2nd September - Mount St Bernard College
Transcription
2nd September - Mount St Bernard College
Mr David Finch 2nd September 2016 Principal: Mr David Finch Assistant Principal - Mission: Mr Paul MacCallum Deputy Principal - Curriculum/Admin: Mr Ian Margetts Business Manager: Mr David Osborne Head of Residential: Mrs Tina Schefe & Mr Dave Schefe Office Manager: Mrs Sue Wegert Deputy Principal—Curriculum & Admin QCS Test On Tuesday and Wednesday five Year 12 students completed the Queensland Core Skills Test. The QCS Test contributes information for the calculation of Overall Positions (OPs) and Field Positions (FPs), which are used to select students for tertiary entrance. Congratulations must go to Olivia Abernethy, Mikayla Hannah, Ashleigh Hebblewhite and Robert Walker who worked consistently through the two days of testing. Year 10 SET Plans A reminder that Year 10 students are currently undergoing their SET Plan interviews and discussing subject selection with Mrs Hoult, Mr Fahey, Mrs Bakker, Mrs Threadingham and myself. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us at the College. Exam Block Exams will be held for many subjects in Year 11 and Year 12 as well as 10W English during the last week of school. It is most important that students maintain their focus all the way though to their last day of term. Remember, when preparing for exams to use your afternoon and evening homework and study times, in the weeks leading up to exams, to revise your work and learn the required subject content and skills to be examined. Also; •Exam Timetable—Make sure you know what rooms your exams are in and what time they start! •Materials—Do you have enough pens, pencils, a watch, calculator, ruler, glasses? •Food for Energy! Have a balanced breakfast or lunch before the exam. A meal with lots of carbohydrates and proteins will give the body enough energy to get through the exam. Last minute revision! It may help to use blank cards for writing your key notes to help with last minute revision. Some students prefer to switch off before an exam and leave the notes at home! •Nervous! Yes, this is normal—it is adrenalin moving around the body— use this energy to motivate yourself to do well. •If you are worried about anything—talk to your teacher, supervisor, Home form teacher or the school counsellor. Mr Ian Margetts - Deputy Principal - Curriculum & Admin Positive Behaviour Support Fortnightly Focus “Being a Good Friend” Healthy positive relationships with others is one of the main supports in life. Some of the benefits of having friends and being a friend: Having fun Feeling valued Sharing day to day stories Having someone you trust and feel safe with Having someone to care for you in down times Good friendships, like any relationship, are like gardens - they need constant work. Here are some skills needed to be a Good Friend: Being helpful Sharing your time Listening with interest Helping your friend to grow to be a better person Respecting their boundaries of what is comfortable for them Good Friends sort out their problems in a thoughtful way. They wait for a good time, use a calm voice and talk about how the problem is affecting them. What sort of friend are you? Don’t forget we are only a phone call away. If you have any issues or concerns you wish to discuss please don’t hesitate to call or email a member of the Pastoral Care Team: Jenny Rossiter - Whole School - [email protected] Trudy Bakker - Years 10 - 12 - [email protected] Ben Smith - Years 7 - 9 - [email protected] Paul MacCallum - Head of Pastoral Care - [email protected] From the Assistant Principal Mission On Sunday September 4 Pope Francis will officially declare Mother Teresa of Calcutta to be a Saint. She is remembered as a woman who gave her whole life to serving the poor in India, and as an example of humbleness and holiness for us all. Lord Jesus, you made Mother Teresa of Calcutta an inspiring example of faith and charity, and a great and esteemed teacher of the value and dignity of every human life. We thank you that she is to be venerated and imitated as one of the Church's canonized saints. May we follow her example, in responding to your call to love and serve the poorest of the poor; especially those most unloved and unwanted. We ask this in Your name and through the intercession of Mary, Your Mother and the Mother of us all. Amen. Personal Development Talks - all Year 7 - 12 students will participate in talks this coming week in the area of personal development. Personal development is an important component of a number of the core curriculum areas - Health and Physical Education, Religious Education, Science, Social and Emotional Learning. Topics such as human relationships, lifestyle choices, emotional resilience, puberty, human anatomy and physiology, reproduction and foetal development are covered in these talks. While these