Good afternoon parents, carers, students and friends,

Welcome to the final installment of Key Messages for Term 1.

A time for everything

Approximately 1000 years before Jesus was born lived a wise Jewish sage, a King by the name of Solomon. Jewish tradition holds that Solomon was the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, where he contemplated some of the great mysteries of life and existence. Chapter 3 of this complex Biblical text begins with words that many of us would be familiar with:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (3:1)

It certainly feels like Term 1 has passed us by in a hurry; yet it has been a term of great opportunities for our students to be engaged in every manner of learning experiences and community events. Just this week at JPC we managed to squeeze in:

• the friendly competition of our College Athletics Carnival
• swimming stars representing JPC at the ASC Swimming Carnival
• over 100 visiting Year 6 students supported by JPC guides to “try high school”
• an evening of extraordinary Performing Arts talent
• a Year 9 SOSE excursion to the War Memorial
• a Year 11 visit to our neighbourhood Buddhist Temple

There is certainly a time for every matter under heaven at JPC!

The JPC Lenten Journey

Term 1 is always a busy term as we begin a new school year and welcome new faces to our community. It is fitting that early in the year we are also invited to consider our journey of faith, and to renew our commitment to our relationship with God. Lent is often seen as a time of ‘giving up’ or going without; but Pope Francis reminds us that, “Lent is, by nature, a time of hope because it leads us to be born anew “of the spirit”, by the love of God” (@pontifex, April 3 2017).

The season of Lent has certainly been a time of hope at JPC, where, inspired by the theme of Project Compassion for 2017, we have channeled our efforts to show love for our neighbour. Students wrote about, and shared, their own family stories of migration to Australia in our “Path to Unity” which has been displayed on our Chapel walls over the past few weeks. We recognised that it is only when we start to learn about our ‘neighbours’ that we can truly understand them. Our Students Leaders attended two leadership events to help build their knowledge about Caritas and Project Compassion, and have encouraged active participation in their Houses for our major fundraising initiative for the Term. This afternoon we were delighted to present a cheque for $3,871.95 to Mrs. Fiona Wilkinson from Caritas Australia, and are most proud of this exceptional example of outreach by our community.

Easter is upon us!

As we come to the end of Term 1, we are about to enter the holiest period in the Christian calendar. Beginning with Palm Sunday this weekend, we make the journey with Jesus towards the Cross, to the tomb, and ultimately, to the joy of the resurrection. We concluded our term as a community today by gathering to commemorate these events in a moving liturgy led by students from Years 7 to 11. Following the Way of the Cross, our students identified the inner-turmoil felt by a variety of individuals who feature in the Passion narrative – from Peter to Judas, Pilate to Mary, the centurion to Veronica. They drew our hearts to remember that each of us comes before Jesus with our own imperfections. The reflections of these individuals present a mirror for us all to see our own faults and failings. The joy of the Gospel, and the Good News of Easter, is that Jesus offers a path to forgiveness, accepting us in all of our brokenness, to reconcile us to God. Images of those in our world who continue to suffer because of inequity and neglect featured in our liturgy, a stark reminder that our call to reconciliation is as much a challenge to consider how we love our neighbour as it is about our self-reflection. Special thanks to the generosity of our student performers who dedicated their time to rehearsals this week, and to Miss Sarah Keane and Miss Elle Boller for preparing this powerful liturgical experience for the JPC community.

As we race off towards the promise of holidays and a break from the routine of the school day, may this season of Easter encourage us all to remember the words of the angel to women at the tomb: “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has risen, as he said.” Jesus is alive, here in our very midst. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday, a renewal of tired spirits and minds, and an eager return to JPC in Term 2.

Mrs. Nicola Edghill
Coordinator – Maathai House and Religious Education\

It was our pleasure as representatives of Vanier House to join with the L’Arche Jensen house members this week as we celebrated their first year in their new house!

Core members of the house invited the Vanier House to come and celebrate and see the table we had previously donated. L’Arche House which is founded by our house patron Jean Vanier provides out of home care for our community members with disabilities. The core members live together with a care team and eat their evening meals together whilst sharing the day’s events. Providing the table from our house for the core members to use for those dinner conversations has been a wonderful way to connect our communities.

In fact, the L’Arche community is continually growing and have some exciting things happening! This week they launched a new website for the L’Arche Hub in Phillip.

Dear friends,

Today L’Arche Genesaret in Canberra is launching its new website and Facebook page for our exciting new social enterprise, the Hub in Phillip. Please help us spread the word about this exciting new venture within your social networks and Facebook friends.

Big thanks to Liz Archer, Scott Andrea and Si Mikosza who have led the way in our first promotional video which you can view on our Facebook page. Thanks also to Ken Ong and his team from Osky Interactive for their enormous help in developing the website and to Jen Thompson of Engaging Solutions who worked with us to produce the video.

