Friday 23 September - Term 3 concludes

Monday 10 October - Term 4 commences

Wednesday 12 October - Parent - Student - Teacher Interviews

I would like to wish all the JPC families a peaceful and relaxing holidays after what has been a very busy term. For those families travelling, I wish you very safe travels. We hope the students enjoy a well deserved break before returning to school for the last term of the year. 

Catherine Rey

As we approach the September holidays, events at JPC are far from winding down. Year 9 students participated in the Refugee Immersion Camp, Year 10 students competed at the Year 10 Maths Day against schools across Canberra, and JPC staff hosted a visit from teachers at St Mark’s College in Sydney to exchange ideas about teaching and learning. These are just a glimpse of what has been happening this week!

Since starting at JPC this year I have been overwhelmed by the support that I have received from parents. Many have asked how they can help their child improve in Maths, often saying that they can’t remember much of the Maths from their school days or that they are concerned they may teach their child the wrong method. Some strategies that I recommend are:

1. Go through your child’s lesson notes together and encourage them to create a summary of what they   have learnt each week or fortnight.

2. Have them highlight difficult areas using different colours as the use of colour helps with memory, especially under test conditions.

3. Watch any help videos with your child. There are many available on Moodle and most Mathspace questions have an associated help video. Watching, discussing and learning together is not only helping them learn but also providing them with a great example of lifelong learning.

4. Encourage your child to send their teacher an email if they are really struggling at home. Quite often they may be reluctant or too embarrassed to ask in class. This could be a great way to let the teacher know that your child needs help.

5. Ensure they have scheduled in an ILT session each week with a Maths teacher. ILT is the perfect time to get some one-on-one help!

Mathematics Tutorials

This term the Mathematics Staff have been running additional tutorials and extension sessions during ILT in order to support the learning of students. In Term 4 the following tutorials will be running each week:

Tuesday Period 4 in JG1-5 – Year 8 help tutorial
Wednesday Period 1 in CF10 – Year 10 help tutorial
Wednesday Period 3 in JG1-5 – Year 9 help tutorial
Thursday Period 1 in JG1-5 – Year 7 Extension tutorial

If you believe your child would benefit from these tutorials, then please have them write this on their ILT planner each week and encourage them to regularly attend these sessions.

Australian Mathematics Competition Results have arrived!

A two-digit number ab and its reversal ba are both prime. For example, 13 and 31 are both prime. What is the largest possible sum of these two numbers ab and ba?

The Australian Mathematics Competition is an annual event where high achieving Mathematics students complete a range of questions that involve lateral thinking and problem-solving skills. Early this term, sixty-two JPC students participated in this competition answering similar problems to the one above which was taken from the Junior Division (Year 7 and 8) paper this year. Many of the problems were much more challenging than this one!

Since the competition, students have eagerly been awaiting their results. These results have just arrived and the students should be very proud of their efforts. Congratulations to all the students who voluntarily participated in this competition. These students really demonstrated the growth-mindset that JPC embodies by challenging themselves and showing a willingness to go beyond what was expected of them. I was particularly impressed by their incredible patience and resilience during the competition, despite a technology hiccup. A special congratulation to Nicholas Dale and Benedict Bagawan for receiving Distinction Awards in the competition this year. All students will be receiving their certificates in House Assemblies early next term.

I look forward to even more students participating next year!

Sheree Harris

Empathy may not be the first quality that springs to mind when we think of 14 and 15 year olds - at times it seems almost impossible for teenagers to consider the feelings of others! In fact, research conducted in 2011 by the University of Michigan found that empathy levels in students have shown significant decline over the last 30 years. And yet we know that we live in a time in the history of humanity where empathy is needed more than ever.

This week, for the second year running, our Year 9 students had the opportunity to develop their understanding of empathy first-hand through the Refugee Immersion experience. The camp, held in two sessions at the Outward Bound Base in Tharwa, offers students a unique insight into the refugee crisis confronting our world. It challenges our students to move outside their personal comfort zones to encounter the reality of the lives of refugees. Over the course of the immersion, students participate in activities that encourage them to consider how their personal values shape their actions and interactions with others, and how a deeper awareness of the lives of others can help us to be more empathetic and compassionate.

The program marks the mid-point of an integrated curriculum approach between both the English and Religious Education faculties, firstly encouraging our students to look for truth in media reporting of news stories. In Term 4 they will consider how Jesus offers us a model of empathy, and encourages us to embrace greater consideration for those people in our society who are pushed to the margins.  This immersion is a vital component of the process of learning to move from the theoretical understanding of global issues, like the refugee crisis, to an experiential response. The impact of this immersion on students has been evident in their profound responses in debriefing sessions and class time since our return on Wednesday.

I would like to congratulate all the students who participated in the immersion experience for their enthusiasm and open-mindedness. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the staff who worked so closely with our students during their time at Tharwa; Mrs. Harley, Mr. Whatman, Mrs. Atilemile, Mr. Wood, Mrs. O’Meara, Mr. Pitt, Miss Zorzi and Mr. Ganderton, and to Miss Boller who led the vital pre and post-camp sessions at school. Without their generosity and support of the program it would not be possible to offer this extraordinary learning opportunity for Year 9.

