St Johns College Dubbo Term 3, Week 2 2024

Principal

Dear St Johns Community

It is so pleasing to see so many of our students wearing their winter uniform so well on the return from the recent school holidays. If any families are having any difficulties with sourcing the uniform or need assistance around the requirements of the uniform, please get in touch with your child’s Year Coordinator. 

As a College community we keep our Year 12 students and indeed all Year 12 students in our prayers as they prepare to embark on their Trial HSC Examinations. The trials provide a great opportunity for students to sit an examination in a formal setting which closely mimics their final HSC Examination. Another positive of these final school assessments is that students can receive feedback on their exams and then work closely with their teachers to rectify areas of concern and make improvements prior to the HSC Examinations. In the holidays I was pleased to see so many of our Year 12 students taking advantage of the opportunities provided by their teachers to do study workshops and spend time working on their major projects which are to be submitted in the coming weeks. 

God bless

Justin McCarney
Principal

Assistant Principal

Welcome to Term 3 - I trust that following a restful break you are now back into the swing of things with early mornings and lunch box preparation. Term 3 is always my favourite term. It is filled with opportunities for our students to let their lights shine. The Academic Assembly in Week 4 recognises the hardwork and commitment of our high achieving students. Our Senior students see the culmination of their academic efforts come to a head when they complete Trial HSC and Preliminary exams, our Years 7-9 consolidate their academic experience in the completion of exams for their assessment this term and we begin some serious planning for Term 4 2024 and beyond. 

We also have a couple of opportunities to meet with our families to discuss the progress of your students. The term culminates in a day spent honouring our College Founders and a variety of events to celebrate our amazing Year 12 cohort.

Reminders - banned items

Just a reminder that a number of items are banned from SJC to ensure that safety of all students. Banned items include, but are not limited to:

• Hair clippers
• Deodorant 
• Lighters/matches
• Illegal substances
• Or other items deemed by the College to be unsafe as it poses a threat to the community

Parent Teacher Student Conferences

Parents of Year 7 - 10 students will have the opportunity to meet with their child and their child’s teacher on the afternoon and evening of the 13th August. This will open to parents early Week 3. 

There will also be an opportunity for our Year 12 students and parents to meet with teachers to discuss what happens as they enter the final stages of Year 12. These meetings will occur in Week 7 after Trial exams have been marked and feedback collated.

Academic Assembly

Friday of Week 4 we will be holding an Academic Assembly to recognise the effort and hardwork of our students who have achieved excellent results in Semester 1. Can you please ensure that your child comes to school in full school uniform on this day.

Warm regards

Emma Chater
Assistant Principal

Religious Education

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had an enjoyable break. I know many of you were still working, but just the ease of not having to get kids organised for school is a joy (in my experience). 

Next week, we welcome a group of Year 11 students from De LaSalle, Caringbah to Dubbo. They will spend the week living the Dubbo life, going to the Zoo, Wellington Caves and even a farm visit. They will be spending time with our Year 11 students also. 

I thought this would be an opportune time to talk about one of the College’s charisms, the De LaSallians. Once upon a time in Dubbo, there was an all boys school, De LaSalle College. In 1969, they joined the Mercy Sisters school (an all girl’s school) and formed St Johns College. The De LaSallians are a group of religious brothers formed by St John Baptiste De LaSalle. St John Baptist De LaSalle was born into a world very different from our own. He was the eldest of eleven children and came from a wealthy family. During that time, few people lived in luxury and most of the people were extremely poor: peasants in the country and slum dwellers in the towns. Only a few could provide their children an education; most children had little hope for the future. De La Salle was already a priest when he was invited to become involved in establishing schools for poor boys. He gradually devoted his own talents and advanced education to the service of the vulnerable children and the people he recruited to serve as their teachers. He established a group of Christian brothers with values of love, compassion, justice and belief in the human dignity of each person. The Brothers began their work over 300 years ago, where they were mostly teachers based in different schools.

The work of the De LaSallians continues today, not only in schools, but transforming lives throughout the world with charity work, fundraising, mental health support and even anti-bullying campaigns. All of this work is founded in those missional values of love, compassion and justice. St Johns College encourages its students to live out these same values everyday. St John Baptiste De LaSalle is someone to look up to and an extremely fitting founder of the College.

I look forward to sharing photos and news about the De LaSalle Caringbah visit in my next newsletter instalment. 

