Next Thursday 12 September, we will observe R U OK? Day, a day dedicated to fostering meaningful connections and conversations with those around us, especially those who may be struggling with life’s challenges. R U OK? is a national suicide prevention charity that encourages us to check in on one another, offering support before someone reaches a point of crisis. It is about building confidence and the skills to engage in honest conversations, so we can be there for friends, family, and colleagues who may need us.
As we approach R U OK? Day, let us live out these Marist charisms by being present for one another, engaging in simple yet meaningful conversations, and fostering the spirit of family that makes Newman College a place of belonging for all members of our wonderful community.
ACC A Division (Secondary) and IPSHA (Year 3-6) Athletics Carnivals
Next week, our Newman Athletics Squads will compete in their upcoming Athletics Carnivals. The ACC Athletics Carnival for our Year 7-12 students will take place on Wednesday, 11 September, at the WA Athletics Stadium, while our Year 3-6 students will compete at All Saints College on Thursday, 12 September in the IPSHA Athletics Carnival. Under the dedicated guidance of Ms Marnie Barrett, Ms Tash Richards and our Health and Physical Education staff, our students have been training diligently for these events. We wish all our athletes the very best and look forward to celebrating their efforts and achievements.
Game Changers La Valla Leadership Camp
In Week 10, six of our Game Changers students from Year 10, along with Miss Nicotra and Mr James, will be travelling to Melbourne where they will come together with a number of other students from Marist schools around Australia for the La Valla Leadership camp. Over the three-day camp, students will have the opportunity to learn what it means to lead with a Marist heart while delving into the topics of authenticity, service, presence, empowerment, teamwork, and wellbeing. This is delivered through a series of prayers, games, presentations, and conversations. We hope the students and staff attending enjoy their experience and return to the College with the skills and knowledge to contribute to the leadership of our student community in the way of Saint Marcellin and Mary.
School Fees Reminder
Please ensure that you are on track to finalise payment of your College fees by 30 November 2024. If you need to discuss your account, please contact Accounts Receivable on 9204 9414 or fees@newman.wa.edu.au without delay.
Hopefully, you were able to see our celebration of Father’s Day through last week’s social posts or through attending the Community Mass or Marian Liturgy. It was heartening to see so many fathers, grandfathers and father figures at these celebrations and the expression of gratitude shown by the students. I hope all fathers had a great day.
Year 12 Game Changers Graduation and Marist Connect Night
We know the time for Year 12 farewell and graduation is close at hand when we are hosting the Year 12 Game Changers students, their parents and mentors at the Graduation Dinner. This group has journeyed together since Year 7, experiencing the Le Rosey, La Valla and Hermitage programs of Game Changers. As a part of Marist Youth Ministry, Game Changers explores core topics in the Catholic faith of Marist Charism. The students also express their ministry through service and connection to the community. It was a joyful family night where the students also presented their reflections on being a part of Game Changers.
The next evening saw our Year 11 Game Changers students meeting Bunbury Catholic College and St Joseph’s Northam in the Marist Connect program. Each Connect evening focuses on a topical theme and ends with a shared prayer and meal. Thank you to our Ministry Team for their work in these programs.
Primary Athletics Carnival and ACC ISP Athletics Carnival
Today there was a real athletics theme at Newman College. Our Primary Athletics Carnival went ahead with much fun and high spirits. It was great to see our students doing their best and participating in the many events on the track, in the field and in novelty events. At the same time, the Secondary Support students were having a brilliant time competing in the ACC ISP Athletics event at McGillivray Reserve, UWA Sports Park. The students shone in their participation and support of one another across so many events. Thank you to the parents and families who attended both carnivals in support and to all staff involved in making the day a memorable one for Primary and Education Support students.
