St Johns College Dubbo Term 2, Week 2 2024

Principal

Dear St Johns Community,

Welcome back to an action packed Term 2. We were blessed to experience a very moving Anzac Day Mass on Tuesday 30th April. We remembered the importance of peace by acknowledging all of the service men and women who fought, were injured or who died in serving their country and enabling the rest of us to never know the horrors of war. The ceremony was poignant and moved all of us to a time and place of quiet reflection and prayer pondering what was and what could have been. The St Johns Honour Roll was a very special acknowledgement of how many families in and around Dubbo have served and are serving in the military. Huge thanks to Fr Greg, Mrs Burden, Yr 12 Leaders, the cadet party and all the musicians for their efforts in providing such a memorable and moving commemoration.

We also had a great assembly on Thursday last week where we were able to acknowledge a large number of students for their efforts in a range of academic competitions and for their commitment to their learning. We were also able to acknowledge the many sponsors and families who have supported the students in the show team to achieve the marvellous successes St Johns has achieved at both the Canberra and the Royal Easter Show

Mr Justin McCarney
Mr McCarney will commence his appointment as principal of St Johns College on Monday May 20th. We welcome Mr McCarney to St Johns and he is keen and eager to commence and looking forward to being back in Dubbo, once again.

This will be my last newsletter as Interim Principal of St Johns. I would like to thank the staff, students and parents for the warm welcome I have received and for the opportunity to work with so many wonderfully talented young people and the dedicated and hardworking St Johns staff. 

Cambodia Immersion
I know you are often asked to support any number of charities but I was wondering if you could consider the invitation in this newsletter to attend a fundraising on Saturday 1st June to support the students, teachers and parents from St Johns who have volunteered to assist a Cambodian village to build houses.

CEDB School Improvement Survey

The purpose of this survey is to provide all members of our school community with a say. The survey is straightforward and your responses are collected, collated and used to inform the school as to where we are operating well and where we can improve. This is an important tool that all schools in our Diocese participate in each year. Data from it forms and guides our annual improvement plans for the following year. I invite all members of our school community to be active in your participation with this survey.  

Students and parents received their survey and information on Thursday 2 May. The survey will be 'live' for two weeks from the initial survey 'open' date. Closing date is the 16th of May.

Congratulations
Congratulations to all the students that participated in the inter-school cup competition last Friday at Orange vs James Sheehan Catholic High School. While we did not achieve an overall victory special thanks to Mr McAlister and Mrs Chater for their organisation and to all the staff who generously gave of their time to coach the teams.

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers and grandmothers. Hope you get spoiled rotten!!!!

St Johns is a good school lets all continue to work to make it a better school!

Yours faithfully

Ray Wooby
Interim Principal

Assistant Principal

The Golden Rule was gifted to Catholics by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount. It clearly encourages us to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves.

Seeking for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves was glaringly obvious to all members of our staff and student community at our first Term 2 assembly where the achievements of many of our students and the contributions of our families were celebrated. The assembly recognised academic and sporting achievements and celebrated the amazing musical culture of our College. None of these achievements are possible without the support and compassion of a myriad of other people. We would like to thank the staff, families and greater community who contribute every day to the success of St Johns College students.

We see this Golden Rule in action every day at St Johns College. We see our students caring for each other through their respectful relationships with each other and their teachers. We see it in the playground when students care for their environment. We see it in the classroom when groups work together to solve complex problems. Some students, however, need to be reminded of this on a daily basis. Our pillars of Respect, Encourage and Belong are the foundation of the Golden Rule and all students at the College are called to remember this.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” needs to sit in the minds of all of us. It is a reminder to treat others with kindness and respect and as we enter Term 2, I would like to call on all students to embody this in their daily interactions on the playground and in the classroom.

Reminders - 

Uniform

As we enter the cooler months students and families are reminded of the following:

• We do not currently have a date set for the compulsory wearing of the winter uniform
• Students can continue to wear their summer uniform - either sport or formal  - depending on their lessons for the day.
• If a student is wearing long pants or a skirt and stockings, then they are required to wear their tie. No tie is needed for the dress with stockings.