topics are explored throughout the year in general classes, next week’s presentations will support work covered so far as they are presented by experienced and professional staff from the Cairns-based, Natural Fertility Services. All presentations are age appropriate and targeted to each year level and are presented within a Christian faith context. We look forward to once again having NFS staff deliver these talks as they have been doing so for a number of years both at MSBC and other schools and colleges in the Cairns Catholic Education System. Are you Ok? How are you going? Walking around the classes this morning it was pleasing to see the level of engagement from students in a variety of subject areas. This caused me to reflect on and now encourage all parents/guardians to continue to regularly ask your son/daughter how they are going with their school work? And more importantly, please remind them to seek help from college staff if and when they think they need it. There are lots of examples where students will often talk more openly with a family member about challenges they might be having at school (academically or socially). If this is the case, please know that you can always ring and speak with (or email) any of the college staff so that we can be aware of your child’s concerns or your own concerns for your child. Have a great fortnight. - Paul MacCallum 7P’s awesome assessment effort! - by Mrs Catherine Titasey MSB’s 7P History class have been studying Ancient China this term. Their assessment task was to create a report about the first emperor of China, Shi Huangdi who came to power in about 236 BCE. What we learned was Shi Huangdi was a brilliant ruler who unified China into one country. He also made sure there was one type of writing and one type of currency (money) and they exist today after more than two thousand years. Shi Huangdi built the Great Wall of China using slaves. He did all of these things in just 11 years. But he was also a bully. He developed a very cruel legal system with brutal punishments like cutting off a prisoner’s nose and he also burnt all books written about China before his rule - if the scholars disagreed, he buried them alive! He died suddenly aged 49. Historians believe he died from mercury poisoning – he had taken mercury thinking it would enable him to live forever! We think he was clever, cruel and quite crazy! Back row (L to R): Meiwap Nona, Blayden White, Anthony Mairu & Demetria Ryan. Front row (L to R): Tyreece Michael, Daliah Pearson, Shenelle Roughsey & Annatania Escott. The Queensland Quills: Eileen Stenner, Nathan Dowling, Maya Mitchell, Joshua Lane, Trisha Lee, Ronin Spartalis, Renee Shannon and Hamish Burnett. NANNY’S PIES The Queensland Quills Our fundraising event this term involved a group of students creating a short story book, to be written in 12 consecutive hours. The purpose of the event was to raise funds for The Kids’ Cancer Project. Over 600 schools across Australia entered the completion, which judges best story and best illustrations. All eligible books are bound and sent to children’s cancer wards around the country. Although very challenging, students worked hard to get their creative juices flowing and produced a fantastic book based on the set parameters allocated by the competition organisers. Over the four weeks, MSB raised $660 dollars (a massive effort for our first time). Thank you to everyone who helped us. Karen Rolfe - Teacher Year 11 Expedition at Cedar Bay BY SYLVIA KALAUT Our year 11 Expedition commenced on the 22nd of August and finished on the 26th of August. On Monday morning the buses picked us up and we went to Home Rule. We were separated into groups of boys and girls, the girls went in the long way while the boys went in the short way. On the first night, the girls camped at Granite Creek and boys were at Cedar Bay. A highlight of the camp was when the girls had a free day on the beach (Wednesday) and the boys had their free day on Tuesday. We all struggled and all the girls were very helpful to each other. Iris taught us to be strong and to help others and Sarah taught us to push harder. Joyce made sure that we all ate. Shirley and I were always concerned about our food and how much we should save for the next couple of nights. Percy, Billy and Anton in the boys group were encouraging all the boys and they made sure all the boys were eating and that they were fine. Overall, this expedition has brought us girls together, I spoke and got used to girls who I never had spoken to. This camp ran smoothly we didn’t have any accidents like we did on some of our past camps and expeditions. On behalf of all the other grade 11s and some grade 12s, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Mr Tolley, Mr Mawdsley, Miss Standen and Ms Karen for taking care of us out there. Furthermore, Mr Nightingale and Mr Blue for