Wednesday 31 August - Girls and Boys Soccer

Wednesday 31 August - Southside vs Northside Netball Carnival 7/8 Girls

Thursday 1st September - Arts Evening

I was recently reading the Australian Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda1 which highlights the number of females taking on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields of study or work – “only one in four IT graduates and fewer than one in 10 engineering graduates are women, and that women occupy fewer than one in five senior researcher positions in Australian universities and research institutes, and around one quarter of the STEM workforce overall”. The agenda argues that Australia needs a concerted, national effort to overcome the cultural, institutional and organisational factors that discourage girls and women from studying STEM, and that limit their opportunities to pursue STEM careers.

Here at JPC, our Science Department is continuing to implement strategies that capture the imagination of ALL students in the exciting field of STEM and we are pleased to see the number of girls engaging our projects, as was the case in our Science Week’s STRANDBEEST construction and race, which required not just special fine motor skills, but persistence and effective collaboration skills in the detailed construction process. This week sees the Year 10 students again embarking on ‘Exciting Science’ with the application of data loggers into our Chemistry topic to measure the rate of chemical reactions.

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Sharemarket Game has begun!

We have 19 budding investors who have joined the current ASX Schools’ Sharemarket Game in syndicate groups or as individuals. Each investment group has received a virtual $50,000 that is invested over a 10 week period, in 200 companies listed on the ASX. The prices at which students buy and sell are the same as the live market so this is as close to real life share trading as you can get, without the risk!

As a result of playing the Game our investors will develop their knowledge of the sharemarket, learn how to research companies and create their own company “watchlist”, discover the importance of wise investment decisions, gain a greater knowledge of economic and world events and begin to learn more about investing which is beneficial for their future, all while using someone else’s ‘money’.

Good Luck (or should I say Good Management!) to our JPC syndicates.

Please enjoy a wonderful weekend with your families and friends,

Jennifer Tually
Ferré House, Science Department & Languages Department Coordinator

1 http://www.innovation.gov.au

A vast array of literary (and not so literary!) characters were on display for Book Week on Thursday. This year’s theme was 'Australia! Story Country' and many students went to a lot of effort to showcase Australian books. There were a number of gumnut babies, a couple of Men from Snowy River and some green sheep. Others came as favourite book characters, including Paddington, Harry Potter, Pippi Longstocking and Hansel and Gretel. A number of staff also got into the dress up spirit, coming as the crayons from the picture book The Day The Crayon Quit, convicts from For the Term of His Natural Life and Miranda from Picnic at Hanging Rock. Thanks to everyone who entered into the spirit of the day.

Mrs Madeleine Harley

We welcomed Term 3 with the celebration of NAIDOC Week and had the privilege of hearing Jake Trindorfer from AIME, encourage and inspire us about being successful in our own ways. Since this, AIME has been working with JPC on a weekly basis during our ILT sessions and coming in on a Tuesday afternoon to tutor, mentor and support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students. During this period, students have also been connecting with their culture by participating in small activities to enhance the unity of their identity within the school.

Over the last 10 years, university students from around Australia have lined up through the corridors of universities to volunteer with AIME and make a commitment to build a better community. The hoodie which you may recognise has become a symbol that represents leadership. A belief in the power of education, mentoring and Indigenous success. The AIME Hoodies hold up the significance of and reward a commitment to education. These hoodies are presented to students that have upheld the AIME values by showing a commitment to their community, volunteering to assist in school events, mentoring other students, focusing on their education or striving for Indigenous success. This week at the Kennedy House assembly, the AIME hoodies were presented to Jordan Brusensky (Maathai, Year 10), Lucy Cambridge (Vanier, Year 9), Ally Hampton (Kennedy, Year 7), Alicia Carter (Van Thuan, Year 10). I congratulate these students for displaying the AIME values. The Hoodies are for all Australians and we will present more towards the end of the term.

Elle Boller

On Monday August 22nd, 22 Defence Students took up the challenge to complete the The 22 Push ups Challenge.

The 22 Push ups Challenge campaign started in the United States and asked people to do 22 push ups for 22 days in a row to recognise the number of American veterans who took their own lives every day.  Here in Australia, there have been 41 veteran suicides since January this year.

We want to raise awareness of veteran suicides and start conversations about the challenges which our Defence Personnel face both while serving and once they leave the Defence Forces.  Veterans who take their own lives do so as the final act of a much bigger problem.  Many suffer from the mental health condition called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).   Defence Personnel can suffer PTSD during their service, but also when they leave.

