St John Paul II College staged its very first musical production: The Greatest Show: A Vaudeville over three nights recently after inviting our feeder schools to a preview matinee performance last Wednesday. There were over sixty students involved in the cast and crew and they performed to combined audiences of 1000.

At St John Paul II College, we pride ourselves on being different.  Our musical was no exception as the students and staff devised the original script and developed the production together. A skeleton narrative was given to the students and they were guided through devising and improvising explorations to create their characters. Great credit must go to these students! They accepted the challenge, rose to Production Crew’s high expectations and excelled. It is from the student's amazing dedication and commitment that they were brought the vision come to life, ensuring in this show that each character was genuinely unique and shone with personality.

The process gave our students the opportunity to explore how theatre has the power to change people's hearts and minds, the chance to work as a true team with students from all year levels to create and explore a brand-new performance and to demonstrate talents and skills publicly in front of a live audience. This musical provided an opportunity to build resilience, social skills, empathy, confidence and creative skills. Students were able to express themselves onstage while building friendships with an array of creative souls.  The cast created – even to their own surprise – genuinely touching moments of theatre. The audience roared with laughter, felt goosebumps and sang-a-long. The show was an interactive experience which didn’t stop – not even during intermission where circus themed food was available.

Following the trends of popular culture, this vaudeville styled piece of theatre was a blend of classic Music Hall entertainment and contemporary costumes.  After seeing an amazing circus show, a group of five lonely, misfits decide to run away and join the circus. With encouragement from an all-knowing train conductor, Mila, they arrive at the circus in an attempt to find their place in the world. Ruby, the Ringleader, welcomes them despite the disgruntled reaction from her skilled Circus Troupe leaders.

Bosley, Coco, Trixie, Demi and Layla meet the rainbow coloured performers of the circus. This circus journey has a soundtrack of music that is a dazzling, lively mixture of rock, jazz and pop transforming the show into a mix of classic and contemporary ideas for this vaudeville narrative. Much like the music, the characters are a fresh mix of old and new from clowns to comedians, animals to acrobats, dancers and singers - this circus had the potential to be a home if the Runaways are able to impress. Will they ever find their place?

The Greatest Show: A Vaudeville was the very first, but certainly not the last, St John Paul II College’s first musical production. Of course, something of this scale has only possible with a creative dedicated team and the support of the College community. Not enough credit can be given to our students. Performers, musicians and the skilled backstage crew set the standard and paved the way for the future JPC musicals. They displayed a professional and inclusive attitude and all worked so hard to achieve. We have all followed the dream, and ran away to the circus with lasting memories!

Sarah Keane, Director

Next week Year 12 students wishing to receive an ATAR (those studying a ‘T’ package) will be sitting the ACT Scaling Tests on Tuesday and Wednesday in the College Hall. These are the only external exams for senior students and are completed by all ACT students under the same conditions and timings. We have been working with the students over the past 18 months and intensively this term to prepare them for these tests. The students were given final information about their required equipment, the format of the tests and days, some general tips and the processes should they be unwell or experience a misadventure on either day earlier this week. A copy of this information can be found on Moodle on the Senior Studies page. A copy of the AST Bulletin is also stored on this page as an additional reference for students. We wish them all the best for these exams.

On Tuesday, students who are studying an Accredited Package for their Year 12 Certificate will be taking part in a specially designed Career Readiness programme. This programme has been designed by an external recruitment agency and will involve practical strategies and tips for entering the workplace. Students are not expected to attend ILT on Wednesday, however, they are most welcome to be at school should they need to complete any assessment or classwork.

On both of these days, the Year 12 students will gather in the restaurant area for a light breakfast from 8am before beginning either their tests or programme.

