Statistics in Australia show that in Australia, 1 in 3 women experiences some form of domestic violence in their lifetime which has detrimental impacts on their families. The White Ribbon Organization aims at promoting justice, and removal of family and domestic violence within communities across Australia. In 2017, White Ribbon Day falls on Saturday 25th November 2017. This year Kennedy house is promoting White Ribbon Day on Friday 24th November (week 7) in order to raise awareness and funds for White Ribbon in the effort to develop more respectful relationships in our community. Following on from last year students will be encouraged to raise the profile of respectful relationships within our school community, using White Ribbon Day as a format to celebrate, develop understanding and promote respectful relationships among their peers, school staff, families and wider community.

This week Year 8 and 9 boys have engaged in workshops involving the building skills to develop respectful relationships with their peers, staff and community. These students were given the opportunity to brainstorm ways which can assist them in evolving into young adults and also developed responsibilities as young members of our community. As part of the workshop, the students created videos, pledging the White Ribbon Oath as a step towards building respectful relationships within our school and as a sign of their commitment to the White Ribbon organization. These videos will be displayed in Pastoral Care next Friday as part of our White Ribbon initiatives at St John Paul II College, which also involves other respect plans on the day. Although this is only one step towards building more respectful relationships within St John Paul II College the Years 8 and 9 boys would like to extend this message of support for White Ribbon and the building of respectful relationships to our wider community.

“I will stand up, speak out and act to promote respectful relationships within our school and wider community.

This is my oath”

Nic Whatman
Kennedy House and IMS Coordinator

This Term Year 7 students have been working on an assignment to develop a balloon powered car. The students had to design, build and test the cars to identify variables that impact on the distance it travels. This assignment linked to our unit of work on forces in which students had to consider friction, air resistance, mass, gravity and inertia. All students did a fantastic job and many of the designs exceeded the expectations.  Some honorable mentions for students whose car’s worked really well include; Tilly Bean, Nikko Sagrado, India-Lee Grummet, Jacob Randell-Sly, Bowyn Beattie, Jack French, Owen Kelly, Saesha Kaur, Tobias Devilla-Cheruku, Melina Katic. Thank you to all of the students for their fantastic work over these past weeks working on their assessments.

On Wednesday 15th Nov, the students who participate in instrumental lessons at the College performed solos and ensemble pieces. A huge congratulations to the instrumental teachers, Mr. Aron Lyon and especially the students who all worked so hard to deliver a wonderful performance for family, friends, teachers and other members of the community.

T20 Cricket

Last Tuesday our 7/8 and 9/10 boys travelled to Deakin for the T20 Cricket Cup. Both teams played fantastically well with some stand out performers in the 7/8’s with both Brayden Jones and Jordan McMaster leading the way with bat and ball and some outstanding batting from Jordan Lucas and Fletcher Bean. Harrison Jones and Ryan Lin were also very good with the ball each taking a handful of wickets. The boys also were lucky enough to have a visit from Nathan Lyon who answered many of the boys questions. Both teams would like to thank Mr Rose for his guidance and coaching on the day.

Rugby League

On what was a marvelous Tuesday (14th November), Super-Coach Whatman & Coach Boyle took the JPC Rugby League Boys
The Year 9 team that played against students from Years 9 & 10 battled hard on the day finishing with 1 win from 4 games.  The highlight was a strong come from behind win against Malwaree from Goulburn.  The boys found themselves down 8-0 early but switched into gear to run away with a 16 to 8 victory.  Standouts were JR Skinner, Patty O’Gorman & Hazmat McLoud. 
The Year 7/8 team had a day of mixed results finishing with 2 wins and 2 losses.  The boys started well with a great win over Canberra High.  A tough game against Lyneham where they didn’t have the ball for the first 12 minutes in a 15 minute game but only went down 12-4.  A strong win over Melba and a narrow loss to Goulburn to finish the day.  Standouts were Owen Hromow, Maxi Butler & Caleb McCauley. 

The boys represented the college really well, please commend the boys if you see them.

It’s that time of term again – the Drama showcase is here to dazzle you! However, the Term 4 edition is newer and even more improved! Tuesday, 28th November, you will see a range of performances from the Year 7 Drama classes, 9/10 Elective Drama, D2 – the Semester 2 Drama Club, and some Dance classes!

These students have been working extremely hard to create and perform various performances to entertain you. Students have self-nominated to perform and are very eager to share their acts with you.

Please join us to support our budding performers as they amaze you with their growing talents!

Miss Sarah Keane