Dear Parents and Carers

    
As you may be aware the Australian government has announced a new funding proposal that will cut funding to Catholic schools in the ACT over next ten years.

A cut of this magnitude will have a significant impact on the Catholic system and we will be faced with tough decisions to cover any shortfall including raising fees and reducing costs. Catholic education will do everything it can to hold fees as low as possible.  You may have seen the Estimator website and noticed that JPC does not have any information attached to it.  This is because we are still, for these purposes, a campus of Good Shepherd Primary School and so our funding and that of Mother Teresa School – also a campus, is rolled into theirs.  We expect that our funding will be cut in the same way as the other systemic Catholic schools over the next 10 years.

This week we received a letter from Education Minister Simon Birmingham that confirms our funding will be cut over the next ten years.

The link below will  take you to that letter for your information however I stress that the Catholic Education Office is currently reviewing the figures to confirm their accuracy. We have been advised that while we know funding will be cut we should treat the figures with caution until they can be confirmed.

The school funding debate is complicated and surrounded by misinformation. To support you the Catholic education office has produced some simple key points.
I encourage you to:
          • Take this information and share it with your friends, including on social                media.
         • Contact your political leaders and ask why funding for your child is being             cut while other students are receiving increases. Ask how your school is             expected to cover the gap.
         • Explain what will be put at risk in what you value in the school as a                     result of these cuts.

I appreciate this is an unusual request but it is necessary in the circumstances.

In conjunction with the Director of Catholic education we will be doing everything possible to help the Australian Government understand the consequences of these changes.

Regards
Catherine Rey

Year 11 have continued their exploration of World Religions in Term 2 by embarking on a depth study on the fascinating and often misunderstood faith of Islam. This week we were delighted to welcome three special guests from the Islamic Sciences Research Academy (ISRA) Australia, who spoke to our students on Wednesday about principal beliefs of the religion, and how these are expressed in the lives of Muslims. The lecture enthralling, thanks to the wisdom and knowledge of our guests, Heather Faga, Dana Alhatu and Nuzhat Tubassam, and their ability to connect complex ideas with contemporary examples that made the concepts so accessible to our students. tour Year 11 students had the opportunity to ask questions on a broad range of issues, and they certainly impressed our visitors with their depth of critical thinking and expression.

Today we offered a selected group of students who have shown exceptional application to Religious Studies the chance to attend a conference entitled, “A Grand Design – Science, Ethics and Religion in Dialogue”. These students engaged with the extraordinary Peter Vardy, a highly-respected educator in the world of Religious Studies, to challenge their thinking and understanding of these complex concepts.

The study of religion in our contemporary society is essential for our students. It is, in many ways, a challenging time for people of all faiths in a world that is increasingly secular, yet also increasingly divided on questions of religion. It is so rewarding to work with the students and staff at JPC in the Religious Education faculty and to have the privilege of learning and building our understanding together so as to help our young people to be informed, empathetic and compassionate leaders of the future.

Mrs. Nicola Edghill
Coordinator – Religious Education

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to raise awareness to parents about a recent TV program on NETFLIX that is causing some controversy and a number of discussions in both the media and the wider community. The TV show is called Thirteen Reasons Why and deals with a teenage suicide and it has been a source of much debate because of its portrayal of suicide. The show aired in Australia in March, 2017.

We would like to assist parents in making an informed decision as to whether they allow their child to watch this TV show or not. To support this decision making we have attached several articles which we would encourage parents to read. If you decide to allow your child to view this show we would advise you to share these articles with them also. The articles are written by Mental Health First Aid Australia.

If you are considering allowing your child to watch this TV show, we would recommend that you view the program first and then sit with your child as they view it. Please be aware that the program contains highly graphic scenes that you may find distressing.  Having open and frank discussions about what your child is watching is vital and the following article written by “headspace” offers some excellent advice in how to conduct these conversations. 

There are also contact numbers for support groups if you have any concerns about your child’s reaction to the program.

Stephanie O’Meara
(Assistant Principal)

Want to know why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8POcYho5Rc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewZ1lqNT5e8

Last week our students participated in a busy week of sport.

The ACT Swimming championships were held on Monday and Wednesday, with a number of our students making it through to this meet. Each student performed excellently with some notable performances from Taylah McCluskey claiming 1st in 50m Backstroke, 2nd in the 50m and 100m freestyle races and 3rd in the 200m freestyle event. This is an excellent performance from Taylah at the ACT Championships.

We also had 45 students attend the ASC Athletics Carnival on Thursday last week. This was our biggest squad yet to attend an ASC event. There were a number of students who placed and 10 students including Mikayla Cruz, Ciel Georgivski, Lealani Georgivski, Jay Kartsonas, JR Kavaliku-Skinner, Gage King, Mia McGovern, Jade Rethman, Josh Baldwin and Owen Hromow all qualifying for the ACT Championships.

Well done to these students.

Finally on Friday afternoon we held our annual JPC Cross Country Carnival. All students ran excellently over the difficult course. Overall it was Vanier house winning the overall point score followed by Kennedy and Maathai. Qualifiers for ASC Cross country will be receiving notes next week.

Congratulations to all students who participated and placed in their events.’

Kind regards

Nic Whatman