As always at JPC our roles evolve and change with our community’s needs. As part of that growth process, I have really enjoyed seeing my Vanier House group grow from new year 7’s into the leaders of our college in year 11 (going into year 12!). It gives me such joy to see students flourish in our environment, taking on the challenges and rising to meet the demands of adolescence. As a Leader of Learning and Wellbeing it is my privilege to see all that transcends in the Vanier house group and the relationships that are built through the mentor process are some of the most wonderful examples of Jean Vanier’s work in action! Jean Vanier has many books and hundreds of quotable sayings but his central goal is that everyone feels loved and valued. I encourage our students and their mentors to really develop their mentor relationships and continue to make valuable connections. I want each child to know they are individually valued and an important member of our community.

As part of my role at JPC I coordinate Sustainability. This role has evolved as the school has evolved. I am so proud of what we offer at JPC and the way we promote sustainability as a whole school focus. As a team our aim is to deliver a sustainable, healthy and challenging environment for our community, in relation to the curriculum we deliver, the extracurricular activities we offer, the food provided in the canteen and our way of dealing with waste and recycling.

We have so many projects and programs that the Key Messages would be pages long! So all our projects and programs can be found at our website:

http://jpcsustainability.weebly.com

Please have a look and leave a comment on one of our blogs!

Kind regards
Mrs Chauntell McNamara

An updated version of the JPC Calendar for Term 4 has been uploaded.

Please check it out to see what’s coming up.

Changes and updates will be reported in JPC Key Messages each week.

Please make sure the office has your current email address so you don’t miss out.

Last Sunday, the 17th of September, the JPC Liturgy Band and JPC Tech Crew took part in the Holy Spirit Parish Mass. The students performed brilliantly, playing all of the music for the Mass. The Liturgy Band has been practicing their pieces since the beginning of the term, all in preparation for this Mass.

A big thank you to Mr. Aron Lyon for preparing us for the event, Ms. Robinson for helping the Band and Tech Crew set up and run the music on the day, and Mrs. Rey, Ms. Boller and Ms. Keane for taking their time to support JPC at the Mass. Thank you Holy Spirit Parish for allowing JPC to play for the parishioners of Holy Spirit Church. Congratulations to the Liturgy Band and Tech Crew for an amazing performance.

Over the June holidays, I was blessed to be able to take the opportunity to complete the final stage of my Masters study in Rome, through the Australian Catholic University. To be studying the mission, culture and spiritualties of Catholicism in the holy heart of our faith profoundly impacted on me, both intellectually and personally.

From an special group Mass held beside St Peter’s Tomb underneath his Basilica, to sharing a meal of bread and wine in an excavated Roman apartment while listening to a reading of “a letter from St Paul to the Romans”; from climbing the mountain of Assisi in St Francis’ footsteps to following St Paul’s path along Via Appa, (although I am sure the traffic was not so crazy for him!); these were experiences that brought the learning to life when lectures were linked to rich, in-context experiences that were an inspiration to me as a teacher and cemented my strong belief in creating authentic learning experiences for my students. It was an honour to speak with people and visit places in Rome to which the ordinary visitor to Italy would not have access, and to “go behind the scenes” into the Catholic Church’s hierarchy, only to discover it is just made up of people, like you and me, trying to make a positive difference in the world.

The synergy between study and travel in this context is indescribable, and the multileveled examination of the Catholic Church: its origins, influences, spiritual branches and contemporary direction in the context of such an historic and holy place is something which has allowed me to reflect on my faith and will deeply enhance what I bring to my role in a Catholic school as a leader and classroom practitioner.

‘Traveling with purpose’ to an adult is just as transformational as ‘learning with meaning’ is to the child, and I am proud to note in my reflection on the learning here at JPC that deep, authentic, engaging experiences which bring the content to life for our students are such an integral part of what we do. We (staff and students alike) are fortunate to be part of such a forward-thinking school community that ensures development of the WHOLE person. Use the opportunity the upcoming break has to enjoy learning while you travel on your holiday – even if it’s to the park to kick the ball around!

