Dear Parents and Carers,

I am absolutely delighted to be working with such a fantastic group of students and the wonderful, hardworking staff at St John Paul II College. In the 6 weeks I have been employed at St John Paul II I have discovered that thought and deliberation has gone into our Foundation Keys, the design of our learning spaces and the teaching and learning. It is very clear the JPC is and will continue to be a trailblazer in 21st College education in the ACT, and I am extremely excited by the opportunities and challenges ahead. I feel that our Foundation Keys will continue to guide both Staff and Students in what we do within the walls of the College and beyond. Having this foundation point we can continue to develop critical thinking, Christian decision making and resilience in our Students.

Week 4 at St John Paul II College has turned out to be exciting and eventful. I have been particularly impressed with the Year 7 Cohort and the way that they have confronted the change of secondary school and many challenges of starting at St John Paul II.  

In this message, I would like to introduce myself, give you some insight into my background and current role, and outline details of the upcoming, exciting events at our school.

I joined JPC this year as Maathai House and Technology Coordinator and have found our school community to be very unique. As the weeks and numerous events have unfolded, I have been able to get to know students and their families and am impressed with the calibre of young people with which we are blessed at our school – a credit to you, their parents and carers, as their first and most influential teachers. I look forward to getting to know you and working with you to achieve excellent educational outcomes for your children.

My Background:

I worked as a furniture maker and designer and in the exhibition preparation industry, completing works for the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia after graduating from the Australian National University. Here I completed a Bachelor of Arts degree. I then returned to University to undertake my teaching studies. In 2005 I was thrust into the teaching profession teaching at Marist College Canberra, both in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Tertiary academics through Engineering, Furniture Making, and Construction.

In 2008 I relocated to Melbourne to head the Design Technology department at Marcellin College. Here I also coached the First XV Rugby Union team and was the Master in Charge of Rugby. While in Melbourne I took on further study in Sports Administration and had a focus on community development through sport and I also worked the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby bid and the Victorian Rugby Union representative and development programs. During my time in Melbourne my wife and I had our first child and we relocated back to Canberra to be closer to our families. In 2010 I took up a position at St Edmund’s College Canberra as the head of the Technology and Applied Studies faculty. During my employment I also moved into the Vocational Education and Training coordinator role.

For 2015, I took up a role at St John’s College Woodlawn on the far north coast of NSW. Here I was the Leader of Learning, Vocational Education Coordinator and a Rugby Union coach. I enjoyed living in the small coastal town of Lennox Head. I have developed a love for travel from a young age and have been blessed with many tours with sporting and school groups. I have particularly enjoyed an indigenous focus immersion to Burke NSW with REMAR while at Marcellin College and in 2011 I travelled to India to work with the Chetanalaya organisation which has many wonderful programs to help with poverty with focus on a society where equality, justice and peace are achieved and sustained.

Throughout my career, one of the rewarding things to hear is about past student’s achievements in their areas of industry, study and hobbies. The modern day construct of our education system must prepare our students for roles and challenges which, we as teachers cannot even perceive in an ever changing technological world. Which is daunting and exciting for both teachers and students. Our core business is to prepare your children for productive and fulfilled lives within their chosen community. I have had the pleasure of witnessing the direct benefits to students with development of life-long-learning skills, employability skills and resilience through engagement in Vocational Education and Training (VET).  It is a very exciting and positive time at JPC, particularly for our Year 10 cohort. As they are beginning to make decisions about future studies and even life beyond College it is important that pathways and goals are set. I have 100% confidence that every student will thrive in our JPC Senior Studies courses in 2017-18 and beyond. The Mentoring and pathways planning offered to your children at JPC will be difficult to surpass elsewhere. If it is an academic or vocational pathway your child focuses on we will aim to excel in every area. The developments and planning for VET at the College have been thorough and robust and we look forward to sharing with you in later weeks the scope of the delivery of VET courses for 2017. 

Exciting times ahead!

David O’Brien

Maathai House and Technology Coordinator

Aboriginal PLP Evening & Freedom Rides:

Miss Elle Boller organised and hosted the Aboriginal students Personalised Learning Plan evening on Wednesday. It was fantastic to see the parents and guardians meet mentor teachers, and providing it was mainly about setting student goals, the atmosphere was positive and an excellent opportunity for valuable conversations.

Miss Boller also highlighted this week Charles Perkins Freedom Rides which saw 29 University of Sydney students visit regional NSW towns in an attempt to bring to the nation's attention the discrimination against Aboriginal people, to shine a light on poor Aboriginal health, housing and education, and to try to stimulate local action. The original Freedom Ride was instigated entirely by students. Miss Boller also hosted the SBS documentary screening in the Theatre at lunch on Friday which gave students the opportunity and awareness to begin our Close the Gap campaign. Miss Boller is in the planning stages of many other wonderful activities with the Month of March focusing on Closing The Gap, and I encourage you to keep an eye out for the details in the next few weeks.