Newman Quiz Night
Over 200 people attended last Friday’s Newman College Community Quiz Night. This was the third event under Parent Engagement this year, following the Summer Soire and Autumn Family Movie Night. These events were planned with the Newman Parent Forum input and Friday’s quiz night was so well supported. The event raised a further $800 towards Marist Solidarity and the funds will benefit the work of our Marist groups in supporting education and opportunity in communities needing help. Thanks to all who attended and to our great staff who organised and ran the night.
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STEM, HaSS and Languages Weeks
The past three weeks have seen the celebration of three learning areas. STEM Week was first and the staff and students explored interesting science activities with some fun – ice cream making, sherbet making, and rocket launching to name just a few. HaSS followed last week with Minecraft, Medieval combat displays and quizzes. This week was Languages’ turn and we have been treated to Japanese drumming, gelato, piano accordion and foreign language pop songs replacing the final bell. A great few weeks organised by our passionate and dedicated teachers, and the students have loved the variety.
Year 7-9 High Achievers Assembly
The second of the Marcellin Campus High Achievers Assembly was celebrated this week. The parents of the academic high achievers joined us to recognise outstanding achievements from Semester 1. In the assembly, I outlined the importance of celebrating and nurturing academic excellence in the same way that we proudly support sporting success. Congratulations to our high achievers!
Catholic Performing Arts Festival
The CPAF concluded with some wonderful performances and news. Last Thursday evening, the Newman College Dance Troupe performed brilliantly, and we were also informed of the individual success of Heloise Nathan who was awarded the Monsignor Michael Keating Award. Congratulations to these Arts students.
Term Break
As we draw closer to the end of the term, which is on Friday, 20 September, I ask for families’ support in ensuring our students are present until the end of term. The College places the term, and mid-term breaks for families to plan holidays and time together. When holidays are taken in the final days of the school term days, there is a great disruption to learning and it projects an attitude that the last days of term are not important. Removing students early just creates pressure on classes and teachers by reducing the amount of time to learn and teach, and our students suffer by not being able to demonstrate their best or learn content sufficiently.
Thursday 13 September is R U OK? Day; the day when we are reminded that a conversation can change a life. R U OK? Day inspires and empowers everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with those who may be struggling. We encourage people in our College Community to follow these steps:
Use these four steps and have a conversation that could change a life:
Ask R U OK?
Listen
Encourage action
Check in
Yellow cupcakes will be sold at recess time for $2.00 outside the canteen. Also proceeds will go to the RUOK organisation.
2025 Leadership Process
Congratulations to Amelia Ng and Liam Stannard who have been appointed as our 2025 College Captains. This is the highest student leadership role at our school, and we are very proud of these exceptional young leaders.
Staff and Year 11 students are currently voting for the remaining folio positions and interviews for these positions will take place across Week 9. The 2025 Student Leadership group will be presented to the College Community at the Secondary Assembly on Thursday 19 September.
Champagnat Shield Winner and Activities
On Wednesday of Week 10, our Marcellin campus students will come together in Founders Court and we will announce which Guild has won the Champagnat Shield in 2024. Academic awards, commendations, carnival performances and immersion attendance all contribute towards Guild points. The students from the winning Guild will participate in activities on Wednesday morning instead of going to Period 1 and Period 2. This event is a culmination of the hard work of our Guild Coordinators, 2024 Guild Captains and Leadership Coordinator, Mr Michael van der Heever. We look forward to sharing the results with the College Community in Week 10.
Year 12 Final Day
The final day for our Year 12 students is Thursday 19 September. The parents and guardians of our Year 12 students are invited to our College on this morning to celebrate this special occasion with their child. We will begin the day with a Secondary Assembly in the Gymnasium at which time our 2025 Student Leadership Group will also be announced. The Year 12s will walk through a Guard of Honour created by our secondary students and conclude with a Year 12 final assembly in the Auditorium followed by light refreshments with their parents and guardians. We look forward to celebrating with our Year 12 students and their parents and guardians on Thursday 19 September at the College.
Pathways and Careers Information: Year 10
Subject selection for Year 11, 2025
Thank you to all families who participated in the subject selection process for Year 11, 2025. The College is currently finalising missing selections and constructing the timetable for 2025.
