Newsletter Term 3, Week 8 2022

Dear SJC Families and Friends

I recently read this article published in the Sydney Morning Herald and written by well-known and respected journalist, Malcolm Knox. At the core of its content, the article talks about the unkind and mean ways that some young people, have, and do treat each other. The school that the article centres on was recently made aware of some terrible and hurtful things that students had written in closed groups and forums. The actual things that were written are not discussed but it is clear that students had acted in a malicious and appalling manner that saw most of those involved either removed from the school or withdrawn. 

The incident caused the author to reflect on his own behaviours when he, more than 30 years previous, was a student at the same school. I draw your attention to this article's content, not the name of the school (because this same story is played in schools across the world sadly). It is quite clear that the behaviours that have driven students across the ages into submission are still present, be it an independent, Catholic or public school. Despite society being more aware and attuned to bullying behaviours, and the sometimes catastrophic consequences, young people still make choices that contravene what is right. 

Being a Catholic community, there are numerous scriptural references that speak against the adverse treatment of others. How we treat our 'neighbour' is an indication of the love and respect we have for ourselves and how we would like to be treated by others. At our school, within every classroom there hangs a poster with an image of Jesus Christ that states, "What would Jesus do?"

At St Joeys, we are not blinded to the fact that this type of behaviour is present. We always ensure that when an incident is reported, it is acted upon in a sensitive and timely manner. What I ask of each parent and carer in our community is that you have a discussion with your child about the way they treat others, how they talk about others and how they behave in the presence of others. Whilst most of our students live out the Gospel values in an impeccable way, there are some who don't quite understand that their demeaning and bullying behaviours can have an adverse and lasting effect on their peers. 

If there are issues that have arisen and your child does not feel safe, please ensure that you contact the College. 

Parent Engagement

There will be a number of family evenings held in Term 4 at the College that cover topics that will aid families to support their children in writing, our new student management system Compass and a follow-up to our Year 7 Evenings that were held in 2021 and 2022. Please keep an eye out for these dates as they are posted on the calendar. 

Mr Scott Thomson
Principal

Parent Workshop on Resilience and Motivating Teens - TONIGHT!

A reminder of the Catholic School Parent Assembly's parent workshop this evening at Mt St Patrick College where parents can learn great strategies for motivating and developing resilience in teens with one of Australia's leading presenters, Nathan Hulls.

SHINE Conference

At the end of Week 5 the Year 9 and 10 ministry students went down to Coffs Harbour for the SHINE Conference.

Tyson in Year 10 described SHINE as, “Two days filled with games, workshops and live music.  This experience was so fun and hype.  It was so good that I actually want to go back next year and hopefully the year after.  All of the workshops were perfect as well, the variety kept everyone happy, if you like sport, there was a religion in sport workshop, if you were more into science, there was a religion in science workshop, pretty much anything you like they had a workshop on.”

Tom from Year 10 said, “Shine was an amazing experience for me.  I was able to meet people that are on similar faith journeys to myself and we were able to explore the amazing things that have to do with our catholic faith.  We were able to participate in many workshops that helped teach us more lessons and values that our faith can teach.”

Encounter Rally

Coming up at the end of Week 9, Friday 16 September is the Encounter Rally.  A vibrant and engaging rally style faith formation event, Encounter Rally will incorporate peer-to-peer ministry as it is led by senior students.

The Lismore Diocese worship team, Wildfire, along with the schools very own music ministry team, will perform and lead the students in praise and worship in between lively activities, games and engaging guest speakers to build a sense of community and deepen students’ faith.  The event will give an opportunity for students to ask the deeper questions in life and see where God might fit into their busy lives.  Permission notes and further information is available from Kali, Elise or the Sacred Space at break times.

Miss Elise O'Callaghan
On behalf of the Mission Team

Every year at St Joseph’s our Year 9 English students are challenged to create an original poem, rap or song to protest about an issue they feel passionate about.

