Dear Parents and Carers,
As you may be aware, we are participating in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout for the fourth year in a row.  This event is to raise awareness and funds to enable St Vincent de Paul to care for people who are homeless. 

So on Thursday 22 June, I will be sleeping out with the CEOs and 130 JPC students and many members of staff will be sleeping out in solidarity at the school.  In recognition of this quite exceptional effort by a school, this year I was asked to be a Champion for the event and persuade other CEOs to join.  As a result I am delighted to announce that two other Principals of Catholic system schools – Loretta Wholley from Merici College and Brad Cooney from St Clare’s College – will join me in the Sleepout this year. 

At JPC, we have again limited the number of students who are sleeping out to 130 students – many more wanted to but logistically it is difficult to manage more than that number.
Many of you will be already assisting your child in their fund raising effort.  Thank you for your support with them.

For those of you who are not supporting a student’s fund-raising effort, could I ask your support through direct donations to this incredibly worthwhile cause.  It would be wonderful to exceed the amount we raised last year which was - $10 667.00 – and I was the 8th highest fundraising CEO in the ACT.   We would all be grateful for further support from the community.  There are several ways you could contribute:  through cash to the school, through the QKR app or directly to the Vinnies website : https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/ceos/act-ceos/catherine-rey/

I am so proud of the efforts our students are making (and will make in a few weeks!) and the great support behind us from the community.

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/ceos/act-ceos/catherine-rey/

Thank you all!
Catherine

There have been a few occasions this year where student's have had an accident and hurt themselves and have not come to the Front Office First Aid for help and assessment. We have found out later from the Student’s Parents. Apart from attending to any injury First Aid Staff complete an Incident Report. This report is used to record information about the accident and injury. It is also used to verify any insurance claims that the parents submit to the College’s Insurance company. The Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn has an Insurance Policy which covers students for various items for school based activities.

Should a student require an Ice Pack that student must call and request it, they are not to send another student for the Ice Pack as First Aid Staff need to assess the situation. Should a student be unable to come to the Front Office First Aid because of their injury, another student can come to the Front Office and tell staff of the situation. The Front Office First Aid Staff member will then collect the injured student with a wheel chair and attend to the student’s needs in the First Aid room.

JPC launches soft plastic recycle program! The best place for your soft plastics is not the red landfill bin TRY the green basket near the cow!

Soft plastics are the kind that can be scrunched into a ball, they are among the biggest problems in the recycling system. In fact, 8 out of 10 councils consider them the number one problem as they get caught in the recycling machinery. The good news is these plastics can be recycled at many supermarkets. The bad news, as revealed in research done for Recycling Week, is that only 22% of people know about the program!

This free program is made possible through RedCycle, which has worked with Coles and Woolworths to set up collection bins in stores across most of metro-Australia. You can collect your own at home and drop them into their bins also just put all your soft plastics into a plastic bag and drop it off in the RedCycle bins at the front of the stores.

The plastic is made into furniture for schools and kindergartens among other things.

Even better would be if we didn’t buy and supply this huge mound of soft plastics!

What can be put into the soft plastic bin?

A good way to remember is if you can scrunch it up in your hand and its plastic it can go into the soft plastic recycle bin!

In less than a week, a brave team of JPC staff and students will be putting their stomachs on the line in support of refugees by undertaking the Act for Peace Ration Challenge. During Refugee Week (18 June – 24 June) we will join people all over Australia in living on the same rations that are given as aid to refugees in camps all over the world. The aim of the challenge is to help us to develop greater empathy for those who are forced to flee conflict, violence, and environmental crises, facing the enormity of losing their homes, family and friends in order to find safety and rebuild their lives.

There are currently almost 60 million displaced persons in our world who rely on the support of organisations such as Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia. During Refugee Week, the ration challenge team, with the support of our student leaders, will be running activities to raise awareness of this significant issue, and encouraging others in our community to consider how our small actions can bring comfort to others.

One way you can help is by sponsoring the team – you can read our profiles and contribute to our team challenge at https://actforpeace.rationchallenge.org.au/fundraisers/jpcrationchallengers Every donation helps to provide rations and other aid to people who desperately need our help. As an added bonus, the team can earn rewards through your support to help us make our rations last the distance!

To prepare for subject selection for Year 11 which takes place in family interviews on Friday 30 June, we invite you to attend an interactive information evening on Tuesday 27 June from 5.30-6.30pm.  This will be a very practical session where parents and students can ask general questions about courses in Year 11 and access subject experts for information about specific subjects. 

We will send out to you next week the process to make a booking for the family interviews to finalise subject selection on Friday 30 June.   Year 10 students will also receive information on the subject selection process as part of their Transition Week  program in Week 10.

A reminder that the Commitment Form for Year 10 students continuing into Year 11 at JPC is due back on Friday 23 June.  Families need to have committed to Year 11 before they receive the JPC Senior Course Guide, giving detailed information about Year 11 and 12 courses and policies and before they book in for a family interview.

As always, we are available to you, should you wish to discuss any particular aspect of your student’s transition into Year 11.

Catherine Rey

Senior exams will be held next week, Tuesday to Thursday inclusive in the College hall. Year 11 students were reminded yesterday that they need to check the exam timetable carefully to ensure that they are not late to their exams and that they come prepared. A copy of the timetable is available on Moodle on the Senior Studies page. Should a student be unwell or have a misadventure when they have an exam scheduled, their parents or carers should contact the College on the morning of the exam. Doctor’s certificates will be required in order for the student to be eligible to sit their exam at an alternate time. Sleeping in or missing a bus is not deemed to be a legitimate misadventure. Students only need to attend the College for the times that they have an exam. They are, however, most welcome to be at school to study in the ICF, ICG and restaurant areas. Students studying a T package will be required to attend the AST Familiarisation program on Friday morning. The students are encouraged to have a good night’s sleep and a nutritious breakfast before arriving at school for their exams.

