MSJ Technology Program 2014

15 November 2013
Issue No. 17
Mary MacKillop Speaks
Believe in the whisperings of
God in your own heart (1868)
Archdiocesan Theme: Lead Others Home to Christ
To everyone in the Mount St Joseph Milperra community,
Monday 18 November

Year 7 2014 Orientation
Night 6.30pm School Hall
Tuesday 19 November

Year 10 Reflection Day
Thursday 21 November—Friday
22 November

Peer Support Training
Period 1 and 2
Friday 22 November

Year 10 BATH Day
Monday 25 November—
Thursday 28 November

Careers Week
Tuesday 26 November

Year 9 PASS Incursion—
period 6

Year 10 PASS Incursion—
period 5
Thursday 28 November

English Extension 2
Excursion
Friday 29 November

Pupil Free Day

Staff Spirituality Day
Monday 2 December

Elective Dance & Drama
Showcase Evening 6.30pm

Year 8 Science Excursion
UNIFORM SHOP HOURS
Tuesdays 12 noon to 4.00pm
Fridays 8.30am to 12.30pm
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated every year on November 21,
commemorates (in the words of the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily prayer of the Roman Rite of
the Catholic Church) "that dedication of herself which Mary made to God from her very
childhood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled her with grace at her Immaculate
Conception." Also known as the Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast originated in
the East, where it is called the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple.
While the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not generally celebrated in the West
until the 11th century, it appears in most of the earliest calendars of the Eastern Churches.
Derived from accounts in apocryphal literature, especially the Protoevangelium of James, the
feast seems first to have appeared in Syria, where the Protoevangelium and other apocryphal
books, such as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew originated.
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary first rose to prominence, however, in Jerusalem,
where it was associated with the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New.
That basilica was built near the ruins of the Temple in
Jerusalem, and the Protoevangelium of James and other
apocryphal works told the story of Mary's presentation at the
Temple at the age of three. In gratitude for being granted a
child after years of infertility, Mary's parents, Saints Joachim
and Anna, had vowed to dedicate Mary to the service of God
at the Temple. When they presented her at the Temple at the
age of three, she stayed willingly, showing her dedication to
God even at that young age.
Pope Sixtus IV first placed the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the universal
calendar in 1472, but in the Tridentine reform of the calendar in 1568, Pope Pius V removed
the feast. It was restored 17 years later by Pope Sixtus V, and remains in the Roman calendar
as a memorial.
Source: http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Presentation-Of-Mary.htm
MSJ Technology Program 2014
The classroom of 2013 is very different from that of 20 or even 10 years ago. The modern
school now relies heavily on technology such as computers, video cameras and electronic
whiteboards to help students learn. The Federal Government’s ‘Digital Revolution’ program,
which commenced back in 2008, meant that every Year 9 – 12 student received access to a
laptop computer. You can imagine what a dramatic impact this had on how these students
learn. It has also changed the way teachers teach! In 2010 the Catholic Education Office Sydney
moved to the next phase of the ‘Digital Revolution’ by providing a laptop for every Year 7
student in every Sydney Catholic systemic school. For these Year 7 students, this will mean
personalised and flexible learning.
Now as part of Sydney Catholic systemic schools and having ensured that we will be network
ready in 2014 Mount St Joseph Milperra is now preparing for the next stage of the
technological revolution that is the reality of 21st Century learning and life. These are very
exciting times!
Therefore in 2014 MSJ will introduce
a Year 7 and 10 technology program
consisting of new devices. These new
devices are the Acer Tablet 10 inch
Iconia Tab W510.
Answers to the ‘Your childs online safety’ Quiz.
1. If you chose B: Great answer! It is not advisable for children to
share their personal information, including their name,
address and other details on social networking sites as this may
impact on their privacy as well as their digital footprint.
Encourage your children to keep their personal details private
or to ask you whether they should share their details on a site.
2. If you chose B: Great answer! IM, chat and forums are
important ways for children and young people to communicate
and socialise. While it may be tempting to try and protect
children from contact with unknown people online, banning
them from using these technologies can be seen as severe
punishment. As a parent, try talking to your child about the
risks in communicating online. This includes explaining that
not everyone is who they say they are. Remind your children
that they can leave a chat session if anything makes them feel
uncomfortable, not to open messages or accept ’friends’
requests from people they don’t know and to talk to you if an
online friend asks to meet in real life. Keeping the channels of
communication open is a valuable way of encouraging your
child to be safe online.
3. If you chose A: Great answer! Yes—it can be, you just need to
be careful. If you upload to a video sharing site, your private
video could potentially be viewed by anyone, around the
world. Make sure you set the privacy settings so that it can
only be viewed by users that you list, or use a private video
sharing service.
Year Eight, Nine, Eleven and Twelve will
be issued with a take home device from
the current supply of laptops, HP 6550B,
previously purchased through the
Commonwealth Government’s National
Secondary Schools Computer Fund and
then the “Digital Revolution”.
Year Seven 2014, will receive further information on Monday
18 November at their Second Orientation evening. Year Ten
2014 parents will receive a letter in the coming weeks to
explain the MSJ Technology Program 2014, and an evening
meeting will be held in Term 1, 2014. Year Eight, Nine,
Eleven and Twelve will also receive communication about this
program in coming weeks.
Being Counter Cultural continued
Try this Quiz
Last newsletter Questions 1 – 3 were asked. Unfortunately the
site is down so I have included again the three questions
asked in the last newsletter. The questions are taken from
http://cybersmart.gov.au
Strategies
1.