“Our aim with this unit is to show students how to use their voices to bring about positive change.  They realise that there are many people out there, in all walks of life, who use their public platforms to advocate for environmental, economic, legal and social justice.  At SJC we want students to realise they have agency and can make a difference using well-crafted words,” said Mrs Charmaine Vella-Fox, Leader of Learning, English.

Students wrote about a vast range of topics, from climate change and animal extinction to domestic violence and the evils of the internet, and were encouraged to experiment with language and structure to persuade their audience to think, feel and act differently.

‘One thing I learned in this unit was how poems have been used in the past to make big changes.’ Georgia M

‘I am proud to be able to have written a poem that shares an important message.’ Ryan G

‘For this task I learned that when you manage your time more efficiently, you get a better end result.’ Eloise S

Not only did students write their own poem, rap or song, they then performed it accompanied by visuals and music.  Our SJC facebook page has featured a couple of these audio-visual presentations over the past few weeks, and below is a copy of Scarlett Kelly’s poem.

“We chose to showcase Scarlett’s poem in this article, as not only is it a great example of student work, but it also shows how far students can progress with the right mindset.  Scarlett started this unit very unsure of her ability, but by demonstrating persistence and resilience, actively engaging in the lessons where we analysed the work of others, and seeking regular feedback, she was able to craft an excellent poem that reveals her passion for saving the Australian environment and our unique animals,” said Miss Robinson, her class teacher.

Before it's too late - Scarlett Kelly

I love it,
I love it … how 50% of our forests are already gone
I love it … how our native animals no longer have a home
I love it … how Australia has the worst extinction rate in the world
I love it … how our problems are thrown onto the future boys and girls

Enough is enough!
We've known this for too long and done absolutely nothing about it.
It's been disregarded and put to the side - well I'm sick of it
A couple notes and coins on one side VS our animals and forests on the other!
Seriously, what are we doing? - if we keep going there is no way we can recover
Call it what you want, A problem or an inconvenient truth
Whether you like it or not
What we’re doing right now is environmental abuse

Why do you need to keep being told?
We've been over this too many times it's getting way too old
5 million hectares of forests bulldozed
750 million native animals killed
Has my point not yet been instilled?
470 million tonnes of greenhouse gases emitted
You've given up - just admit it.

More native footprints are tossed from our red soil as we speak CCC
In fact, Australia has just become a whole lot more weak
We’re not just losing our animals and our land but our virtue
Just for an apology when we were all older - we’re sorry we hurt you?
Every piece of paper you use is adding an animal to the list
Native rock wallabies
Eastern curlew
Regent honeyeater
Gouldian finch
Mountain pygmy possum
Northern quoll
All nearly extinct
All for the coloured pencils we used when we were little kids

Don't even think about money and population, we've tried that it just results in deforestation
So let me provide you with a solution, and we can come together as a smart, aware nation
For every tree that’s cut down plant three more
For everything you recycle multiply by four
Join a group that protects habitats and national parks
Because if we don't hold ourselves accountable!
on our cheeks will remain stained watermarks
And I am telling you now
When this is all over hierarchy will decide
And you will be Thrown to the side!
Because you didn't hold yourself accountable…

Mrs Charmaine Vella-Fox
Leader of Learning - English

Year 10 Geography Field Trip

Year 10 were blessed with glorious weather for their Geography field-trip last Friday, 26 August, when they visited a range of coastal locations to investigate the functioning, change, and management of coastal environments.  Guest speakers from Fingal Head Coastcare and Indigenous Cultural Education enlightened the students about both the challenges and the importance of managing our coastlines in a sustainable manner.  The students’ comments below, illustrate how much was learnt from the day:

Tarasiri Bellhouse - I’m very glad I got an experience seeing these projects in real life rather than on a screen or in a book. 

Evie Wilcox - It helped me better understand the impacts that have been put on our coastlines and the behind-the-scenes work that has been put into maintaining and keeping healthy coastlines.

Jacob Howell - I learnt that the coastlines are not being treated correctly and that we need to make a change for the better.

Michael Byrne - I learnt about how the Council and Coastcare have both made changes and developments including replanting native species and building concrete and rock walls along rivers and beaches to stop erosion. 