VET Certificates (TAFE courses) and Work Experience for 2025
Applications for VET Certificates for 2025 have now closed. Students will be notified of the outcome of their application in the coming weeks.
The College will open applications for 2025 Work Experience in Term 4 of 2024.
Pathways and Careers Information: Year 11
WACE (secondary graduation) requirements
In Year 11 and 12, students are progressing towards their Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), otherwise known as their secondary graduation.
In order to achieve their WACE, students need to meet certain academic targets across Year 11 and 12. These are:
Demonstrate the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy (either in Year 9 NAPLAN or in Year 10-12 OLNA).
Be enrolled in English / Literature in Year 11 and 12.
Be enrolled in at least 1 ‘List B’ (Maths / Science / Sport / Technology) subject.
Achieve at least 14 C grades, with at least 6 C grades in Year 12 subjects.
Enrolling in Notre Dame UniPath for 2025
The Notre Dame UniPath program is now open for applications for 2025. Please see below a summary of the UniPath and UniReady Programs:
UniReady
UniPath
Outcome
70 ATAR
70 ATAR
Valid for
All WA Universities (but to enter UWA you need 65% in UniReady)
Curtin, ECU, Murdoch, Notre Dame.
Structure
One of your 6 school subjects in Year 12. Taught here at Newman, by a teacher, in a classroom each day.
Attend Notre Dame Fremantle campus one day per week, for 12 weeks.
How to apply
Select UniReady as one of your Year 12 subjects next year. (Or tell me if you’d like to enter)
See below.
If you would like to enrol in UniPath for next year, you can now apply for entry to this program.
If it looks right for you, see the “How To Apply” section for the process.
If you are already enrolled in UniReady but decide to switch to UniPath, please let me know.
For students thinking of attending University
TISC has a series of videos explaining things like ATAR calculation, prerequisite subjects, scaling, and preferences. You can find them here: https://www.tisc.edu.au/static/guide/video.tisc
In Year 11 and 12, students are progressing towards their Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), otherwise known as their secondary graduation.
In order to achieve their WACE, students need to meet certain academic targets across Year 11 and 12. These are:
Demonstrate the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy (either in Year 9 NAPLAN or in Year 10-12 OLNA).
Be enrolled in English / Literature in Year 11 and 12.
Be enrolled in at least 1 ‘List B’ (Maths / Science / Sport / Technology) subject.
Achieve at least 14 C grades, with at least 6 C grades in Year 12 subjects.
Gap year information
Students interested in taking a gap year in 2025 might find the following interesting:
The 2024 edition of the Apprentice Intake Guide has now been published. This guide is a large listing of many different apprenticeship opportunities available.
Students and families are advised that applications for University in 2025 are open as of 1 May 2024. Early Offers for University in 2025 will not be made to students until 2 September 2024. The currently available information about Early Offers is in the table below.
University
Early Offer Information
Curtin University
Early Offers are available for ATAR and non-ATAR students. Must achieve WACE and meet any prerequisites. Submit your application via TISC, putting your Early Offer course as your first preference. If your predicted ATAR is five points above the ATAR score required for your selected course, you will receive an early offer that secures your place in Semester 1, 2025. Your offer won’t be dependent on your final Year 12 ATAR score. You will still need to complete WACE and meet the English and subject requirements for your course. If your predicted ATAR is less than five points above the ATAR score required for your course, you will still receive an early offer for a place at Curtin. You will need to achieve a final ATAR that meets course entry requirements, and meet WACE, English and subjects requirements for the course. If you are not studying the ATAR Pathway, your early offer will be conditional upon you meeting the admission criteria for your chosen course, achieving WACE and meeting Curtin’s English requirements.
