Newman News Term 3 Week 4: From the Vice Principal
Key Dates
Friday August 15: Staff Wellbeing (PUPIL FREE DAY)
Monday August 18: Faith Day (COLLEGE CLOSED)
Thursday August 25: PK-Y2 Book Week Parade
Friday August 26: Y3-Y6 Book Week Parade
Feast of the Assumption
Today, Thursday 11 August we celebrated Assumption Day as one whole K-12 Community, and as a part of our Wellbeing Week. We started the day with the Eucharist and then moved to a lapathon, followed by buddy activities in the Primary. Assumption Day is the chosen Feast Day of the Marist Brothers, which is 15 August. Assumption is the doctrine that Mary the mother of Jesus was taken (assumed) into heaven, body and soul, following the end of her earthly life. The meaning of the doctrine is that Mary’s full redemption involved a glorification of her complete personality – it is appropriate for both her human body and her soul to be reunited with God given her impeccable nature whilst present on earth. This glorification, or celebrated salvation, anticipates the promised state offered to all humankind wanting to follow Jesus through Mary’s example. One of our important Marist quotes that guides our aspirational way of being is ‘all to Jesus through Mary’. Mary is our model for Presence and Simplicity. Her surrender and humble acceptance of her significant place in the Church and in the world, epitomises what it means to live ‘in the way of Mary’. The theme for the day was Connected, which gave our students the opportunity to connect with their faith, teachers and with each other as one College Community.
Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment (DISA): URGENT Parental Assistance Required
As mentioned in earlier correspondence, Newman College is committed to annual school improvement, and we are seeking feedback from all members of our community to refine practices. This requires your engagement through the completion of the DISA survey.
The DISA is a longitudinal survey that evaluates the perceptions of students, parents and staff on the progress of school improvement strategies and our Vision for Learning. It would be greatly appreciated if you could complete the survey here. It is anonymous, no log-in or password are required, and it takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Your responses will play a valuable part in shaping the strategic vision of Newman College for the years to come.
Sincere thanks for your ongoing support.
Winter Music Night
Last Monday the College showcased the talents of students in the Marcellin Chamber Ensemble, SIP Band, Concert Winds, Newman Voices, Senior Concert Band, Contemporary Rock Bands, Glee and Ruah. Students had the opportunity of performing their items for family, friends, and staff. This was a wonderful event that demonstrated their exceptional individual and collective talents. A big congratulations to our performers, comperes, and to the music teachers and support staff who all dedicated their time to enable the success of the event.
Wellbeing Week
This week students and staff celebrated Wellbeing Week. The College recognises the importance of educating and raising student awareness in this space. Our activities and learnings encourage students to continue to develop their own wellbeing, enabling them to contribute and participate in our College community. Each day had a different focus: Healthy, Present, Grateful and Connected. Students participated in various activities across the College to highlight the importance of these themes to our wellbeing.
On Friday staff will have the opportunity to listen to guest speaker Glenn Mitchell, ABC Sports Broadcaster, as he shares details of his personal journey, highlighting mental health. He will speak about how we can learn to overcome any challenges we may face.
Thank you to our Wellbeing Captains and staff for their leadership and support of Wellbeing Week.
Da Vinci Decathlon
The Da Vinci Decathlon, an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students, took place last week. Students competed in engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, Science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy tasks in a collaborative team of 8.
We are very proud of our student participation and congratulate them for their outstanding performance and results.
Year 5 Team – 1st place Art and Poetry
Berkley Blizzard, Grace Patterson, Summer Storey, Nicholas Heng, Gatano Capolingua, Jacob Parry, Sophie Parry, Thomas Abbott.
Year 6 Team – 3rd Place Art & Poetry
Madison Bradford, Alessio Gismondi, Bailey Aylmore, Luca Trettel, Deion Fernando, Joshua Woods, Sienna Larcombe, Anabelle Adamini.
Year 7 team
Lucas Brunini, Alexander Byrne, Kean D’Souza, Benjamin Davies, Prince Teo, Lachlan Stevens, Felix Sanchez, Brayden Lim.
Year 8 team – 1st place Creative Producers
Micaela Buddle, Arlo Gaunt, Hannah Woolfrey, Alyssa Petracca, Lachlan Moir-Scott.
Newman Parents Committee (NPC)
Thank you to those parents who attended the NPC meeting last night. The reframing of this parent engagement forum is now complete, and members of the PK-12 Newman Parents Executive were announced. Thank you to all those who expressed an interest in joining the executive group. Congratulations to our Newman Parent Executives: Gina Thornberry, Benjamin Ker, Christina Folley, Stella Rapanaro. Deborah Attard Portughes. We look forward to working in collaboration with you and our wider parent community in this space.
Chickenpox Notification
The College wishes to advise parents and guardians that we have been notified of some cases of chickenpox within our College community. Please click HERE to access Department of Health information. Our sole purpose in publishing this information is in protecting people’s health. In accordance with our Privacy policy, we preserve the identity of people with medical conditions.
Should you wish to engage in further dialogue pertinent to this information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Parent Teacher Communication Protocols
Parents are reminded that the most efficient and effective method for contacting teachers and support staff is through the staff member’s email address. In most cases, our staff will respond to the communication as appropriate, within 48 hours.
Students Who Have Participated in State and National Representation
The College would like to recognise and celebrate the achievements of those students who have represented their team, sport, or activity at a state or national level. If your child has participated in an activity that falls within that category, we would love to hear from you. Please complete this form to let us know of your child’s achievement.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Newman College code of conduct found Here