Yours in Faith

Elissa Burden
Leader of Ministry and Mission

Teaching and Learning

Year 12 Trials

We wish our Year 12 students all the very best for their upcoming HSC Trial Examinations.

These commence Monday 12th August and continue until Monday 26th August. 

We have been focussing on study sprints, and have changed some of our senior study protocols to help students really focus their preparation.

While we strongly promote a consistent, long term routine for study and exam preparation, it’s never too late. Here is a great article from the Art of Smart this week.

How to Study for HSC English the Night Before the Exam

Here are some really useful links to boost Trials study and preparation:

Study Planner Template

2024 HSC Trial Examinations Schedule

HSC Examinations - Past Papers

HSC Standards Materials - Sample Responses

Atomi Study Tips

Art of Smart Trials Mark Calculator

It is an extremely busy and often stressful time for students as these important exams typically coincide with the submission of major projects in many subjects. Students are reminded that there are lots of supports in place to navigate this time.

Here are some essentials:

• Understand all of your commitments over the next 2 weeks - including those relating to sport, work, social life, family etc.
• Plan your time so you have a clear understanding of when you can study and what to focus on.
• Use the resources in your “Year 12 Study Skills” course in Atomi.
• Make sure you know how your exam paper works by viewing past papers and doing some practice questions. 
• Ask for help - from your teachers, your Year Leader, your family - to help you stay on track, to help you clarify your understanding, and especially, to help you create a strategy if you are feeling really stressed.

Year 10 Subject Selection

Our subject selection process continues next week with individual interviews for students and their families.

This is a chance to ask any final questions before submitting your choices.

Don’t forget to bring along your “Finding the Best Fit” booklet, that went home in your Subject Selection Pack.

Remaining dates for subject selection:

Week 3, Term 3, Tuesday 6th August
Individual interviews with all Year 10 students and their families

Week 3, Term 3, Friday 9th August
The first round of subject selections closes

7 - 9 Exams

Term 3 assessment tasks for 7 - 10 students are examinations. These are a formal style of examination that will take place in a study hall.

Each exam notification and study guide will be posted on Canvas over the coming few weeks.

Warm regards

Catherine Jones
Leader of Teaching and Learning

Languages

Year 12 French Community Visit to U3A

Students attended a meeting at the University of the Third Age in Dubbo and presented their research on a number of French cities. 

The U3A attendees enjoyed discovering unknown parts of France and were very complimentary of our students' presentations, confidence and enthusiasm. Felicitations to our Year 12 French students who represented SJC with pride. 
Madame Strahorn | Year 12 French Teacher

Patricia Strahorn | Stage 6 Future Pathways
p.strahorn@bth.catholic.edu.au

Legal Studies

Last Friday, our HSC Legal Studies students travelled to Sydney to attend the state HSC Legal Studies seminars. Hosted by the NSW Legal Studies Association, they joined peers from schools across Sydney and beyond. They heard from experienced Legal Studies practitioners about exam preparation, additional legal cases, and expert advice to help them achieve their potential in the HSC examination. In particular, our students benefited from the insights of two senior HSC markers, who provided detailed advice on the exam process and strategies for revising the extensive legal concepts, cases, legislation, and analysis required to excel in this challenging yet highly rewarding course. My thanks to Ms Zhang, who travelled down with the group and helped to make this opportunity a success for our students.

Mr Chris Roll | Assistant KLA English

Yr 11 2025 Subject Faculty Fair

The Yr 11 2025 Subject Selection and Faculty Fair was held on Tuesday providing a great experience for the students and their parents. Thank you to the Yr 10 parents for attending, it was a wonderful opportunity to work with you and your child to help them achieve the best outcome for their final years of schooling.

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Agriculture

SJC Cattle Team bound for EKKA Brisbane Show 

Fourteen students and fourteen steers along with Mr Ben Toll and Ms Caitlin Bowman are bound for Brisbane to attend the EKKA Premier Steer Competition of Australia at the Brisbane Show.  The main exhibition will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday 6th & 7th August. 
Thank you to all the students who helped prepare the team for the week ahead. We will keep you updated with results as they come in.

Naplan

Parents of students in years 7 & 9 should have received their NAPLAN results which were sent home with students this week. NAPLAN results can provide valuable information about your child's academic progress and areas where they are achieving well or might need extra support or encouragement. It's a good opportunity to celebrate their achievements and discuss any areas where they can continue to grow.

