Key Messages Week 1- Term 1, 2020From the Principal Dear Parents and Carers, I would like to welcome everyone to our new school year and an especially warm welcome to all our new students and parents. It has certainly been a sad start to the new year and the new decade and I understand that a number of members of our community have been impacted by both the fires and the unusual weather events at the beginning of the year. In these times the importance of community is highlighted, and I believe the JPC community is one where we can find comfort and support from each other. At our Opening School Assembly, I also spoke to our students about the importance of not becoming disheartened or feeling overwhelmed by these events and that our young people are the ones that can bring about change and make a difference in the world. I encouraged them to use their words and actions to be the voice for a better world. I also asked every member of our community to make a commitment to do three things differently that can make a difference to the environment. This year we are focussing on developing the key skills that have been identified as crucial for this new decade and beyond. This semester staff will be working to embed critical thinking into their curriculum work and the focus during Independent Learning will be on Forethought and Self-regulation. Our Religious theme for the year is taken from Nehemiah 8:10, The JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH. This theme promises to challenge and provoke much thought and conversation amongst our staff and students and is very pertinent in our current world situation Over the next few weeks, Staff will be sending out their first welcome e-mail to their mentor students. Mentoring begins in Week 5 which will also be the start of Independent Learning Time. I encourage you to keep in close communication with your child’s Mentor teacher so that we are able to work together to ensure your child flourishes here at JPC. I look forward to working with you all in 2020. Stephanie O’Meara Acting Principal YEAR 12 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS 2019 YEAR 12 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS 2019 It is wonderful to share with our JPC Community the excellent results of our 2019 Year 12 graduating cohort. All 51 students (100%) received their Year 12 ACT Senior Secondary Certificate. Moira Najdecki Award for Academic Excellence This award recognises academic excellence across all studies in Senior College at JPC.
ATAR Results All 38 students (75% of cohort) who set their goal on achieving an ATAR achieved this milestone.
Our JPC median ATAR was 75.55. Five students (13%) received an ATAR of 90 or higher, with Benedict Bawagan’s score of over 99 putting him in the top 1% of student in ACT/NSW! 34% of Tertiary students received an ATAR of 80 or higher and 87% received greater than 60. Our students’ efforts and successes make them exceptionally well place to receive university offers and, indeed, quite a few students received early offers into their preferred courses. ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS) Awards These awards were presented by the BSSS at their awards ceremony at the end of 2019.
JPC Awards At our JPC awards evening, we also recognised students who made a significant impact to the life of the College during their time at JPC. Three perpetual awards were presented to members of the Year 12 cohort based on our key values: Justice, Peace, and Courage.
We were also very proud to also present:
Members of the Year 12 cohort also achieved success in the ANU Extension Program: Mathematics and in completing a Hospitality Training Package supported through our Vocational Education program.We encourage all our graduates to stay in touch as JPC Alumni and let us know where their future study, work and travels take them. Congratulations also to the parent cohort of Year 12, 2019 for your ongoing support of your daughters and sons as they worked through the challenges of Senior College and working with us to provide the best support and opportunities for our young people. Our congratulations and best wishes to all our 2019 Graduands. Pooch Program @ JPC At JPC we have a therapy dog program. The program is designed to assist our students and staff with their daily mental health needs. Each dog and handler are put through a rigours process before being allowed on campus, they complete a training program checking off skills and competencies for a semester before being inducted as fully-fledged pooch pals! We have 3 dogs on campus this year: Louie a black pug who is in his second year of therapy work. Ash a black Greyhound who is in her 3rd year of therapy work. Coco a white Bichon Frise in her second year of therapy work. No student is ever forced to work with the dogs and we respect that some people do not like or are allergic to the dogs. Each handler ensures their class, space or people they are working with are made aware that they do not have to be involved with the dogs. In 2020 we will be introducing our newest recruit to the Pooch Pals team at JPC! We are pleased to be introducing Pickle, Ms Mostyn’s little Cavoodle! Pickle is currently 1 year and 2 months old. She has passed puppy school and juvenile school. Pickle will be completing her induction program at the beginning of this year and will be most likely be joining the Pooch Pals team for 2020. Pickle loves pats and cuddles; she also loves to play fetch with tennis balls. Pickle has a very gentle nature and will give you a lot of love and attention when you meet her. She is a very calm dog that settles easily into any environment. Pickle is very cute (see photos) and has an extremely sweet personality. If you are having a bad day, Pickle will make you smile! Ms Mostyn choose Pickle with our program in mind and has been trainer her since day 1! We are constantly inundated for request to have the dogs help our students so an added team member is most welcome! Any further inquiries about the program can be directed to Mrs Chauntell McNamara Chauntell.mcnamara@cg.catholic.edu.au In and Around the School “The JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH!” Nehemiah 8:10 JPC’s theme for 2020 comes from the story of Nehemiah – a tale of renewal and rebuilding, restoring communities and reflecting on how we live our lives through a relationship with God. It is the Lord’s joy that give us strength - joy that comes from knowing that we are looking after those in need, sharing our gifts to build our community, treating ourselves and others with love, and focusing on our faith. