Category: Early Childhood

On Thursday 6 June, Catholic Communities and Marists across Australia and 83 countries around the world celebrated the Feast Day of St Marcellin Champagnat, Founder of the Marist Brothers and Marist Education. As an Australian Marist community, we give thanks for the life, witness and commitment of the Marist Brothers and those committed to Marist education who have served in our community, and across Western Australia.

We give thanks in particular for the Marist Brothers currently present in Western Australia:

Br John Furlong – Community Leader, Churchlands Marist Brothers Community
Br Terry Orrell, Campus Minister (Churchlands Community)
Br Paul Murphy, Newman Teaching Staff (Churchlands Community)
Br Noel Hickey (Churchlands Community)
Br Nello Facci (Churchlands Community – Resident at MercyCare)
Br Richard Spain (Churchlands Community – Resident at MercyCare)
Br Max Middleton (Denmark, WA)

Please CLICK HERE to access a message prepared by Marist Youth Ministry Australia for the feast of Champagnat Day.

Please CLICK HERE to access the video message of the Superior General of the Marist Brothers, Br Ernesto Sanchez fms.

K-12 Celebrating Champagnat Day – Friday 14 June

To mark this very special day in the life of the International Marist Institute, our K-12 College community will be celebrating Champagnat Day across the College on Friday 14 June.

Download 2019 Champagnat Day Letter to Parents.3.2

We look forward to celebrating Champagnat Day as a K-12 community next Friday.

Archbishop’s LifeLink Primary Launch – Wednesday 5 June 2019

On Wednesday 5 June, Newman College hosted 478 students and teachers from 76 Primary Schools across the Archdiocese of Perth for the annual Archbishop’s LifeLink for Primary Launch. Visitors were welcomed by our Year 6 Student Council, with Ella Rose (Year 6) leading the Acknowledgement of Country, and the Year 5 and 6 Lavalla Dance Troupe sharing their Liturgical Movement piece titled: ‘Amazing’.
 

St Vincent de Paul Winter Sleep Out

On Friday 24 May, 33 students from the Marcellin Campus (Years 7-12) attended the St Vincent de Paul Winter Sleep Out. Students and staff participated in activities that looked at the facts around homelessness in Australia. Participants learnt that many issues and factors can affect a person’s access to a home, which contributes to the 116,000 people who find themselves homeless in Australia. Students and staff shared a simple meal of soup together before hearing from two Archdiocesan groups, including Mrs Carol Mitchell from the Justice, Ecology and Development Office and Mr Damian Walsh from Catholic agency, The Shopfront. Mrs Mitchell and Mr Walsh spoke about homelessness from two interrelated views, one being justice and the other being practical support and care.

Following a question and answer time, students began a Review of Life, following Joseph Cardijn’s – ‘See, Judge, Act’. To see the issue for what it is, judge it in light of the Gospels and faith and then to come up with actions that individuals and groups can take to address the issue. Before the evening concluded, students and teachers completed the See and Judge sections of the review and collectively agreed to meet again to complete the Act section. Following prayer, students and staff settled down for the night, some choosing to sleep on a thin mat, others sleeping directly on the floor. The short experience helped participants gain a greater understanding of the issues of homelessness and a small insight into rough sleeping. It was a great evening and we thank all of those who participated and volunteered to assist.
 

Year 9 Retreat – Friday 7 June

On Friday 7 June, Year 9 had the opportunity to share the day together as part of their annual retreat day. The day was hosted by the Youth Mission Team, and invited all our Year 9 students to consider more closely their relationships with each other, with God, and how they seek to actively build a vibrant community here at the College.

Student Reflection; “Today the inspiring YMT came to Newman College to do a meaningful and reflective retreat with the year 9’s. We looked at relationships with ourselves, each other and God and what we can achieve to become more connected to one another. Throughout the day the Team performed many skits that shared with us a lesson about being your best self. We also had the opportunity in small groups to share what experiences we have had in our lives. Towards the end of the day we had time to reflect with God and each other by lighting candles as a symbol of our prayers.

A big thank you to the YMT for giving up there time for us, helping us have a good time and sharing their experiences of God.”

