Dear Parents and Carers,

Our Catholic low-fee inclusive model of schooling is under threat!

If the Gonski 2.0 model proposed by the Federal Government becomes law, significant changes to the Catholic systemic schooling system will be inevitable.  We need to do everything in our power to keep the 150 year old tradition of Catholic schooling in Australia viable and aligned to its original principles.

In the ACT alone, we will face funding cuts over 10 years of over $50 million dollars.  Given the cost of living increases over this time and the cost of indexing staff salaries alone, the system will need to prioritise efficiency over inclusivity.  This is a situation that none of us wants.  It will inevitably mean higher fees, reduced ability to provide fee concessions for those who are unable to afford the fees leading to a much less inclusive student population.

The Catholic systemic systems across Australia are fighting this – no more so than in our own archdiocese of Canberra –Goulburn.  As families who value Catholic education, it is vital that your voice is heard.

 We can:

• follow our Catholic Education Office on Facebook and Twitter.  We are assured that the politicians are all following what is happening on the CE Website and Facebook and Twitter accounts and the more followers and “likes” they receive, the more powerful the message is.
• visit the CE website for videos of our Director Ross Fox each week as he updates us on developments.
• write, email or phone the Federal Education Minister, Simon Birmingham’s Office to make your concerns heard.
• contact our local politicians in the same way.

Finally, a groundswell of support will only come about if we all talk to others – friends, colleagues, other families in the community - about the impact that this will have on our ability to continue to provide an inclusive, high quality low fee education for all.

I am happy to discuss the detail of this with anyone who has questions or queries.

Thank you all for your ongoing support of Catholic Education.  I urge you to take action to prevent irrevocable changes to Catholic education as we know it in Australia in the future.

Catherine Rey

“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso once famously proclaimed. There are a lot of misconceptions floating around about the Arts. Some think you have to be creating paintings or choreographing dance motifs to be considered a ‘real artist’. Others believe that you are either born with talent — or not. Many feel that because they aren’t particularly good at something, there is little point in pursuing a creative art; why bother? But we are all born with an innate desire to express ourselves and art encompasses a wider range of activities than you may have ever imagined. There are so many varieties of music, art, movement and drama possibilities.

Creative expression can have a huge impact on your mental and physical health; contributing towards happier healthier lifestyle. Creative Arts can relieve stress, encourage critical and creative thinking, boost self-esteem and increase brain cognition. We are all innately creative; art is for everyone.

At St John Paul ll College, we have creative talent and expression in abundance. It would appear that the fundamental, underlying pedagogical principles of the school is a great environment in cultivating creative expression and artistry.

Faye Robertson

Coordinator Van Thuan

Performing Arts Evening

At the end of last term, the student Performing Arts Leaders collaborated with the Performing Arts teachers in producing ‘An evening with JPC Stars.’ This evening was a celebration of individual expression, students demonstrated their talent and passion, producing a wonderfully diverse and entertaining show. In Week 7 (Wednesday 7th June, 5.30-6.30) of this term, the Performing Arts Team will be showcasing, DREAM. This evening will be very different to any other, every act is a collaboration across varying areas of Performing Arts, which have been specifically designed in co-curricular clubs/activities. DREAM performance night will be captivating, entertaining and thrilling.

Excursions: Orb, Sydney Dance Company

The Dance faculty is very excited to offer the opportunity to all students studying Senior Dance as well as prospective students, the chance to watch the Sydney Dance Company, Contemporary Dance show ‘Orb’ at Canberra Theatre (Friday 26th May).
Orb – a world premiere featuring the latest creation from Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, and the Company’s first ever collaboration with a Taiwanese choreographer, Cheng Tsung-lung. Bonachela’s Ocho, meaning eight in Spanish, marks his eighth year with the Company and showcases eight virtuosic dancers. Fusing an industrial dreamscape with a surging electronic score by Nick Wales featuring haunting vocals by Aboriginal singer Rrawun Maymuru of the Mangalili clan, Ocho explores the infinite connections that exist between us all. Full Moon by Cheng Tsung-lung, the Artistic Director of Taiwan’s phenomenal Cloud Gate 2, completes the double bill. This striking new piece harnesses the power of the moon and the mythology and poetry of mankind to thrill the audience.
“Living in our modern world, the vibrant city lights have endlessly fascinated me and occupied the interspaces of my sight and feelings at night. On the contrary, the moon, nature’s symbolic beauty of night, shines light into my eyes and helps me uncover the mysteries of the unconscious world which I do not know, yet I feel exist” (Cheng Tsung-lung).
Dance students will be given the opportunity to meet the Creative Director and cast members in a close group question and answer session. It would be fair to say that the Dance students are very excited to watch this unique work of art next Friday and to gain some insight into the creative process.

Drama: First Act   

Miss Keane and the large group of drama students that have been attending the co-curricular club “First Act’ are in the process of creating pieces for the DREAM performance night (Week7) and the Drama Showcase (Week 9). The drama students have been committed and diligent in developing their repertoire under the guidance and expertise of Miss Keane. We are all very excited to see the final product in the up and coming performance evenings.

On Thursday, 16 Defence Students from Years 7 and 8 joined forces with Defence Students from Merici, Canberra Girls Grammar, Amaroo and Campbell High School.  The day was a wonderful opportunity for our students to meet other students living their unique lifestyle and hopefully make some new friends.  As usual, the students took little amount of time to befriend each other and work together solving problems and conquering their fears. Their fears of heights, fears of letting go and learning to trust each other.  

We were very blessed with the beautiful weather and it enhanced our active day with the students swinging on the giant swing, sailing through the air on the flying fox and climbing to great heights with ropes and ladders.  A big thank you to our Year 10 Students Christian and Jackson who took on the leadership role with not only our students but with students from the other schools.

Our Defence Students were a credit to JPC with their behaviour and willingness to assist all students and learning new skills.

Vicki Walsh

DTM

Over the last few weeks, students in their SOSE lessons have been working on their own individual inquiry project. Their aim was to develop their own question around their year group’s depth study, The Middle Ages for Year 8, WW1 for Year 9, and WW2 for Year 10. As part of their assignments, they have been creating their own Museum Exhibit which will be displayed alongside their peers work.

Parents and members of the school community are invited to come and visit the JPC Museum. The Museum will be open after school from 3:30pm to 4:30pm from Thursday the 25th of May to Tuesday 30th of May for parents who wish to see their student’s work displayed. The work will be displayed in sections with a Middle Ages room, a WW1 room, and a WW2, room. If you have any questions, please contact Mr Stakelum or your child’s SOSE teacher.

I encourage all parents to come and see the excellent work their child is producing.

Liam Stakelum
Coordinator Drexel

The focus of the Parent Engagement Forum, hosted by the Catholic Education Office a couple of weeks ago, was to reiterate that Catholic schools are there to support us, the parents, the family, in the education of our children.

Our offspring sometimes seem like a curious breed.  Much as many of us think we have a handle on behaviour and a good understanding of our kids, nobody can deny the moments when we look at our offspring with our heads tilted to one side and wonder how what they just said could actually pass their lips.  After all, we are raising them as we were raised and we didn’t say things like that…  Did we?!

The guest speaker at the forum was Michael Carr-Gregg, Adolescent Psychologist; here’s some of the wisdom he shared.