Welcome back to Term 4! The students have settled back to school well and we look forward to a productive term. Our thoughts are particularly with our Year 12 students as they complete their final six weeks of class before facing exams. I encourage them to keep up their efforts over these last weeks. The work they will complete during this time can make a vital difference to their final result. We look forward to supporting them in this.

I had a wonderful five weeks' leave, with very rewarding personal and professional experiences and would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made my time away possible. In particular, I would like to thank Mrs Stephanie O'Meara who filled the Principal role so impressively during my absence and Mrs Nicola Edghill, who stepped into Mrs O'Meara's Assistant Principal role, working so generously with the Leadership Team in that capacity. My visits to Self-Directed Learning schools in Canada, as well as discussions with academics in Canada, France and Hong Kong, were very fruitful and are already leading to most beneficial professional conversations which in turn will lead to further improvements within the College.

We are delighted to welcome back Mrs Faye Robertson after a year away on maternity leave. I would like to sincerely thank Ms Sarah Keane for her work in the role of Leader of Learning and Wellbeing, looking after Van Thuan House and the Arts since the beginning of the year. 

I would like to congratulate Mr Liam Stakelum who has been successful in gaining an Assistant Principal position at Marist College from the beginning of next year. Liam has been with us for the last five years, both in a middle manager role and, this year, as Assistant Principal. His new position at Marist is a newly created position to drive improvements in teaching and learning in that College and it is a great credit to Liam that he has been successful in this. We will miss him greatly but, equally, I feel proud that JPC is creating innovative and visionary leaders.

Mrs Catherine Rey

Next Friday is a significant day for the College community as we gather to celebrate the feast of our patron, St. John Paul II. The day will commence with introductory activities during normal Pastoral Care time, followed by a whole school mass in the hall commencing at 10am. Parents and friends are most welcome to join us for this Eucharistic celebration. Following mass and morning tea, our College Leaders will be running the inaugural Feast Day Championship, where Houses will be competing in a range of sporting competitions. Our day will conclude with the annual Feast Day Fair, where PC groups will be running a range of exciting stalls for students to participate in.

Students are required to wear full school uniform for the start of the day but are most welcome to change into their PE uniforms at recess in order to participate in the afternoon’s festivities. The day will start and end at normal school time, and all students are expected to be in attendance. We look forward to celebrating this important community event together next Friday.

Mrs Nicola Edghill
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing

On Tuesday the 16th of October, Mr Pettit took Hugh Dawson, Emily Watt, Georgia Wallace and myself to the grounds of Parliament house to participate in a “Save the Refugees” Rally. The rally was supported by close to three hundred people representing a country and regional parts of Australia, with representatives travelling from Cairns, Central Victoria, South-West WA and Darwin. These people came from all across Australia to unite and protest the treatment and incarceration of refugees and asylum seekers of all ages in the off-shore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island.

Speakers from Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), the Australian Medical Association, The Uniting Church of Australia and countless other organisations spoke of the horrific nature of the “lives” children lead in the detention centres. They highlighted the psychological and mental illness that children were developing. These include - but are not limited to - depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Resignation Syndrome. These illnesses are often developed in children under 10 years old – younger than a year 4 student – and lead to self-harm, withdrawal and suicide.

The movement called for action from the Federal Government to change the laws regarding the off-shore processing of asylum seekers and refugees as well as the removal of over 80 children and their families to be brought into Australia and resettled in rural and country communities.

Our students today demonstrated a wonderful sense of social justice and empathy, being among the most passionate in the crowd. They formed strong relationships with the students from St Francis de Sales Regional College and collectively were a force of strength and unity to be reckoned with, often leading the chants during various parts of the event. Emily, Hugh and Georgia all demonstrated a wonderful embodiment of our school values, having the courage within themselves to step up and call for justice and peace on a real and present social issue. They all represented the College with immense pride and passion.

I personally found the rally extraordinarily eye-opening. Many of the speakers recounted horrific experiences that not only they had been through but that they had witnessed. I was taken aback by the vast demographic that turned out to show its support, representing so much of our nation from high school students all the way through to retirees, each bringing their own diverse religious, geographic and social backgrounds. To see such varying support for the issue and such open arms to those who are less fortunate than ourselves was heart-warming.

Can you do something? Absolutely. The following Liberal Party Federal Ministers from the House of Representatives are trying to put forward a motion to parliament to immediately release the children in detention. If you want to show your support you can email, phone or write letters of support to these politicians. If they were able to receive a positive response from the public, it may inspire more positive change and that would be awesome.

Craig Laundy, https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=247130

Julia Banks
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=18661

Russell Broadbent
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=MT4

The four of us would like to thank Mr Pettit for organising such a wonderful opportunity for us all. While we were very passionate and there wasn’t an awful lot to enjoy, seeing so many communities and organisations stand in support of the refugees and asylum seekers in the detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island was incredible.

Damon van Putten, College Captain

Justin began his music studies at the age of five, learning piano and cornet. Pursuing a career as a professional trumpet player, Justin studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music graduating with a Bachelor of Music with Honours in 1999.

In 1999, Justin joined the Australian Defence Force as a professional musician and has held appointments to the Australian Army Bands in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney, Wagga Wagga and the Band of the Royal Military College in Canberra.

As an orchestral trumpet player, Justin has been a regular guest performer with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Philharmonia, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and has recorded the orchestral soundtracks to numerous Australian and international films and television commercials with the Sydney Scoring Orchestra. Justin has also been engaged to perform with artists such as Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Natalie Cole, George Benson, Tina Arena, Kate Miller Heidke, The Whitlams, Lior, Little Patti, Normie Rowe, Megan Washington.

Justin now lives in Canberra and earns his living as a professional freelance musician and music educator. Justin is the acting principal trumpet of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the principal trumpet of the National Pops Orchestra, a Performing Teaching Fellow at the School of Music of the Australian National University, an Australian Music Examinations Board examiner and is a reserve member of the Band of the Royal Military College. As a brass pedagogue, Justin contributes to the instrumental band programmes as an instrumental music teacher and band conductor in a number of schools in the Canberra region.

Aron Lyons

During the school holiday, the College was notified that another student was confirmed to have whooping cough.

Students who have not been vaccinated should take particular notice of the following advice from the ACT Department of Health.

Students who have been vaccinated according to the normal schedule should be fine but should also note the advice.

• Anyone with a cough or any other respiratory symptoms should see their General Practitioner (GP) for medical assessment.
• Any person who is confirmed as having pertussis should be excluded from school/childcare/work/social activities until they are no longer infectious (i.e. have been coughing for more than 3 weeks or have completed five days of an appropriate antibiotic).
• Immunisation remains the most effective way to avoid pertussis infection. It is important to double check children are fully up to date with their immunisations. A pertussis vaccine is also available for adults via private prescription.

Should you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the College office.

ALREADY A DONOR WITHIN OUR JPC COMMUNITY? JOIN THE JPC RED25 GROUP!

1. Log in to donateblood.com.au
2. Select ‘Groups’ and find a group.
3. Type in St John Paul II College Canberra
4. Be a part of our new donating community initiative. Each time you donate, you add to our tally of lives saved!

Stay tuned for more information regarding how you can become a registered blood donor in Term 4. Contact Miss Ashlee Turner (ashlee.turner@cg.catholic.edu.au) for more details and visit https://www.donateblood.com.au/.

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 2018/19 season we welcome athletes born between 1 Jan 2002 and 31 Dec 2013.

Season Dates:
The 2018/19 season commences on Saturday 20 October 2018 (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, 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