Year 9 SOSE have been working hard this term studying WWI. They proudly displayed their assignments as a public exhibition 2 weeks ago and as a reward for all their efforts, we rounded off the unit examining the ANZAC legend with a cooking lesson! On Thurday 8th June, 5 year 9 History classes enjoyed making (and eating!) ANZAC biscuits.

In Week 10 Term 2, Year 10 will be involved in a Transition Week aimed at helping them make informed decisions in relation to their senior subject choices and career pathways. A part of our planned program is for our students to listen to industry experts.

We have surveyed the students for their areas of interest and we are looking for guest speakers in a range of industries for a session on Wednesday afternoon, 28th June, between 1.30 and 3.30 (not necessarily for the whole time). We would love to hear from any of you who would be able to give up your time to come and speak to the students about your work/pathway to employment/ industry area. If you can be of assistance (or if you know of anyone who may be able to assist) could you please let Mrs Harley or myself know by Wednesday 14th June via email.
Madeleine.Harley@cg.catholic.edu.au
Judith.mcdonald@cg.catholic.edu.au

Areas of Interest

• The arts – photography, music, art, performing arts, media, literature, publishing/editing
• Medical – healthcare, medicine, physiotherapy, nursing,
• Sciences – science, forensics, sports science, psychology, engineering
• Business, accounting, economics, Law, IT
• Trades, construction/carpentry, automotive
• Hospitality/Beauty

We are looking forward to an informative, productive week!

Judy McDonald
Careers Advisor

Very shortly we will be holding an information session for parents and students who would like to find out more about our proposed language tours, to be held in the 2018 April school holidays. Students studying French will be given the opportunity to go on an 8 day study trip to New Caledonia and students studying Chinese will be given the opportunity to go on a 13 day study trip to China. Time and Date of information session will be announced as soon as we have confirmation.

The Languages Team.

On Wednesday our 7/8 and 9/10 Rugby League teams attended the Alan Tongue Rugby League 9’s Gala day. Both teams played fantastically and represented the school with pride. The 7/8 team won two of their 5 games narrowly going down in two and having one draw. Similarly, the 9/10 team came away with two wins from their four games.
Congratulations to both of these teams on their effort on Wednesday and thank you to Mr Yanuyanutawa for taking these teams out.

Congratulations to Jake Thorpe and Tate Vaivads for making the ACT Under 15’s AFL team.

Over 100 of our students participated in the DREAM Performing Arts showcase on Wednesday 7th of June. The Performing Arts Centre was bursting with people from our school and wider community, all eager to watch our talented students take to the stage. The show opened with a powerful Drama piece, that students had been working on in their co-curricular club, First Act. This set the tone of the evening, followed by imaginative and original acts, that were diverse yet united. All acts related to the showcase title DREAM, in both literal and abstracts ways, in a collaborative venture by the Music, Dance and Drama teams. 

The quality of the performances was exceptional, an excellent representation of the talent and demonstration of the dedication and passion our students have within Performing Arts. Of course, none of which would be possible without our driven and visionary teachers Miss Keane (Drama), Mr. Lyons and Miss Robinson (Music). Like always, the back-stage crew worked tirelessly in making the magic happen, with seamless transitions and smooth operation of sound and lighting, the show radiated a real sense of professionalism.

 
Thank you to all involved and who supported the event, the night was a great success. We look forward to our next performance night, stay tuned.

The funding cuts announced last week for Catholic schools in the ACT have caused major concern for parents and families across our community and  the impact will be significant in relation to your choice of schooling on the basis of increased fees and reduced funding.

This week Minister Simon Birmingham sent a letter to every Catholic school in the ACT confirming lower funding for the year 2027 than is currently available in 2017. The letter contained no specific details of the expected higher fees resulting from the government policy. These changes seem a long time away, although they will have a more immediate impact on the Catholic system and how our school is funded.

We urge you to consider the impact on our school and your choice of education and contact political leaders (federal and local) and let them know you deserve to not to have government support cut over the next ten years. ACT NOW to show your commitment to Catholic Education:

•  By liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ceoacg/ to keep up-to-date and demonstrate your interest in these concerning changes to funding arrangements.

• Complete the petition to seek funding arrangements that are fairer and provide more certainty for you and families of the Catholic system

Complete the Survey here

Visit https://cg.catholic.edu.au/ for more information. You can also email the Community Council on council@jpc.act.edu.au

Dear Parents and carers

Catholic schools along with government and Independent schools across Australia will again be participating in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). Our involvement in this process is crucial as it will provide valuable information about supports required for a broad group of students in our schools The NCCD will enable National and State governments to better target support and resources in schools. This in turn will help Catholic Schools access the support for all students with additional needs.

The NCCD is not limited to students with diagnosed disabilities. It uses a very broad definition of disability, taken from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, which includes a range of health issues and learning difficulties where schools implement strategies to support students in participating effectively in their learning.

The Data Collection will take place in August. No personal or identifying information about any student will be included, however, if you decide you do not wish information about your child to be included in the NCCD, you are asked to contact your child’s principal to discuss your concerns. If you are still concerned you should request and complete an opt-out form and return to the principal.
 

More information about the NCCD is available at: http://www.schooldisabilitydatapl.edu.au/

Yours sincerely
Patrick Kelly
Senior Officer Wellbeing & Diversity