Department News 

English Department

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” — Writer Elizabeth Barrett Browning dedicated this iconic poem to her husband Robert Browning but her famous sonnet could just as easily declare love for poetry itself.

Poetry is a beautiful form of expression. No other type of literature creates such a plethora of feelings and emotions as the abstraction of poetry. The earliest poetry is believed to have surfaced with the “Epic of Gilgamesh” some time during 2000 B.C., but it is likely that poetry existed even before the spread of literacy. Different types of poetry have trended during different eras, and undergone transformations. From sonnets to rap lyrics, the core purpose of poetry remains the same — to explore the human condition and invoke emotion through words. Poetry resonates with the existential dilemmas of mankind, exhuming ideas from deep within.  (National Today - World Poetry Day)

Term 1 in the English Faculty saw the teachers and students explore and celebrate the beauty of poetry. Year 10 immersed in the unit of work War Poetry with Wilfred Owen becoming their companion for the term. Wilfred Owen articulated himself that ‘Above all, I am not concerned with poetry’ which seems to contradict the above argument about the importance of poetry. But he goes on to clarify, ‘My subject is War, and the pity of war. The poetry is in the pity.’ In Year 10 embarking on a close study, we honoured the literature not the examination. The thrill of a personal, authentic consideration of text has little substitution and no parallel. We gifted our students the pleasure of textual immersion. 

To continue our celebration of poetry and honour Owen’s thematic concerns, we welcomed what has become a regular production at Brigidine College - Poetry in Action. This captivating show reverberated with passion, anger, humour and heartbreak. The Words of War performance followed the life and works of Owen and the influences that led him to become one of the most striking and brilliant voices of his era. This dynamic show took Year 10 through the horror, heroism and hopelessness of conflict by examining people’s attitudes to war and how, through his poetry, Owen profoundly captured the experience and pity of war. This enabled the girls to come to a better understanding of war today. 

We can’t forget about our younger audience in Year 8 who also enjoyed the thrilling performance of the Poetry in Action's United Nations of Poetry, setting them up beautifully for the new unit of work in English - Cultural Poetry. This captivating show, featured three characters desperately trying to prove themselves in the cut throat world of television, celebrated both the differences and the similarities of people around the world. It showed, as Maya Angelou says, that ‘we are more alike my friends than we are un-alike’. It also examined how poetry can continue to be a sustainable art form into the future providing a fantastic launch-pad for broadening perspectives. It Included poetry and texts from Matsuo Basho, William Wordsworth, Sappho, Khlali Gibran, Shang Ye, U2, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Maya Angelou, Malcolm London, Kathy Jetinel-Kijiner and more.

World Poetry Day is celebrated every year on March 21, honouring  a linguistic expression with which people from all cultures can identify. Poetry can be found in the history of every nation, and brings us together under shared values and a common humanity. The most basic of poems have the power to stir dialogue. Here at Brigidine, we have certainly reminded the girls across all years of this special day by engaging in fun, creative and meaningful activities that brought poetry to life. One of my personal favourites is blackout poetry. Blackout poems can be created using the pages of old books or newspapers. Using the pages of an existing text, blackout poets isolate then piece together single words or short phrases from these texts to create lyrical masterpieces. As always Brigidine girls never disappoint us! We were amazed by their creativity and insightfulness. I have included a few for you to enjoy.

Natalia Hennessy

Head of English 

HSIE Department

Often, Greece is associated with myths that inspired psychologists, great food, warm hospitality, and Acropolis Now. By the grace of Tyche (the Greek goddess of fortune) however, on the 30th of March, 27 budding historians from the Year 10 History Elective class were immersed in the more subtle nuances of Ancient Greek culture. The value of the individual person, the respect for military and athletic nous, as well as the appreciation of unfathomable instincts that are core to the human condition were all a focus of the guided tour that we were taken on, by Richard, a curator who freed up a spare hour in his busy schedule for us.

As a result of his courtesy we were regaled with stories about the dangers of overflowing and impulsive emotions, such as the violence of Achilles in the Trojan War. We were subsequently guided through a discussion of the imbalance of gender roles in the oikos (female domain of Greek life – a root word of economics) and polis (male domain of Greek life – a root word of politics), before moving on to discuss the origins of modern phenomena, such as the Olympics.

The session was a worthy substitute for the exhibition itself, and represents one unintended offshoot of COVID-19: Cultural Institutions now occasionally substitute in-person visits by students for remote ones, therefore being able to more readily publicise their exhibitions. In all, it was an interesting opportunity for the Year 10 cohort to ask questions from all directions, to professionals who are passionate about their work and are keen on making philosophical ideas (especially) accessible for a modern audience. A big thanks to the students for their enthusiastic participation and to the NMA for their “hosting” us!