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, forthe JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH.” The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a Holy day. Do not grieve.” Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great JOY, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. This year, JPC will draw on elements of this reading through our faith formation and understanding what God asks of us, developing personal strength through our mentoring and growth mindset programs, and caring for those less fortunate through socially justice actions. These learnings will be woven into our experiences in and beyond the classroom – an exciting year ahead! Music is a wonderful way to pray and this song by Rend Collective is a great celebration of our theme – the Joy of the Lord is my strength – share it with your family! https://www.ibelieve.com/video/joy-of-the-lord-live-worship-from-rend-collective.html Jen Tually Leader of Learning and Wellbeing, Ferré House, Mission and Ministry Elective Changes - Year 9 & 10 An email has been sent to all Year 9 & 10 Families with information on Electives and the process to make changes. The information that was sent out is also available on the JPC Website here Arts Up FrontArts Up Front As Arts educators in Drama, we are always thinking about the skills our students will need to feel successful in their future lives. Multiple studies show that future generations need skills developed in the areas of critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, creativity and innovation, communication, self-management, social responsibility and digital fluency. So, why study Arts subjects? At JPC, when our students study Dance, Drama, Music, Media or Visual Arts, they learn empathy and identification as classroom experiences opens individuals to new dimensions of emotional experiences. All Arts subjects increases a student’s creativity, self-esteem and confidence. Working collaboratively, students learn the skills of listening, negotiating and communicating and, they make heaps of friends! These creative subjects increase our students’ ability to think; creatively, imaginatively and divergently, learning to think ‘outside the box’. From Years 7 to 12, our students interpret and devise performances and artworks using conceptual thinking, exploring unique genres and techniques developing their problem-solving skills. These are the skills which teach students how to become critical consumers, rather than just passive viewers. Cinderella This year, JPC’s musical production is a Cinderella pantomime. This means it is not your ‘regular’ fairytale, but it is given the panto treatment with talking mice and a Fairytale with some attitude – plus audience interactions! Cinderella will run Term 3, Week 3 Thursday 6th August – Saturday 8th August 2020. There will be opportunities for students to perform, create sets and design costumes and be part of the tech crew! Interested students have been asked to collect an audition pack from Mrs Smith or the Front Office. To offer an authentic experience and for students to be offered a role which caters to their best abilities, auditions require students to sing, dance and act. Auditions will occur, at lunch and after school, at the following times: TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
Students will need to nominate an audition spot. Sign-up sheets are on the Theatre wall. We are extremely excited to present this year’s musical production of Cinderella and look forward to seeing our student’s talents shine! So get ready to dream like there’s no midnight and dance the night away! Mrs Sarah Smith Leader of Arts and Musical Director JPC Music Program Dear Parents/Guardians and Students, We are excited to offer new opportunities in our Co-Curricular/Instrumental Music Programs at St John Paul II College in 2020. Our thriving program has grown to include over 200 students who are passionate about music, it’s now your turn to get involved! Our band programs include:
We also have our fantastic Production Crew. These students manage the sound and lighting at all St John Paul II College performing arts events. They learn the technical ‘ins and outs’ of how to manage live sound, setup, pack down and lighting. We have both a senior and junior crew who meet weekly for classes. As a part of our extensive music program, we also offer individual Instrumental Music lessons with some of the best music tutors in the ACT. Our music tutors offer weekly private lessons at St John Paul II College in:
It is clear that we have something for everyone! There are no prerequisites for any of these groups. If you are interested, just sign up and get involved. If you have any questions please email Aron Lyon at aronlyon@hotmail.com or Sharon Robinson at sharon.robinson@cg.catholic.edu.au. Taking enrolments for Bands/Clubs now through our online application system here: Taking enrolments for Instrumental Lessons now through our online application system here: Regards, Aron Lyon & Sharon Robinson SportsDefenceHello and welcome to a new school year! A very special welcome to all our new Defence Families especially those who have posted in from interstate. This year we welcome to Year 7 Finnley, Ryland, Chelsea, Harry, Zachary, Zavier, Lara, Rhys, Hamish, Genevieve, Torren, Jack, Addison, Micah, Samuel, Tamsyn, Annie, Aadit, Charlotte, Amity, Edan, Emily, Jazmine and Kobi. I also welcome Jeffery in Year 8 and Paige in Year 9. We now have over 100 Defence students in our JPC Community! Wow! If you have a partner currently deployed or likely to do so in the future, please let me know, so I may monitor their wellbeing. Defence students meet in JPC Barracks every Monday at recess time. I encourage your Defence child to attend these meetings as not only are they a great opportunity for them to meet with other Defence students, they find out about upcoming Defence excursions and activities. A few dates for your diary….