By Hannah Stahl and Sydney Poor

Australian Catholic Youth Festival, Perth (December 8 – 10, 2019)

Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre

In December this year, Perth will be hosting Australian Catholic Youth Festival for all young people. Registrations are now open for Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2019. Newman College is looking forward to supporting this important event, which takes place every two years. Students form the College will be invited to participate in this event, and we look forward to the opportunity to showcase Perth to visiting Catholic young people from across Australia.

What is Australian Catholic Youth Festival?

The Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) is a national gathering of Catholic young people established by the Australian Catholic bishops Conference (ACBC). It exists to provide young people with opportunities to deepen their relationship with Jesus, be empowered to be disciples in the world today and encounter and celebrate the vitality of the Church in Australia.

Purpose:

The Australian Catholic Youth Festival exists to:

·         Provide a high quality formative and experiential opportunity for young Catholics to encounter Jesus Christ, in the context of the Catholic Church in Australia;

·         Listen to and discuss the issues and challenges in the lives of young Catholics in Australia;

·         Evangelise young people and empower them to be evangelists;

·         Provide young people with local examples and connections to vocations, social action, liturgy and prayer, Catholic music and catechesis.

You can learn more about ACYF by visiting the website: https://youthfestival.catholic.org.au/event-details-2/

2019 Marian Lecture: ‘After the Angel Departed – Seeking God: hints and glimpses of the God within’

The Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat hosted ‘The Marian Lecture’ on Tuesday 4 June in the Champagnat Chapel, Newman College. 87 Newman staff, parents, and members of the Archdiocese of Perth gathered for an encounter with international speaker, biblical scholar, author and award-winning poet, Dr Bonnie Thurston, who drew on the rich tradition of contemplation and how to be attentive to the God within.

Weekly Thursday Morning Community Mass (Champagnat Chapel – 8.10am – 8.35am)

All parents, guardians and families across our PK-12 College are invited to attend the weekly Thursday morning Mass. Our weekly Newman College Community Mass is an important way that we as a Catholic community seek to nourish and live-out our faith in community with one another.

24:7 Youth Group

For all youth in Years 6-12
St Joseph’s Subiaco every Friday 6.30pm – 8.30pm in the Parish Upper room
Call Aidan Walsh 0487 403 456 or Angela Firth 0455 960 174 for more information

Floreat Youth Group

St Cecilia’s Parish Centre, 47 Peebles Road, Floreat
Every Sunday from 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Call Sebastian on 0403 230 395 or Emma on 0412 310 019 for more information

“We don’t need to improve schools – we need to re-invent them for our times, our requirements and our future.” [NMC Horizon Report 2013 K-12 edition]

This week I attended the Learning Environments Australia Conference here in Perth. The theme was transformation and how spaces in schools, universities and technical colleges need to reflect this intent. Put simply, continual transformation within learning environments is shifting our understanding of the way people learn, what they learn, and where they learn. In a world of rapid change and disruption, the role of education and the facilities that provide it is evolving.

Our forthcoming Stage 1 capital development project will reflect this transformation of education where collaboration will be central to our learning intent. Our Vision for Learning – Shine Through Discovery, Let Your Light Shine (Matthew 5:16) has collaboration as a key pillar to how we learn in our College.  Central to this is how we elicit student voice in their learning and ultimately the pathways they take. Collaboration and a mindset re-evaluating of what is crucial in education will also ensure our parents feel they have a place and all students feel that they are valued.

Thank you to those parents, guardians and members of the wider community who attended our community forum on our forthcoming Stage 1 build. The conversation with our Architect, Mr Bob Sly, MSM Architects, was informative and collaborative about the future of our school and the spaces that will reflect our learning intent. The Learning Environments Conference affirmed the strategic direction in our learning and the spaces that we are providing for our students into the future. Please see our website here for up to date information.

Champagnat Day 6 June

Marist communities across the world recognise and celebrate the Feast Day of our Founder, St Marcellin Champagnat, on 6 June. Our community is here today because of the inspiration and animation of St Marcellin Champagnat. For our community, that legacy lives on through our students, teachers, and families. Our inspiration today is underpinned by our Marist Brothers and their lives exemplified by service, hard work, presence and humility. We give thanks for our Marist Brothers within the Churchlands community. Our privilege is that we have Brothers still present in our school and their story lives on.