Last Tuesday, our Year 10 House Leaders visited Holy Spirit Primary School’s Year 4 students to present information on each of our JPC House Patrons, to support their current JPC House Patron Inquiry Investigations. It was a really fun experience for the Year 10s to talk about St Katharine Drexel, Sister Isolina Ferré, Father Ted Kennedy, Lily Wangari Muta Maathai, Jean Vanier and Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, whose life examples we try to follow. The Year 4s asked very interesting questions at the end, and they are using the knowledge they gained from the session in their research projects.

Atharva Purohit
Year 10

Our Year 9 and 10 Outdoor Ed class have been on two excursions over the last few weeks. They were given opportunities to put into practice the things they have been learning about in class. In Week 4 they went to Mt Rogers to complete a number of challenging orienteering courses. A highlight for some students was “not getting lost like others” (Max & Nic).  This week the 2 classes travelled to Mitchell Rock climbing to see have a go at testing themselves again. The students took to the challenging walls like coconut crabs to a fresh tree (Matisse & Mia) and had a great time scaling all the walls.

They are looking forward to next terms Surf Camp!

Thanks

Miss Greaney & Mr Boyle

On Thursday this week, Year 10 and some of the seniors went to the Careers Expo at Exhibition Park. It was a fantastic opportunity to explore options for our future careers. We were all able to ask questions about different courses from universities and other further education providers, as well as speak to many different organisations about career opportunities. I particularly enjoyed the fact that while I was able to explore my options for careers I’m already interested in, I also discovered some new careers I hadn’t even thought of!

Everyone had a great time trying hands on exhibits...and taking advantage of the plethora of course guides, brochures, pens, and drink bottles!

I can’t wait to further explore what I can do with my education and career after I leave school.

Georgia Wallace – Year 10

Cheerleading

On August 12, our two competitive cheerleading teams competed at the AIS for their first competition of the season ‘ACT Regionals’ !! We took the floor alongside other scholastic teams including Good Shepherd, Mother Teresa and ANU as well as many all-star clubs from Canberra and had lots of fun! 

It was many of the cheerleaders first competition and was filled with lots of nerves and excitement, but both teams looked incredible on the floor and managed to bring home two more gold trophies for the school!!

We would like to thank Belinda Dawson, Kellie Bedford and Lizzie Kellett for all your support to all our athletes and being the best coaches!!

We can’t wait to compete again at CheerCon in September!!

India Grummett & Georgia Gladman

Michael Woodman

This year Michael Woodman from year 9 has been travelling around NSW competing in dirt bike races!! Recently visiting Maitland and Ryhope to compete and even bringing home medals in some of his races!! Congratulations Michael on your achievement!!

Larissa Thornton

Larissa Thornton from Year 7 has been swimming competitively for the last 8 years, bringing home JPC age champion earlier this year as well as placing at many other local races!! Congratulations Larissa for all your dedication, it is definitely highlighted through these achievements !!

Know someone in our community who has achieved something remarkable?
Come and let us know so we can publicise your personal successes!
Stay tuned for more amazing student achievement announcements from the Leaders of Courage.

On Monday 27th August, a team of year 7 and 8 girls from JPC competed in the ASC Basketball competition at Tuggeranong Basketball Stadium. It was a day full of tough games but the girls played admirably and performed well.

We opened the day with a tough loss against St Clare’s College in what was a hard-fought game. We were then matched up against eventual runners up Canberra Grammar School where the girls put up an excellent fight, keeping the scores close to CGS for much of the first half. Eventually, though, we tired and CGS took advantage stretching the lead beyond catching. In our final pool game, we faced off against Burgmann. The girls played amazingly and kept the scores level until half-time. We came out firing in the second half but a couple of costly turnovers kept the game out of reach.

In our final game of the day, we played Mackillop in cross-pool play. In an extremely back and forth game the girls played some of their best basketball of the day. With just 5 seconds to go the scores were tied and an unlucky foul sent Mackillop to the Free Throw line. We called a time-out to stop the clock and the Mackillop player sank one of the free throws to give Mackillop a 1-point lead. We inbounded the ball but couldn’t get a shot up. Despite the result, the girls played amazingly and showed real heart and growth over the day.

