Dear Parents and Carers,

I can’t believe that we already more than half way through the term and at the close of Week 6. The beginning of the term has been overflowing, not only with establishing the routines of high school, College, new classes and teachers- for our students and staff- but with myriad of events and activities!  The events and activities that have gone on alongside the daily routines have showcased the diversity of gifts, talents and opportunities that are available here at JPC. Our Awards Assembly in Week 4 enabled the community to acknowledge the achievements and application of our current Year 8, 9 and 10 students during Semester 2 2016 across all subject areas and in their respective Houses. This was followed by the celebration of our Opening Mass and commissioning of our 2017 House Leaders. On both of these occasions it was wonderful to observe the contributions of students from different year groups and houses: a true reflection of our entire community. This community spirit was obvious at the College Swimming Carnival and community afternoon that culminated in the highly anticipated war cries.  However, it must be Week 6 because ILT and mentoring have started in earnest; Year 7 have been to camp and returned safely, if not a little tired and soggy; assessment is starting to be issued and be due; and the emotional rollercoaster of tired emotions has set in! Can I use this time to remind families of the assessment alert app as a method for planning assessment. All students completed an assessment planning exercise earlier in the term so they should have a copy of this to have a home. Unit outlines with assessment dates and assessment tasks (other than tests) can also be found on the class pages of Moodle. Planning ILT is also an important aspect of staying on top of assessment here at JPC- accessing teachers and asking questions during this time is the key to successfully managing assessment and classwork.

I have been most excited to begin the Year 11 journey with our senior students this term. I have been overwhelmed by the commitment to their studies that they have shown so early in the two-year process, the support of each other that I have witnessed and the genuine enjoyment of classes has been most humbling to observe. Our Year 11 Conference held during Weeks 4 and 5 centred around the whole-day workshop “Day of Hope: thriving in a complex world” with Glen Gerreyn, a truly inspirational speaker, followed by individual skills workshops and pathways planning. Each of our senior students completed booklets on each of the days that they will be able to refer back to over the course of their Year 11 and 12 journey. We are also blessed this year with a highly qualified careers advisor on staff, Mrs Judy McDonald. The students have already discovered the wealth of knowledge and passion that she possesses in enabling them to investigate their pathway options. We are proud to have two of our students begin Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASBAs) this year in Information Technology, along with a number of our students sit the entry test for the ANU Extension program to begin their university studies in Year 11 and 12.

Whilst our structures are well-known in our own community, our structures are relatively unique in the ACT system. In order to meet the BSSS requirements of 55 hours per course per semester, we need for our senior students to allocate 1 ½ hours of ILT per class that they are studying- this means in Year 11 that all 9 hours of ILT are needed, and it is imperative that students sign in during these lessons. The students should be viewing these times as another lesson where they can choose the time that they access their teachers, seek guidance and support in a one-on-one environment. I have seen many subjects utilising this time for additional tutorials, lectures and excursions- the benefits of such a flexible structure! This week our teachers participated in Moderation Day at various ACT Colleges. This is an excellent opportunity for professional dialogue, resource gathering and being able to develop an understanding of assessment tasks and standards across our system. The ACT is also unique in that it is one of the few jurisdictions in Australia that uses school-based assessment rather than external examinations in the development of Year 12 Certificate and ATAR.

I think that after such a hectic start to the year we are all in need of a long weekend. I wish you all a restful weekend as we move into the final weeks of the term.

Rachel Francis-Davies
Assistant Principal

We were extremely pleased to read the Canberra Times article earlier this week highlighting the very good growth and improvements that JPC students demonstrated in their NAPLAN results last year. In the areas of Writing and Numeracy our Year 9 students of 2016 (current Year 10 students) had the fifth highest gain in these domains from Year 7 to Year 9 amongst all ACT High Schools. The results of NAPLAN are a valuable tool for us to use here at the College in determining targeted teaching and learning strategies and in informing our Literacy and Numeracy plans.

The NAPLAN tests this year will be completed on-line. More details about these tests will be available in Term 2.

The season of Lent has begun, and the 40 days leading to Easter offer us all an opportunity to take stock of our relationship with God, and of the times where we have failed to love as Jesus taught us. In a special way during Lent, Christians are called to three paths of action: to pray more, to go without, and to give to others.

Each year, our community gives generously to Project Compassion, the major aid agency of Caritas Australia. In 2017, the theme for Project Compassion is “Love your neighbour”, inspiring students and the wider community to take up the gospel’s call to treat others as we wish to be treated and to create a more just society for all. Last week, four of our student leaders attending the inspiring launch of this year’s campaign at St. Clare’s College, and on Wednesday, students from Maathai House were privileged to listen to two guest speakers, Ms. Lulu Mitshabu from Caritas Australia, and Semiti from Fiji, who shared stories about the practical applications that Project Compassion has for the lives of people living in vulnerable communities around the world. These speakers gave our students powerful insights into how our donations, and love for our neighbours, can transform lives. Last year the JPC community generously donated over $3,400 to Project Compassion. Each morning in Lent, we encourage students to contribute donations to build our tally for this year, with our aim to reach $4000.

