Newman News Term 3 Week 6: From the Deputy Principal Wellbeing Secondary

STEM Festival 2020

The past two weeks has seen the launch of our inaugural STEM Festival, an event which combines the celebrations of Science, Technology and Math Weeks into one big, fun-filled fortnight! A number of activities have taken place, all met with great enthusiasm from our staff and students alike.

In Week 5, students were challenged to create the biggest bubble using sticks, string and a solution of our secret bubble mix, with Nicholas Tavra (Y8) coming out on top. Students were also challenged to create the longest snake possible out of either a Mintie wrapper or lolly snake. Mikayla Short (Y8) and Anica Alo (Y7) took out first place in these two categories. One of the highlights saw students treated to their very own wildlife show, brought to us by WestOz Wildlife. The students had the opportunity to pat a koala, dingo, lizards and even got to hold a real snake!

With all three campuses engaged in STEM activities on Friday 21 August, a number of Year 9 students were asked to assist at the Marian and Lavalla Campuses. These students worked wonderfully with the younger students and truly showcased our four pillars of challenge, create, collaborate and celebrate. Our Year 8’s were fortunate enough to hear from Professor Barry Marshall, a Nobel Prize Laureate and ex-Newman College student. He spoke to the class about his world-famous work on bacteria in the stomach and no doubt inspired a potential future Nobel Prize winner. The first week of our STEM Festival ended with a literal bang! Mr Spriggins and Mr Shuckstes visited all three Newman College campuses to perform their famous ‘Rockets + Explosions’ show. The loud noises were met in volume only by the screams of excitement from the students.

Week 6 saw more STEM events including a baking competition, Pie in the Face, VR immersion, paper plane challenge, short-film festival and Rubik’s cube competition. Thank you to all staff involved for their efforts in making these two weeks a huge success!

Years 11/12 ATAR Drama Day

On Sunday 23 August, students studying Drama in Years 11 and 12 were invited to participate in practical workshops, facilitated by industry professionals; Black Swan Theatre Company and Stray Dog Physical Theatre Company. This learning will support the course content for both Year 11 and 12 ATAR Drama and preparing for the practical Drama exam. Thank you to Mrs Karen Cassidy for coordinating and facilitating this excellent learning experience.

Zone 2 Surfing/ Bodyboarding Results

Congratulations to our boys for winning the State Zone 2 Finals in surfing and bodyboarding against All Saints and Shenton College.

Junior Boys Bodyboarding
1st Luca Chester and Luca Vullinovich
2nd Aidan Sommer and Jaxon Bizacca

Junior Boys Surfing
2nd Aidan Sommers and Kyle Murphy

Senior Boys Bodyboarding
1st Nash Margaria and Jet Meagher

Senior Boys Surfing
1st Nash Margaria and Jet Meagher

Well done to all boys who made the semi finals and second round.

Year 11 Geography Excursion

The Year 11 Geography class hopped onto the bus and headed with great anticipation to the airport to begin their investigation into examples of globalisation in Perth. Sadly, the public viewing platform was closed due to Covid-19, however they still managed to see a few planes land/take off to/from mines in WA. It was wet and cold, so viewing from the bus was a bit of relief. The rain did not deter the intrepid Geographers as they headed to the Swan Valley. The students were lucky enough to explore Upper Reach Winery and be ably guided through the production process, from vine to table, by the owner. As they started on their way back to the College, the students stopped in for a quick hello to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory in the Swan Valley; chocolate a global food product. Finally, the class stopped at Optus Stadium, again Covid-19 stalled their investigation inside but they still managed to explore and discuss the importance of such a stadium to the globalisation of Perth. A great day was had by all, thanks to Mrs March and Mr Shucktses for taking us on the journey.

From the Counselling Team

Amberley from the Butterfly Foundation will be returning during extended PCG next week (Wednesday 2 September) to speak with the Years 9 and 10 students on the topic of ‘what does healthy really look like?’. The aim of the presentation is to promote positive body image and help-seeking behaviours among our students. For more information about the Years 9 and 10 presentation running in Week 7 please click here.

Pathways and Careers Update

Click here to see all of the upcoming list of events that may be useful for students and parents.

Year 11 Semester Two Exam Timetables

Download Year 11 Semester 2 Exam Timetable

Newman Parents Presentation

This week, a large number of parents watched the presentation from psychologist Jocelyn Brewer via Zoom. Jocelyn presented on the theme of ‘Digital Nutrition’ and spoke passionately about a number of topics including the evolution of development of young people’s brains, establishing digital agreements with children and ways to encourage healthy habits in the home. We will share some of the insights from her presentation over the next few weeks in the newsletter, however if you missed the presentation a link will be emailed to families of the recorded presentation in the coming weeks. You can check out her website https://jocelynbrewer.com/

Newman Newsreel

A reminder to families the Newman Newsreel is a new and innovative way for the College to engage and share content with families and staff through the power of augmented reality (AR). Each family should have received a fridge magnet called the ‘Newman Newsreel’. By downloading and using the ‘Viewa’ Augmented Reality App, users may scan the magnet, bringing to life options to view weekly videos.

These videos are campus specific and contain important information about upcoming events and critical information for students and families. The videos will be updated weekly and provide only essential information to families about the upcoming week. Updated videos will be uploaded each Friday and remain active for one week.

It is important to note that users MUST download the Viewa app to be able to activate the magnet and videos.

Please click here to view a short introduction video which includes instructions on how to download the Viewa app.