Supervision

Staff begin supervision of the playground from 8:20am. If your child is arriving at school before this time, they are encouraged to be seated near the Science labs.

There are designated out of bounds areas around the school that students are very familiar with. Breach of this could mean that a student is given time off the playground at recess and lunch.

Morning Buses

Students are required to exit the bus and directly enter school grounds. No student is able to head to Maccas after exiting a bus unless permission has been sought from their Year Leader prior to the given date.

These elements are in place to ensure the safety of all students and to ensure that the school is fulfilling its duty of care.

Finally, to our mothers in the community. I pray that God grants you a restful Mother’s Day filled with love and family and I hope that you find a few moments of peace to celebrate the amazing job that you are doing raising the next generation.

Warm regards

Mrs Emma Chater
Assistant Principal - Acting

Religious Education

Dear Families,

This week is Catholic Schools Week. The theme of the week is ‘Experience the Spirit of Community’. Our students have had many opportunities to do just this both in the holidays and in the first couple of weeks of Term 2. In the holidays, many of our students and staff chose to be part of community. On ANZAC day, a group of students displayed their connection to the St Brigid’s community by attending the ANZAC Day Mass. Our students read and placed the wreath. It could be clearly seen that the St Brigid’s community enjoyed and appreciated having representatives from St. Johns College there. It is extremely important that we continue to nurture our relationship with St. Brigid’s. An opportunity to do this is this Sunday night. The College is rostered onto mass, which means we are in charge of music, readings and eucharistic ministry. Our student leaders take on these roles, but I would love to see as many students and families there as possible. If your family has not attended Mass in a while, perhaps this Sunday would be a great time to start up the habit again. Please note that Mass starts at 5.00pm in these colder months (instead of the usual 6pm).

The College also displayed their sense of community at Dubbo’s ANZAC Day march and ceremony. We had a great turnout of students and staff. Our students looked great in their uniforms as we marched along the streets and into Victoria Park. We also had students form a drum line that joined the Dubbo Marching band and did the school proud. Our students represented our school beautifully in the way they sat, listened and showed respect. It was wonderful to be able to show the Dubbo community who we are at what we stand for as a College. 

Last week, we celebrated an ANZAC Day Mass. Coming together as a school community is always wonderful, especially coming together in faith. Our students showed great respect throughout the mass, demonstrating their understanding of how important ANZAC Day is. Special thanks goes to Payton Wray and Jacqualine Elliott who are in the Army Cadets and led the honour guard, and to Isabella McAlister who shared the story of her uncle who fought in Vietnam. 

On Thursday last week, we again came together as a community for a school assembly. Our missional values of respect, encourage and belong were certainly at work as we acknowledged a large number of students for their achievements in the academic, cultural, spiritual and sporting fields. As I looked out across the hall, it was clear that we are all part of a vibrant, faith-filled community who takes pride in who we are and what we stand for. I for one am extremely proud to be part of this community.

Happy Mother’s Day for this Sunday to all our mothers, grandmothers and important women in our lives. 

Warm regards

Elissa Burden
Leader of Ministry and Mission

Learning and Teaching

Term 2

Term 2 is a really busy term in teaching and learning at SJC. There are high stakes exams on the horizon for our senior students, and in addition to our termly assessment schedule, students are leaning into a lot of extra curricular cultural and sporting commitments. 

Best Advice:

• Don’t put off assessment tasks, chip away at them from the date of distribution
• Complete all homework and Canvas tasks
• Catch up through Canvas if you are away
• If you are a senior student, get a study routine mastered
  

Novel Season

As the term kicks off, many of our students are underway in their novel study in English. Year 7 have started Blueback, Year 9 are studying Macbeth and Year 10 are reading The Outsiders. It’s vitally important that students know their novel well, so students are encouraged to spend some time reading and annotating beyond class. Audiobooks and films are great and supplement our learning, but nothing compares to knowing the text well through reading. Parents can support the novel study at home by encouraging the reading of it at home.