With JPC students and staff doing the 22 push ups challenge we can support our Defence Personnel, both those who have served and those who are still serving.  Even though our Defence Personnel can come back from wars and campaigns without any affects, we want to recognise them and pay tribute to the sacrifices they have made.

We are now at Day 5 of our 22 Day Challenge and our numbers are growing every day.  Check out JPC’s Facebook to see the first day of our challenge!

Vicki Walsh
DTM

This week, Year 6 students from Holy Spirit Primary School attended JPC to interview students from the College about migration for one of their school assignments. 20 volunteer students gave up their own time to answer questions about their experiences of migration. It was another great example of how our schools can work together for the betterment of the student learning experience. It was a valuable experience for all students involved. Furthermore, it demonstrated the cultural diversity which enriches the experiences of all at the College. Thank you to Mrs Cambridge (Teacher at Holy Spirit and JPC parent) for proposing this lovely initiative.

“Being interviewed was quite fun. I was asked questions about how different it was from England and Australia. One thing I didn't know was the amount of students that are born outside of Australia, there were people from India, UK, China, Cambodia and lots of other places. It was amazing to help the year sixes with their assignments and let them know about the different migrations”
Paris (Year 8)

“The Immigration interview was great. It really made me feel a sense of happiness to help out our feeder school with one of their Year 6 assignments. There were 20 interviewees and 17 interviewers, we each got a student from Holy Spirit Primary and they asked us some questions about what it felt like to immigrate. Some of the questions included, did you have any regrets? Was it easy for you to make friends? and were you accepted when you first came to Australia? This was an amazing experience and I’m glad I could help out with the local community”

Eddie (Year 9)

Mr Iain Robertson

Dear Parents/Guardians,  

             
JPC is celebrating an evening with the Arts on Thursday 1st September at the Performing Arts Centre, John Paul ll College. This year, the concert will feature an exciting variety of Music, Dance and Drama performances as well as displays of Art, Photography and Media. The evening will be a true celebration of curricular and co-curricular work as well as assessment pieces. This evening will provide our students with a platform to showcase their hard work, talents and expertise.

The show will begin at 5.30pm and finish at 7.30pm, with a 20-minute intermission where our students studying hospitality will prepare and serve refreshments. 

Information regarding the evening:

The concert is a fantastic representation of the talent of our students and it is shaping up to be a truly wonderful show. Performance is free of charge; however, we would kindly ask an expression of interest be made so that we are able to provide appropriate catering.

Please sign and return the following permission note to Mrs Robertson Monday 29th August 2016. A copy of the permission note is available on our website. If you have any questions, please email faye.harding1@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Every year the national governing body of dance Aus Dance Australia celebrates dance through its school’s festival. This year for the very first year, JPC have entered a team of dancers. The whole movement of the festival is that it is completely student driven, directed and created by the student body. This year Codie and I have the pleasure and hard work of being the directors, along with Jason El-Khoury, Geraldine Lim, Dani Bodo and Annika Ginnivan as choreographers and Hannah Dawson and Brianna Ross as coordinators of costuming and lighting. 

Each season Aus Dance set a theme, this year the theme is ‘be heard, be loud’. The idea behind a dance focus or stimulus is that the created piece has a meaning or a narrative of some sort. This year we have decided to give a voice to those who need it most, to those who don’t have an equal say and to those who have no choice but to seek Asylum in foreign lands.

The dance leaders really wanted to create something powerful and meaningful, creating movement that evokes emotion, passing on the key message that everyone should be heard. We perform our Asylum piece on Thursday the 8th of September at Canberra Theatre. If you are interested in purchasing tickets ($20.00) then please head to Canberra Theatre ticketing office, or you can also get a sneak peek for free at the Arts performance night on the 1st of September. 

Codie Haycraft and Emily Watt

A new ACTION weekday and weekend bus timetable will commence Saturday 27 August 2016. There will be a range of timing changes and some new routes.

A reminder that there are also a range of changes to dedicated school services as well as regular route services that will affect students. ACTION are encouraging families to plan their travel in preparation for Monday 29 August 2016.

A detailed list of all changes is available on the Transport Canberra website – transport.act.gov.au. Please see below the details for changes to JPC buses.

ACTION have introduced region specific timetable books, to enable passengers to access region weekday timetables specific to their travel. Blue and Red Rapid routes are included in each book. These regions include Gungahlin, Belconnen, Central Canberra, Woden Valley & Weston Creek, Tuggeranong. Their weekend bus books will remain as a standalone timetable.

Region weekday bus books and weekend bus books are now available from their Recharge Agents, major bus stations, ACT Public Libraries or by calling 13 17 10.

For further information please visit the Transport Canberra website or call 13 17 10.