2.
3.
Should my children use their real names on social
networking sites? (Please choose an answer!)
A: Yes
B: No
If I don’t want my children to meet people they don’t
know online, should I stop them using instant
messaging, chat and forums? (Please choose an
answer!)
A: Yes
B: No
Is putting a private video of my family on a video
sharing site, like YouTube, a safe thing to do? (Please
choose an answer!)
A: Yes
B: No
Below are a number of strategies that can be used to help
control the use of notebooks and mobile devices in the home.




Be eSmart
Guide to the Web
This page has been setup to help inform parents on some of
the websites currently available to students that may pose
risks to their online activity. This information comes from the
Internet Safety - NSW Police Online


Parent's Guide
The Internet, with all its benefits, presents new challenges to
kids and parents. Parents need to be involved with their
children's Internet experience. Teaching children how to
handle themselves on the Internet is important. There are also
filtering software packages and web site rating schemes
designed to help parents guide their children's Internet
experience while still allowing that child Internet
independence.
In this new and dynamic environment we all need to work
together to protect those who need us most. A bit of
prevention is worth a gigabyte of cure.


No computer should ever be used in the bedroom with
the door closed.
Lap top access is only ever in a common area, eg the
family room or kitchen, so that other family members
are often around and it easy for parents to keep an eye
on what is actually being accessed.
Parents need to be aware of the ‘minimise’ key and the
fact that students can change the screen in an instant to
hide what they are actually doing on the computer.
'Screen time’ needs to be limited. Consider limiting time
on the computer to one hour lots unless a significant
assignment is being completed.
Distinguish between school work use and social use.
Game time and social networking needs to be restricted.
Negotiate with your child and be clear about what you
consider acceptable. Be aware that both the social
networking sites and games are addictive for some
individuals.
Have ‘no go’ times for computer use. There will be
times when a child should not be on the computer.
Enforce a limit on night time use depending on the age
of your child. It is difficult to get to sleep if you have
spent excessive time in front of computer screen prior
to bed.
Make sure that there is no access to the laptop when
students are meant to be asleep. We have had instances
of students being on social networking sites in the early
hours of the morning during the week. The only way to
be sure that this is not happening in your home is to
take the laptop and mobile phone and have them in
your bedroom or in a locked cupboard.
Talk to your child about what they are doing on the
computer whenever you get the chance.
The school community was saddened
recently at the news of the sudden loss
of Mr Dewhirst, father of Zara (Year
Eight). May perpetual light shine
upon him, may he rest in peace. I ask
the MSJ community to join in pray for
the Dewhirst family at this very
difficult time.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
COORDINATOR’S REPORT
I also ask you to keep in your prayers the Lopresti family as
