Newman News Term 3 Week 4: From the Deputy Principal Secondary
Wellbeing Week
The College has celebrated Wellbeing Week this week, with each day focusing of a different aspect of wellbeing. Our focus for Monday was Healthy and in PCG we focused on mental health awareness. Students participated in our own version of the Blue Tree Project and were asked to consider the people and things in their life that support their own wellbeing. At lunch, students participated in active games such as badminton, soccer, basketball, netball and ultimate frisbee.
Tuesday’s focus was Present and students took part in a Marist Mindfulness meditation in PCG. On Wednesday morning Leaders of Wellbeing hosted Gratitude Assemblies to highlight the day’s focus of Gratitude. Students had an opportunity to present gratitude awards to their peers and say thank you to their PCG teachers.
Thursday’s Assumption Day Mass and Lapathon was a great way to come together as a Marist Community. The focus for the day was Connect and having the opportunity to connect with our faith and with each other highlighted the importance of relationships for our own wellbeing. Our talented music students put on a pop-up concert at lunch on Thursday for us to enjoy.
Guild Athletics Carnival
The Guild Athletics Carnival was a great day despite the morning weather conditions. There was a high level of competition, with many records broken and students displayed wonderful Guild Spirit encouraging their peers all day. Congratulations to MacKillop Guild, who were awarded the 2022 Athletics Carnival Guild Spirit Award!
2022 School Athletics Record
Year 7 Boys Javelin 32.22m – Myles Nolan
Year 7 Girls 80m Hurdles 15.20s – Clancy Boss,
Year 10 Girls 90m Hurdles 15.4s – Imogen Boss,
Year 10 Girls Javelin 31.47m – Imogen Boss
Year 11 Girls 100m Hurdles 18.1s – Meg McAullay
Year 8 Boys 4 x100m Relay Team – Romero and Brigid Guild 55.28s
Year 10 Boys 4 x 100m Relay Team – Romero and Catherine Guild 50.61s
The overall Champion Guild, along with age champions will be announced in Week 5.
Unfortunately, there was some confusion with the process of requesting bus transport for students to and from the venue for which we apologise. We will be working on a streamlined system for future events where we provide transport.
Year 11 Leadership Preparation Program
Applications for 2023 Year 12 Leadership positions have now opened. The Year 11 students who wish to apply for a Year 12 leadership position next year have begun their Leadership Preparation Program. The program commenced with a Commissioning Mass in week two, where students were blessed while the College community prayed for them as they begin this leadership journey. Last week, students focused on the importance of knowing and understanding your values and this week students studied real-world leaders in order to determine the qualities of good leaders. The student’s engagement in these sessions has been outstanding and we look forward to the final two Leadership Preparation sessions next week.
Year 9 HaSS – Civics and Citizenship Project Based Learning
Last term in HaSS, the Year 9 students explored elections and influencing voters using Project Based Learning. Groups created their own political parties with specific policies and they then organised an election campaign. Each party had its own logo and slogan. For the election, students created fake websites, social media posts, campaign leaflets and a campaign video. The WA Electoral Education Centre came to speak with the student and teach them about the Australian election process. Classes then held their own election using the preferential voting system to elect their candidates for the whole year election. This final vote was held early this term and included some brilliant campaign videos. The winning political party showed organization, clear policies and of course a very slick and persuasive campaign video. Congratulations to the ‘Happy World Party’.
The Year group really rose to the challenge and the teachers could see the time, effort and ideas that went into the campaign material and exploring voter behaviour. Although there was only one winner, there were many excellent Newman political parties. We look forward to seeing Newman students running the country in the coming decades!
Year 11 P&L Excursion
On Thursday, the Year 11 Politics and Law class attended an excursion to the Courts and Parliament House. The day commenced with a tour of the Supreme Court where students had the opportunity to participate in a mock trial. After a short walk, students arrived at the District Court and were granted an opportunity to sit in a courtroom and hear the initial questioning by the Prosecution to establish the foundation of their case against a group of people, charged with drug trafficking. Returning to the Supreme Court gardens, students enjoyed the sunshine whilst eating lunch before boarding the bus for Parliament House. They were greeted by David, the tour guide for the afternoon who provided an insight into the roles, responsibilities, and features of Western Australia’s parliamentary system. The day was highlighted by a chance meeting with The Honourable Mark McGowan, Premier of WA.
Year 12 Geography Excursion
On Tuesday 2nd August the intrepid Year 12 ATAR Geography students ventured out in wild and woolly weather, a result of a significant cold front. Undeterred, we packed our rain coats, umbrellas and puffer jackets ready to study the functional zones of Perth. We began with a warm train ride to Cockburn Central, an excellent example of a transit oriented development and a quick hello to the Dockers headquarters. Gladly back on the train to head to Elizabeth Quay and our amazing race through the Perth CBD to apply our knowledge of the processes of urban studies. With a break in the weather, we headed to East Perth to explore the Inner Mixed Zone and the 1990’s East Perth redevelopment plan. As we headed back to the CBD, the weather was not on our side, however we did not let this thwart us and we sheltered in Yagan Square to discuss the ongoing planning strategies for the City of Perth. A final field excursion for the Year 12’s Geographers and indeed a memorable one.
Just Start It
Last Tuesday evening, Aaron Jones, Ryley Bradford and Jordan Smith from Year Ten participated in the Just Start It finals for 2022. Just Start It is an external entrepreneurial program where students are challenged to create a business idea as a response to a real-world problem. The team from Newman have created an Esports company – Edren Esports – to address the lack of Australian representation in Esporting competitions. Out of 200 teams across the state they made it to the top ten teams to present at the finals. The students did exceptionally well and showcased a semester of outstanding work with plans to continue developing their concept with a stand at an upcoming tech festival.
Year 12:
Our Year 12 students are in their final term of secondary school and many are making plans for the end of the year and beyond.
It has come to our attention that several Year 12 students have approached the College asking for proof of enrolment letters for the purpose of Leavers accommodation. The College is however unable to support these requests for this purpose and students are required to use other documents such as their Year 12 reports or Transperth SmartRider card that confirms that they are a current year 12 student.
Further information pertaining to Leavers can be found on the website and we encourage both parents and students to visit this site.
Further information pertaining to Leavers can be found on the Leavers WA website and we encourage both parents and students to visit this site.
Attendance:
Over the next week, parents will receive communication from the College if their child’s attendance was below 90% throughout Semester One. Regular attendance is extremely important, as missing school can have a detrimental impact on learning. For students to access the full curriculum, we recommend the rate of 90% – 100% as regular attendance. We acknowledge that there have been a number of challenges this year that have contributed to student attendance at school and the purpose of this communication is to ensure parents are aware of their child’s attendance rate throughout Semester One.
Canteen Payments:
Please be reminded that students are not permitted to make payments at the Canteen using their phone. The Canteen will only accept payments with a SmartRider, cash or card.