To help bring the theme closer to home, we have been sharing the Project Compassion focus stories in Religious Education classes. These help us to recognise the grassroots projects that Project Compassion aids around the globe. Students throughout our community have been reflecting on their own family stories, reflecting on the idea that we all come from somewhere, and that it is the diversity of our stories and our cultural heritage that adds to the beauty and richness of our school. Each of these stories, representing over 45 countries around the globe, creates an important brick in a path towards unity that we have created on our Chapel walls. At a time when political leaders in Australia, and beyond, are using fear to create walls that divide us, our ‘path to unity’ reminds us that a far more powerful tool is love. It’s hard to feel hatred for a person when you have truly heard their story.

It is our hope that during Lent, students at JPC can continue to grow in their understanding of the great lessons that Jesus teaches - when we learn to love our neighbour, no matter where they are from, we can transform the world. One brick at a time.

Mrs. Nicola Edghill
Coordinator – Religious Education

On Wednesday JPC took out four representative teams to compete in the annual Brumbies 7s Gala Day. All teams played fantastically and were extremely competitive. Both the 7/8 and 9/10 boys played in the semifinals, narrowly going down which was a huge effort considering that most boys were a year younger in their age groups. Stand out performers for the boys were Troy Putland who scored 14 tries in their four games on the day as well as Deacon Palombi who was tenacious in defense and had a hand in nearly every try the 7/8’s team scored.

Both 7/8 and 9/10 Girls teams again competed fantastically. Both teams were made of a majority of younger students for the age groups and it was a testament to their courage to play teams with much larger numbers of players. Standout players for the girls were Isabel Hendon, Jasmine Kelley and Abbie Forrester who all played large minutes and played skillfully in each game. In the 7/8 Girls team all of the girls played well with Mia McGovern claiming player of the final which was a massive effort as the girls were beaten by two tries.
I would like to congratulate these students on their efforts and commitment. Each student represented the college with pride and demonstrated great sportsmanship.

Nic Whatman

My name is Emily Watt and I am one third of the coordinating leadership performing arts team here at JPC. I alongside Danijela Bodo and Brie Pilicic are heading up a team of students who are passionate about music, dance and drama. I feel extremely excited to be given this opportunity because we, as a student voice, have the chance to shape and develop the culture of performing arts at our school.

At John Paul II College we take pride in valuing and supporting the performing arts in our community and within our school, we have many talented students who enjoy all the school has to offer in music, dance and drama and we are extremely excited to support and be in partnership with Kulture Break and their new project “Elevate”. Elevate is a new mentoring pathway for up and coming singers and dancers, it will provide youth performers with opportunities in developing contacts and relationships with professionals working within the industry. We are very excited to support this model as its in keeping with the mentoring philosophy we have here at JPC.

On Wednesday the 8th Kulture Break in partnership with JPC launched their elevate program at our school. The event attracted politicians- Zed Seselja (Senator for ACT) and Gai Brodtmann (Federal MP for Canberra), Timomatic (Australia’s Got Talent and TV Celebrity), Amber Nichols (The Voice Runner Up), and Ben Stockbridge (Owner of McDonalds Erindale, ). As you can imagine the leadership team were very excited to organise and meet these inspirational people. 100 of our students enjoyed a number of performances and meeting, in particular Timomatic who was extremely friendly and engaging. After the introductions we had an opportunity to chat and get inspiration from these talents, we also got to give Tim a tour around the school (with many stops for his Instagram story), as you can imagine it caused quite a stir within the school. Overall, it was a great event and it was a pleasure to be a part of it!

I am extremely excited about the up and coming year in supporting performing arts at the school. Our first whole school will be kicking off on Tuesday of week 10, with our night of JPC stars. Watch this space, the performing arts leadership team will be sending out more information about this night very shortly.

On Thursday morning, 37 students of Year 8, 9 and 10 from JPC studying French had the opportunity to go to the National Gallery of Australia. They had the unique chance to experience the life, culture and art of Versailles without having to go all the way to France!

The exhibition ‘Versailles – Treasures from the palace ‘was extraordinary to see here in Canberra. The students went through the galleries with four fabulous guides and they learnt about this fascinating and often tumultuous period in French history.

Merci à toutes et à tous.
Messieurs Battaglia et Schlomka

Join other Parents, Principals, Education Leaders at the upcoming Parent Engagement Forum specifically focussing on how you can support your child’s wellbeing and learning.

The forum will include a presentation by leading Adolescent and Child Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. For more information see the flyer below and to register click on the link on the flyer.