Edith Cowan University (ECU)
Early Offer calculated from your most recent school results including exams. Must achieve WACE and meet any prerequisites. Early Offers for Certificate IV and UniReady/UniPath students will be conditional on passing. Submit your application via TISC, putting your Early Offer course as your first preference. Offers will be made on 2 September, 23 September, 14 October, 18 November and 2 December. Allow around 2 weeks for us assess your application. List of courses available for Early Offers is at: https://www.ecu.edu.au/degrees/early-offer-program
Murdoch University
Must achieve WACE and meet any prerequisites. Early Offers for Certificate IV and UniReady/UniPath students will be conditional on passing. Submit your application via TISC, putting your Early Offer course as your first preference.
Notre Dame University
Must be completing the ATAR Pathway in Year 12. Submit your application via TISC, putting your Early Offer course as your first preference. Offers will be made on 2 September, 20 September, 4 October, 11 December. Allow a few weeks for us assess your application. In the application you will be asked to provide details about your non-academic achievements and commitments, which may include work, caring responsibilities at home, volunteering, sports and school leadership, among others. Further information and eligible courses at https://www.notredame.edu.au/study/applications-and-admissions/pathways/early-offer
University of Western Australia
Must be completing the ATAR Pathway in Year 12. Submit your application via TISC, putting your Early Offer course as your first preference. All students must satisfy UWA’s English requirements and any subject prerequisite requirements. Students can apply for an Early Offer for all degrees with UWA excluding Assured Pathways to Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy and Podiatric Medicine or the Bachelor of Biomedicine (specialised). Further information at: https://www.uwa.edu.au/study/how-to-apply/early-offers/FAQs
Information about University entry
TISC has a series of videos explaining things like ATAR calculation, prerequisite subjects, scaling, and preferences. You can find them here: https://www.tisc.edu.au/static/guide/video.tisc
Last week’s Father’s Day events were a wonderful celebration of the father and father figures in our community. Lavalla’s Thursday Mass and Friday’s Marian Liturgy were both wonderful ways to honour the fathers in our community. A huge thank you to the Year 2 classes for running the Liturgy at Marian Campus, and to Mrs Jane Short for her coordination and planning of these events. I hope all fathers had a wonderful weekend.
Athletics Carnival
Today’s Athletics Carnival was a sensational day of athleticism and sportsmanship. All of our Pre-Primary-Year 6 students tried their hardest and it was a joy to see so many of them do their best, reach personal bests and break records! All students are to be congratulated on they way they gave their all during the day. Big thanks to all of the primary staff who made the day a huge success, with particular thanks to Tash Richards and Lara Vlahov for their outstanding preparation, organisation, and running of the day.
Languages Week Activities
Over the past 2 weeks the Primary have celebrated Languages Week with a range of wonderful activities, including immersive hands-on experiences, drumming incursions and gelato vans. A huge thanks to Sensei O’Keefe and Signora Lynch for their organisation of these meaningful experiences for our Primary students.
Newman Norms / Medals of Marcellin
Our new Newman Norms are now on our website and I encourage you to have a look at these expectations for our Primary students – Newman Norms – Newman College. Each week our staff and students will focus on 1 Norm, to discuss and unpack what that norm means for our students in their day-to-day school life.
Recently Cailin & Fox (Marian) and Miles & Bradley (Lavalla) were drawn out of the raffle for demonstrating our Newman Norms. Congratulations to all students who received a raffle ticket in the past fortnight. We are over halfway through our term and the competition between factions is very close!
URSTRONG – Lesson 8 Upcoming
Lesson 8 (our final lesson) will be rolled out across the Primary next week. The areas of focus for this upcoming lesson are:
Pk-2: The final session ties it all together, reviewing the key concepts, and students share their culminating project, “Put Yourself in a Friend’s Shoes,” designed to strengthen empathy.
Yr 3 & 4: The final session ties it all together, reviewing the key concepts, and students share their culminating project, “Looking into Your Sole,” designed to strengthen empathy.
Yr 5 & 6: The final session ties it all together, reviewing the key concepts, and students share their culminating project, “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” designed to strengthen empathy.
