Newman News Term 3 Week 4: From the Deputy Principal Primary
There have been lots of things happening across the primary school in the past fortnight, and lots of wonderful achievements to celebrate. Well done to everyone who has worked so hard to achieve their personal best across a range of different pursuits. It is always a joy to celebrate students across these different endeavours.
We have also had a wonderful Wellbeing Week, where our students have been able to reflect on and participate in a range of activities that foster and promote their personal wellbeing. The week culminated in our Assumption Buddy Day and Lapathon. It was amazing to see students complete the lapathon alongside their buddies, as well as the Marcellin secondary students. The theme of connect, was realised as they enjoyed the sunshine and came together to raise funds for Marist Solidarity.
Year 5 and 6 Da Vinci Decathlon Students
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.
Well done to our Year 5 team who were awarded first place for Art and Poetry and our Year 6 team who were awarded third place for Art and Poetry.
Speak Up Awards
On Wednesday afternoon, our three finalists from the Speak Up Awards competition took a trip to the Freemason Club in Doubleview for the second round of competition. Amazingly, all three students were successful in delivering another round of amazing speeches! Congratulations to Grace, Stef, and Isla who will now go through to the preliminary finals of the competition. These students are to be congratulated for their excellent efforts. We would also like to acknowledge Mrs Hatchett for all of her hard work in supporting these students through this competition.
Assembly
Last Friday, students in 5 Blue took to the stage to bring us on a wonderful journey of their learning so far this year through a creative ‘Dora the Explorer’ theme. It was great to see students presenting their learning in such a creative and engaging way. We also acknowledged a number of award winners across the College, celebrating their recent achievements. Well done to all students on their success to begin the term.
Year 1 Excursion – Kalamunda History Museum
In line with their History Unit, our Year 1 students headed to Kalamunda History Museum to experience what it was like in the past. They had a wonderful time, despite the wet weather, and gained a greater appreciation and understanding for how the world has changed and developed over time.
Pre-Primary Excursion – Perth Zoo
Lions and Tigers and Bears!! Well, that was just a few of the animals that our Pre-Primary students saw on their visit to Perth Zoo. I was lucky enough to hear about the zoo experience directly from some of our students, as they recounted their favourite animals in class. The zoo visit has since been a great scaffold into some fantastic pieces of writing for the students.
Student Wellbeing
As part of our Wellbeing Week celebrations this week, I spoke with a number of students about our Marist theme for 2022 which is Known and Loved: Dignity for all. The word dignity is derived from the Latin word dignitas meaning, ‘being worthy of honour or respect’. This is the very heartbeat of the Gospel, and as young people in a Christian community, we spoke about how we are called to live the Gospel values in demonstrating our commitment to the dignity of others in both our words and actions.
The parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates this perfectly. In this story, a Jewish man who is beaten and robbed, lies in pain while a priest and a Levite (assistant priest) pass him by. Finally, it is a Samarian man who stops to assist, clean his wounds, and take him to an innkeeper to be looked after. To really appreciate the scale of these actions, we need to understand that historically, Jewish people and Samarians were in a conflict with each other that went back a thousand years meaning they were very likely to avoid helping or assisting each other at any cost. And yet in this instance, it is only the good Samaritan who stops to help the Jewish man.
The lesson here for our students, and even our community, is that every person we encounter is worthy of dignity; of being both honoured and respected – even those who we might see as our enemies. As young people in a Christian community, our students are responsible for making Jesus Christ known and loved to each other through their words and actions, especially to the least, the lost, and the invisible. I have encouraged students this week to reflect on who those people in our community may be, and what role they can play in brining Christ to them. Every person in our community, child and adult, has a story, and every person hopes for that story to be heard, to be acknowledged, and to be understood. In taking the time to do this, we are helping to create a community that is loving, nurturing, and Christ centred. This is what it means to be a part of Newman College.
I hope that all of our students have enjoyed the unique opportunities of Wellbeing Week, and that families have a very safe, and relaxing time together over the long weekend.
Mr McClorey
Leader of Wellbeing (Primary)