Mr Lopresti, father of Monica (Year Nine), is gravely ill in
hospital.
Happy Birthday to:
Angelica Lagos, An Nguyen, Samantha Borda,
Celina Wang, Amanda Vu, Mikaela Cole,
Caitlyn Giang, Giffie Ngo, Alexandra
Stojanovska, Chanel Beydoun, Lauren Lowe,
Tailah Welch, Bianca Cipri, Julie Dao, Polly Godfrey, Danielle
Khouri, Sonya-Rose Omeissah, Lisa Studdon, Stephanie Chan,
Sarah Jenkins, Dimitra Kamionka, Erin Lowe, Jenny Truong,
Cecilia Dinh, Alexia Gavrilidis, Anne Nguyen, Monique
Tadrous, Amy Tran, Victoria Valassis, Olivia Bailey, Samantha
Harris, Vivienne Josevska, Rebecca Nakhoul, Isabella Zepina,
Alana McAlpine, Laura Reyes, Mary Vu, Naomi Keith, Jasmine
Nguyen, Raquelle Wehbe, Mary Youssef, Allison Reid, Jackie
Rizk, Georgia Davis, Catherine Jaworski, Briearn Lambkin,
Eunice Saah, Courtney Tadros.
On Tuesday 29 October, Nicola Vujevic and Mary-Jo Gittany
(Year 8) with Sarah Murray and Felicia Bruzzese (Year 10)
attended the Southern Region CEO Youth Forum. Working
with other Year 8 and 10 students from the region, the girls
were given an opportunity to present their views about the
nature of the current Religious Education curriculum to
Dr Dan White, Executive Director of Sydney Catholic
Schools.
They detailed comprehensively their favourite and least
favourite topics of study, providing sound reasons to support
their opinions. As the Religious Education curriculum is
currently under review, the girls’ contributions were most
valuable in ensuring that the new syllabus really engages our
students.
Thank you to Ms Simpson for attending the afternoon with
our MSJ girls.
Year 10 Reflection Day – 19 November
All Year 10 students will participate in a Reflection Day at
the Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Tops on Tuesday
19 November.
Year 8 RE Test
Results for the Year 8 RE Test have just arrived. Our results
in the test are very pleasing with 12 students receiving a
High Distinction and 65 students obtaining a Distinction.
Ms Kenney
PRINCIPAL
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Application for Exemptions from Attendance at
school:
Sporti ng /entertai nm ent parti ci pati on, dom esti c
circumstances, other exceptional circumstances, holidays etc.
If you consider that it is in your child’s best interests to be
exempted from attending the School for any length of time,
parents/guardians must apply to the Principal for an
exemption.
Copies of the Exemption Form are available at Student
Services.
Please fill in the Exemption Form and return to Student
Services. The Principal will then consider each application. If
approved a ‘Certificate of Exemption from Attendance at
School’ will be issued to parents/guardian. Students then have
a responsibility to check for any Assessment Tasks which may
be scheduled during their absence. Subject teachers also have
the option of setting work for students to complete while on
leave.
A copy of the Exemption Form is also included in this
newsletter.
Your assistance in supporting our school with appropriate
notifications for any absences is much appreciated.
Mr Stephen Mahoney
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
In the coming weeks, students will receive their certificate
and results page. Further details on MSJ’s results will follow
in the next newsletter.
Upcoming Church Celebrations



