St Johns College Dubbo Term 2, Week 6 2025

Principal

Dear St Johns Community

It was great to be able to attend the Bathurst Diocese Mass at St Brigid’s Church last Friday as part of National Reconciliation Week. There were staff and students from a lot of the feeder schools to the College, there were students from St Johns College, Aboriginal Community members and members of Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst. A wonderful celebration of cultures and community with the theme of the week being “Bridging Now to Next”.

Congratulations to all involved in the Athletics Carnival last Thursday at Barden Park. There was a wonderful feeling of school spirit present. Students were active in their participation and support of their peers and House mates. It is always exciting to watch students striving for excellence and there were plenty of examples of this on that day. Well done to all who participated and supported.

Once again the Agriculture Teams experienced great success at the recent Dubbo Show. It was rewarding seeing some diversification into the sheep areas having success, with some great results. Most pleasing was the feedback that staff received from stakeholders and members of the community about their manners, behaviour and presentation.

As we move into an increased period of assessment, I encourage families to check in with their child/ren regarding what they are doing in class and ensure that they are well prepared for learning by having the correct equipment and completing all their work to their capacity. We need to make sure that all students are contributing positively to the learning culture of the College and making positive choices with their learning.

God bless

Mr Justin McCarney
Principal

Faith and Mission

Dear Families

“I’m a child of God - Yes I am”

This was the theme of the Year 11 Retreat that took place in Week 4. Year 11 spent 3 rainy days at Lake Macquarie. And whilst the weather was not great, spirits were high and our Year 11 students got a lot out of their time away together. Students were asked to challenge themselves by taking part in activities such as flying foxes and the power fan (a high climb and a big leap). It was wonderful to witness so many students (and staff) step outside their comfort zones, overcome fears and take part. It was even more wonderful to see our students being supportive, encouraging, kind peers. The idea of this Year 11 Retreat is to forge a bond so that as the cohort moves through their senior schooling together, they are a strong, cohesive unit who supports each other and feels buoyed by one another. In the afternoon and evenings, students were asked to think about their strengths, how these strengths are gifts from God, and how they are asked to share these strengths with their cohort and when they go out into the world. Year 11 were reminded that as children of God, they are unconditionally loved. They were asked to see themselves as God, their parents and their teachers see them - clever, kind, passionate, empathetic, patient, loving young people. The Mass on the final night was something special, with students bringing a candle (representing their individual light) to the cross - reminding them that everything we do, everything we are and who we are called to be is rooted in Jesus Christ. Listening to Year 11 sing ‘Lord I Need You’ with their arms around one another was symbolic of the support and strength they receive through God and through one another. A huge thank you to Mr Kirk Watts, Mr Peter Bourke, Mrs Sam Coyle, Miss Danielle Stein and Father Greg Kennedy for coming along. We are so very blessed here at the College to have staff who love our students and are willing to make these Retreats possible. 

Last week saw the Diosecan Reconciliation Mass at St Brigid's. With representatives there from schools across the Diocese, it was wonderful to be able to celebrate Aboriginal spirituality and embrace the theme of 'Bridging Now to Next'. The College was in charge of the music and our musicians and choir did us proud.

It was wonderful this week to lead two pre-Confirmation Retreat Days for our 4 Catholic feeder schools - St Mary’s, St Pius, St Johns Primary and St Laurences. The Year 10 CSYMI students did a great job helping with these days. Held here at the College, Year 6 were guided in what Confirmation means and how we can all bring to life the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The students played games, discussed, reflected, prayed, sang and danced as they discovered the importance of Confirmation and the Holy Spirit. It was wonderful to see these Year 6 students, who will be out Year 7 students next year, make friends with students from other schools but also with our Year 10 students so that when they come here next year, they will have a senior student or two that they already know.

Finally, I would like to remind families about the Vinnie’s Winter Appeal. We have already had donations of blankets and sleeping bags brought to the school, which is wonderful to see. It is very important to me that St Johns College brings to life the values that our school was built on. We cannot claim to be a school that was built on the teachings of Jesus without following His example. We cannot ignore the fact that 300 people a night in Dubbo sleep homeless. We cannot ignore the fact that families in the Dubbo community cannot afford to turn the heating on and sleep cold every night. “Whenever you are able, do good to people who need help” (Proverbs 3). If you are able, please give to the Vinnie’s Winter Appeal. 

Yours in faith

Mrs Elissa Burden
Leader of Faith and Mission

Teaching and Learning

Year 12 Check Ins
Over the coming weeks, Year 12 students will meet with Mrs McCarney, Mr O’Dea and Mrs Jones to focus on academic progress, set some goals, and identify any support needed around developing study and assessment plans.

 As a part of the interview, students will have the option to look at the ATAR Compass as a tool for tracking progress. The ATAR Compass is a free online tool provided by UAC. 