More information can be found about what is showing at the exhibition at this link.

David Martin      &     David Nally

Head of HSIE            Head of HSIE

(Stages 4 & 5)           (Stage 6)

Science Department

What a busy start to the 2022 year as we hurtle towards the end of the first term! This term has flown past for the science students in years 7-12.

We welcomed our new year 7 students into the science laboratories and after acquiring the scientific skills needed to light the Bunsen burner, they were suitably rewarded with their Bunsen burner license, it’s an important day when students can safely light and use the Bunsen burner. The rest of the term has encompassed further refining their skills through the study of matter and performing investigations.

The year 8 students have been focusing on the topic area of energy and its many forms. They have performed investigations to see the transfer and transformation of energy into such forms as heat, sound, movement and chemical energy. This has further extended into energy efficiency and performing calculations.

Our year 9 students are becoming budding young chemists as they explore the world of chemical reactions this term. They have had the opportunity to get valuable practical experience ranging from hydrogen 'pop' tests to making their own indicators, and recording their own acid experiments. 

Year 10 have further developed their scientific understanding and skills through their Student Research Projects and exploration of the world of Physics. Taking autonomy over their own chosen project, giving them a taste of what Senior Science will bring for years 11 and 12.

Our year 11 students have settled in well to their senior science courses and are performing investigations to newly learned concepts and exploring and expanding their skills in science. The Biology students started with the cell, its many processes and organelles and the role of the cell membrane in the control of the movement of substances.

The Physics students were plunged into understanding the electrical and magnetic properties and behaviour of matter. While Chemistry students have been studying the properties and structure of matter to classify as pure substances with distinct measurable properties or mixtures with properties that are dependent on the identity and relative amounts of the substances that make up the mixture.

For our year 12 students, this term saw them complete their first exam block for the year. It was an exercise to help them refine their study and exam techniques along with their skills at home that prove effective in their revision process.

Of course, these busy learnings and experiences cannot occur without their dedicated science teachers. We welcome new members to the team of Ms Catherine James, Mr Paul Martin, Ms Renukadevi Kotapati and Ms Sarah Gooley who replaces Ms Joanne Dable along with Ms Alana Mohommed, Ms Anne Moldrich, Ms Amber Dommel, Ms Phyllis Tapp, Ms Angela Schianio and Ms Emily Cole.

7.1 Science and the girls were: Zari, Gemma and Olivia from 7.1 Science have created a rap to sum up their first term of Science. 

Let’s Rap It Up

Bunsen burners, beakers, boss head and clamp,

We learnt all of these and then made a lava lamp

We looked super cool in the lab coats and glasses, 

We had so much fun during our science classes

We poured in the water and we sprinkled the salt,

We conducted it perfectly, with no faults!

We learnt about the behaviour of particles,

We read and researched using many articles

We learnt about solids liquids and gas,

We also learnt about volume and mass!

We were taught how to use a bunsen burner

We got our licences, no longer learners!

We learnt so much, it was all a blast

We had so much fun in this class!

Science class really made us go wow,

Come on, let’s rap it up now!

Tess Waterhouse

Head of Science

Visual Arts Department

The Visual Arts department has relished the opportunity to be able to recommence our artistic practice which was disrupted by the period of remote learning in 2021. The students have similarly immersed themselves in practical work including painting in year 7, clay sculpture in year 8 and 9, Postmodern inspired artworks in year 10, collage, ceramics and photograms in year 11, and year 12 continuing with their development of their body of work. Being able to work with clay has been a highlight for many students across stage 4, 5 and 6 and they have demonstrated their enthusiasm and creativity in their art making. Year 8 have developed a menagerie of pet animal pots whilst Year 9 have used ‘place’ as the inspiration for their design. Year 11 ceramics have been exploring the sea and developing designs for a ‘by the sea’ vessel.

Across the stages, students engage in regular observational drawing exercises which not only benefits their skills in the realm of Visual Arts but also in their skills of observation, concentration and memory. At the beginning of each lesson, students engage in this exercise for approximately ten minutes and draw a still life. This arrangement changes regularly and students are encouraged to adopt different viewpoints in their drawing to develop their skills in perspective.This regular exercise has seen students really improve their skills in drawing which is a foundational skill in Visual Arts. The act of concentrating closely and looking to draw what is seen, rather than from the imagination or what is assumed by language enables students to develop their hand-eye coordination and hone their fine motor skills. In addition, this short exercise is also an exercise in mindfulness which enables students the opportunity to shut out other distractions and pay close attention to a completable task. It’s often the case that when the ten minutes is up, students are so immersed in the exercise that they want to continue their close study.