making this whole expedition work and run smoothly. This is to my dear fellow students; we smashed it, now we’ve got five (5) more school terms to smash before we can go out into the real world. Cycad ‘Dingu’ By Deborah Dhurrkay Year 11 Cycads have a long fossil history, they were around at the time of the dinosaurs. This is a seed plant that is more abundant and more diverse today. The cycad has a thick brown trunk, with green thin wiry foliage; the seeds are round and shiny about the size of a 50 cent piece and a long black stick comes out of the middle towards the sky. Cycads stick to all females and all males in each area. Cycads grow extremely slowly and live for up to 1000 years. This artwork is a lino print of my totem which is ‘dingu’. I am a proud Aboriginal woman this is my cultural identity. This means cycad in Yan language. We come from Elcho Island but my homeland is Dhalinybuy which is East of Elcho Island in the Northern Territory. In the Northern Territory Elcho Island we have different language names and spelling for the different varieties of cycads, however they mean the same thing. In our culture I was told by my grandmother and grandad that if there is more than six cycads ‘dingu’ out in the bush near our homeland, they are telling me that our ancestors are with us. It means they are taking care of us and we are being guided by their presence. My designs were brainstormed in my visual art book. The totem I have created is a cycad ‘dingu’ surrounded by leaves and other types of trees and flowers, this represents my cultural background my home Elcho Island and Dhalinybuy Outstation. The colour of the cycad is big brown trunk which represents me and my clan or Tribe. These colours make me feel proud. This cycad totem tells a story about the cycad ‘dingu’ that started travelling from Dholtji Island, it floated up to my homeland Dhalinybuy and Elcho Island and stayed there for nearly 100 years. In this picture the brown represents the lady who travelled across the islands and green represents the long hair she had. I have also drawn a little dots, shells and little sea creatures they all remind me of home. This cycad ‘dingu’ story has different kinds of music and dance moves. This is our traditional way and all people dance it because it’s the special tree or cycad that my ancestors have given knowledge to our elders. This is passed through to the next generations. My ancestors use to cut the seed on the top of the cycad and peeled the skins off until its smooth, they then mashed the cycad seed slowly until soft, washed them with salt water and made a deep hole near fresh water. The cycad seeds were left there for two days to become really soft and not sour. One amazing afternoon when we finished our father’s funeral at ‘Ngayawili’. Afterwards we went back home to have dinner and showers, I went outside the back to relax down. I saw a big cycad right in front moving her fossils around it had the best wind and blew my face first time, it was telling me to go back to my dad’s grave. Cycads have different size trunks and fossils near my father’s place and our house is surrounded by cycads. They sometimes take care of us when sitting outside on the veranda to protect so no bad people can come near us or anything bad happen to us. Another beautiful day my family and I went hunting into the bush to look for honey. We saw a cycad and lots of cycad seeds. There were big ones, I chopped them off and took them back home to cook for two days and share with my lovely kind hearted families and friends. My own cycad trees know how to ask me or do language signs to water them to make them cool. My totem was inspired by my Great Grandmother ‘Sally Bukulatjpi’, she is my heart my soul, my identity, she also has the most amazing dreamtime stories about my cycad. This cycad means a lot to me because it represents my cultural dance and dreaming. Overall, I enjoyed making my totem out of Lino because I really love to share my cultural ideas by making a Cycad plant and I felt proud and I really enjoyed making it. Reflections on the Gospel Reading for Sunday 28August - (Luke14:1. 7-14) I remember when a friend asked me over for lunch and said that we would be having sandwiches. This was going to be a no fuss, casual, informal meal. That reminded me of the image we found in last weekend’s Gospel. We heard “On the Sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely”. Now the Pharisees were very strict about keeping the rules and regulations and would do no work on the Sabbath including preparing meals. Thus the Sabbath meal was less formal, with no hot food. (A bit like the invitation to have sandwiches for lunch). In this setting Jesus observed that the guests could not break away from the world’s social protocols and they “picked the places of honour.” They had an image of who they were (better than