In 2023, ACARA introduced new proficiency standards for NAPLAN reporting.  These replaced the previous numerical reporting bands and national minimum standards.  Please click here for further information.

Chess

SJC Chess Team News

St. Johns College played against Gilgandra High School  for the NSW Junior Chess League Competition - Western Region on Friday, 26th July, 2024.

Gilgandra H.S. travelled to Dubbo for the playoff, with the game ending in a draw with each team winning two boards.  Gilgandra won the game on countback.

Our team of Eamonn, Sarayu, Milind and Callum challenged Wyatt, Shane, Xavier and Jarvis. Our reserves, Archie, Manan and Leanne, played the Gilgandra students after the tournament games were finished.

A sincere thank you to the St. Johns College Chess Team players, for their professionalism and dedication in playing for our school and their continuous enthusiasm for this challenging game. 

We look forward to the competition in 2025.

Mrs Rhonda Bruce | Chess Team Leader

Digital Technology

Pinball Coding

Year 7 Digital Technology are finalising their pinball coding projects. Students constructed the box, prepared a design for the laser cutter, soldered wires to LED lights and a speaker and then coded the lights and sound for the game over the last semester. Special thanks to Mrs Naomi Clark for her coordination of the project and Mr Greg Patterson for his laser cutting expertise and assistance.

Miss Emma Rice | Assistant KLA Leader - Science

Sport

Joely competes at the School Sport Australian Swimming Championships

Joely represented NSW at the School Sport Australian Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast after gaining selection in the 17-19yrs 100m Breaststroke, 50m Breaststroke and 4x50m Medley Relay. Competing against some very tough QLD competition she managed to hold her own and come away with a bronze in the 100m!

Best wishes to you Joel. We are so proud of your achievments! It takes a huge amount of dedication and self discipline to get to these levels!

James to represent NSW All Schools Merit Team

Congratulations to James R who has been named in the NSW All Schools Merit team following his participation in the NSW CCC team this week. The NSW Combined Catholic Colleges team competed against the NSW Combined High School and NSW Combined Independent Schools representative teams.The Merit team is the equivalent of making the NSW All Schools side! An amazing acheivement James, we are all very proud of you.

NSW CCC Country Rugby League

Congratulations to Sam, Jimmy and Levi who represented NSW CCC Country Under 15's in a rugby league tour during the holidays.They played 3 games in Campbelltown, Penrith and Wollongong during the week long tour. An outstanding performance from the boys to represent NSW Country Catholic Schools. It was a great experience for them, and another step in their rugby league journey.

Mr Andy Haycock | Rugby League Coordinator

Resource Hub - Library

Harry Potter Week 

All books have an ending, but the magic Harry Potter brings to its readers is timeless. St Johns College Library decorated the newly refurbished space with some of its own magic for Harry Potter's Birthday. 

The display included different puzzles  and quizzes for students to contribute to over the week, as well as a Monster book of Monsters Riddle game, where four friends (one from each house) could battle it out for a treat from Fred and George’s personal lolly stash. 

Students were also able to place their name in the goblet of fire, at the end of the week a name was drawn and they won a box of Bertie Botts every flavour Beans. 

The 31st of July is this beloved book character's birthday. This year we celebrated with students through Magical cupcakes on Wednesday afternoon at lunch time. Students received a cupcake that when they bit into it a colour on the inside revealed their Hogwarts House; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. The delight on students' faces made this magical day that much sweeter.

Always remember, “That’s what Hermione does”, said Ron, shrugging. “When in doubt, go to the library.” - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets. 

Thank you 

Mrs Bruce - Teacher Librarian
Miss Lappa - Library Technician

Canteen

Term 3 will see our first price rise for 2024. 

A few online ordering tips:

• Order cut off for ordering is at 11:30am the day of
• Orders can be placed for a full week
• If your child goes home sick please let us know and we can cancel the order
• Friday is a huge lunch order day, sometimes the lines are quite long. 

Mrs Nicole Howell | Canteen Manager

Attendance

We care about attendance because we care about your child.

School Fees

Dear Parents/Guardians 

Welcome to Term 3. 

Thank you to our families who have paid their College fees.

Families paying their fees by the term please note instalment 3 is due by 16 August 2024.

