On Sunday 5 March, a group of senior students attended a special Mass at Saint Christopher's Cathedral in Manuka as a way of commencing the 2018 LEAD conference, which was held at Saint Claire's on Monday. The Mass was a great introduction to the 'Year of Youth' led by Archbishop Christopher Prowse. The Youth Rally following Mass was the perfect opportunity to meet several youth ministers from other schools and regions, some as far afield as Darwin! and it gave us a chance to worship, reflect and pray in a unique way.

The LEAD youth conference allowed us to come up with initiatives for the College and space to discern how to implement them. It was a memorable experience with great benefits for our Youth Ministry team and with the help of the Holy Spirit, the beginning of something great.

International Women's Day was celebrated on Thursday 8 March 2018. To recognise the day Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn interviewed young ladies across Canberra, including three from St John Paul II College. The following students shared their thoughts on gender equality, the strength of furture women and how adults have shaped thier lives.

• Charlotte Foster, Yr 12 - College Captain/ACT's UN Youth Ambassador 
• Codie Haycraft, Yr 11 - UN Youth representative to East Timor, July 2018
• Cecilija Matic, Yr 10 - House Captain (Ferre)/Junior Matilda 2017

Well Done to these young ladies for sharing your hopes and dreams.

To view these inspirational young women's interviews click here

To see all the interviews by Catholic Education click here

Runner Up prizes were also awarded by the university and we congratulate, Wanin Tessema and Georgia Wallace (Year 9, 2017) and Alexis Ngai and Leah Vroomans (Year 8, 2017) on being recognised for their achievements.

Rachel Francis-Davies
Assistant Principal

Information Technology students had the opportunity to attend a workshop at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) in Watson. The students found the workshop very informative and practical.

Students had the opportunity to create platform games and experience using Unity engine which is used to create games such as Assassins Creed: Identity, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraftgame and among others. Students also met with some AIE students and discussed some of the projects that they were working on.

From this experince students gained an insight into career pathways in the gaming industry.

In the lead up to the race I was running up to 190km per week. This meant running twice a day and often running 30km before work. Juggling this training and work was challenging, but was possible with the help of an extremely supportive wife, effective time management skills and sacrificing a social life for a few months.

I’ll target another marathon later in the year in order to improve on my 2hr17 and increase my chances of being selected for the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

We are very pleased to announce that St John Paul II College students, in collaboration with St Francis Xavier College, have the opportunity to attend CASE Space School, an international study program in conjunction with NASA, specifically tailored to develop leaders of the next generation.

THE PROGRAM - The program aids in the development and success of our students in terms of career prospects and the ability to deal with real-life situations. Aside from providing students with an unforgettable experience, students come to recognise the importance of multi-disciplinary learning as well as the role imagination plays in critical thinking and problem solving. These are lifelong skills that our students will be able to adapt and use in any situation.

WHEN - CASE Senior Space School, takes place 9th – 22nd December 2018.

WHO - The space school is for students in Years 10, 11 and 12

INFORMATION EVENING – 20 March, 2018

An Information Evening for parents will be held on Tuesday 20th March, 6.30 – 7.30pm, at St Francis Xavier College.

Please RSVP for the information evening via www.actura.com.au/sfx

FURTHER INFORMATION - If you would like any further information, please contact Jennifer Tually (Leader of Learning – Science) via email on jennifer.tually@cg.catholic.edu.au

Invitations have been sent home for our Defence Families Welcome Breakfast. Please rsvp to the Front Office by end of Week 6.  I look forward to meeting with our Defence Families over a delicious breakfast.

Please return the Birrigai Excursion notes for all Year 7 and 8 Defence Students. The excursion is in Week 7 and numbers need to be finalised.

Looking for something to do over the Canberra Day Long Weekend? There is plenty to do to celebrate Canberra turning 105!  The Enlighten Festival runs for 16 days during March (2-18) and has lots to see, eat and explore. The Festival is a wonderful opportunity especially for our new Defence Families to discover their new city.

• The Balloon Festival runs from March 10-18.   Each day from 6:15am (weather permitting) pilots begin inflating their balloons on the lawns of Old Parliament House, a most spectacular sight!
• Symphony in the Park is on Saturday, March 11.   Watch the sun set to the perfect soundtrack in Commonwealth Park.  Pack a picnic and grab your spot on the grounds in front of Stage 88.
• Canberra Day is on March 12. It’s Canberra’s Birthday! Canberra comes alive to celebrate with music and entertainment for all. Find the best events at Commonwealth Park on Monday.

For more information on all the above activities and events (and more) in Canberra, please follow the link http://enlightencanberra.com/. Get out there this long weekend and enjoy all the Nation’s Capital has to offer and don’t forget to say “Happy Birthday Canberra!”

Vicki Walsh
DTM

The JPC Athletics carnival will be on Friday 16 March.

Please return permission slips to your PC teacher by

Wednesday 14 March 2018.

An integral part of the learning in the Arts subjects is creating unique artworks and sharing these with a wider audience. To enable this to happen, we wish to invite you to attend the Arts Showcases which will occur each term. As part of experiencing this process of display and performance, we encourage our Arts students to participate in and attend the Arts Showcase afternoons this term.

Tuesday 3rd April Week 9 – Creative and Visual Arts Exhibition

Courage Wing

Wednesday 4th April Week 9 – Performing Arts Spectacular,

Theatre 4pm – 5pm

This is an excellent opportunity for students to display their increasing creativity and talents in various areas of the Arts including Drama, Dance, Music, Visual Arts, Photography, Graphic Design and Media. The Showcase is an opportunity for students to share their assessment pieces or another of their own creation to an audience other than their class group.

More information will be distributed in classes shortly and a permission note will become available. For more information, please contact Miss Sarah Keane or your child’s class teacher. We look forward to showcasing our students work and hope to see you at the Showcases in Week 9.

Miss Keane on behalf of the Arts Team

This year, JPC will be presenting “The Greatest Show: A Vaudeville”. We are looking for all interested parties to come to meeting at Wednesday lunch, Week 6, to learn about the opportunities involved. Auditions to find the perfect role for students will take place during lunch times in Week 8. Stay tuned!

Miss Sarah Keane and the Arts Team

Australia’s Leading Advanced Life-Skill Seminar For Teenagers and Young Adults. What would it mean if your teenager had the mindset and motivation to create a successful future? If they had more motivation, improved attitude, better exam marks and a more open family relationship?

The Empower U Program is the easiest way for your child to acquire the advanced ‘life-skills’ they must have to get ahead in today’s unpredictable and fast-changing world.
 

We cover a whole lot of topics from communication skills, money and finance, career techniques, goal setting, emotional intelligence amongst others.

What I would say though, when you put all of that aside, they will come away with a new found belief in themselves and the potential of their future.
 

The weekend itself is described by most who attend as "life changing". Mainly because we create a very unique environment and share powerful concepts that really get people thinking more about themselves another lives than they ever have before.
 

For more information just got to our website www.tomorrowsyouth.com.au. You can contact us at bookings@tomorrowsyouth.com.au or call us on 1300 039 662.