Tyson Smith - The most interesting thing I learnt on the day was how the different dunes can affect the environment around them. For example, the rear dune is less windy than the foredune. Also how the caravan park could possibly be in danger from major storms as the dunes are ripped up and changed.

Mr Tom Nethery
Leader of Learning – HSIE

In recent weeks, we have had a lot happening with digital technologies at St Joseph’s College.

At the end of Semester 1, students in Year 7 & 8 Design & Technology – Digital Technology finished developing a game using the Unity game engine.  Using Unity, the students created their own 3D games that showed off their design skills.

Congratulations to our Year 12 Industrial Technology – Multimedia students who have done a wonderful job of producing their major projects.  Planning, managing and producing a major project is a year-long process and you are all to be congratulated for producing a variety of projects that demonstrate a diversity of skills.  A special thank you to your teacher, Mr Dean Robinson, for his knowledge, skills and guidance.

Year 12 Industrial Technology-Multimedia

We also had two teams recently participate in eSports, Mario Kart at Lindisfarne.  Whilst this year we didn’t take home the title, all the students had a fun time!  Later in the year, we will be participating in another eSports competition for Rocket League.  All students are encouraged to try out and check the notices for any updates.

Currently we have our drones being integrated into teaching and learning across a range of faculties, and we are also excited to start using merge cubes.

Mrs Georgia James
Leader of Learning Technologies

Surface-, Deep- and Transfer-level Learning

One of the ways that we are trying to build rigour into our junior school curriculum is by ensuring that each subject demands that students show what they know and can do at all three levels of learning complexity - surface, deep and transfer.  So what is surface-, deep- and transfer-level learning?

The terms surface, deep and transfer were coined by John Hattie and are rooted in the work of Bigg's and Collis’ SOLO Taxonomy.  Essentially, they “organise effective teaching and learning strategies into 3 categories, based upon the purpose for the lesson in which you are using them.”  (Learning Currents, VISIBLE LEARNING: Applying the Surface, Deep and Transfer Learning model. Accessed 31/8/22)

Surface-level learning is about knowing single ideas, deep-level learning is about connecting those ideas and showing how those ideas relate to one another and transfer-level learning is about applying surface- and deep-level learning to new and challenging situations (see Figure 1 below).

At SJC, this type of learning and teaching is a major focus across Years 7 to 9 and is aligned with our long-term goal of empowering learners to be the drivers of their own learning (we call this being assessment-capable).  Admittedly, we are at the beginning stages with the work only 18 months old but we have already seen some very positive developments in student learning in the way they speak about their learning and in more targeted work such as the inquiry-based learning work that is occurring in certain faculties (see my articles in the Term 2, Week 8 Newsletter and the Term 3, Week 4 Newsletter).

In my next Newsletter article, I will detail how leaders and teachers use classroom visits and questioning to track our progress towards our goal of developing assessment-capable learners.

As always, I would love to talk more with you about learning and teaching at the College so feel free to contact me.

Study Skills Tips for September: Dealing with Exam Stress

Bienvenue, Vincent!

Over the past month, St Joseph’s College has had the privilege of welcoming an exchange student from France, Vincent Albrecht.  Here’s a little bit about what we have learnt about him so far…

Mr Guy Davoren
Hoade House Leader 

Vincent is from Strasbourg, in the east of France, on the border of Germany.  He has a twin brother, Mathias, a big brother, Alexes, and his parents are Marjorie and Pierre.  They live in a traditional, four-storey Alsation house (like the ones pictured here).  It’s made of wood, with a lovely garden courtyard in the middle of the house.

While in Australia, he is living with fellow student, Lachlan Cameron from Year 11, and his family.  Vincent said about his time so far, “It’s fun. A lot of activities such as biking, Gold Coast Show, BBQs in Australia.”

