Newman News Term 3 Week 4 : From the Acting Principal
Feast of the Assumption
This week we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption as a K-12 College, which is the Patronal Feast Day of the Marist Brothers. One aspect that makes us Catholics different from other Christian denominations is our developed and rich understanding of Mary. We have a tradition that gives Mary the honour and respect that she deserves. Marists direct their life in the way of Mary, they acknowledge that she can teach us a great deal through her examples of virtue and saying yes to whatever God passed to her, with faith, grace, and courage. She has a special role within our Church and particularly within our Marist Tradition. Pray with Mary, as an ever-present mother, and she will lead you into a far deeper relationship with Christ. Your spirituality will be much deeper than you could ever achieve by your own direction.
For the first time, Newman College conducted concurrent Masses, comprising a combination of Year Groups. The Pre-primary and Years 2, 3, 5, 9 and 11 Students celebrated Mass together in the Auditorium and the Kindergarten and Years 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 Students celebrated Mass in the Marcellin Campus Gymnasium. It was a wonderful celebration of Mary, and it was a delight to enable the mixing of our generations of students. Our Kindergarten students were able to see our Year 12 students who enjoyed Kindergarten at Newman also, ‘Newman Lifers’. It was pointed out that by the time they reach the same Year 12 milestone, our current Year 12s will be 30! The school years are such a formative experience for students and having the mix of age groups really brings home the significance and indelible nature of these fundamental forming experiences
Wellbeing Week
Feeling well, or ‘wellbeing’ is fundamental to our overall health and enjoyment of life. Taking care of our wellbeing should be both an individual and a collective pursuit. Being present, allows us to consciously monitor how we are travelling emotionally. This week the College celebrated Wellbeing Week. Each day, we focussed on one important aspect of ‘being well’. Monday’s focus was ‘healthy’ exercise and food; Tuesday’s focus was ‘connected’, with the entire school coming together for the Assumption Day Mass and Lapathon; Wednesday’s focus was ‘present’ with a focus on noticing the bodily movements and flow; and Thursday’s focus was ‘grateful’ with parents, teachers and students affirming all that is good in life. On Friday 13 August our staff will participate in Professional Learning led by Perth based international leadership speaker, Mr Brendan Spillane. The topic of the first session will be looking inward for wellbeing, and the second session will explore the impact we have on others.
The hope is that our community continues to learn about, and commits to, behaviours that promote wellness; these behaviours include sleep, exercise, and a balanced diet. It is essential to monitor the status of our own mental health and stress levels, and then act accordingly. If we become aware of our own stress triggers, we are better able to take responsibility to address and minimise these. Paying attention to what and who provides us with life giving energy and happiness, allows us to feature these more regularly in life. As a community, we need to give ourselves and each other permission to lean towards the area of life that requires immediate attention. In doing so, we can remain a strong, supportive and connected community of well ‘beings’.
Gratitude Gatherings
As part of our Wellbeing Week, on Thursday we conducted Gratitude Gatherings across the College where staff, parents and students had the opportunity to vocally celebrate all that they are grateful for at Newman. Thank you to parents for responding to the call for staff appreciation and gratitude comments. We received over 200 parent entries from PK-12, some of which were read out today and the rest will be delivered tomorrow. To be grateful for something or someone, and to not share that gratitude, is like buying and wrapping a gift, and never giving it. We rise and experience happiness by lifting others.
At the secondary event, we acknowledged the #Good Samaritans Matthew De Rossi and Joel Uren, who came to the aid of two elderly grandparents in the Lavalla campus on Tuesday afternoon. Their car broke down in the carpark and these Year 12 students assisted with jumper leads and waited for the RAC to arrive, while also entertaining their young grandchildren. Our grandparent could not speak highly enough of these students and said that if these students were examples of our youth, then the future was in good hands.
Angelico Art Exhibition
We were delighted to hear this week that Eliza von Perger and Charlotte Laurent will be award recipients at next Tuesday’s Angelico Presentation. Congratulations to Eliza and Charlotte and I look forward to attending this event with them.
Charlotte Laurent
Eliza von Perger
The Exhibition can also be viewed at Forrest Centre, 221 St Georges Terrace Perth from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, from 9 to 27 August. A virtual tour will also be available on the Catholic Arts website at the completion of the Exhibition.
Education Support Review
During Term 3, the College will be undertaking a review of the Learning and Education Support area. This review is being conducted by Associate Professor Dianne Chambers, The University of Notre Dame, Fremantle. Dianne is an author, lecturer and international presenter in the space of Learning Needs, Inclusion and Diversity. She will conduct an audit of our Diverse Education offering and will make recommendations early in Term 4 on our structures, policies, processes and feasibility and sustainability of our current reasonable adjustments. We look forward to hearing her recommendations.
Newman Parents Consultative Committee Meeting (NPCC)
Thank you to those parents who braved the weather and abandoned the football to attend our NPCC meeting on Monday evening. Among the operational aspects of the College that were raised, we heard from Ms Jenny Miraudo on the Newman College Norms, Pedagogy and Innovation, Mr Steve Tsocas on aspects of our Digital Transformation, Mr Simon Martino on Reporting and the Lavalla carpark, Mrs Lisa McClue on our Flexible 3, 4, and 5 day Kindy offering from 2022 and Mrs Carla Pastorelli on Year 12 Graduation and Wellbeing Week. I really appreciate this consultative space and thank those parents in attendance.
Storm Damage Update
The Learning Hub continues to be repaired. All the damage has been remediated and we are now in the rebuild phase.
Events
A big thank you to all staff, students and families who were involved in the myriad events that have occurred during the last two weeks. These events include the Years 5 and 6 Wakakirri Dance, Year 7 to 12 Marcellin Athletics Carnival, the Catholic Performing Arts performances and the Winter Sleepout – to name a few. These will be addressed in the relevant sections of the newsletter.
This will be my last newsletter as Principal (Acting) as Mr Finneran will return in Week 6. Wishing everyone a fabulous two weeks.
Dr Lucie McCrory
PRINCIPAL (ACTING)