We are sending this email out widely across our various email distribution groups. We have done our best to avoid duplications, but please accept our apologies if you have received this message more than once.

You can help us to “customise” our new contacts list for the Hub in Phillip, by subscribing via the website to receive on-going email alerts about news and developments. Then we will know we have your expressed consent to keep emailing you about the Hub.

Here are the links to share in our excitement!

www.thehubinphillip.org.au … Please scroll to the base of the Home Page for the “subscribe” tab and Facebook link.

www.facebook.com/thehubinphillip/

We look forward to sharing the journey (and the steep learning curve ahead!) with our many friends, old and new alike.

With warmest wishes
Maggie

 

• Concert Band
• Vocal Group
• Rock Bands
• Unplugged Bands
• Year 7 Band
• JPC Vocal Group
• Production Crew

We have had a wonderful term with our cocurricular music groups, and even have a couple of new bands starting up next term due to increased interest! Your child will be informed when their group or band is running next term, during the first week back.

From Term 2, the cost of hiring a school instrument will be $50 per term, and being involved in the Cocurricular Music program will cost $25 per term (regardless of how many groups your child is in). This will be charged to your child’s school account for Term 2.

We look forward to another great term full of music at JPC.

On Wednesday morning, the Year 11’s went to visit the Hu Guo Bao En Temple in Nicholls. This excursion coincided nicely with what we have been learning about recently in class about the Phenomenology of Religion and specifically a model that demonstrated the different dimensions of religion.

During the visit, we met with members of the temple who spoke to us about Buddhism. They gave a quick run-down of the history of the faith, telling the story of an Indian Prince who renounced his throne to find Enlightenment and eventually become the Buddha many of us recognise. Afterwards, we learnt about the components of the temple and the meaning of significance ritual objects. They spoke about the daily routine for the Buddhist Monks and Nuns wo lived at the temple. It was really interesting to gain that insight into their lives and their faith, and how they interact within the community. As we walked around the temple and the surrounding grounds, we were able to see the different dimensions of religion in practice. We could see what was used during prayer and rituals, as well as learn about some of the doctrines like the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-Fold-Path. It was a nice feeling to be able to see or hear something and be able to link it back to the work we’ve covered in class.

The visit was enjoyable and many of us will use what we learnt to assist us in our classes and assessment. In Year 11 Religious Studies we are learning about the breadth of religious expression in our world, and are encouraged to explore and learn as much as we can. Through activities such as this trip, we can build upon our understanding and acceptance of other cultures and religions and strengthen those interfaith relationships between Catholicism and Buddhism within our local community.

I’d like to thank our teachers Mrs. Nicola Edghill, Mr. Patrick Wood, Ms. Sarah Keane and Ms. Elle Boller for giving us this opportunity to get out of the classroom and learn. It was a remarkable experience and worthwhile for all of us.

Damon Van Putten, Year 11

On Tuesday 35 students travelled to the AIS for the ASC Swimming Carnival. All St John Paul II College athletes participated very well with some standout performers being Taylah McCluskey finishing with 2nd in the 15yr Girls 50m freestlye, 3rd in 15yr 50m backstroke and 3rd in 15yr 100m freestyle. Sarah Smith also picked up 3rd in 16yr 50m Breastroke. Other notable performers who narrowly missed out on placing were Lachlan Revell, Harrison Jones, Brayden Jones and Tom Williams. It is a huge achievement for all of these students to compete at this level. Students who qualify will now move onto the ACT championships in the following months.’

ANZAC Day is the sacred time when Australians and New Zealanders remember the sacrifices of the first ANZACS who stepped ashore at Gallipoli over hundred years ago.   The spirit of those courageous young men have united our two countries and on April 25th, we pause to remember them and pay our respects. 

This year, ANZAC Day falls on the day before we return to school for Term 2.  There are services and activities being held at the Australian War Memorial leading up to ANZAC Day and on the 25th.  Please follow the link to view these events at the AWM. 

https://www.awm.gov.au/events/2017-04/2003/index.asp

We also pause to remember the families in our Holy Spirit Community who have family members who are currently deployed.  We pray for their safe return and thank them for their service.

We will be commemorating our ANZAC Day Ceremony at JPC on Thursday, April 27th at 9.15am.  Invitations have been sent to Defence Families and if you can attend please rsvp to vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au .  Thank you.

Next Term we will be holding Defence Meetings especially for our Year 11 Defence Students.  These will occur every second Tuesday (even weeks) and are in addition to our normal Thursday Morning Defence Meetings, which are open to all Defence Students.   If you are a Year 11 Defence Student, pop along to the JPC Barracks and chill out with your friends.