Don’t forget DCO’s Welcome to Canberra Event on Friday, 14 February from 4.30-7pm at the RMC Duntroon Pool. If you have recently posted into Canberra and want to find out what the area has to offer, this is a great opportunity to find out about the local services for ADF members and their families. A range of local community groups, Defence and ACT Government services will be available to answer your questions and provide information about support, assistance and activities available in the area. Be sure to register on Eventbrite by Wednesday 5 February 2020. Remembering Animals in War Activity Day at the Australian War Memorial on Sunday, 23 February. For more information please follow this link. https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/animals-in-war I will be sending out an information pack to all of our Defence Families in the two weeks. If you do not receive any correspondence, please contact me, as you may be flying under the radar. My aim is to leave no man behind! If you have any concerns about your child, please contact me. Vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au Vicki Walsh Defence School Mentor Career NewsUOW Discovery Day On Wednesday 15 Senior Students attended the University of Wollongong Discovery Day. They had the chance to experience a variety of practical and lecture-style lessons to engage them in potential future university courses. A very immersive experience that showed the students what university life is like at the UOW. If you would like any information about the university, please see Mrs Zorzi who is the new Leader of Learning for Careers. ANU Extension Program 2020 Application DUE Year 11 students who are interested in doing the ANU Extension program in 2020 need to complete and Online application. The CLOSING DATE is 16th February 2020. Interested students who have any questions, please see Dr Cleary Further information can be found below under Community News or here Canteen MenuThe Canteen Menu for Week 2, Term 1 is available on the JPC Website - or Moodle under Canteen Menu From Week 2, the Canteen will be offering Breakfast from 8.30 am to 8.50 am. Toast, Cereal and Fruit are available for $1 each. From the College OfficeSchool Fees Term 1 2020 School Fees will be emailed to families at the beginning of next week. They are due for payment Friday Week 5, 6 March 2020. Please note that the school fees are due Week 5 of each Term. You will receive a statement in the holidays prior to Terms 2, 3 and 4. If you pay by Direct Debit or BPoint you will still receive a statement. This is for your information only and no further action is required. If you have any questions regarding the statement, please email jpc.finance@cg.catholic.edu.au and we will endeavour to answer your email as soon as possible. It is not always possible to take enquiries over the phone, therefore we recommend sending an email to the finance office. Thank You School Photos Next Week: TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY School photos will be taken next week on Tuesday. Photo order forms will be handed out on Monday during Pastoral Care time. Photo forms must be brought in by your child on Tuesday morning - even if you are not buying photos - as all students will have their photos taken (for Student ID cards). Each form has a student’s name on it, which the photographer will need. Students are to keep their forms with them all day and hand them to the photographers when their photo is taken. Sibling/family photos will be taken during lunchtime (between 11.30am and 12pm). If you are interested in having a sibling photo taken, your child will need to collect a separate sibling photo form from the student office on Monday, and bring it with them on Tuesday. Absences: If your child is away on Tuesday, please let the student office know in writing (as usual). Catch-up photos will be taken on Wednesday morning. ACT Government Immunisation Program YEAR 7 IMMUNISATIONS – NEXT FRIDAY, 14 FEBRUARY YEAR 10 IMMUNISATIONS – will take place in Term 2, on Tuesday 12 May. Further information can be found here about the High School Immunisation Program. JPC School Uniform & Second hand items Uniform list and policy is available here Uniforms can be purchased from Lowes in Gungahlin. Second hand uniform is available from the College. If you require second hand uniform, please email the college office with what size you require and size and a staff member will contact you. JPCII – Uniform & Tech to You Facebook page is also available to JPC families. This page is for families who wish to sell their uniform or tech items to the JPC Communitiy. Click here to request access.For the latest CELEBRATE Edition Click Here For the latest Parish Bulletin Click Here Community News |