Pastoral Academic Care (PAC)
Pastoral Focus
Junior: ASSERTIVE LANGUAGE
Senior: FIRM MESSAGES
Wellbeing Element: ENGAGEMENT + MINDFULNESS
Character Strength: brainstorming how they can build their wellbeing and resilience using Social-Intelligence.
Parent Wellbeing: having optimism and hope for the future is much more than just feeling positive in your own environment. It is about believing that through your own efforts that you can directly influence your own future. It is your private behind the scenes little things that you do that make the difference and matter.
This week we hear from the Year 7, Year 9 and Year 11 PAC Leaders
Year 7:
School Camp - Coffs Coast Adventure Centre
On Monday the 13th November till Wednesday the 15th November, Year 7 will have the opportunity to attend camp at Coffs Coast Adventure Centre, Bonville. This two night excursion will have us departing Monday morning and returning Wednesday afternoon and having a whole range of fun filled activities in between. The activities program will consist of:
Canoeing
“Get out on the beautiful Bonville Creek for a paddle. Our Activities Team will teach students paddling and canoeing skills before we set out. Once on the water they have plenty of games based activities to keep things interesting.”
Commando Course
“Challenge your students with our tough obstacle course, modelled on the armed forces commando courses. You’d be surprised how bonding a physical challenge and a lot of mud can be!”
Ladder Logs
“Students climb our Ladder Logs knowing that their classmates are behind them for support. A good exercise to build trust and courage.”
Mega Drop
“A jump off the 12 meter Mega Drop will take students well outside their comfort zones. It’s an exercise in confidence building.”
Sky Wire
“If your students need a bit of an adrenaline charge then our 220m Skywire should do the trick.”
Survivor Challenge
“Two tribes will compete to see which tribe will be crowned victors. Each tribe will face challenges testing the tribes physical abilities like balance and coordination as well as challenging their mental abilities like puzzles and endurance. Will your team survive?”
Surfing
“The experienced coaches at Solitary Islands Surf School have decades of surf coaching experience and provide a supportive environment to help students master the beautiful Coffs Coast waves.”
Students will be staying at Coffs Coast Adventure Centre and most meals will be catered for (students will need to bring morning tea and lunch for the first day). This is a great opportunity for students to further develop their team-building skills, try new opportunities and to further strengthen relationships with their cohort.
The event has been pushed out via compass where parents can give consent and online payments if your child will be attending this camp. If you would like to see videos of the activities which students will have the opportunity to participate in please use the link below:
https://coffscoastadventurecentre.com.au/
If you have any questions in regard to the school camp, please reach out to either Felicity Magann or your child’s PAC teacher.
In The Classroom:
Year 7 have continued to have productive learning in the classroom and are producing some wonderful results. Here are some images of wonderful clay work happening in visual arts, along with students learning to solve equations using a step by step method in maths.
Learning Tasks
As the term is getting closer towards the end most subjects would have learning tasks available for you to see via compass. Once the learning task has been submitted and marked you will have the opportunity to see feedback from the teacher’s on each task. In PDHPE all classes are currently working on a group choreography performance as a part of our Jump To The Beat Unit. Take a look below at 7.3 and 7.4 performing the Hoedown Throwdown as a part of their upcoming learning task!
Felicity Magann
On behalf of the Year 7 PAC Team
Year 9:
“I Succeed”
No matter what success looks like to you, there are certain goals you can strive for to achieve. Success can look different for every student! Some might measure success by grades, while others focus on personal growth or pursuing their passions. It’s all about finding what makes you happy and fulfilled.
A couple of weeks ago the Year 9 Debating Team that consists of Sierra Donnelly, Vanessa Riggall, Madeleine Cowley and Maggie Ridley debated the affirmative against The Alpine School, Cooma ‘That all Australian citizens should be required to complete one year of compulsory military or community service’. The adjudicator was impressed with their solid arguments and rebuttals, which was particularly satisfying given the number of Year 9 students who were new to debating. A huge congratulations to these students who represent the College exceptionally.
Over the weekend, Ethan Archer competed at State Championships in the discipline of Trampoline at Level 3. He competed in two events, Trampoline and Double Mini Tramp. Ethan was successful in receiving a silver medal banding for Trampolining and a bronze medal banding in Double Mini Tramp. Well done Ethan on your sporting successes! We’re very proud of you.