Maths Pathway

We included this information about Maths Pathway at the end of last term and thought we would run it again this week. It’s really important to get the message out about the really important benefits it can have in progressing students quickly - especially if they have a gap in their learning, because these gaps can expand quickly in high school if not addressed.

Typically, our students spend 20 minutes of a lesson working in Maths Pathway, a few lessons per week.

Why we like it at SJC:

Maths Pathways looks for a gap in an individual student’s understanding and creates tailored lessons and assessments to help the student build the missing skill. This is really important because,  as the study of maths progresses, that one gap can lock students out of more and more learning across a range of maths topics. 

We also love how data rich the program is. Teachers can see all of the gaps in a student’s understanding, and a detailed analysis of how they are progressing in these things. This gets reported to parents at the end of the semester.

There is other great stuff it can support us with, like:
Enriching and extending so students can work beyond their stage
Individualised lessons
Individualised assessment
Small group mini lessons

Some of the pitfalls:

When students are working on modules, they can speed through them, writing down the answers as the program reveals them - kind of like flipping over to the back of the textbook. Obviously, students don’t engage in deep learning when this happens. Maths Pathway knows if students are going too fast, and tells them to slow down and do the working. When the program assesses their progress, if the skill has not been learned, they can not progress to the next module.

What students can do to maximise their learning through Maths Pathway:

Follow the teacher’s instructions to do everything in your workbook, including all of the working.
Don’t take shortcuts. If you don’t demonstrate you are learning and progressing, Maths Pathway will keep directing you back to the skills you have not mastered.
Extend yourself by allocating an hour a week to modules at home.

Students can access the Maths Pathway program at home to further their learning:

These bonus modules that can be completed at home go a long way to enhancing the growth of a student and are tested in the end of topic quiz before being marked as completed. To work effectively at home on Maths Pathway, students should copy the question, their working out, and the answer into a workbook. It is important for students to bring this work to class and show their teacher so teachers can check understanding and offer additional clarification and support.

N Awards and Year 10, 11 and 12

The awarding of external credentials such as the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) and the Higher School Certificate (HSC) is a worthy goal for students from Years 10 through 12 as these credentials can be used as a means of accessing post-school training and other career opportunities. For these reasons, and to maintain the integrity of the system, the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) has put in place strict guidelines regarding students’ satisfactory completion of courses. 

If a student is not meeting requirements, they are sent a ‘Non-completion Warning’ (or N Award Warning). A copy is posted home, which outlines: 1. any issues of concern or outstanding work, and 2. a date by which students should redeem the outcomes of the missed work.

A warning is typically given if a student does not submit, or is absent for, an assessment task, and/or, has not demonstrated sustained diligence and application in class.  

A student may not be showing sustained diligence and application for reasons such as disengagement in class activities, not completing required class or homework and/or not making a serious effort to achieve outcomes. A teacher will make this assessment over a period of weeks.  An N warning can also be issued for a non-serious attempt in an assessment task (e.g. a frivolous or inappropriate response).

Literacy Focus 2024 

Teaching writing is the key focus of our professional learning for teachers this year. 

We know that teaching writing is the quickest way to improving outcomes for all students, and can be a discerning factor in higher range responses in HSC examinations. 

In Term 2, we continue our focus on:

• Paragraph writing in Year 7
• Complex writing tasks for Year 11 and 12
• Using the College Writing Rubric to provide students with feedback
• Intensive grammar program in Year 9

Already this term teachers have undertaken professional learning to share our work across faculties. While we are dedicated to ensuring students know the different requirements of writing across subjects, we are also aware of the leverage that can be gained when we are working on some of the same skills.