In France, he attends Saint Etienne College, which is five minutes walk from his home.  Vincent said it was a big school, with lots more people than St Joseph’s. You go from Year 7-11 in one building and then move to a different facility for Year 12 as, in France, it is the most critical year.  They have a large church in the middle of the school.  A typical day has 7-8 classes.  You are with the same people the entire day.  There are around 40 people in his class and it can be very loud.  School starts from 8am to 12pm and then you have lunch break for 2 hours, where you can go home or stay at school.  If you stay, you use the canteen, which you pay a sum of money at the start of term and they provide a substantial meal every day, which is a hot lunch, during their major break.  Then it’s back to class at 2pm before finishing at 6pm.  Apparently, French students aren’t friends with teachers like how we are here.  While there’s no uniforms, they still have a dress code.  For their discipline system, you get 5 marks/chances - if you get up to 5, you then spend 2 hours on a Wednesday afternoon doing school work with a teacher in a line.  Their Wednesday usually finishes at 12pm, like how our seniors have their super afternoon.

Not many students have cars in Strasbourg, they just use public transport and you can’t be alone in a car driving until you are 18.  During lunch at school you can have your phone, but they can’t any other time.  There are no homerooms and no school captains, but they have two class captains for each class and he is Religious Class Captain.  For their report cards, instead of being graded A-E, they are marked from 0-20.  At the end of each term, all the teachers from his class sit in a room and have an honest conversation with each kid about how they are going and then the class captains can add in comments as well. 

Vincent says the things he likes most about Australia are, “The beach.  People are kind and friendly here.  In supermarkets, you get spoken to “Hello, how is your day? How are you?”  Whereas in France no one speaks to you and if they do, it seems really weird.”  He also likes that he has lots of options for food and shops.

Vincent with some members from his AWC group Hoade 1

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Nuclear engineer, working in the military.

What’s the difference in food/supermarkets?
More large branded supermarkets here.  Things like protein powder we can’t get from supermarkets like you can.  Not as many bakeries here.  In France, there’s one on every street.

Do you play sports?
I used to play ice hockey.  Soccer is popular as well as basketball and tennis.

What's your after-school routine?
Walk home from school (in winter it’s dark when you walk home, night)
Go to your room to read
7-8 have dinner with your family
Study
Sport with your brother or gym
Shower
Bed

What do you do at the weekends?
Gym
Hang with your friends, bowling, park
Hang with girlfriend
Study
Video games

Why did you pick Australia?
I picked here because I wanted to improve my English.  I had the choice between England, USA and here.  I think Australia is really exotic and beautiful.  I want to see a koala.

What is your aim for coming and getting education in Australia?
To improve my English. Speak to other people from Australia.  Learn new skills.  Learn about Australia.  I want to become a better person and make memories and learn more about myself.

Do you have a job?
I don’t have a job.  In France, it’s uncommon to have a job before 18, due to finishing school so late, you don’t have time.  Some people work during the school holidays.

Thanks for providing the opportunity to get to know you, Vincent! We hope you enjoy your time here.

By Charlotte Wilmhurst and Alyssa Humphreys

Vincent, with Alyssa, who prepared this interview

Following the completion of their trial HSC exams and work experience, the Year 12 cohort has returned to school with a positive attitude.  It has been wonderful to hear of the success our work experience students have had, with quite a few of them being offered employment for the future.  During discussions with students who completed their trial HSC exams, I have noticed a renewed motivation as they begin to set up study schedules in readiness for the HSC examinations.

It was a pleasure to attend the Year 12 Music Performance evening last Thursday where I was beyond impressed with the musical talent of our Year 12 students.  Congratulations to their teacher, Mr Jesse Carroll, and all students involved.  It was a wonderfully entertaining evening.

As the term continues, we are getting closer to both the Graduation Mass and Graduation Assembly.  The following is a reminder about the details for these two events.  The Graduation Mass will be held at St Joseph’s Parish Church, Tweed Heads, on Tuesday 20 September, commencing at 10:30am.  The Graduation Assembly will be taking place at the College on Wednesday 21 September, commencing at 9:30am.

I look forward to supporting and encouraging our Year 12 students as they complete their final days at the College.