Have a happy and safe holiday.

Mrs Jennifer Tually
Leader of Learning (Science) and Wellbeing (Ferré House)

At the conclusion of Term 3, I would like to extend my congratulations to all Year 7 Integrated Humanities students who put an incredible amount of effort into his or her Ancient Greek exhibit. We had a spectacular array of artefacts, each demonstrating a unique understanding of Ancient Greek history.

I am particularly proud of those students who undertook the inquiry process with vigour. We set Year 7 the challenge of investigating an artefact without defining the parameters of what they could achieve. What they produced was clearly of his or her own imagining and vision. From swords to shields, coins to jewelry, boats to ancient war machines, there was no shortage of interesting creations.

The following students received honourable mentions for his or her artefact, recognising uniqueness and creativity, hard-work and enthusiasm to do well. I would like to congratulate Alicia J, Kayla B, Briony R, Olivia U, Aiden M, Olivia G, India-Lee G, Michael H, Riley P, Jacob R-S, Tiana H, Lillian D, Fletcher T, and Sequoia F.

Furthermore, I would like to commend Olivia J, Mia M, Nicholas T, and Lucia P for winning awards in the Teacher’s Choice, Master Researcher, and Principal’s Choice categories.

Finally, an overwhelming acclamation to Tia C who was awarded and acknowledged as the Best Exhibit for 2017.

We look forward to what next year will bring. This year will certainly be hard to beat.

Patrick Wood
Integrated Humanities Facilitator

Indigenous Literacy Day:
On Friday 8th of September, I took 15 of our Indigenous students to the National Library of Australia. During Reconciliation Week, the College raised funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to support the importance of reading for all. When we arrived, we found out that us, plus a small group from Holy Spirit were the audience and were extremely lucky to have been invited to attend this event (we had expected more schools). We met the students who traveled from the Kimberley’s and it was the launching of their book - ‘Yakanarra Songbook’ that stole the show. This book is written in language (Walmajarri) and English and the students performed some of the songs with their Elders. We met Alison Lester who worked with the school children in WA to paint pictures to go with all of the songs. If you would like to borrow or have a look at the book please do, it is on my desk until further notice.

Our students were exceptional. They listened to and respected all involved. It was great to see our students engaging with culture and learning about language from the young visitors

AIME Program:
What a cracking day it was to end the Year 9/10 Program for 2017 on Friday the 15th of September. It was wonderful to highlight all the achievements of the students this year and now they can rock those hoodies they've worked so hard for!

Our AIME organiser, Sam Martyn mentioned that he is “so proud of all the students who have really embodied that notion of 'No Shame at AIME' which was evident in the battle of the air bands”.
St John Paul II College performed an outstanding rendition of 'Trouble' by Taylor Swift and won the competition, against all of the other schools there from around the ACT. Credit must go to lead singer Braith Hartfield!
The students were lucky to watch a number of different performances in the afternoon, featuring local talent Jack Biilmann, and listened to an intriguing and inspiring talk from one of Australia’s best and newest talent, Citizen Kay who you will often hear on Triple J.

I want to thank our wonderful students for such a successful term, particularly Somer Gellatly, Owen West, Lucy Cambridge, Braith Hartfield, Isaiah Murray and Ayden Okley who attended the program and represented our College with pride and enthusiasm. A massive thank you to all of the staff who have accompanied our students to the program days this year – Miss Ashlee Turner, Mrs Annie Daley, Mr Alagaysan Chandra Segaran and Miss Cheryl Jones.

The Year 7 and 8 AIME Program day is next term on Friday the 13th of October at the University of Canberra. We look forward to taking our students to this program as they really do embrace the experience and gain a positive understanding about their rich culture.

Miss Elle Boller

ACT Schools Soccer Finals – Years 9 & 10 Boys

On Friday 15 September, I had the pleasure of taking 15 young men from Years 9 & 10 to the ACT Schools Soccer Finals at Mawson. They arrived at the finals after having finished in the top 4 out of 13 schools in the Northside Division and they were now to encounter the top four from the Southside.

