership and team-building skills, and also to reflect on the importance of relationships in their lives. We kicked the day off with a few games to help the students get to know each other, then their teamwork skills were put to the test when they were challenged with 3 mini-workshops, including one that required them to build a tower from marshmallows and pasta! After lunch, and a reminder of Mother Mary’s relationship with her friend Elizabeth, the Game Changers group were given the opportunity to reflect on their own relationships with their family and friends and the importance of such relationships throughout their lives. Thus, by the end of the retreat, this small group of students had some huge ambitions to work together and create a better school environment for the year ahead! – Izzy Ochtman (Marist Youth Ministry & Youth Chaplain) 

Upcoming Events

Thursday 25 May – Year 5 & 6 Liturgy 

Tuesday 30 May – Game Changers Meeting (Years 7-10) 

Wednesday 31 May – Year 10 Mass 

Thursday 1 June – Marian Campus Liturgy (St. Cecilia’s Church 9.00am) 

Community Mass  

A reminder that the whole College community is warmly invited to join us in the Champagnat Chapel at 8.10am on Thursday mornings for Mass celebrated by one of our local Parish Priests and hosted by our students from Marcellin and Lavalla.   

Please see the upcoming schedule for the next two weeks:  

Thursday 25 May, Romero and 3 Red 

Thursday 1 June , MacKillop and 6 Green 

We look forward to seeing you there.