The word “compass” is very important. The compass is not a calculator, but can provide some direction only. Students still have the opportunity to control the vast majority of their assessment and exam results.

We are proud of the efforts of Year 12 so far, and how they have embraced opportunities for additional study time, tutorials, and support from Senior Study Mentor Mrs McCarney. 

SAT Notifications
Summative Assessment Tasks are appearing in Canvas now for Term 2 for & - 10. Students and parents should check out the “To Do” list and the “Calendar” in Canvas to see all upcoming tasks. If they are labelled SAT - this means they are a summative task, and students should strive to show all that they understand and can do.

In class preparation for SATs is important, because we can get fast feedback from our teachers, however, those students who put in a bit extra at home will always improve their performance.

Assessment Hack
In preparing for assessment, students can use the rubric in the task to keep elevating their work. These rubrics are set up as developmental rubrics. This means that you should be able to identify the qualities in your work now, and the qualities needed to step your work up. Sometimes it can be as simple as improving the language of the response by including the terminology of the subject.

Academic Care - Focus on Assessment
In Week 6, our Year 7 students have been working on their planners to ensure they are organised for upcoming assessments.

Year 8 and Year 9 have some in class writing tasks coming up. To support them in these, Academic Care looked at a graphic organiser tool, called a lotus diagram, that will help them to plan their responses and recall them during the task.

Year 10 Subject Selection for Year 11 2026

This week students got to take part in the RIASEC test. RIASEC is an acronym that stands for six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. It's part of John Holland's theory of career choice, which suggests that people are most satisfied when their work aligns with their personality type. 

Students will return to their results as we explore The World of Work in Week 9. 

Students also heard from Mrs Zoe Smith, English KLA Leader, and Mrs Fiona Gough, Maths KLA Leader, about choosing the right Maths and English pathways for Year 11 and 12. 

Please find an outline of our subject selection process below.

Warm regards

Mrs Catherine Jones
Leader of Teaching and Learning

Literacy at SJC

Mr Keith Hill | Literacy

Agriculture

Dubbo Show Prime Lamb Competition

St John's College entered three pens of our Black Suffolk sheep, bred here at the school, into the Dubbo Show Prime Lamb Hoof and Hook Competition. Judging, presentation, and the charity auction took place on Friday, 30th May, and St John's was proud to be awarded:

Colin Hood Memorial Champion Local Pen of LambsReserve Champion Pen of Lambs
2nd Place – Export Weight
2nd Place – Heavy Export Weight

Students who attended had the opportunity to network with industry professionals, assist with the auction, and meet Jamie Chaffey, Assistant Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources. We would like to thank the event organising committee for running an excellent competition, as well as Fletchers International Export, Christie & Hood Dubbo and Country Rite Mix for their involvement and support. Special thanks to David Knaggs for his assistance in preparing the lambs.

Miss Emma Rice | Assistant KLA Leader Science

Dubbo Show - Cattle Team

Congratulations to Brax who won Grand Champion Junior Judge and Jemima F who won Champion Intermediate Judge at the Dubbo Show last week.

Miss Teenage Showgirl

Congratulations to Vaylia S, who was named the 2025 Dubbo Show Miss Teenage Showgirl!

Pathways

Arrive & Thrive Webinar | Career Conversations @ Home | 12 June, 6.30pm 

Arrive & Thrive is running a public webinar on 12 June at 6.30pm (AEST) to support parents around Australia in having more positive career conversations at home. The webinar will share insights for parents to better support their young people in career decisions. Participants will receive a Career Conversation Kit. To register: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1235277009789?aff=oddtdtcreator.

The University of Sydney’s Gadigal Open Nights

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Years 11–12 are invited to bring their families for a yarn, a feed, and a warm welcome to university life. Join USYD in-person at the Gadigal Open Night at the Dubbo campus on 19 June. For more information visit: https://bit.ly/3FhPJgu.

Mrs Patricia Strahorn | Stage 6 Pathways & ASPA Coordinator

Meet an Astronaut

Katherine Bennell-Pegg, space engineer and the first person qualified as an astronaut under the Australian flag will be delivering a presentation (25-minute keynote address) followed by a Q&A session on Friday 20 June during Period 5 in the SJC lecture theatre.

As Director of Technology for the Australian Space Agency, Katherine will share how her early passion for space and engineering has driven her remarkable career developing space programs, technologies, and missions worldwide. 

You will learn about her work as technical lead on Australia's first Moon rover mission and her role in developing plans to capitalise on Australia's space capabilities. 

If you want to learn more about Katherine Bennell-Pegg, please click on this LINK.

Please complete this form to express your interest by FRIDAY 13 JUNE 2025. (if you are in 9iSTEM and 11 D&T, you do not need to complete the form as your teachers have nominated you to attend.)