those who were not invited for a start), and where they belonged in the social pecking order of the chosen group of guests. While the host and guests were watching Jesus closely, deciding who he was, Jesus was also watching them. Tuesday Activities in the Murray McHugh Resource Centre Noisiest group - Games Club Quietest group - Reading Club Nerdiest group - IT Club but we’re all relaxing, having fun. learning and enjoying each others’ company. Have ever seen the TV show “Who do you think you are?” It is often a well-known actor or actress whose ancestry they are following. Usually there are surprising discoveries. For Jesus as he watches the guests, the question is not “Who do you think you are because of your ancestry?” but rather who the guests think they are in their community now and how they are living out that belief. In fact Jesus often covers this theme. In the Gospel two weeks ago Jesus made this point very strongly when he told his listeners that being a Jew won’t guarantee them entry into the kingdom of God. It was their attitudes and actions that counted. So when we come to God with a problem, what are our actions and attitudes saying? Are we humbly using the gifts God has given us to address the problem, as well as in humility asking for God’s assistance? There’s an old saying that goes “pray as if everything depends on God, work as if everything depends on you.” So who do we think we are? Who do we invite to dinner? Are the sad, the lonely, those poor in heart and material goods invited to our meal table? The ultimate answer to” who are we?” requires asking the most honest source. … “God, how do you see me…. and who am I in your eyes?” Who do you, God, say I am? Thanks to Ms Hardess, Mr Pearson, Ms Wareing, Mr Akers & Mrs Weedon for our Tuesday afternoons Upcoming Events - 2016 Term 3 Tues 13 - Thurs 15 Sept Thurs 15 Sept Fri 16 Sept Fri 16 Sept - Tues 4 Oct Senior Block Exams Term 3 ends at 3pm Boarders Travel Home MSB Office Closes @ 4pm School Holidays Term 4 Mon 3 Oct Tues 4 Oct Wed 5 Oct Sat 15-Mon 17 Oct Mon 17 Oct Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday Boarders Travel to School MSB Office Re-Opens All Classes commence Term 4 Boarders Free Weekend Pupil Free Day HOMEWORK CLUB After school homework club is being continued for Term 3, operating from 3:15pm to 4:15pm. The club occurs in the library (room L2) where no devices for the purpose of games, music or social networking will be permitted. Students in attendance are to be in school uniform. The homework club is planned to run over the following periods: Term 3: Week 2 (20 July) until Week 9 (7 September) Term 4: Week 2 (12 October) until Week 6 ( 9 November) Day students are to have a dated written note with guardian name and phone contact details. Students who attend the homework club may also go to afternoon tea provided in the Dining Room, from 3:00pm to 3:15pm. Ben Smith - Middle Leader -Mathematics [email protected] As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improving the school, we believe it is critical to seek each parent and guardian’s opinion on a range of issues relating to Mount St Bernard College. Your feedback is very important to us as we continue to build a successful school and strengthen our reputation as an ‘educator of choice’. As such, we have engaged the professional services of MYP Corporation Pty Ltd to undertake a strictly private and confidential School Results Survey on our behalf. The survey should take approximately 10 - 15 minutes and will need to be completed online between 29th August and 12th September 2016. There are no right or wrong answers and we ask that you respond honestly to each statement. Please note that this survey will be confidential. No member of the leadership team at Mount St Bernard College will have access to your individual responses. We will be provided with a summary of collated results only. MYP Corp will undertake the following process to ensure anonymity: 1. Parents and guardians will be emailed individual survey logins. 2. Results will be collated externally. 3. A summary of collated results will be provided to the school leadership team. On the survey start date, survey instructions and a personalised login link will be emailed to all parents. You will continue to receive friendly reminders during the survey period until you have submitted the survey. If you do not receive your survey instructions on the survey start date, please check your spam and junk email folders before contacting Mount St Bernard College. While we strongly encourage you to participate, the survey is not compulsory. If you decide that you do not want to complete the survey, simply click ‘Unsubscribe’ in the instruction or reminder email. Thank you for your assistance in helping to shape the future direction of Mount St Bernard College. Kind regards David Finch - Principal