Mrs Loretta Jones
Leader of Student Wellbeing - Year 12

Year 11 participated in a leadership day on Thursday 4 August which was conducted by the EQUIP leadership team.

This day reinforced to all students present that they do not need a badge to display leadership qualities within the College.  Students participated in engaging activities, with lots of movement and challenges that stimulated thought, group work and getting to know others within the year level. Students participated with vigour and were engaged throughout the whole day.  This day was part of the leadership initiatives for Year 11 students, including the previous camp in Term 2.  I look forward to the students continuing their leadership journeys throughout their high school experience.

Preliminary Yearly Exams are fast approaching, starting on Monday 12 September.

Students should have commenced a nightly study/revision timetable that they are adhering to.  This will keep students accountable and on track.  If your son/daughter requires some assistance with their study, please encourage them to speak with their class teacher, or I am also more than happy to assist.

Best of luck Year 11!

Mr Joshua McCormack
Leader of Student Wellbeing - Year 11

Work-based learning is an important component of the Work Readiness Pathway and students who choose this pattern of study in Years 11 and 12 complete approximately 200 hours of work-based learning as part of their VET and Work Studies courses. 

Instead of sitting HSC trial exams, Year 12 Work Readiness Pathway students complete two weeks of Work Experience with an employer/s of their choice.  This comes at a time when students are starting to make decisions about what they will do when they finish school.

Work Experience is always incredibly valuable and gives our students an opportunity to explore connections between their school studies and career pathways, while also assisting them to become more aware of the realities of the workplace. 

Students identified the following as highlights of their work experience: 

“Getting to see the ins and outs of the hotel, the way it’s run and getting to meet people from all of the different departments.”  Tahlia Clack 

“Going out with a sales rep and experiencing all stages of a construction site and interacting with the builders.”  Callum Lindsay 

“Going for a surf at lunch as well as learning how to repair boards. This is a valuable skill for someone passionate about surfing.”  Xavier Pyle 

It is always a pleasure to read students' Assessment Reports when they return to school. 

“Very enthusiastic, polite, willing to try any tasks and communicates well with co-workers and customers.”  Aussie Organisers 

“It has been a pleasure having Piper for one week in our setting. She will be a great educator to have in any Early Childhood setting.”  Banora Point Early Learning Centre 

“Great work ethic, would make a great asset to any company.”  Blueline Carpentry

The College would like to thank the following businesses who supervised our students on their Work Experience blocks: AJ Wilcox Air & Electrical, McGrath Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, Fitness Cartel Tweed, VOCO Gold Coast, Coconut Coffee House, GT Auto Centre, Pottsville Painting Services, KMART, Ground Control Coffee, Erlibyrds, Shaping Co, Deep Blue Air Conditioning, Banora Learning Centre, Williams Group Australia, AI Automotive Suspension & Exhaust, Pro 1 Tennis, Peppers Salt Resort and Spa, Nail Innovations, Hipwell Plumbing, Blueline Carpentry, Boardriders, Aussie Organisers, Movement Gym, Auto Barn, Tweed Heads, Best Friends Pets, Zedk PTY LTD, MH Surfboards, DP2 Painting, Centaur Primary School, Tate Brownlee Real Estate, McGregor Gourlay, Sea Otter Surfboards, Tropical Fruit World, Cornerstone Construction, Spinks Electrical  

Ms Hannah Lindschau
Leader of Learning - Work Readiness Pathway

Provisions for Students Assessments

We would like to remind families of the changes that have been put in place by CSO regarding provisions for assessments. These changes have previously been shared in the Schoolzine App, but we have included them again below.

St Joseph's College has a strong focus on the support and optimal development of students with disabilities. Previously, eligible students with a diagnosed disability have received provisions for school-based assessments. These provisions included separate group supervision, reader, and/or scribe. Following changes advised by CSO, teachers will make adjustments where needed to support students during assessments, for example by using appropriate technology. Where possible, students will remain with their class, rather than having separate supervision. These changes will occur on a case-by-case basis, depending on the needs of the students. The provision provided must be a suitable adjustment for the disability, for example. A scribe for dysgraphia.