Some of our Visual Arts students experienced success with their work being exhibited in the recent Randwick City Art Prize marking International Women's Day. The theme this year was Challenging the Bias. Six students had work selected and exhibited and of these, two artists won prizes. Emilia O’Leary in Year 11 won Second Prize for her artwork “Working Conditions for Women Making Garments in the Third World’ and Jasmine Miller in Year 10 won Third Prize for her painting “Covid City”. In addition, all six students have been selected to have their artworks on display at the Bowen Library from 15 March to 24 April. 

As the term progresses we look forward to seeing the wonderful artworks created by our enthusiastic and committed students.

The Visual Arts Department           

Futures

Vocational Education

It has been my great pleasure to witness the wonderful work being done in the Vocational Education and Training (VET)  space at Brigidine. Vocational Education is increasingly important in the current economic climate. According to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in Australia, over 34% of employers view having vocational qualifications as an essential job requirement. The survey showed that the main reasons for requiring VET were:

• Job candidates have the required skills
• Employers can fill specific roles in their organisations
• Candidates have the required licensing requirements

Therefore, the importance of VET at the start of a students career path cannot be understated.

As part of the VET program, students must undertake Work placement. This is an appropriate and valuable component of all  VET programs. Work placement involves on-the-job training in which students are required to master a designated set of skills and competencies related to their VET program. 

Learning in the workplace enables students to:

• progress towards the achievement of industry competencies
• develop appropriate attitudes towards work
• learn a range of behaviours appropriate to the industry
• practise and apply skills acquired in the classroom or workshop
• develop additional skills and knowledge.

In Week 10 our Year 12 Hospitality and  Business Services students undertook their Work placements. Students were placed at venues such as Catalina, China Lane, Doyles on the Beach.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the parents of our Business Services students who assisted in sourcing placements for our students as well as St Margaret Mary’s primary school who also provided a placement. In the current environment placements have been limited and our students could not have achieved the outcomes they have without your support.

We would like to congratulate all our Year 12 Hospitality and Business Services students on the exemplary reports we have received on their progress at Work placement. Well done girls!

In addition to Work placement, Hospitality students, as part of their Certificate II qualification, students must also complete compulsory ‘service periods’. This allows them to to demonstrate and refine their skills as well as meet the outcomes of the course.

Our year 11 Hospitality students completed a very successful service period for Open Day. The students  prepared and served 1000 mini cupcakes, 800 mini tarts and 200 fruit skewers. They demonstrated teamwork, time management and many of the practical skills they have been trained for in the commercial kitchen. The College wishes to acknowledge the work of Ms Little, Ms Scorse and Ms Swinkels in planning, organising and executing such a wonderful experience for students.

Our year 12 students also completed a successful service period hosting the annual pop up coffee stall morning. As the students are qualified Baristas having completed an accredited course late last year, they were able to expertly prepare coffee, hot chocolates, tea and more for our staff putting their newly acquired skills to action.

Year 12 Business Services students have been working on completing the exciting Task 5 ‘Innovation & Sustainability’ unit. Students reviewed the Future Is Electric project that Brigidine students started a few years ago and will be continuing the impressive work of their VET sisters. Looking through the lens of potential economic benefits for creating such change, is a great way for students to be able engage with different stakeholders and learn not just about accounting, but also accountability.

Careers

How can students make an appointment to see the Futures Coordinator?

1. Create an account on the College Careers Website

2. Complete this Interview Sheet and place it in your school google Careers folder.

3. Browse Career choices at one of the following websites:

• My Future - Complete quizzes to find out what type of careers exist within your chosen area 
• https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/
• Job Jump - Register under Brigidine Randwick - School Password: brave

4. Add the information you have researched to the Interview Sheet.

5. Register for an appointment through the College Careers website (not email)

Students are encouraged to read the Careers Newsletter that is uploaded to the Careers website. It includes a wealth of information, including university pathways, TAFE pathways, work experience opportunities and short courses as well as advice on planning a career.

Our College Careers website will be receiving an update during the school break so look out for a revamped site!

Year 12 University Entry

UAC

Your UAC PIN will have been emailed to the address you registered with NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

Keep your UAC PIN in a safe and secure place and don't give it to anyone else. If your PIN doesn't seem to be working, check that you are using your UAC PIN and not your NESA PIN.

For further information on the UAC pin, watch this video.

Further information on how to apply to UAC will be provided early next term.

Early Entry and University talks

Year 12 students are encouraged to make use of the Early Entry Guide which has been posted on the Canvas Careers course and begin the process of early entry application.

A series of lunchtime talks are being organised for Year 12. This will begin with the University of Technology of Sydney on 29th April.

I look forward to working with our students as they navigate their future pathways.

Vicki Zafiris

Futures Coordinator