21 November – Memorial of the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
22 November – Memorial of St Cecilia
24 November – Solemnity of Christ the King
Mr Chris Nolan
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COORDINATOR
PASTORAL CARE COORDINATOR’S
REPORT
Uniform Expectations
A number of students are making the decision to wear their
sports jacket with their summer school uniform. The school
has very clear expectations about the manner with which the
school uniform is worn, reflecting pride in one’s self and
one’s school. At no time should the school sports jacket be
worn with the school uniform.
Furthermore, as the term draws to a close, more and more
students are taking the opportunity to wear their sports
uniform on days other than their designated Sport Day. It
has also become apparent that parents are allowing their
daughters to do this by writing letters of explanation.
The school has very clear expectations about when the Sports
Uniform can be worn. I ask that parents support these
school rules and not allow your daughter to make decisions
that conflict with school expectations.
Out of Bounds
I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce the
expectations of the school regarding out of bound areas.
When a student enters the school in the morning they are to
gather in the quad only. No girls are to go to lockers or to
any other part of the school without express permission of
the teacher on duty.
YEAR 8 ART EXCURSION
On 6 November, the semester two Year 8 Art students were
fortunate enough to go on an art excursion to Bondi for the
Sculptures by the Sea exhibition and Reverse Garbage at
Marrickville for an art workshop.
At recess and lunch, students have 10 minutes only to go to
their lockers after the lesson has ended to get books, food etc
after which they gather in their year group area. There
should be no student at or around their lockers after that 10
minutes has passed.
Mr G Eirth
ACTING PASTORAL CARE COORDINATOR
NATIONAL HISTORY CHALLENGE WINNERS
The National History Challenge is an exciting competition
that gives students the chance to be historians. It encourages
inquiry-based learning and enables students to investigate
and explore historical ideas of their choosing. Run annually
by the History Teachers’ Association, the competition
rewards quality research, the use of primary and secondary
sources, and effective presentation.
This year’s theme was “Legends, Fact and History”, and
throughout last term, the Year 10 History Challenge Class
worked towards creating entries into the competition that
focused on a historical area of their choosing and addressed
the 2013 theme. Working collaboratively, students created
museum exhibits and conducted in-depth research to
prepare essay responses to a question developed for their
inquiry.
We began the day at Tamarama Beach with the Sculptures
by the Sea exhibition. Making our way along the coastal
walk to Bondi, we were able to see remarkable outdoor
works created by local, interstate and international artists.
The walk ended at the famous Bondi Beach. There were
many sculptures which were interesting and captivating but
there was one artwork that I was most fascinated with. It
was called ‘horizon’. It was a large two tonne glass ball filled
with water. It turned the view upside down and it intrigued
me because of its simplicity yet complex concept.
The overall quality of entries was most impressive, with four
groups progressing to the national judging round: Giffie
Ngo, Tien Nguyen, Celina Wang, Tiffany Quach, Isabela
Protacio, Brittany Ledwell, Emily White, Caitlin Ellis,
Rebecca Ranawaka, Sarah Murray, Emily Roebuck, Raquel
Ameneiro, Sarah Vaughan and Cecilia Nguyen.
Giffie, Tien, Celina and Tiffany’s entry impressed the judges
so much that their entry was deemed the best in the New
South Wales Museum Exhibit 9-12 category. As joint state
winners, they recently attended a formal presentation
ceremony in Sydney in recognition of their success. We
congratulate Giffie, Tien, Celina and Tiffany on their
outstanding achievement.
Mrs Rebecca Wakeling
After the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition we went to
Marrickville for a sculpture workshop at Reverse Garbage.
Reverse Garbage is an organisation which is committed to
divert resources from landfill and use them for creative
purposes such as sculpture making. We were given
approximately an hour to create a sculpture using the items
that were on the tables. There were things such as bottle
caps, ribbons, sticky tape rolls, fabric and pool noodles. My
group decided to make a red velvet cake on a plate made
from fabric, ribbons and soft fluffy stuff. There were many
creative sculptures made by other students. We ended the
day at the Reverse Garbage Warehouse where we were able
to take things such as wire coat hangers, lamp shades and
fabric to use in our art making projects.