A reminder parents have access to a FREE URSTRONG parent membership. We hope that as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.
Promoting Safe and Responsible Online Behaviour
As we continue to navigate the digital age, it’s more important than ever to ensure our children are using technology in a safe and responsible manner. Recently, we have become aware of instances where some students have been using social media and group messaging inappropriately. This is a concern for us all, as it can have lasting impacts on both their wellbeing and their interactions with others.
We understand that managing your child’s online activity can be challenging, but it is essential to monitor their use of electronic devices. Children often lack the maturity to fully understand the consequences of their actions online, making parental guidance crucial.
To support you in this role, we strongly encourage you to visit the eSafety Commissioner’s website at www.esafety.gov.au This site offers a wealth of resources designed to help parents foster healthy online habits in their children. You’ll find practical advice on setting up parental controls, managing screen time, and understanding the risks associated with social media use.
Here are a few tips to help you support your child’s online safety:
Regularly Discuss Online Behaviour: Have open conversations with your child about their online interactions and the importance of kindness and respect in digital communication.
Set Boundaries: Establish clear rules around screen time and the types of content your child can access. The eSafety website offers guidelines on how to set these boundaries effectively.
Supervise and Monitor: Be aware of the apps and websites your child is using. Monitoring their activity can help you identify any potential issues early on.
Educate About Privacy: Teach your child about the importance of keeping personal information private and the dangers of sharing too much online.
We are committed to working together to ensure our students are safe and responsible online. If you have any concerns or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us or explore the resources provided by the eSafety Commissioner.
Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation.
Justin Kirry
Leader of Wellbeing 3-6
Dogs on School Grounds
A reminder that due to allergies and some anxieties, dogs are not permitted on school grounds. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding to ensure the safety of all members of our school community.
On Wednesday, 4 September, we will gather for our Year 7-9 Celebration Assembly to recognise and honour the outstanding academic achievements of our Year 7-9 students from Semester One. This occasion is an opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the hard work, dedication, and successes of our young learners.
At Newman College, we believe that putting students at the centre of their goal-setting journey empowers them to strive for and reach their full potential, both academically and personally. Celebration is a powerful motivator, encouraging all students to continue pursuing personal excellence.
We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our Year 7-9 High Achievers next week.
PP-Y6 Athletics Carnival
On Friday 6 September, the combined Marian and Lavalla Athletics Carnival will take place at the Marcellin Campus Oval. This year’s event will follow a roving carnival format, which is designed to enhance student engagement and participation. The event program and map are attached below. Please note that event timings are approximate, so we recommend allowing extra time if you plan to attend specific activities.
Parents and spectators are welcome to attend and are asked to sit in the designated area on the western side of the Marcellin Oval. Specific facilities, including restrooms, are assigned for your use – please avoid using other College facilities. This is also an alcohol-free event.
We look forward to a successful day of competition and camaraderie. Thank you for your continued support of our staff and students, and special thanks to Ms Vlahov and Ms Richards for organising this event for our PP-6 students.
At Newman College, we understand that there are times when you may need to make decisions about your child’s attendance due to important family events or other personal reasons. As a College, we are guided by the Department of Education regulations, which require us to categorise absences as either “Approved” or “Unapproved.” Approved absences include circumstances such as illness, bereavement, or participation in College-endorsed events, while unapproved absences generally refer to holidays or family gatherings during term time.
We recognise that every family’s situation is unique, and there may be unavoidable circumstances that require your child to be absent from school. However, we kindly ask you to consider the potential impact that missing school can have on your child’s learning and academic progress. Unapproved absences may lead to your child missing out on important assessments or classroom activities, which could affect their overall academic performance, in line with our College Assessment Policies.
To support your child’s continued growth and learning, we strongly encourage planning family leave during the designated school holidays whenever possible. By doing so, you help ensure that your child remains engaged with their studies and can benefit from the full range of educational experiences we offer.
