We have had, without doubt, a hugely busy and productive semester! It is so rewarding for me to see our students (and staff!) challenge themselves and grow in so many different ways. It has been a time of great success, both for individuals and groups academically, and also in our co-curricular areas of sport, performing arts, our many social justice initiatives and in many other arenas. I would like to thank all of our families for their support of us in so many ways and to thank our members of staff who are so generous in stepping up for our students, going above and beyond, to enable our students to enjoy such a diversity of experiences and to challenge themselves in so many different ways.

I wish you all a very restful break and some lovely family times and look forward to working together in Term 3.

Catherine Rey

Normally celebrated in term 3, NAIDOC week 2018 fell on the last week of term 2. This worked beautifully as we were able to participate in activities free from the pressures of rigorous academic study! The theme for NAIDOC this year is ‘Because of Her, We Can’. JPC embraced this with house assemblies respectfully acknowledging the strong women in our lives – and centred around our new Indigenous recycled mats! Kennedy house trumped the ‘3 minutes to win it’ contest naming the greatest number of inspirational Aboriginal Australian women. We also practised Indigenous meditation and the healing power of ‘deep listening’ ‘dadirri’.

Throughout the week we ran a poster competition to celebrate inspirational Australian Aboriginal Women, and many staff agreed that some of our students’ entries rivalled the official NAIDOC poster, designed by Cheryl Moggs, a Bigambul woman from Goondiwindi.

It was very humbling to view the students’ artwork and their ‘journey’ and also very difficult to make such a hard decision, but the winners (okay, too hard to choose just one!) and proud recipients of the brand new AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) Hoodies were year 9 student, Alexandra Mencshelyi who drew inspiration from her time in the Northern Territory, and year 7 students Isobel Randell-Sly and Alexandra Skudder for their stunning drawing. The posters are proudly displayed in the JPC foyer for all to enjoy.

We were privileged to have Caprice Barnes grandmother, Margaret Saunders visit our Indigenous group on Thursday and share her experience with us, joining in the pebble painting for our Indigenous garden and enjoying our delicious bush tucker inspired morning tea.

Kangaroo Kofta Rolls with bush tomato relish and Lemon Mrytle dampers were also available in the canteen for adventurous gourmands.

The week concluded with our Indigenous students heading to Manuka for the official CE mass and a moving smoking ceremony, a lovely way to end the NAIDOC week celebrations. Many thanks to the entire JPC community for their active participation and support of this very important week in the Australian calendar. Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday.

Annie Daley
Aboriginal Contact Teacher

As you are all aware, we are a very proud part of Holy Spirit Parish and the Parish supports us in many ways as we work together to help our young people develop into the best that they can be.

It is only with the financial assistance of the members of our communities that the Parish is able to continue the wonderful work it does with our young people and their families. A letter from Fr Mark and the Principals of the four Catholic schools in Gungahlin is available on the JPC website. It sets out in more detail the work that the Parish does for us and also contains the forms needed to enable you to contribute regularly to the Parish.

Thank you so much for your generous support of our Gungahlin community and of us in this way.

Catherine Rey

Thank you all again for your very generous support of myself and of the 150 students who slept out on that exceptionally cold night recently. I am delighted to let you know that we have raised $9875.00 this year - a WONDERFUL result.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who contributed to this incredibly worthwhile event. Of course, you can still make donations (to help us reach the $10,000 goal that we had set!):

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/catherine-rey/canberra

Year 10 students have spent three days this week engaging in activities related to their Senior studies and decision-making about possible pathways for the future. Our main aim was to highlight the choices available to them and to encourage them to be open-minded to the possibilities.

The week began with an overview of the ACT Senior Secondary System before a Q&A session with some current Year 11 students. Other activities saw them considering their dream careers and exploring skill sets that could be beneficial in finding pathways that might suit them.

The Leaders of Learning provided students with information about the Senior courses in their subject areas, while two informative sessions run by Elevate Education focused on study skills and time management, essential skills for Senior study. We were very fortunate to have representatives from nine Tertiary providers presenting information about the wide range of opportunities available to them after school, and how to pursue these pathways. Keith Cantlie, Managing Director of Cantlie Recruitment and HR Solutions, gave the students some advice about what employers are looking for before the students spent the final session contemplating their subject selections and future options.

It was great to see how well the students engaged with the activities and really gave a lot of thought to the decisions they will be making over the coming months and years. Our sincere thanks go to the staff who worked with them during the small group sessions and the students appreciated the suggestions and advice their teachers were able to give them.

We look forward to continuing these conversations with the students in Semester 2.

