Newman News Term 2 Week 2: From the Deputy Principal Secondary
It has been an excellent start to Term 2. Students have returned in good spirts with an eagerness to return to class and their learning. Term 2 is a busy term academically for our senior students who undertake their first round of exams for the year. It is important that students in this time look to take a balanced approach to their studies, making healthy choices in relation to eating, sleeping and social activities. I encourage all students to reach out to their PCG teacher or Leader of Wellbeing if they need support in managing their study routines.
We continue to encourage our students to attend school in their correct uniform and ask our families to support this messaging. Our focus has been wearing the winter uniform with blazer to and from school. It has been pleasing to see students being consistent in the first two weeks.
Attendance at school is important for students to perform well. Research shows that missing school can have a negative impact on students’ academic performance. Over the next fortnight, Leaders of Wellbeing will be communicating with students and families where there are concerns about attendance. This is our commitment to ensuring the best outcomes for all students.
Pastoral Care Program
Over the next 2 weeks, students will be participating in a variety of activities during Extended Pastoral Care program. The purpose is to support students in their wellbeing and address issues that impact students at their appropriate age level. The extended PCG period occurs weekly on a Wednesday.
Year 7 Camp
Information relating to Year 7 Camp has been distributed last term. All instructions on what to bring and the details of what will be occurring has also been communicated to students. Please contact Mr Smith, Leader of Wellbeing Year 7, if you have further questions.
Celebrate
Newman College students Mathew Hyndes, Charlotte, Mollie and Matilda Sullivan, participated in the 24hr Charity Swim for Ocean Heroes Australia. Our students were part of a team who helped raise money by swimming with their team 80000kms in 24hrs. An incredible achievement and something we love to see from our students who share their generosity for the wider community. Congratulations to the students and their families.
Year 11 and 12- Assessments/Examinations
Examination Timetables
Examinations Rules and Procedures
Absentees
- Illness
In the event of illness on the day of an exam, parents are required to notify the College prior to the commencement of the exam and promptly provide a medical certificate via secondaryabsentees@newman.wa.edu.au for the day of the missed examination. Once a medical certificate has been received a time for the student to complete the exam as a formative exercise will be arranged. The student is required to genuinely attempt the task as their performance will be used to validate a standardised score.
- Positive for COVID-19
In the event that a student tests positive for COVID-19, guardians must register a positive rapid antigen test result with the WA Department of Health Here and forward the received confirmation notification to secondaryabsentees@newman.wa.edu.au. Upon receival this will be an approved absence and the calculation of standardised scores for assessments missed during approved periods of illness will be given.
- Externally Set Tasks
Students who miss an EST due to illness must provide a medical certificate upon their return to be eligible to complete the missed EST in the missed assessment sessions run Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The College is required to submit the EST results to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. - Students who do not sit their missed EST by Wednesday of Week 5 will receive a 0 score for the assessment.
- Students on a full General pathway who have not completed their EST by the end of week 4 will be required to attend the makeup sessions in Week 5 to complete their ESTs.
- The following dates and times are available for students to choose when they will complete their missed EST. If they have missed more than 1 EST, students will be required to complete all ESTs, sitting them across multiple sessions in JHN 3.2.
These sessions will be run in:
| Date Week 5 | Start Time |
| Monday 22 of May | Period 1 – 9:05 Period 3 – 11:10am |
| Tuesday 23 May | Period 1 – 9:05am Period 3- 11:10 am |
| Wednesday 24 May | Period 1- 8:50am |
College Weights Room
Being physically active is a way in which we can support and improve our mental and physical wellbeing.
Training in the College Weights Room is one-way students could increase their weekly activity time.
The Weights Room is open on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning from 7.30am-8.15am. All students in Year 9-12 are invited to use the facility. Students who wish to use this venue will need to complete an induction and get a parent/guardian permission form signed to gain access.
HPE staff supervise each session and are available to write programs and offer training advice as required.
Girls Fitness Class
A new initiative being trialled in Term Two is a girls fitness class. Conducted on Thursday mornings, this class will begin in week 3, running from 7.15am-8.15am.
Students in the program will complete a gym induction and learn the basics of weightlifting and fitness training. Run by a qualified fitness instructor, this is a fantastic opportunity for girls to develop their confidence in the gym setting as they build their fitness and have fun in a safe and supportive environment.
Offered to girls in Years 9-12, the class will be capped at twenty students. Female students are asked to register for their interest by emailing Miss Thayer, kate.thayer@newman.wa.edu.au by the end of week 2.
2023 Year 9 Excursion Herdsman Lake
In the last week of Term 1 all Year 9 students walked to Herdsman Lake to learn about the adaptations, features and living needs of the organisms within its ecosystem. How they interact together and with us, how are they classified and how energy flows through these systems.
The students undertook hands-on, outdoor learning discovering the aquatic, bird, animal and plant life, which live in and around Herdsman’s Lake. We started with some introductions and background on the lake and then split into 3 groups to rotate through each of the following activities.
Biotic sampling – students were outside using scoop-nets to sample macro invertebrates. Then they identify, sort and classify their catches, before we put the critters back in the lake.
Abiotic Study – Students then test sites at the lake and drain, to measure water quality including pH, Turbidity, Temperature and Salinity.
Biotic Study – Students undertook a short walk along the lake edge to explore the diversity of birds and other creatures around the lake, to develop an overall snapshot of the quality of the lake at that particular time.
We finished with some time in the Wildlife Centre where students can explore the displays.
The excursion was enjoyed by all and we are very fortunate to have access to a world class wetland area in our own backyard.
Fiona Hassell
Leader of Learning Science
Newman College Surfing Competition
On Monday 1 May 65 students participated in this competition at Trigg Beach assisted by Surfing WA. Thank you to Tom Williams and Michael Van der Heever for their organisation of the event. Students and staff paid tribute to Duncan Pugh with a paddle out at the commencement of the competition. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed being part of this wonderful event.
Champagnat Cup
On Tuesday 02 May our 1st XV111 Football team, Marist Basketball Boys and Girls teams and four Marist Netball teams travelled to St Josephs in Northam where they participated in the Champagnat Cup. Bunbury Catholic College were unfortunately unable to join us this year. It was a great day of competition. Our students participated wholeheartedly, demonstrating their skills, and supporting their teammates, to achieve some exceptional results.
Wednesday 10 May Extended PCG time – Year 11 and Year 12
Azelene Williams will be returning to the College on Wednesday 10 May to speak to our Year 11 and Year 12 students. Azelene will speak to our senior school students about her own lived experience: being caught up in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship.
Azelene’s presentation aligns with our Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum. The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) aims to help children and students to recognise abuse and develop ways of protecting themselves from abuse. It also extends to covering rights, relationships, responsibilities and ethical behaviour. This curriculum is delivered across our Health and Physical Education lessons and our Wellbeing Program.
If you have any concerns about your child attending this session, please contact the relevant Leader of Wellbeing. For further information about Azelene Williams, her experience and topics of discussion, please visit her website: https://azelenewilliams.com/just-for-teens/