First match in JPC’s draw was with their cross-town rivals, Gold Creek High School. It was a good match but we eventually prevailed 2-0. Liam Smith scored a very classy goal in early the minutes of the first half, which left the opposition goalkeeper bamboozled..............

ACT Schools Soccer Finals – Years 7 & 8 Boys

I would like to share with you the fantastic achievement of our Year 7/8 Boys Football (Soccer) team. On Friday, the team competed in the ACT school finals having already won the Northside Competition 2 weeks prior. The boys ended winning the entire competition beating St Mary Mackillop College in the Grand Final. This was a great achievement with over 30 schools entering the two competitions. Please join me in congratulating the boys!

We congratulate Tilly Bean in Year 7 Matthai who has been selected in the ACT Basketball U14 Australian Junior Club Championships team. The team will be travelling to Melbourne for a week in October to play against the best in Australia. Tilly has represented the ACT in basketball for the past three years and this year she was part of the ACT U14 Country Premier League squad. This team took out the title in August! Tilly’s has also been selected in the Pacific School Games team who will be competing for a week in December in Adelaide.

Tilly has worked tirelessly to achieve these accomplishments and her hard work and dedication has paid off.

Congratulations to Feena Wallace who was awarded second in the National Challenge in the novice 2 division of Ice Skating against competitors from all over Australia.

Congratulations to Sebastian Woods, Jakov Matic and Aidan Milicevic who have been selected in the U14 Squad to represent the ACT at the FFA National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour from 22 -29 September. 

"The National Youth Championships are FFA’s primary national football competition for 13 and 14 Years Boys. The competition will see teams from each of the State Federations of the FFA compete over five days.

All three boys are part of the Canberra United Football Academy and have worked extremely hard all year to make the squad.  It is a tough competition and a great opportunity to be seen by National selectors and technical directors from all over Australia.

Last year the ACT finished a close 4th in Group A and they are hoping to do better this year.

Gungahlin Little Athletics

Registrations for the 2017/18 Little Athletics season are now open - http://www.gunlac.org/registration.html

Come and join in the fun at Gungahlin Little Athletics Centre. Fun and friendly athletics in a safe and enjoyable environment.
There’s something for everyone: running, jumping, throws, hurdles, walks.

Who: 4½ to 17 years; for the 2017/18 season we welcome athletes born between 1 Oct 2000 and 31 March 2013.

Season Dates:
The 2017/18 season commences on Saturday 14 October 2017 (season runs across Term 4 and Term 1 of school).
Weekly meets are held at Amaroo Oval, Horsepark Drive (behind Amaroo and Good Shepherd schools) on Saturday mornings from 8.55am to 11.30am.

Registration Details:
Come & Try and Registration Days - Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October 2017, Amaroo Playing Fields, 10.00am - 12.00pm

For more information please visit our website at www.gunlac.org, visit our Facebook page or email enquiries@gunlac.org.au

Chris van Reyk has been a volunteer in Mental Health since around 2003, including presenting as part of Mental Illness Education Australia (MIE ) at schools in the ACT and Qld and have been long concerned at the lack of information for parents on this significant issue affecting  youth.  While there are websites such as Beyond Blue, Chris has found that information from people with a lived experience have a profound effect on the audience and these presentations are meant to supplement those already delivered to schools.

Changes to the Transport Canberra Bus Network, Saturday 7 October 2017

On Saturday 7 October 2017, Transport Canberra will be introducing a revised network and timetable. This change is the first of a series of improvements towards an integrated public transport system in 2018 with the introduction of light rail to the nation’s capital.

This information including new timetables and maps are now available for parents and students to view on the Transport Canberra website – transport.act.gov.au

Learning music can help students’ self-confidence, self-discipline and team work. Music helps students progress in other important learning areas such as Maths and English. Indeed, countries with a strong focus on music education tend to have higher scores in literacy and numeracy. Engaging music programs have been shown to help with attendance and can be particularly beneficial for students who are not achieving well in school.