If you have any questions, please come and see us in the Pathways Hub.

 Mrs Strahorn - ASPA/Stage 6 Pathways

Textiles and Design

This semester Yr 10 students completed a unit "All in a Song". Students were to create an article including a variety of construction and decorative techniques which was inspired by a social issue of their choice. There were a variety of articles constructed and everybody should be very proud of their efforts!

Mrs Nicole Bussey | KLA Leader TAS

This semester Yr 9 Textiles students completed a unit "Designer Pyjamas". Students were very excited to be able to choose their fabric and style of Pyjamas. Students have learned how to sew a variety of construction techniques including a collar, sleeves, facing and button and buttonholes. A great effort everybody!!

Mrs Nicole Bussey | KLA Leader TAS

Metals and Engineering

Year 12 students have been working hard on their major works project. In Term 4, students started their portfolio task and in Term 1 this year, students began the practical section of the course. Ryan Messner is making a workbench/tool bench, James Robinson is making an outdoor entertaining bar. Callum Heitzman is making a toolbox/dog box for the back of his ute and Cameron Davis is making a portable chicken cage for his farm. We would like to wish the boys all the best as they have 9 weeks left until the task is due.

Mr Tim Long | Industrial Technology Teacher

Chess

The St. Johns College Chess Team played against Parkes High School for Round 3 of the NSW Junior Chess Competition - Western Region.

St. Johns won on Boards 2 and 4 but had a loss on Board 3. The two Board 1 players, Sarayu from St. Johns and Sam from Parkes High School battled fiercely for a win. After playing for 2 hours and 15 minutes, the students were given an option on whether to call a draw or play an extra 10 minutes. Both students chose the extra time and the clock was set. After time was called, there was still no clear winner. Photographs were taken of Board 1 with the last two moves of each player recorded. An email was sent, with the photographs, to the Adjudicator of the NSW Junior Chess Competition. After a nail-biting two day wait, the results came back in favour of Parkes High School. 

The adjudicator’s comments were: Adjudication Decision: Win for Black Adjudicator’s Remarks: I referred this position to Ingela Bjelobrk, former World Women's Olympiad representative, whose view was as follows: In practice it's not easy to win this rook endgame, but with Black's extra pawn and possibilities of both h5 and b5 breaks I would adjudicate the position as a win for Black. 

We appreciate that Parkes High School Chess Team, Sam, Desmond, Harry, Reece and Mr. Freeland, continued to travel to St. Johns in spite of having a breakdown on the way here and we thank them for their sportsmanship.

Well done to our SJC Team consisting of Sarayu, Callum, Archie, Dilan, Jonah and Leanne and congratulations on your dedication and enthusiasm in playing for our school.

Mrs. Bruce | Chess Team Leader

Sport

Rugby League

St Johns College has had two of its students named in the NSW CCC Under 15's Rugby League team that will compete in the Australian Schoolboys Championships. Congratulations to Sam L and Levi S who were named in the State Catholic side last week.

The College has a proud tradition of rugby league, and the boys named in the NSW CCC team this year join a strong list of past students who were also selected at this U15 level. Over the years, Dean Pay (1984), Bernard Wilson ('87), Wes Maas ('95), Daniel Conn ('01), Billy Sing ('10) and Nosa Obaseki ('19) were all selected in the NSW CCC 15's whilst attending St Johns. Dean, Bernard and Daniel were also named in the Australian Merit 15's.

To have two students named in the one year is an outstanding result for the boys and the College. Another student to gain selection last week was Nulla B who was named in the NSW Country CCC 15's. Nulla will be involved in a development tour in the school holidays. Overall we had eight students attend the NSW CCC Rugby League selection trials last week. Emily M played in Camden at the Girls U16's selection trials, whilst Alex M, Noah S, Nate R and Nate B were also at St Mary's. Unfortunately Ben S suffered an injury and was unable to attend the trials. Well done to all the students involved last week.

Mr Andy Haycock | Rugby League Coordinator

SJC Athletics Carnival

Age Champions
12 Years - Addison Maas and Finn McKinnon
13 Years - Taylor Nichols and William Boland
14 Years -  Grace Christiansen and Aiden Dungate
15 Years -  Molly Jones and Nullah Baker
16 Years -  Lacey Jones and Aiden Alexander
Open Age -  Amelia Heckendorf and Zamael Berger

House Points
First -  McAuley 4026
Second  - Moore 3969
Third  - Lennon 2560
Fourth -  La Salle 2530

Records
There were two records broken on the day. Congratulations to Aiden Alexander who broke the 2022 Under 16s High Jump record of 1.85. The new record is 1.86m. Also well done to Wesley Cole who broke the 16 Years Long Jump record of 6.40m. The new record set at the carnival is now 6.55m. Students will be informed in the coming weeks of their selection in the College team to compete at the Diocesan Carnival in Dubbo in August.

