Our first week has certainly tested staff and students in terms of the weather but we have been very impressed with how settled the classes have been and how the level of focus shown by the students.

We are already into the full swing of school with clubs up and running including the Social Justice club and our newly formed Choir which began this week.

Senior students have settled into their new classes and we have been very pleased with how effectively they are using their designated study lines and their application in classes.
Last night we held our Tips and Tricks evening for Year 7 and new families and students to the College. Part of the evening was discussing assisting students with assignments and building resilience, independence and organizational skills that are essential for the years at high school and beyond. During this evening one of our Coordinators shared her experiences with our senior students. She had spent many years at another school teaching at the senior level and had prepared her lessons in-line with how she had taught the content at her previous school. She told us of her delight, that when she had asked the students to prepare some work for the next lesson, that they had responded whole heartedly. She was amazed at the quality and extent of the work. The students had been able to work independently and had produced a level of work far beyond her expectations She truly believes that this success was due to the skill development and expectations of independent learning that comes from our Self-Directed learning philosophy.

We are also pleased to celebrate two further successes of our Senior students:

Charlotte Foster has been selected to be a UN Youth Ambassador. This is a very prestigious position with only twelve students selected form across Australia and Charlotte is the only ACT student.

Part of Charlotte’s role is to witness first-hand the Work that the UN does supporting refugees and working with communities in need. In July, Charlotte will spend two weeks in East Timor where she will see the complex realities of a developing nation and the role the UN plays in assisting with this development and the challenges of implementing international aid. Charlottes is also required to lead fundraising initiatives to help those most in need.

St John Paul II College is supporting Charlotte’s endeavours to go to East Timor and we are asking our school community to join with Charlotte in her fundraising efforts. Below you will find a brief article from Charlotte and a link to her fundraising Facebook page. Charlotte will work with us as a Catholic social justice community to raise awareness of the plight of those who require our support and understanding.

Another success story from one of our Senior students is Liam Gellatly who was selected to attend the ASSETS program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. You can read about Liam’s account of this program in an article below. We are very proud that he was selected for this important event.

Homework
Just a reminder as we begin the new year about our JPC Homework policy.

The completion of homework and revision is an excellent method for reinforcing learning, content and skills that students encounter in the classroom. St John Paul II College advises that students should be including the following homework in their study and activity planners at least four (4) to five (5) times per week:
Year 7:
30 minutes of sustained reading
15 minutes of Mathematics
15 minutes revision of their foreign Language (French or Chinese)
Year 8:
30 minutes of sustained reading
15 minutes of Mathematics
15 minutes revision of their foreign Language (French or Chinese)
Year 9:
30 minutes of sustained reading
15 minutes of Mathematics
30 minutes dedicated to assessment items for other subject areas (this should include revision of their foreign language for those students who have elected to continue their Language study).  This may need to increase in peak assessment times during the semester.
Year 10:
30 minutes of sustained reading
15 minutes of Mathematics
30 minutes dedicated to assessment items for other subject areas (this should include revision of their foreign language for those students who have elected to continue their Language study). This will need to increase in peak assessment times during the semester.

Dear students, parents and caregivers,

My name is Charlotte Foster and I am a Year 11 student at St John Paul II College. At the end of last year, I went through an extensive application process and was selected as one of twelve young Australians to participate in the United Nations Youth Pacific Project. This is a significant honour as I will be the only student representing the ACT, and of course, JPC!

I was interested in applying for the Pacific Project as I have a long-standing interest in the plight of developing nations. Following my participation in the JPC Year 9 Refugee Immersion camp, I was given a broader perspective of the conditions and everyday challenges people in developing countries face.  Upon MY return from the immersion, I took an interest in programs and organisations involved in the aid of the development of impoverished countries. This experience inspired me to apply for the UN Pacific Project.

The 2017 Pacific Project runs from the July 1-15 2017. Traveling to East Timor, we will learn about sustainable development and the challenges of international aid. We will also spend time working with local communities and grassroots organisations, including working closely with a partner school in Maliana, Encouragement House. The goal of the Project is to develop skills to engage with key issues that East Timor faces, and discuss how meaningful change can be created.

I hope to Return home with the experience I have gained, and use it to take a larger role in the community. As part of my selection to this project, I am committed to work as a Youth Ambassador throughout the year, lead fundraising and awareness initiatives alongside other young Australians on our return from East Timor.

It is a privilege to represent my school community as a UN Youth Ambassador, and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and the skills I will develop in this role with the students and staff at JPC. It is my hope that I can engage with other young people in our school to inspire them to learn more about the needs of others, and to contribute to developing a strong culture of social justice in our school.

As part of the UN’s non-profit model, I am in the process of working to raise the $6,500 that will allow me to pay for my expenses during this trip. In Week 4 I will be sharing more of my story with students during our Religious Education lessons, and inviting them to donate to support my fundraising. If you would like to contribute to these efforts, I have created a Go Fund Me account that you can access through the link below.

Thank you for your support of this amazing opportunity.

Charlotte Foster

On the 12th of December 2016, I attended the ASSETS program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. This scholarship program is for students who are interested in going onto further study and/or into careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Maths (STEM). It is a nine day residential summer school for students who have completed year 10. There were three locations all with different STEM focuses, and out of the many students who applied, I was fortunate enough to be selected to represent John Paul College at the Townsville summer school where we undertook studies in engineering, ecology, and marine science.

This experience was truly amazing and one that I will not forget. First of all, the in depth insight into the fields of engineering, ecology and marine science strengthened my interest and goal to take up a career option within the STEM profession area. The relationships made on this summer school made the experience better tenfold as these were other indigenous students interested in the same things as I am. We got to know each other really well, we shared our meals together, lived together, worked in strong teams together and most importantly were there to support each other throughout the camp. When the end of the camp came around, to leave my new mates was very hard as I felt I had known them forever.

Finally this camp showed me how important my culture is within the community. The knowledge from local elders was so vast that I could listen to them all night long as each story was unique and amazing in its own way. We had different activities like astronomy night and bush tucker/medicine walks, which all led me to a better understanding of my ancestors history. As a result of attending this camp, it led to appreciate how proud I am to be an indigenous Australian.

A big thank you to Ms Boller for initiating this opportunity.
Liam Gellatly (Year 11, Van Thuan)

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

Last year we created a Production Crew who dealt with all the live sound for our performance events.  The Production Crew met weekly and learnt about live sound production, set up and pack down for live music events, stage management, health and safety at live music events and a number of other topics relating to live sound. This crew had numerous opportunities working with bands and performances, they also toured with the bands to various schools and ran all live sound at these events. Another highlight was that they where able to be apart of the live sound at Canberra Theatre for “Dance Fest”. 

This year we will be offering a weekly co-curricular Production Crew class. This will be held during an ILT line. The class will focus on Live Sound Mixing, Set Up and Pack Down for music events, Live Stage Lighting, Correct usage and protocols for Live Sound Equipment, Band Setup, Miking and Stage Management.

This class is a fantastic opportunity for any student who is interested in Live Sound and Music Technology, also Management and Production. It will be a great pathway into future work in the Music Industry.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this great new program please down load an expression of interest form below and return it to the Student Office or email Aron Lyon at aronlyon@hotmail.com.

Kind Regards

Aron Lyon

Co-Curricular Music Director