St Joseph's College is committed to further providing and ensuring the best learning environment for your child.

This may mean that students who have previously received special provisions, may no longer receive the same provisions they have in the past. Supportive adjustments will be made for them in the classroom by the classroom teacher.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact

Ms Amie Nugent - Leader of Inclusion and Diversity
(amie.nugent@lism.catholic.edu.au)

or

Ms Molly Furchtman - Additional Needs Teacher
(molly.furchtman@lism.catholic.edu.au)

Literacy Zoom for families of Year 7 & 8 students: ‘Sentence Types’

Students across the College have been learning about the different types of sentences and how to incorporate them into their writing.  To support your child with their writing, you are invited to attend a literacy learning session which will explain how to write using a variety of sentence types.

For families of students in Years 7 and 8, a 30 minute Zoom Learning session on ‘Sentence Types’ will be held on Thursday 15 September at 7:00pm.  All resources used during the session will be made available.  A zoom link will be emailed to you.

Mrs Antonia Pratt
Literacy Coach

There seems like there’s so much to catch up on!  The library has seen a passing parade of celebrations and displays for Term 2.  We kicked the term off with the National Reconciliation week theme of: Get Up Stand Up Show Up, followed up by CAPA and Science’s collaboration on a beautiful insect art exhibition.  With wall space increasingly a real estate premium we annexed the entrance for a National Careers week display as well.

As part of offering more opportunities for creative expression in the library, we recently started Tuesday lunchtime creative chill sessions.  These are being run by Maya Shaw (our Student Support Officer) and it’s a great way for students to come and connect while making.

We’re also excited about embarking on a new Student-Librarian program in which students can learn how to check in, check out, and correctly shelve books, create competitions and displays, recommend, review and help select books and generally help make the library an even better place.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a day at the Byron Writers Festival and brought home a swag of great reading material by contemporary Australian writers.  In particular, I was struck by one of the authors of a book called: Sky Country (part of the First Knowledges series by various Aboriginal authors).

Krystal De Napoli is a Gomeroi astrophysicist whose passion for Sky country is stirring and profound.  She spoke about how, in the Southern Hemisphere, we look back into our own galaxy which also enables us to see dark sky constellations (spaces between the stars) such as the Dark Emu.  From where the emu head pointed through the seasons in the year, people knew when they could sustainably eat eggs, when not to, and much more.

We lose dark sky constellations with light pollution.  As Krystal put it, ‘Light pollution hides the library of dark sky constellations.  It also affects animals - turtles, sea birds, magpies, bats, moths, wallabies etc.  It’s important to keep using the word ‘pollution’ in relation to light that adversely affects wild places at night.  Many of my vintage and prior know there is something profound and awe-inspiring about being in places where we can clearly see stars and it’s important that our young people get to share in this experience so they can value it also.  Many stories and myths centre on stars.  For untold centuries, humans have told stories about and navigated by the stars.  As a librarian I’m enchanted by the concept of stars and star lore as part of a vast interconnected sky library.

Ms Melaina Faranda
Teacher-Librarian

Just a reminder that, due to WHS laws, skate style shoes or canvas high tops CANNOT be worn in workshops and kitchens – even with a parent note.

Students who come to TAS classes wearing these shoes will be given alternate theory work to complete.

Ms Karen Parker
Leader of Learning – TAS

Have we got your information correct? Have you changed any of your details held at the school for contact: Your mobile number? Your email address? Your home address and/or postal address? Any new or changed emergency contacts for your child?

You can email the College's Administration and Office Communication sjcbanora@lism.catholic.edu.au with any new details you might have so we have your most up-to-date information on file.

The uniform shop hours are as follows: 

Every Tuesday during the school term: 12:00pm – 3:30pm
Every Thursday during the school term: 8:00am – 12:00pm

During shop hours: (07) 5523 9300
This shop is managed by Lowes staff only

Payments: Cash and EFTPOS Only
NO CHEQUES ACCEPTED

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