Mr Dave McAlister | Sports Coordinator

Bathurst Diocese Tennis Championships

Our boys and girls teams competed today at the Bathurst Diocesan Teams Championship. Our girls team defeated St Raphael's Cowra and went down to McKillop College Bathurst. Our boys team defeated James Sheahan Orange and St Raphael's Cowra.The boys team has now qualified for the NSW CCC Teams event to be held in Bathurst in September. Congratulations to all players on your efforts: Sarayu P, Audrey O, Cleo H, Kirralee M, Archie W, Archie B, Archie M & George F.

Reconciliation Mass

On Friday, schools from across the Diocese gathered in Dubbo to take part in the Diocesan Reconciliation Mass. Held at St Brigid's Church, it was a wonderful celebration of our Catholic faith, but also of Aboriginal spirituality and of this year's Reconciliation Week theme - 'Bridging Now to Next'. It was wonderful to have students from different schools come together and gives hope that reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people can be achieved. The College was in charge of the music for the Mass, and our choir, musicians and Yr 12 leaders did us proud. I was also extremely proud of the group of students from our Year 9 Aboriginal Studies class and one of our Year 11 Studies of Religion classes who came along. They looked amazing in full school uniform and represented the College with pride.

Elissa Burden | Leader of Faith and Mission

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Parent Webinars

The Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) are providing a series of very pertinent free, one-hour webinars to support parent carers to be engaged with the schooling of their high school children. Please share this information.

• A Parents Roadmap to Careers and Pathways 4 June 7 – 8 pm. Register here

• Supporting your Child through the HSC 11 June 7 – 8 pm.  Register here

• Parenting Tweens: What kids need to know before the teen years 24 June 7 – 8 pm. Register here 

• Parenting Teens: Staying connected through the teen years 25 June 7 – 8 pm. Register here

Wellbeing

SJC Flash Sale

Resource Hub - Library

RESOURCE REVIEW

Uniform

Attendance

School Fees

Dear Parents/Guardians 

Thank you to those families who have already paid their College fees.

Families who pay their fees by the term, the Term 2 instalment was due by 23 May 2025. If you have not yet paid the Term 2 instalment please ensure prompt payment.

The Term 3 instalment will be due by 15 August 2025.

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 2025.

To ensure your College fees account is on track by the due date, 30 November 2025, please note from this Friday 6 June 2025 there are 26 weeks, 13 fortnights or 6 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 2025.

You can check your balance owing and make payments via the Compass App or BPAY.

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

Kind Regards 

Maree Carlow
Administration Finance Leader

Important Dates

Term 2 2025

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

Tuesday 10th June
Pupil Free Day

Wednesday 11th June
The Rezource Force
U13/U15/Opens - Rugby League Country Cup
Yr 12 Music Soiree

Thursday 12th June
Diocesan Opens Soccer Gala
Dubbo Eisteddfod - SJC Band

Friday 13th June
Yr 12 Charity Trivia Night

Monday 16th June
Interschools Cup SJC vs James Sheahan

Thursday 19th June
U14 & U16 Girls Tackle - Rugby League

Friday 20th June
Dubbo Eisteddfod - SJC Strings

Community Notices

Don't miss........Come From Away

Featuring our very own staff! Get ready for an unforgettable night of theatre! The Dubbo Theatre Company is proud to present the internationally acclaimed, Tony Award winning musical Come From Away - and we're excited to share that three of our amazing staff members, Mrs Burden, Mr Doyle and Mr Barnes, are part of the cast.

Set in the days following 9/11, Come From Away tells the inspiring true story of a small town in Newfoundland that welcomed 7000 stranded passengers with open arms. It's a powerful tale of compassion, community and unexpected friendship.

Come along and support our talented staff as they take the stage in this moving and uplifting production.

Show Dates: Friday 25th July and Saturday 26th July
Friday 1 August and
Saturday 2 August

Location:  Dubbo Regional Theatre, 155 Darling Street, Dubbo

Tickets: www.drtccc.com.au

Help Me Help My Teen - live event with Maggie Dent

This 2-hour event, based on Maggie’s latest book, is a reassuring, practical guide for parents, carers and educators to help teenagers navigate adolescence and grow into confident, capable adults.

Maggie will provide clear and compassionate ‘what to do’ advice for some of the most difficult, sensitive topics – such as technology use, sex, drugs and alcohol, dropped school grades, school refusal, mental health and identity – and shows us how we can provide a safe and supportive environment for all our teens.

NOTE: Sensitive topics are discussed. Teens 13+ can attend with their parent/s or carer at their discretion. All attendees require a ticket.
Link to information and tickets