A big thank you to Keeley Dunbar for coaching on the day and to all the girls for representing the school so well.

DCO’s Father’s Day

For ADF families - join DCO in celebrating Father’s Day at Weston Park on Saturday, 1st September between 2 and 4pm. Bring the kids and a picnic blanket and enjoy getting to know other military families and exploring the surrounding park and playground. There will also be a limited number of tickets available for mini golf at the Yarralumla Play Station on the day.
Light refreshments will be provided and the Salvation Army’s Sallyman Truck will also be there.  Weston Park Road, Yarralumla.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/defence-commuity-organisation-canberra-8927579647

Battle of Australia Wreathlaying Ceremony

Next week Defence Students will travel to the Australian War Memorial with Defence Students from Holy Spirit. They will take part in creating a wreath for the Battle of Australia Ceremony along with other schools, Veterans and dignitaries. Permission notes went home to all interested Defence students this week. Please return the signed permission note by Monday, Week 7 if you would like your child to attend. Or email permission note to me on vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au

Australian Defence Force Arts for Recovery, Resilience, Teamwork and Skills Program (ARRTS)

As many as 30% of veterans returning from active service develop PTSD and mental health disorders are the leading medical condition correlated with disengagement from military service after deployment.  One of the major impediments to effective treatment is reluctance of those with symptoms to seek assistance. The use of creative arts therapy shows significant promise in reducing immediate symptoms of intrusive thoughts and hyper arousal and helping to overcome avoidance and emotional numbing.

The ARRTS program is designed to improve confidence and resilience by demonstrating to participants they are capable of learning new skills and able to adapt to different environments. In each program Defence members try something really outside the box and to put on a showcase to display their achievements. During ARRTS the attendees form a new team (and make new friends) with like-minded individuals with a shared experience of both service and injury/illness.

If you would like to learn more about the ARRTS program, please phone (02) 6127 6505 or contact me for more information.

Legacy Week (Sunday, 2nd - Saturday, 8th September)
We will have badges and other merchandise on sale at the Front Office to support LEGACY Week. Show your support for our returned veterans’ families, by buying a badge, bear or pen or making a donation.

Thank you for your support

Vicki Walsh DTM

Changes to school bus service route numbers which operate to and from JPC will come into effect from Monday 3rd September 2018.

These changes are being implemented to improve the provision of consistent, accurate and easily identifiable bus services across regional New South Wales and improve customer access to current transport information.

A full listing of the new school route numbers will be available on the Qcity Transit website, www.qcitytransit.com.au prior to the changes coming into effect on the 3rd September 2018.

If you have any queries go to the Qcity Transit website, call Qcity Transit on (02) 6299 3722 or contact TfNSW directly on 131500.

The University of NSW is offering a free camp in January next year aimed at girls in years 8 and 9 (this year) to get a hands on exposure to STEM topics and hopefully spark an interest in the field.

Information and the registration process can be found at:

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/school-of-engineering-and-information-technology/yowie/act-young-women-engineering-yowie-2018

The famous Holy Spirit Trivia and Bingo Night is on again!

Party time is 7.00 pm on Saturday 1 September in the Hall.
An early celebration of Our Lady, Mary’s birthday, this is a night for FAMILIES!!

There will be special prizes for younger players with most of the trivia targeted at The Young at Heart (do you remember your super-heroes?).

Yummy finger food and drinks will be available but please bring your own as well.

The evening is a fundraiser – so please bring your cash!

We need: a brave or enthusiastic bingo caller – give it a go!
We also need donations for prizes and a big raffle.

Tickets are $10 for everyone over 10 years and $100 a table. Pre-purchase through Pradeep at pradeepan.pillai@gmail.com. 

Enquires and offers to Alison at alisonmweeks@bigpond.com .