Some useful information for Defence Families over the school holidays:

What: DCO and National Film and Sound Archives Movie Easter Treat
When: During the April School Holidays
Where: National Film and Sound Archives
Claim: please visit the NFSA website
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/events/school-holiday-screenings-book-heroes-screen
  
What: DCO Canberra and Soldier On Mother’s Day High Tea.  All Defence families are welcome!
When: 10:00am, Tuesday, May 2nd
Where: Soldier On Headquarters, Crace
RSVP: to DCO Canberra at dco.canberra@defence.gov.au

What: HMAS Harman Winter Wonderland Charity Ball
When: Saturday, June 3rd
Where: HMAS Harman
More info: hmasharman.events@defence.gov.au
      
If you are looking for something to entertain your younger kids over the school holidays, please follow this link
http://www.holidayhappenings.com.au/canberra.php

I hope everyone enjoys their break and that you get to enjoy the beautiful autumn weather in Canberra.  This time of year is truly stunning.

Kind Regards
Vicki Walsh
DTM

On Thursday morning, Father Mark and our parish youth ministry worker, Jazz attended the College to engage in a breakfast gathering with the students. It is a time for our everyone to come together, share a meal and to catch up. Jazz is working with the teachers of the College to assist in developing a youth ministry group, which ultimately inspires those in our community to work together and develop a strong sense of faith within the school environment.

On Monday JPC staff and students braved the cold and wet morning to participate in the Annual St John Paul II College Athletics Carnival. With students rugging up for the first couple of events the rain held off just enough in the morning so we could get through our carnival. All students who participated had a fantastic time and some new records were set. Eventually it was Vanier house that came away with the total point score with a total of 749 points. All students who participated represented the school with pride. Place winners in each event will now move onto the ASC Athletics Carnival on the 4th May 2017. Congratulations to all students who attended for making the day great and a special thank you to all staff for their cooperation and time, to make the carnival a success.

After being a draftee at last years Nationals, Tom made the ACT U14 team for the NSW Club Championships for Water Polo in December 2016 where they achieved a record 5th place. He was approached by the winning Sydney University club at those games and accepted a position in their U14 B(1) team playing each Sunday for the remainder of summer against the top Sydney teams. He has been promoted to the Sydney University U14 A team for the Winter competition.

Last week he lead his Dragons U14 team in the Canberra Grand Final to Silver and played for the Grand Final winning Dragons U16 team. Next week he will play for the ACT U14 team at the National Championships.

 The second day of Parent / Student / Teacher Interviews

will take place on Thursday 27 April.

Dear Parents,

Parent- Student - Teacher interviews will be held for Year 7 to Year 11 from 4.00pm to 6.30pm on  27/04/2017.

Interviews will be of 5 minutes duration.  Should you require a longer appointment time, please contact the relevant teacher to arrange an alternative meeting time.

For these interviews we will again be using the internet-based booking system called Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO). It will save time for parents, staff and students!  The system will be available to parents from 4pm on Wednesday 29 March..

Using this system you will be able to book the interview times that suit you best from any internet-connected computer. A computer will be available in the student office during school hours if you do not have internet access at home or elsewhere.

Please access the system as follows:
• Go to the school’s home page: 

https://www.jpc.act.edu.au/our-community/jpc-parents/pto-online/

• Click the PTO icon

• Click “Obtain PIN / Password” and enter your email address.  Your PIN will be emailed to you.  The email you receive will include a link that can be clicked on to log straight into PTO, bypassing the login screen.

Full instructions are provided to you after log in. Please note the following points:

• When you log on, the system displays only your own child/children. Bookings are made for individual parents/guardians, not for couples. Couples can however log on to the system simultaneously to coordinate bookings. If two parents/guardians wish to attend a single interview time slot, one parent/guardian should make the booking then both can attend.

• You will only see time slots that are available at the time you are using the system. As time slots are booked for teachers, those time slots are no longer displayed as available. PTO prevents double-booking of teachers or parents/guardians.

• Please note that for Year 7 and 8, bookings cannot be made with Term 1 and 2  Elective teachers, as they will not be continuing with their Term 1 elective and will not yet have started their Term 2 elective.

• When you have made all the bookings you require, you can download or email a report of your bookings in time order for printing. You can log in and change bookings any time up to 5.00pm the day before.

• If you see this symbol  displayed along side the class name, it means this teacher recommends that you book an interview.

• Other parents may be making bookings at the same time that you are using the system. It is possible, though unlikely, that a time slot is displayed to you as available, but is then booked by another parent shortly afterwards. If you then attempt to book this time slot it will not be available and a message will be displayed to indicate this.

• If you encounter any problems using PTO please contact the school office by phone on 6163 4800, or by email to office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au