Here is the SJC Literacy Focus for 2024:

Warm regards

Catherine Jones
Leader of Teaching and Learning

Pathways and Careers

Applications are open

UAC applications for study Stage 6 Future Pathways p.strahorn@bth.catholic.edu.au

Year 12 Careers Information Day

Students researched their post school options by meeting with representatives from the fields of Health, Trades, Retail, Accounting, Mining, Agriculture, Education, Defence Force, Emergency Services, the Arts as well as TAFE, UAC, universities and accommodation providers during a Careers Information Day.

Mrs Strahorn
Stage 6 Pathways Advisor

Anzac Day and Mass

ANZAC DAY

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ANZAC Mass

Our community gathered for an ANZAC Day Mass. Our students were reminded of the bravery and sacrifice made by over 1.5 million men and women over the last century who fought to protect Australia and make it the free, democratic 'lucky country' that it is. 

It was a very moving service with many students involved in reading and singing.

A special mention goes to Army cadets Payton W. and Jacqualine E. who formed the honour guard, carrying in the flags in full cadet uniform and setting the tone for the respect expected during an ANZAC ceremony. 

School Captain Isabella M. is also commended for her willingness to share the story of her uncle who fought in the Vietnam War. Her words were inspiring and helped staff and students understand the sacrifice those who served in any war made. 

The Mass was an inspiring way to start the term. It is clear that our students understand the meaning and importance of ANZAC Day.

Mrs Elissa Burden
Leader of Ministry and Mission

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Cambodia Immersion Project 2024 Fundraiser

Cambodia Immersion Project 2024 Fundraiser
Cambodian Evening of Canapes and Live Entertainment
Saturday 1st June
5pm - 9pm
Tickets $30 per person

Lazy River Estate in support of St Johns College Dubbo invite you to help raise funds to assist the 2024 Cambodia Immersion Project by St Johns College.
Children and staff of the College, along with the directors of Lazy River Estate will embark on an 8 day intensive home building project this July, that will house local and underprivlidged families for the next 30 years.
All ticket proceeds will be donated towards St Johns College 2024 Cambodia Immersion Project.
https://www.lazyriverestate.com.au/event/cambodia-immersion-project-2024-fundraiser

Mathematics Competition

The Australian Maths Trust runs a range of unique competitions and programs to inspire, extend, and recognise mathematical understanding for primary and secondary students. St Johns is running three of the AMT competitions this year. Students have been sent an expression of interest form in their emails. If your child has expressed interest, a permission letter will be sent home with details for payment. If you would like to nominate your child, you can also fill in this Google form for them. EOI for AMT Australian Mathematics Competitions. EOI closes Wednesday 15th of May.

If you have already registered your interest, you DO NOT need to re-register.

For further information about these competitions, visit: https://www.amt.edu.au/competitions

Public Speaking

Rotary is holding its annual public speaking contest, and secondary schools across Dubbo have been asked to
enter suitable students. We are looking to enter up to 3 students from Years 9, 10, and 11 in this activity.

DETAILS

Who: Open to students in Years 9, 10 and 11. Maximum of 3 students per school
When: 30^th July 2024 (club level heat)
Where: South Dubbo Tavern Function Room 6-8pm (At a Rotary Club of Dubbo South Meeting). You will be in full formal uniform, with a parent or guardian. It is a dinner meeting - meal will be provided, but bring money for drinks.
What: Each student will give a 5-minute speech incorporating one or more aspects of the Rotary 4 Way Test.
Why: To give future leaders the opportunity to develop their public speaking skills
How: The competition is conducted over 4 rounds. 30 July is Club level heat, with a later heat in September (TBA) looking at candidates in local area, then semi finals in Forster (November 2024) and Finals in March 2025 at a Rotary District Conference at Narrabri.

We are looking for interested students to enter - please complete the attached google form to register your interest. https://forms.gle/fAB5K92F9yAHgava6

School try-outs will be conducted during Term 2 Week 5 at a suitable recess/lunch time at an appropriate location to be determined. Refer to the attached information sheet as well for speech requirements. Please see or email me if you have any further questions. 

Mr Richard Eggleston
Class Teacher

Resource Hub - Library

Book Review

Mrs Bruce - Teacher Librarian
Miss Lappa - Library Technician

Attendance

We care about attendance because we care about your child.