Madeleine Harley and Ian Pettit
Transition Week Coordinators

This week during Independent Learning Time, a group of year 9's from
Outdoor Education had a fun-filled hour spent with the year 6 group
from Holy Spirit Primary.

We were given the opportunity to share the skills we had learnt throughout the semester in this elective in a fun and interactive way. Groups worked together to take on the challenge of making activities that were not only informative but enjoyable for the year 6 students. The activities ranged from knot tying to mapping. One of the kids favourite activities was the knot tying game. The kids enjoyed learning the different types of knots and then having a competition to see who could correctly tie the knot the fastest.

It was a great opportunity to share what we have learnt during the semester with kids and hopefully, they have a better appreciation that exploring the outdoors instead of being on their devices can be a fun and enjoyable experience.

Leah Vroomans, Year 9

During the night we had many performances including some solo acts some bands and even some duets! The audience really seemed to enjoy the performance and at intermission, they were entertained by more music.

Backstage everyone was full of energy, getting excited and entertaining each other in some weird ways. All of the students were very encouraging and showed lots of support for other acts.

The second half of the night didn’t run as smoothly as the first, with some technical difficulties and a last minute joke, but that couldn’t stop the rest of the acts from performing at their best.

Overall all the students involved in the production had a lot of fun and were very thankful to the teachers and staff who made it possible for all of us to perform. We appreciate the effort everyone puts into the performing arts program and enjoy learning new things and encountering new experiences from this program.

Natasja Shearman, Year 8

On Thursday 5th July we had John Burgess come and teach a group of students the bass guitar. He talked about the notes and how to play them. Everyone that attended got to have a go on the bass guitar. We learnt a song with just basic notes and at the end, we all had a jam. This was a very fun and interesting workshop.

Thanks to John Burgess and Miss Robinson for bringing this workshop together.

Jayden Robinson, Year 7

I would like to explore some new venues for excursions for our Defence students for Semester 2. If you are aware of any activities or tours which may be suitable for our students at your workplace (ADFA, Duntroon etc) please contact me. Any new experiences which could expand and challenge our students’ learning would be extremely welcome.  Thank you.

Are you looking for something to do over the school holidays?

Battle of Hamel VR Experience
The Australian War Memorial is bringing the French countryside to life in order to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 2018.  You can experience a 10-minute interactive digital experience, viewed via a VR headset and headphones in the Memorial’s BAE Systems Theatre.  The VR Battle of Hamel experience opens today, 22 June and runs until 22 July at the AWM.  Bookings are recommended to avoid disappointment.  To reserve your free ticket online, please use the link www.awm.gov.au/hamelvr

Australian War Memorial Follow the link to find information regarding the AWM’s variety of public programs in the events section of their website. Highlighted below are some programs that you may be interested. https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/events

Skating At Canberra Held in Garema Place in Canberra city, Skating At offers a unique winter wonderland ice skating experience in the heart of the city. Garema Place transforms into an ice skating rink and runs every day from 29 June – 22 July 2018. For further details follow the link http://canberra.skatingat.com.au/

To find out about more activities happening in the July school holidays follow the link. https://www.holidayhappenings.com.au/

Doin’ Dinner is a rotating monthly dinner for Defence partners at different restaurants in the Canberra region. Get along and enjoy a meal out and meet new people.  This is a child‐free event.
When: Thursday, 26 July, 7pm-10pm
Where: The George Harcourt Inn, 3 Gold Creek Road, Nicholls
Cost: meal/drinks are own responsibility
Rsvp:  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/doin-dinner-canberra-tickets-46788753421

For more information about what is happening for Defence Families around Canberra, make sure you head to DCO’s website for the DCO’s eNews!  www.defence.gov.au/DCO

Wishing everyone a very safe and relaxing break and I look forward to working with your children next term.

Vicki Walsh
DTM

Most parents of adolescent children would be aware of the online game, ‘Fortnite’. For many young people, the addictive nature of this game is having adverse effects on children’s behaviour and affecting their mental health. With over 125 million registered players worldwide, this game encourages players to battle each other to death using a variety of weaponry.

With an age rating of 13+, this game raises many cybersafety concerns. Unfortunately, it allows unmoderated chat between players, leaving children exposed to be contactable by 'randomers' online. This function alone makes it unsuitable for primary aged children.

In light of last week’s announcement from the World Health Organisation now recognising “gaming disorder” as a mental health issue, this special report will help parents gain a greater insight into Fortnite and the concerns surrounding it. Parents are encouraged to reassess their gaming allowances and better manage technology usage at home.

If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information.

The Special Report is available: http://sjglb.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/online-game-fortnite-special-report