Category: Future Families

It is a joy to be constantly immersed in the learning journey of our Primary aged students. Term 3 is a time of activity for our PK-Y6 children. The calendar is full of activities and events that challenge their creativity and promote collaboration.

Ideas Lab

The Ideas Lab at Newman College is the latest edition to our teaching and learning landscape. The Lab was opened in Term 3. Designed to inspire our early learning students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 2, the Ideas Lab comes from the concept of a ‘Makerspace’. This is a place for children to explore, create and work collaboratively together. It is a community centre with tools that combine equipment, community and education to enable students to design, prototype and create. At Newman College we aspire to grow creative lifelong thinkers. It is not about the teachers having the right methodology to generate an answer, it is about setting up task where there can be multiple pathways to a finishing point. The Ideas Lab is a tangible resource for students to explore these paths for themselves

The Ideas Lab supports the College’s Vision for Learning, addressing it’s four pillars:

1. Challenge – offer further enhancements in our curriculum programming with open ended, inquiry-based questions/projects that challenge all students.
2. Collaborate – work with partners, teams and across classes
3. Create – promote creative thinkers
4. Celebrate – reward in the discovery of new ways of solving problems together

The Ideas Lab will help reinforce learning in the classroom by bringing to life the creative side of the curriculum. Students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 2 will have the opportunity to work in the Ideas Lab on an inquiry project that connects to a Literature book. The Ideas Lab is further supported by the Ideas Trolley, that allows for continuation of the activities in classroom as and where required.

 

Book Week

In Term 3 we celebrated Book Week with the theme of “Finding Your Treasure”. Our students dressed as characters from their favourite books, bringing them to life. Reading is such an important part of our students learning and we are so lucky to have such wonderful libraries at each campus. A wide range of activities were also organized for students to participate in, such as author visits and even a trip to the Cambridge Library. Book Week bring such joy and excitement to our College community. It is so powerful to see the impact that creative fiction can have on the lives of our children. Click here to see more photos from the day.

Gratitude Project

This term, the College has taken on a Gratitude Project as part of the path toward building resilience to support Wellbeing in our community. On the Primary campuses, staff have focused their projects around ‘daily hits’ of practising gratitude with the students. Throughout the project, activities and reflections are shared through Seesaw as well as prominently in many classrooms and we encourage you to engage in conversation with your children around practising gratitude at home. There are many simple ways that you can support this practise with your children in the family setting, such as:

• Modelling gratitude – stating aloud things that you are grateful for, and thanking each other openly
• Quick gratitude chats – in the car, on a walk, around the dinner table or at bedtime, go around and each mention something you’re grateful for that day
• Gratitude journaling – support your children in keeping a notebook where they can write down what they are grateful for each day
• Find opportunities for your children to identify those less fortunate than themselves and express their gratitude – watching the news, reading the paper, in your local community

Author, Alan Cohen, wrote: “Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more power you have to use it on your behalf. If you do not practice gratefulness, its benefaction will go unnoticed, and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished. To be grateful is to find blessings in everything; this is the most powerful attitude to adopt, for there are blessings in everything.”

We have had a full curriculum-based activity program for our PK-12 community during Term 3. Our Vision for Learning, Shine through Discovery, has supported quality learning and teaching experiences for staff, students and parents in our community. Term 3 has been highlighted by activities in the following areas:

• Students from Years 7 – 12 have worked collaboratively with Marist Youth Mentors in the Homework Club to prepare for assessments and examinations with support of their teachers.
• Year 10 students have launched the “Just Start It” entrepreneurial program which explores design thinking skills and creative start up ideas.
• Our Outdoor Education program has challenged students to take risks, explore leadership and self-management skills and to collaborate with staff and peers in different environments ranging from the coast, to the track or on a mountain bike.
• The College is very involved in the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools which includes individual and group performances in Music, Art, Drama and Dance.
• Belonging to teams, groups and clubs support Wellbeing and in turn learning outcomes. Our Athletics Teams have trained tirelessly to ensure our best performance at the ACC Athletics Carnival and Interschool events.
• Our touring netball team represented the College in Warragul, Victoria at the Marist Netball Carnival. The staff and students participated in the spirit of the carnival and formed new friendships with other students from Marist schools and Colleges.
• We celebrated Science and Maths Weeks during Term 3, which involved a range of STEM activities for students and staff in which to participate.
• Multicultural Week gave the College community opportunities to understand, acknowledge and explore cultures and traditions that are part of our diverse College population.
• Our students from Education Support made and sold gifts for Fathers Day as part of their Business and Enterprise program.