A reminder to Year 9 - the power of the program lies in the unknown! So keep the details a secret from your friends in younger years!

On Tuesday 20 September, JPC had 6 students particpate in the Young Pasifica Day event which aims to raise awareness about the about the importance of cultural identity in a way that encourages students to excel in education. Emilia Hromrow, Isabella Hubbard and Ciel Georgievski performed a contemporary dance which received first place. Alex Skinner, Phoebe Nguyen and Leilani Georgievski performed in the Group Band section and also received first place for their performance.

There was great feedback from the crowd and Judges in relation to the performances and the students were great ambassadors for the school. Congratualtions to all the students involved!

On Thursday morning we had the Menslink group come in to talk to our young men regarding speaking up about issues they may be having surrounding the theme ‘Silence is Deadly.’ The 7/8 and 9/10 talks delved into some important stereotypes and discussed the importance of understanding that there is always someone to talk to. Coupled with the Canberra Raiders, the Menslink group provided our young men with tools and strategies to start difficult conversations. Although there were no Canberra Raiders players who were able to attend due to semifinal commitments, we were able to see some of their messages for our boys. It was fantastic to see all of our young men connect with the important messages that were being delivered. On behalf of St John Paul II College we would like to thank Des, Michael and Josh for coming and sharing their stories and raising awareness of this important issue within our community.

We welcomed another Defence Student, Aspen to our growing family.  She has moved from interstate – ready to enjoy our beautiful Canberra springtime!  Welcome Aspen.

Next Term a small group of Year 9 and 10 Defence Students will be attending a Defence Students’ Activity Day at the Australian War Memorial.  They will be meeting up with other Defence Students from other Canberra schools and having a private tour followed by activities with some ADFA cadets.

Please let me know if your family is relocating at the end of the year, so I may support your child. 

There are still 18 tickets to giveaway with DCO’s Canberra 100 Movie Ticket & Ice Cream Combo Giveaway from 26 Sept - 8 October.  To secure tickets, follow the link http://www.nfsa.gov.au/calendar/?type=for-kids to select your movie of choice and then email dco.canberra@defence.gov.au with the movie name and number of tickets required.

20 Oct - Cook's Night Off! This month the dinner will be held at C Dine Bar at the Kingston Foreshore on Thursday 20 October at 7pm.  Please RSVP to dco.canberra@defence.gov.au or 6265 8777 by the 12 October.    

The Coffee Clubs run by DCO will be taking a break throughout the school holidays.

Check out what is happening in the Spring School Holidays by following the Holiday Happenings link http://holidayhappenings.com.au/canberra.php

I hope everyone enjoys their break and that you get to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather in Canberra.  Don’t forget to visit Floriade from the 17 September - 16 October at Commonwealth Park by Lake Burley-Griffin.  Follow the link for all the details http://www.floriadeaustralia.com/ .  Enjoy your break!

Lest We Forget

Mrs Vicki Walsh
DTM

Throughout the months of August and September, our students and staff participated in the 22 Push Ups Challenge as a school community.  They were raising awareness of the effects of PTSD and veteran suicides, which stands at 44 in Australia just this year.

Every day the participants met in the hall and performed their 22 pushups and each day the numbers increased with more nominated people.

During the weeks of our “push uping”, we were very fortunate to have two guest speakers give up their time and come and talk to our students about their personal experiences and PTSD.  Our guest speakers were Mr Todd Berry who is an Australian veteran living with PTSD, an author and a “Soldier On” Ambassador and Mr Rob Ginnivan, who is an author, mindfulness coach and public speaker with “Soldier On”.  It was a very informative, inspiring and powerful talk and our students were very privileged to hear their stories. 

The talk was very beneficial in connecting what our students have been doing with the 22 Push Ups Challenge and gave them a greater understanding of PTSD and how they can help each other and themselves in the future.  I would like to thank Mr Berry and Mr Ginnivan for their time, inspiration and generosity in addressing our college.

I hope that our students continue to talk about these issues and understand that there is support and understanding for those affected by PTSD.

Mrs Vicki Walsh
DTM

Term 4 school fees are due to be sent to parents next week. This term, we will be sending invoices via email instead of post. Invoices will be emailed to the family email address we have recorded for each student. If you do not receive your invoice via email by the end of next week, please email office.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au so that we can look into this for you. 

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 2016/17 season we welcome athletes born between 1 Oct 1999 and 31 March 2012.

Season Dates:

The 2016/17 season commences on Saturday 15 October 2015 (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 Days - Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October 2016, Amaroo Playing Fields, 10.00am - 12.00pm

On-line registration is available through the ACT Little Athletics website - www.actlaa.org.au (register now).
Bring a copy of your on-line payment receipt along to a Registration / Come & Try Day to collect your registration pack.

Cost: Online registration costs - $120 = 1st child, $115 = 2nd child, $110 = 3rd child, $85 = 4th & subsequent children. Manual/paper registration add $15/athlete.

It’s easy to register so come and have some fun with us.

For more information please go to our website at www.gunlac.org.au, visit our Facebook page or email enquiries@gunlac.org.au