Stepping Up Information Evening:

Thursday evening saw the College host the “Stepping Up” Information evening. This was an informative session which was targeted at both Parents and Year 9 Students. The evening session covered the many topics to help empower students to achieve their best. The increased complexity of schooling in areas of academics and social relationships and organisation were covered, along with helpful tricks for parents with the Moodle platform. These events hosted by the College are valuable opportunities for Students and Parents to gain further insights into life at JPC and academic and welfare topics. I would like to thank our expert panel of presenters for their efforts. 

Semester 2 2015 Awards Ceremony:

On Wednesday the College had the pleasure of joining together with members of our community to recognise and celebrate the outstanding effort and achievements of academic performance of our students and the teachers that support them. We also acknowledged those students within our Houses that continue to stand out for positive and uplifting acts of thoughtfulness and community spirit. It is an import function in our College calendar and I would like to again offer my congratulations to the recipients of these special awards.

Canberra Raiders Visit JPC:

On Tuesday afternoon we had some special visitors in Blake Austin, Shaun Fensom and Adam Kyle who are part of the National Rugby League team the Canberra Raiders. Our Year 9 and 10 students we lucky enough to meet these sports stars an hear personal stories about their youth and experiences which led them to where they are today. The session was based around the initiative ‘Dream, Believe and Achieve’ program developed by the Canberra Raiders to encourage students to set realistic goals and then achieve them through believing in themselves, dedication and hard work. The experience allowed students to see an insight into the importance of setting goals and following their dreams whether they be academic, working, within the community or sporting. On behalf of St John Paul II College we would just like to thank Blake, Shaun, Adam and the Canberra Raiders for this unique opportunity to allow our students to gain valuable knowledge on the importance of setting goals and following their dreams.

JPC Netball Club:

Firstly a huge thank you to all the students who participated in the trials for our St John Paul II College netball teams. At this stage we are looking at fielding possibly six teams which is double from last year. We have sent out information packs, coaches sign-up forms, umpire sign-up forms and information regarding payments to the students who have put themselves down to play  for St John Paul II College in the NCNC weekend competition this year. With the upcoming netball season nearly upon us we need to get our teams and payments organised so we are ready for round one. If parents/carers could please ensure that these forms are handed back into the school as soon as possible and also inform us if you played for a different club last year it would be much appreciate as team nominations need too be sent to NCNC by next Friday.

If you are still interested in playing Netball for JPC please contact our St John Paul II College Netball convener Kylie Greenwood woodgreen@bigpond.com or myself on nicholas.whatman@cg.catholic.edu.au. If you have any questions please feel free to email either Kylie or myself.

Sustainability Focus Groups:

As a new initiative for sustainable practise at JPC we have introduced a Sustainability Focus session for each student to attend through out the year. Each week we will be taking turns in our Pastoral groups, on a Thursday morning to go out into garden. The students will also be improving their recycling knowledge, learn about our worms, kitchen/canteen philosophies and other exciting projects happening at JPC!

As we are a growing school with many different facets of sustainability we believe this is a valuable learning opportunity for our students!  So quiz your kids and see what they learn from their session.

Moderation Day:

Moderation day is on Tuesday 1 March. This is a pupil free day. As you can appreciate, in a new school, setting aside time for teachers to work collaboratively and develop high quality educational programs is critical to the learning that happens for our students. Moderation Day is action packed for teachers and we will be working on formative assessment and leadership and mentoring. 

Year 7 Camp:

Our Year 7s are getting ready for their three-day camp and we sincerely thank parents for their support in this important bonding experience for our new students. The benefits to students in attending camps of this nature cover a spectrum from developing independence in a safe environment to making new friends and; most importantly, achieving a sense of personal success from undertaking new and challenging experiences. Year 7 Camp is on Wednesday. There is an equipment list on Moodle under permission notes for parents, please ensure that every item on the list is packed. It is essential that your child has a hat, sunscreen and two 1 liter water bottles (large bottles are fine). Year 7 students should also pack morning tea for the first morning as there is no food provided.

Students will need to be at the school, no later than 7:30am. If your child has any medical requirements, please place them in a ziplock sandwich bag with your child’s name, House group, and instructions for administering the medicine. Please try and label all equipment and clothing! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Our deepest appreciation goes to Mr Liam Stakelam for the enormous time and energy expended in the organisation of such an experience and the team of teachers who will be giving up time from their families to fend for themselves over the three days! We look forward to hearing their exciting stories form this wonderful activity.