Learning is the fundamental component of all that we live and breathe at Newman College. Co-Curricular activities help to balance student life to ensure an environment where learning is maximised. Term 3 is a critical time to challenge students, ahead of exams, assessments and the eventual conclusion to the school year. We look forward to Term 4 when we can celebrate all that we achieve as a community across the year.

Term 4 – Preparing for Exams

Term 4 is a busy time for students and families. It is an opportunity for students to reflect on the goals they have set for the semester and year and evaluate their progress and achievements. Year 12 students, in particular, encounter their final examinations. This is a culmination of their learning journey at Newman College. For all students achieving WACE (Western Australian Certificate of Education) is a significant milestone. For those undertaking examinations in the ATAR pathway, it is important to maintain a balanced lifestyle and maintain hobbies and exercise. Completing past exam papers and asking teachers for feedback are high yield strategies that maximise achievement.

Faith and learning at Newman College continue to revolve around the Marist Characteristics:

• Presence – building caring relationships based on trust, respect and valuing each person
• Simplicity – open and honest communication which accommodates individual needs
• Family Spirit – emphasis on communal well-being where mutual support and shared responsibility flourish
• Love of Work – pursuit of excellence through hard work and commitment. Recognition that the dignity of work is achievable by setting high expectations and standards, applying genuine effort and celebrating success
• In the Way of Mary – with Mary as a model, students are invited to share our spiritual life through prayer, liturgies and service to the local and wider communities

Embodying these values ensures growth of our students across all areas of life, both within the College and in the world beyond our walls. Many of the activities we undertake help students to explore the very nature of these characteristics, providing a continual focus that ensures each member of our community can make a difference.

Assumption Day Celebrations

On Wednesday 15 August and Friday 17 August, our K-12 College community celebrated the Feast of the Assumption. This is the Feast day chosen for the Marist Brothers at the time of their foundation by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers and of Marist Education.

Students across all three campuses were involved in activities which included:
• Mass
• Buddy Day activities
• Lapathon to raise money for the work of Australian Marist Solidarity.

Click here to read more and see more photos from the day.

REMAR

Remar seeks to form Christian leaders who are prepared to stand in solidarity with those experiencing disadvantage and injustice, and who are motivated to act. To this end, 24 Year 11 Remar Blue Rowers (students) embarked on a week-long Solidarity Camp. As one student explains: “Solidarity is about walking with others through both the easy and hard times. It’s not about telling people how to fix issues, it’s simply about being present. Solidarity is a great representation of living as Christ’s disciples, by being the hands and feet of Christ”. Click here to read more and see more photos from the day.

 

Building Bridges Project

On Wednesday 8 August, Newman College hosted the Building Bridges Project. This project, which brings together young people, from four of the great faiths, fosters harmony and friendship, as well as a clearer understanding of each other’s beliefs. Newman College is the only Catholic school to participate in this important project. Click here to read more and see more photos from the day.

Youth Ministry & Advocacy

A cornerstone of Newman College’s Ministry Plan is the annual Year 11 Philippines Immersion which seeks to promote our intent to animate social justice and advocacy as tangible priorities with the lives of our students at Newman College, as well as our Marist sister-school, St Joseph’s, Northam. Our 16 students continue their preparations for the 2018 Immersion as they seek to further consolidate their understanding of the social, political and justice issues that characterise the communities that are served by the College’s in-country partner organisations in the Philippines. As we approach sustainable relationships and outcomes for all people in solidarity, we seek to forge the hearts and minds of our Year 11 students as ‘good Christians and good citizens’.

Dominican Special Needs Youth Group (DOMS)

The Dominican Special Needs Youth Group, which provides social events for people, who have graduated from highs school, and who have Special Needs, have held a number of events over the year. All events are attended by some of our students from Years 7 – 11, who have provided friendship, fun and hospitality to our members. Click here to read more.

Daniel Lynch, Deputy Principal | Mission and Catholic Identity