Newman News Term 3 Week 6: From the Leader of Wellbeing Primary

One of the most special privileges in life is also one that we most often take for granted – being part of a family. As educators, we hope to instil a sense of family not just across the classroom, but ultimately, across the whole College community too. We all know the importance of family and what it means to feel safe, loved, and valued. But families also offer forgiveness, compassion and the chance to always begin again. One of the Marist characteristics we celebrate at Newman College is Family Spirit; Marcellin Champagnat’s desire for us to all relate to each other as members of a loving family. In building love, acceptance and belonging across our College community, we hope to show students how our relationships with each other can grow and together we make our College a warm and welcoming place for everyone.

Science Week

Last week students took part in Science Week, which culminated in the STEM Festival on Friday. Students were encouraged to dress as a scientist (thinking beyond just the white coat and glasses) and on Friday took part in a number of activities designed to make students curious. The theme of the day was ‘Marvellous Medicines’ and students were treated to presentations from guest speakers from the Telethon Kids Institute which is an Australian research institute focused on the prevention of disease and improved treatments for our community.

Students were able to construct a model that represented the workings of the human lung, while other students had the chance to extract DNA from strawberries. The day finished with a presentation from local Aboriginal woman Dale Tilbrook on Aboriginal medicines and its relationship to nature. We owe a big thanks to our Leader of Learning, Mrs Zelich for all her energy and efforts in organising these events.

Assembly

This morning students gathered together to celebrate the achievements of their friends and classmates at assembly. The theme of our celebrations was around ‘collaborate’; the ability to work effectively with others towards a goal. We also took the time this week to recognise the outstanding efforts of students from our STEM Festival and the positive way they approached the challenging tasks of the day. It is always wonderful to gather together and celebrate the best of student achievement. Congratulations to all our award winners.

Marcellin Award

This week, the Marcellin Award was awarded to Kade Mendes in Year 6. Kade was nominated by his teachers as being one of the ‘unsung heroes’ of the Lavalla Campus. Kade is a student who is consistently considerate of those around him and shows a kind and generous nature in all that he does. This was especially evident in his actions supporting others at the recent Cross Country Carnival. Kade is also tremendously humble, doing good things for others not for recognition or awards, but just because he knows it is the right thing to do. Well done Kade on setting such a positive example for others.

IPSHA Cross Country Carnival Results

In Week 4 the Lavalla Cross Country team competed at the IPSHA Cross Country Carnival held at John XXII College.

Each student challenged themselves to achieve their best result on the day and they should be extremely proud of their efforts and commitment.

Throughout the day, we had some outstanding performances, which deserve to be celebrated. Two students finished second in their respective races, which is an amazing achievement. Congratulations Ella Hills (Year 6) and Thomas Ellis (Year 3).

We also had a number of other incredible results on the day, with the students below placing in the top 15 competitors in their race.

Year 6 Male:
6th- William Murphy
8th- Linus Keane
10th- Cooper Trovarello
11th- Aiden Iannantuioni
14th- Oliver Worley
15th- James Bornmann

Year 6 Female:
2nd- Ella Hills
5th- Sienna O’Rourke
8th- Grace Richardson

Year 5 Male:
5th- Liam Murphy
11th- Michael Malaxos

Year 5 Female:
7th- Clancy Boss
9th- Chloe Rear

Year 4 Male:
5th- Luke Rombouts
9th- Hamish Macgregor
12th-Dylan Hookway
14th- Mitchell Short
15th- Cooper Warrick

Year 4 Female:
7th- Livia Bogdanov
9th- Addison Campbell
10th- Annabelle Adamini

Year 3 Male:
2nd- Thomas Ellis
7th- Xavier Fleay

Year 3 Female:
5th- Allegra Clarke
7th- Charlotte Rear
8th- Layla Bornmann

A very big thank you to all of the students involved, who were exceptional representatives for the College.

Athletics Carnival

The Lavalla Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 11 September. The format of the day will remain the same as last year, a roving carnival to continue to promote high levels of student engagement and participation. Click here to read more information about the day.

Fathers Day Morning Prayer

On Monday 7 September, we will be hosting a special Morning Prayer Assembly to celebrate all of our fathers and father figures in the community. There will be free coffee available from the Coffee Cart in the undercover area from 8.00am followed by a short prayer service at 8.45am where students will read through some of the warm wishes they have for their dads. We are looking forward to welcoming all of our fathers to our campus.

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.

Lavalla Photo Day Reminder

Families are reminded that School Photo Day will take place on Monday 14 September (Term 3 Week 9). Students should now have received their school photo order envelope. The order envelopes are printed uniquely for each student. On photo day, the camera links to the bar code on the order envelope, therefore it is extremely important that every student returns their envelope on photo day – even if families are not buying photos. The instructions to parents are printed on the envelope and are self explanatory. Parents will notice that they have a wide choice of photo packs available to purchase.

  • Students in Years 3-6 are required to be in full winter uniform (Years 4-6 to wear their blazer).

Great Book Swap

The annual Lavalla book swap will take place on Friday 18 September before school until the bell goes and during lunchtime.

Students are encouraged to donate a book they already own and place in one of the boxes located in the Library and in the foyer.

On the day of the event, students are asked to bring a gold coin donation to purchase a book to take home. The money raised will then be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Students can of course purchase more than one book at the Book Swap.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a national charity which aims to reduce the disadvantage experienced by children in remote communities across Australia. The foundation promotes the idea of schools holding a book swap in order to raise funds for the charity.