It is simply amazing to me that we find ourselves at the end of another school year. Almost every family I have spoken to in the last few weeks has remarked on just how quickly time has passed, and how all of a sudden another year is behind us.
On Tuesday evening we celebrated the graduation of our Year 6 students with a beautiful mass in the Champagnat Chapel, and I imagine for those families in attendance, this year may have felt like it passed even quicker than most. When I used to teach in Year 6, I would remark to my students about the significance of graduation not only for them, but for their parents too. As adults leading busy lives, we tend to rush through things, pausing only to measure our lives in the ‘big’ moments. Watching our kids take their first steps, their first day of school, and now, their last days of primary school. It’s moments like these that really make us pause and wonder, “Where did all the time go?” and I’m sure there are many Year 6 families (and some others perhaps) who have been thinking that this last week.
This year’s Marist theme was Breathe the Spirit of Life (Rm 8:2). My prayer for everyone this Christmas season is that we all find time to do exactly that. To simple sit and be with our families. To turn off our devices, switch off the emails, and connect with those around us who are most important. To talk with each other, and perhaps even rediscover each other. The moments we have together are so precious, and there is nothing more important than making the most of these.
I would like to extend my thanks to all staff, students, and families for their support this year, and for making 2021 such an enjoyable year for all. I wish everyone a safe and happy break and look forward to welcoming you all back in 2022!
God bless
Mr McClorey
Term Dates – 2022
Click here to view the term dates for 2022.
Year 6 Graduation
On Tuesday evening, staff, students, and families gathered to celebrate a beautiful mass for the graduation of our Year 6 students. This was followed an Awards ceremony in the Marist Auditorium, where we recognised a number of students who have worked consistently well over the course of the year. Students also celebrated with a wonderful day out at Adventure World today – a highlight of the Year 6 calendar for sure. We are very grateful for the work of our Year 6 teachers who helped guide and prepare students for this event, as well as all of the staff and families across the College that supported the event.
The full list of student award winners can be found here.
We wholly congratulate all of our Year 6 students and recognise their contributions to our college not just this year, but over all their time in the primary school. We wish them all the best as they prepare to continue their journey into Year 7!
Year 3-5 Awards
On Tuesday morning this week, our campus came together in the Marist Auditorium to celebrate all of our major award winners across Year 3-5. There were three awards presented across each of the three classrooms:
Christian Endeavour – awarded to those students who demonstrate the Marist values in their words and actions; seeking to make Jesus real each day they are here in our community.
Academic Achievement – awarded to those students who have demonstrated a consistently high level of excellence in their learning; embracing the four pillars of challenge, collaborate, create and celebrate to achieve wonderful results, setting a fine example for their peers.
Personal Endeavour – awarded to those students who show a consistent level of grit, determination, and hard work in applying themselves to all that they do. These are the students who understand what it means to not only meet a challenge, but to overcome it too.
You can see a full list of our award winners here.
Also, as part of our awards ceremony, we introduced our new student leaders for 2022. We are delighted to announce those students who will be taking up leadership positions next year as sports captains and student councillors. You can see a full list of our student leaders here.
4 Green Assembly
Two weeks ago, students from 4 Green came together to deliver a wonderful assembly with a very positive message about sustainability and looking after our environment. The 4 Green class spoke about the importance of looking after our natural resources, presenting information through dance and performance. This is such an important message for our young people especially, as they are the ones who are quickly becoming the stewards of our precious planet. We also recognised a number of merit certificate award winners on the day – it is great to see so many students finishing the year so strongly!
5 Blue & 5 Red Assembly
Last week, students of 5 Blue and 5 Red came together to present as assembly item on the different types of governments we might see across the world…including here at Newman College! Students presented as if they were part of a competition to see which government would reign supreme, and although it looked close for a moment, luckily democracy won the day! Well done to our Year 5 students for delivering such a creative and engaging assembly item. We also celebrated more student success with our merit certificates. Well done to all students who received awards on the day.
Marcellin Champagnat Awards
We have been very fortunate to recognise three outstanding individuals over the past few weeks who have received Marcellin Champagnat Awards.
Chloe Male – 5 Green
Chloe has consistently showed compassion, presence and care for other students in the class and around the school. During Spelling Mastery, Chloe asked to sit next to another student who she noticed needs assistance and patiently re spells words for them when they get confused. She continuously tries her hardest in all activities and is always finding ways to help around the classroom. Recently we had a new student join our classroom and Chloe has spent every day slowing down during our class prayers to allow our new student to repeat after her so that they can learn the prayers as well. Chloe is very aware of other students and their needs in and around the classroom. She is always going out of her way to calm down students that she sees upset and often gives up her own things to assist the other student in calming down. You are a star Chloe!
Madeline Faulkner – 6 Blue
Madeline encompasses the Marist Spirit in many ways. Madeline, like Mary, always puts others before herself. She serves others on a regular basis whether it is opening and holding the door for others, wiping down the desks or carrying other students swimming bags when they feel tired, just to name a few. She is empathetic and is always happy to do what is right in order to help. She notices when someone is feeling ‘out of sorts’ and always offers her help and a cheery smile. Everyone’s day is brighter when Madeline is around. Another student (Stella) from another class came up to me and said, “Madeline is just such a nice person.” That is how we all feel. We could not think of a more deserving recipient for the Marcellin Award.