For families making regular, weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments please ensure your payment plan is on track to have your College fees account finalised by 30 November 2024.

To ensure your College fees account is on track please note from today, Friday 2 August 2024 there are 18 weeks, 9 fortnights or 4 months until fees are due. Contact the College Fees Office if you need to adjust your payment plan.

HSC fees are due by 31 October 2024.

If you wish to discuss your account please contact the College Fees Office on 6841 5142 or email m.carlow@bth.catholic.edu.au.

Maree Carlow
Administration Finance Leader

Yr 12 Fundraiser

Richard’s Road to Sydney

(2024 Sydney Marathon) via the Dubbo Stampede

On the 15th September 2024, Maths teacher Richard Eggleston will be attempting the 2024 TCS Sydney Marathon, which upon completion will be his 7th finish over the iconic 42.195km distance. Selling out at over 24,000 entrants, the 2024 Sydney Marathon is set to be the largest certified running event in Australian sporting history.

Over the years, Richard has used running in major events to raise money for charities such as Camp Quality, The Butterfly Foundation, and St Vincents De Paul. This year he has elected to lend our Year 12s a hand, and raise money for them and ultimately the Dubbo Neighbourhood Centre, and the fantastic work they do in the Dubbo community.

Donations can be done in one of two ways

• A one-off donation via the GoFundMe page
  
  OR
• For a bit of fun, you can sponsor him a nominal amount per minute (or part thereof) he goes under 4h 30min (as per official net chip time). This is done via a pledge form, with calculated donations to be made via the GoFundMe page as soon as possible after the event. 

Here are web links for these pages

GoFundMe                                          Pledge Form

https://gofund.me/9eb199a             https://forms.gle/LFKumny4uBvWp1Mo8         

With $390 raised at time of writing (in addition to a generous time-based pledge by Mrs Burden!) students and families are more than welcome to to help support Richard and our Year 12s by giving generously.

This time round, Richard has been coached by former Australian representative Marathoner Pat Carroll. To aid in his preparation, Richard is competing against three fellow St Johns College teachers at the iconic 14km Sydney City to Surf (the single largest sporting event on the planet by number of participants!) and will be completing his 28th Half Marathon at the Dubbo Stampede on the 25th August alongside these same colleagues.

The Dubbo Stampede is Dubbo’s largest sporting event for individuals, with a variety of events on offer for all abilities. You could try the 5.3k Dingo Dash Walk/Run, the 10k Cheetah Chase, the 21.1k Zebra Zoom or the 42.2k Rhino Ramble. All events start and finish at Dubbo zoo. Richard has been actively promoting The Stampede amongst College staff and students to boost College participation in this event. See the website for more details: 

https://www.dubbostampede.com.au/

Free Parent/Carer Webinars

Council of Catholic Schools Parents Free Webinars for Parents and Carers (CSNSW Ref: 167/24)

Breaking Point with Dr Justin Coulson
Wednesday 11 September from 7.00pm – 8.00pm

Join Dr Justin Coulson, Australia’s leading parenting expert, as he unpacks the mental health crisis enveloping our kids. He’ll cover:

• The root causes behind the deteriorating state of mental health, and who (or what) is responsible
• The tools you need to reverse this trend for your children
• Science-backed, relationship-focused strategies to remedy school refusal
• Realistic approaches for managing screen time in a way that protects your child’s wellbeing without completely alienating them from their peers
• Creating margin in your home and family life to protect and promote mental wellness

To register click here.

Important Dates

Term 3 2024

If you would like to add the St Johns College Calendar
to your google calendar please click on this link.

Monday 5th August
SJC Cattle Team Brisbane Show
Yr 7-10 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences OPEN on compass

Tuesday 6th August
Yr 11 Student

Wednesday 7th August
Ken Eggleton Cup - Touch

Thursday 8th August
Ken Eggleton Cup - League

Friday 9th August
Yr 11 2025 Subject Selection Open
Yr 11 2025 Leadership Workshop Day

Monday 12th August
HSC Trials begin

Tuesday 13th August
Yr 7-10 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
Vocal Music Workshop
NSW All Schools Touch Football
Greater Sydney AFL Finals

Wednesday 14th August
Rugby 10's, Mudgee
Western Student Connections
Dio Rugby Union Gala Day

Friday 16th August
Academic Care Assembly

Community News