As a College we will celebrate the Feast of our Founder St Marcellin Champagnat as a whole community next Friday 14 June with Mass followed by fete activities.

Leave

I will be on leave from the College for the last three weeks of term. Ms Lisa Fogliani will be Acting Principal for that duration. I would like to wish all families every blessing in the weeks ahead.

John Finneran

 

Seminal skills in literacy, numeracy and general capabilities in information, communication technology and critical thinking support learning at school so students can navigate opportunities beyond Year 12.  Our Vision for Learning, Shine through Discovery, exposes students to the essential skills of collaboration, creativity and critical thinking which are increasingly important in an age of disruption and change.  Discovering how we work with others, co-learning and co-constructing ideas is important in working with others and developing good working relationships.

Reporting and Parent Teacher Interviews

My sincere thanks and gratitude to all teachers for their commitment to quality assessment and reporting of student learning.  A-E reporting from Years 3 to 10 reflect the SCSA Judging Standards which benchmark student achievement at the end of the academic year.  Semester One reports reflect student progress towards the end of year benchmark.

Student reports will be available to families on Friday 5 July via the SEQTA Engage portal.  Please note that Year 10 reports will be uploaded on Friday 21 June.

SEQTA logins to access Reports

Please Click here to access details on the SEQTA Engage login process then use the below link to login.

Click on the below link to access the SEQTA login screen.
https://coneqt-p.newman.wa.edu.au/

Teachers will be available on Tuesday 23 July from 10.00am – 7.00pm to discuss your child’s progress.  A PTO invitation will be sent out to families nearer this time with instructions on how to book interview times.

Collaboration between families and school is important for student success and we look forward to coming together to set learning goals for the semester ahead.

Newman Parents

The College is very fortunate to secure Cybersafety expert Susan McLean to speak at the Newman Parents meeting on Wednesday 12 June at 7.00pm in the Marist Auditorium.  I encourage all families to attend this seminar and learn about the positive benefits of technology as well as what we as parents need to be aware of.  More information can be found here http://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/

DISA

Thank you to all parents that completed the DISA survey in the past week. This feedback is very important in shaping the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan and for measuring the success of our Vision for Learning. The data collected will be shared with parents at the Newman Parents Consultative Committee meeting next term.

Code of Conduct / Child Protection  

A reminder to all families that the Code of Conduct can be accessed via the College website HERE. The Code is mandated by Catholic Education Western Australia and the application of the Code extends to all staff, students, parents, guardians, caregivers and volunteers.
The Code seeks to value the dignity of every person, foster positive relationships, ensuring confidentiality and accountability and supports professional boundaries. Events held during school hours AND outside of school hours that are associated with the College are also supported by the Code of Conduct. Any perceived breaches of the Code can be discussed with any member of the Senior Leadership Team. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support of how we strive to partner positively with one another.

Child Protection and Safety  

In addition to writing to the College community regarding our Code of Conduct, we feel it is also appropriate to communicate the processes, policies and frameworks the College applies to ensure our school is a safe place for all children and that our staff are informed, assessed and aware of their responsibilities to this commitment.

Working with Children Checks 

The Working with Children Check (WWC Check) is a compulsory screening strategy in Western Australia and the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

The WWC Check aims to protect children by:

• deterring people from applying to work with children where they have a relevant charge or conviction on their criminal record that indicates they may harm a child;
• detecting new charges and convictions of those people who hold a current WWC Card and preventing them from continuing to engage in child-related work where their criminal record and behaviour indicates they may harm a child;
• protecting children by creating awareness that child safety is a whole of community responsibility.

Newman College has strict processes in place to ensure all staff (teaching, non-teaching, casual relief staff) contractors, clergy and visitors to the College, who are working with children are compliant and validated through the Working With Children database.

More information can be found  HERE  https://workingwithchildren.wa.gov.au/about 

Any questions relating to our Child Protection strategies, please contact me at the College.