For many of us who attended this excursion, we absolutely
enjoyed the day being able to be opened to art outside of the
classroom, giving us inspiration for our own art making
projects. Year 8 art students extend their gratitude to the art
teachers for providing us with this exciting opportunity.
Whitney Xu
YEAR 8
A huge congratulations goes
to Laura Towell in Year 10
who has been chosen for the
Western Sydney Academy of
Sport.
Laura has been playing netball for 10 years and hopes for a
professional career in the sport in the future. We wish you
all the best Laura. Train hard, play hard and always have
fun doing it.
PDHPE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL EX-STUDENTS MASS
The Arma Lucis Ex-Students Association is
holding its annual Mass on Sunday 17
November at 2.00pm in the School Chapel. For
further information please contact Sr Kathleen
Price in Joe’s Place on 8724 6239.
FORTHCOMING EXCURSIONS
Parents and Caregivers are asked to ensure that permission
envelopes are signed and returned to Student Services by the
due date. Failure to return notes by the due date may mean
that students will not be permitted to attend the excursion.
DETAILS OF
EXCURSION
DATE OF
EXCURSION
PAYMENT &
PERMSSION
DUE BY
Year 8 Science
Excursion $18.00
Year 9 & 10 PASS
Incursion $7.50
Year 9 Music Exc.
(Grease the Musical)
$65.00
Year 9 PASS Excursion
$40.00
Year 10 Reflection day
$25.00
Year 10 Driver
Awareness $30.00
2-12-2013
18-11-2013
26-11-2013
19-11-2013
4-12-2013
Overdue
9-12-2013
22-11-2013
19-11-2013
Overdue
11-12-2013
Overdue
YEAR 9 COMMERCE HANDS CHEQUE TO ST ANTHONY’S FAMILY CARE
At the School Assembly on 7 November, Year 9 Commerce handed over a cheque for $2,200 to St Anthony’s Family Care, a
charity of the Sisters of St Joseph. This was half of the profit from the Commerce Stalls which were held on Mary MacKillop
Day. Teresa Petrone, Manager of Children’s Services, accepted the cheque and she spoke to the assembly about the work
which St Anthony’s does, especially in relation to special education.
The remaining half of the profits from the day were donated to the School for the purpose of purchasing a defibrillation
machine which has been placed in Student Services. This machine has the capability of saving lives and is integral in the
First Aid DRABCD the last D in the acronym being for defibrillation. While we pray that we will never have use for this life
saving equipment, we are thankful that if the need were to arise, we would be prepared.
Year 9 Commerce students and teachers with Teresa Petrone of St Anthony’s Day Care.
Mr Michael Bellamy
HSIE (SOCIAL SCIENCES) COORDINATOR
THE SPORT REPORT
Junior Softball
Congratulations to the Junior Softball team who continue to
dominate in the SCC competition. Round 4 had MSJ up
against All Saints Liverpool. The girls were sent into field in
the first innings and did not disappoint. Stephanie Cook had
a turn at pitching with Alyssa Trostel taking the catching
position. The combination proved to be successful keeping
the opposition at 0 runs.
MSJ continued to succeed in their first batting innings.
There was some giant hits from Amy Dodd and some well
placed shots from Elena Karas.
The final score was MSJ 12 All Saints Liverpool 3
Congratulations.
Ms Craft
Intermediate Touch Football
St Charbel's defeated MSJ 6 - 2
A much tougher game this week. Although we gave our best
as we always do, silly mistakes such as poor passing and
dropped balls in our half didn't make our job easier. A try to
us in the first and last 5 minutes showed that we are capable
of putting points on the board. Our defence, however, let us
down this time - crucial errors such as marking up on the
wrong person and not sliding in the defensive line allowed
the other team in.
However, we can learn from our mistakes and next time we
come across this team we will be more than ready to beat
them. Gracious in defeat, our girls showed a high level of
sportsmanship as ever.
Mrs Sorojevic
CGSSSA CRICKET
On 29 October the MSJ Open Cricket team ventured out to
Queens Park to play in the CGSSSA competition. Even
though it was the windiest day of the year which made the
game very difficult to play, the MSJ team could not be
stopped. They smashed their way through each pool game,
beating every team by a convincing 20-30 runs, making it
to the semi-finals against St Clare’s, they won that game as
well.
Then as the thunder came and the pitch became darker, the
final began. St Ursula’s College were the opponents, they
batted first and went straight out for the big runs, leaving
MSJ nervous and worried. By the 5th over, that worry had
disappeared and the game had been decided with one over
to spare. MSJ WERE THE WINNERS. Well played everyone.
The team: Laura Towell,
Emily Selwood, Madison
Bradford, Chloe Devlin (C),
Alana Kidd, Rebecca
R an a wak a, P ru e d en ce
Roebuck and Emily
Roebuck.
Ms Cuda