Sport

Interschool Cup - St Johns v's James Sheahan

Last Friday, 200 students and 14 staff attended the Interschools Cup Competition in Orange against James Sheahan. All students represented the College with pride in 15 different activities. St Johns were successful in winning 6 activities including Rugby League, Boys and Girls Basketball, Chess, Theatre Sports and Girls Soccer. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in Boys Soccer, Boys and Girls Touch Football, Frisbee, Netball, Volleyball, Engineering, League Tag and Debating. In Week 4 (23 May), the College will host Red Bend in the Second and final round. St Johns will need Red Bend to defeat James Sheahan (played this week) and for us to defeat Red Bend for us to retain the Cup for 2024. Thanks to all the College staff for attending and Coaching/Managing the sides.

Mr Dave McAlister
Sport Coordinator

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CCC Rugby League Trials, Wagga

OPENS

SJC Western CCC Opens Rugby League Reps played in Wagga yesterday. Well done to Billy, Noah, Darby and Ajay who represented the College with class. Congratulations to Ajay and Billy who were named in the NSW CCC Southern Country team to play at the state titles in 2 weeks. The Southern Country side includes all Catholic schools from the region that stretches from Wollongong to Dubbo, to Albury.

U15'S

SJC under 15 Rugby League reps at Wagga on Wednesday. They represented Western Catholic Schools (Wagga/Bathurst/ Goulburn Dio) in Southern country trials. It was a record selection for St Johns, as all 6 boys were selected in the NSW CCC Southern Country team that will compete in the NSW CCC trials in St Mary's in 2 weeks. Well done to Levi, Sam, Bailey, Jimmy, Tom and Zayde.

Mr Andy Haycock
Rugby League Coordinator

Diocesan Cross Country - Orange

Well done to the 37 runners who competed at Lake Canobolas Orange in the Bathurst Diocesan Cross Country Carnival. All runners represented the College well.

A special mention to Ella Penman, Maebelle Clarke and Tatiana Pierterse who won their age divisions. Other notable performances were Logan Penman 3rd, Jarvis Penman 3rd, Callum Bowen 2nd, Molly Jones 3rd, Harry Mongan 4th Aiden Dungate 5th, Zander Barton 7th, Chloe Bleechmore 7th, Max Hawkins 9th and Grace Christiansen 6th.

David McAlister
Sports Coordinator

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Ella to Compete at the World Championships!

Ella Penman will be travelling to Lima Peru in August to compete in the 4x400m relay!

What an incredible achievement! Many years of hard work, dedication and commitment.

We are so proud of you Ella!

School Fees

Dear Parents/Guardians 

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

Families paying their fees by the term please note instalment 2 is due by 24 May 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 10 May 2024 there are 30 weeks, 15 fortnights or 7 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.

Kind Regards 

Maree Carlow
Administration Finance Leader

Important Dates

Term 2 2024

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

Wednesday 8th May
Whitecard Course

Thursday 9th May
Year 12 Careers Information Day
Diocesan Cross Country - Orange

Friday 10th May
Dubbo Show Prime Lambs Competition

Monday 13th May
Bill Turner Trophy Girls Soccer - Mudgee

Tuesday 14th May
University of Sydney Visit

Wednesday 15th May
Diocesan Teams Tennis Competition

Thursday 16th May
Bathurst Diocesan Senior Basketball
Evatt NSW Mock UN Competition

Monday 20th May
Year 11 EEC - Preschool Observation Excursion

Tuesday 21st May
CCC Hockey - Bathurst
Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Maths Competition
Under 14's & 16's Boys Rugby League

Thursday 23rd May
Interschool Cup - St Johns v's Red Bend

Tuesday 28th May
ANU Math Competition - Canberra
U15 State Basketball Championship

Wednesday 29th May
ANU Math Competition - Canberra
U15 State Basketball Championship

Thursday 30th May
Netball NSW Schools Cup Carnival

Community News