Ava Di Pietro – 4 Green
Ava has been nominated by both her teachers and fellow students. She is a happy, positive influence in the class and consistently seeks out ways to include others in all activities and to highlight their attributes and unique qualities. She is always supportive, helpful, and encouraging and takes the time to make sure that everyone is feeling valued. She leads by example and gives others the confidence to display and use their own talents and abilities. Ava is a ray of sunshine in Four Green and a real asset to the class and to Newman College.
Environment Summit
Last Tuesday, students from the 3 Green class represented our College at the Waste Management and Recycling forum hosted by Christine Tonkin MLA. There were a number of representatives from local councils in attendance, as well as the Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, and Commerce; Hon. Amber Jade Sanderson. Our Year 3 students gave a very engaging and fun presentation on how they had been ‘superheroes’ in their efforts to rebuild our garden patch and the small but meaningful things they have been doing this year to create awareness around sustainability and sound environmental practices. A big thank you to Mrs Gray and our very appropriately named ‘3 Greenies’ for all of their support of this event!
Lavalla Cricket Cup
On Monday this week, Mr Finneran and Mr Martino came down to take part in the first ever Lavalla Cricket Cup. Students from Year 4 battled hard in warm conditions, and had a great time playing an afternoon of cricket. In the end, it was team Martino that ruled the roost. A big thanks to Mrs Tasha Richards for all of her organisation of the day, as well as to our Year 4 students who competed so positively and enthusiastically.
Pizza Pool Days
This week our students in Year 3-5 have celebrated their final week at school with a wonderful afternoon enjoying pizza and the pool! As I was floating along with our Year 3 students on Monday (dominating in the pool volleyball 😛), I was struck by just how fortunate we are to enjoy such amazing facilities at our school, and the wonderful experiences these bring to our students. It was a great afternoon for all of our students, and I think teachers might have enjoyed a bit of a splash too!
Transition Day
Last week, our Year 2 students joined us at the Lavalla campus as part of their transition over from Marian. Accompanied by our student leaders, they had a chance to attend one of our assemblies and visit and learn about all the important parts of our school including the Champagnat chapel, the library, and of course the play spaces. Later than afternoon, all students had the chance to meet their teacher for next year and find out who would be in their class. There was lots of excitement in the air, with students quickly debating who had the best teachers for next year (spoiler alert – we think they are all pretty good 😊 ). The feedback from parents around our transition afternoon was very positive, so we think it might be here to stay for next year too!
Leadership Day
In week 8, our new student leaders from Year 5 and Year 11 attended a joint leadership workshop in preparation for next year. Students heard from Brother Tony Leon who presented to us what leadership looks like in the context of our Four Pillars of Learning, as well as take part in some games and activities that allowed us to get to know each other a little better. Students also examined the College’s vision for Learning, looking at the expectations and behaviours that they see as being most important from our students, as they seek to animate these amongst their peers next year. It was a lovely day out for all students, and we are very grateful to Deputy Principal of Wellbeing, Mrs Pastorelli, and Student Leadership Coordinator, Miss Cristine Guzzomi for all of their support and organisation of the day.
Sing & Strings
Two weeks ago, many of our instrumental and vocal students from across the campus came together to put on a wonderful showcase event. Coordinated by Miss Margaret Goldsmith, students took part in the Sing and Strings evening where we heard from our talented musicians in a variety of solo, duet, and ensemble performances. We also had some students performing vocally, and the choir took part too. We are very grateful for the support of all our music tutors over the year, as well as families who shown wonderful support of our Arts program through their attendance at events and encouraging their children to attend all rehearsals. I am already looking forward to our next event in 2022!
Robotics Incursion
On Monday November 29 our Primary students in the SHINE program participated in a robotics and coding incursion. We were fortunate enough to have Bricks 4 Kids facilitate sessions with all of our SHINE students as they built, coded and tested their own creations. Students in Year 1 and 2 built their cricket walkers. The Year 3 and 4 students worked with Mindstorms EV3© to build, code and test their creations. The Year 5 and 6 students also worked with Mindstorms EV3© and experimented with their coding to create dancing actions and work with light sensors. The students were an excellent example of excellence as they engaged with the instructors, equipment and systems. Thank you to the staff that made the day possible: David Nelson, Katya Anderson, Justin Farley, Imogen Crostella and the outstanding staff from Bricks 4 Kids.
Christmas Carols
Unfortunately, due to the forecast of very hot weather for our Christmas Carols evening, we had to cancel our carols event yesterday. With a predicted forecast of 38 degrees for 5pm we thought it would be safest to cancel, and instead, all classes recorded their carols instead. You can catch this event on our YouTube channel by clicking here.
Booklists
In 2022, both Lavalla and Marian Campuses will not have a student booklist. Teachers will provision the resources for their class via the College’s internal ordering system.
The only thing parents at Lavalla (Year 3 – 6 2022) are asked to provide is a packed pencil case for their child for the beginning of the year. This would include the following items, which can be obtained through whichever stationary supplier you select:
- Pencil case
- Scissors
- Ruler
- 4 x Glue Sticks
- 4 x Lead pencils
- Eraser
- 2 x Blue Pens
- 2 x Red Pens
- Highlighter
- Coloured Pencils
- Textas
- earphones