Some of our Year 9 students were successful in progressing through to the next round of Diocesen Athletics on the 12th August. We had a large number of students on the day competing in many events and representing the College in a positive manner. Congratulations to all students in attendance!
On 16th August, many of our Year 9s were able to attend the Netball NSW Schools Cup Day held in Armidale. We took many teams and 3 of those teams were made up of Year 9 players. Although we didn’t make it through to the regional finals, students still had a great day of playing sport and working as a team. Well done Year 9 netballers!
PAC Period
A few weeks back, Year 9 had the opportunity to come together in their House and PAC groups to look at our 2023 theme of “Where is your power?”. Through this time, students were able to look at identifying how they are demonstrating kindness through their words and actions. We will be looking at following on from this throughout the remainder of the Semester.
Around The KLAs
Food Technology - Year 9 students have been extremely productive in working towards their learning goals in the classroom this term. Here are some images of students completing a practical Food Technology lesson.
PDHPE - 9PDHPE3 and 9PDHPE4 were fortunate this week to experience being led by some of the College’s Year 11 Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation students as part of a Sport Coaching Assessment. The classes were able to experience games such as Netball and Slide Hockey in the new Gym building. Here are some images of students participating in these activities.
Learning Tasks
As we are nearing the end of Term 3, students are starting to work on completing Learning Tasks in their various subject areas. These tasks are available for students to access via the Compass platform, along with parent and carer access. If you have any questions or concerns surrounding these tasks, please don’t hesitate to contact your student’s class teacher.
Year 9 Mass
Year 9 had the opportunity to attend Mass to celebrate St Mary of the Cross Mackillop. St Mary MacKillop, in full Saint Mary Helen MacKillop, also called Saint Mary of the Cross, (was born 15th January 1842 in Melbourne and died 8th August 1909. She was canonised October 17, 2010; feast day August 8). St Mary Mackillop was a religious figure, educator, and social reformer who was the first Australian beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and the first Australian to be recognised as one of its saints.
Year 9 musicians were able to demonstrate their musical talents in this Mass by performing to the year group and staff present. Thank you for all your efforts and courage for these performances.
Natalie Mellowship
On behalf of the Year 9 PAC Team
Year 11:
Year 11 Retreat
The Year 11 retreat will be held at the Coffs Coast Adventure Centre in Bonville this year. We will leave school at 9am in the morning on Wednesday October 11 and return at about 4:30 on Friday October 13 (Wednesday to Friday of week 1, term 4). Students will have the opportunity to participate in some adrenaline charged challenges including: commando course, mega drop, skywire (a 220m zip line), survivor challenge and ladder logs (check these out here). They will also complete some spiritual and team building activities designed to form stronger relationships between one another.
Parents and carers can provide consent and make payment via Compass and are reminded to please complete the online booking form via the link provided on Compass.
More information will be provided soon regarding what students need to bring and what not to bring.
Student Success
Year 11 students continue to excel, not only in the classroom but also at many other events. Just a few of these are outlined here.
On August 9, many year 11 students competed at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Tamworth. Congratulations to all students, especially:
Brooke Newberry (100m - PB & 1st, 200m, 800m, long jump, triple jump, high jump, javelin, discus, Age Champion), Chitipat Poomipak (100m - 1st, 200m, long jump, Age Champion), Alec Campbell (800m), Ben Fergusson (triple jump), Ava Vaughan (100m, 200m), Sophie Carson (100m, 200m), Emily Hallman (long jump, javelin, discus, triple jump, Age Champion), Amber Hahn (high jump).
On the 13th of August, John Harris attended a Rotary public speaking competition in Inverell. John participated in two sections - one for prepared speeches and also the impromptu section. Congratulations John!
John was also part of a team including David Tafolla Ruiz, Sophie Ridley and Riley King, who recently competed against Canberra Girls’ Grammar in debating. They were successful in debating for the affirmative that “we should impose a sunshine tax on individuals who build new homes without solar panels”. Great work team!
On the Fridays of weeks 2, 3 & 4, Molly Burton, Lilly Stace and Zoe Walters participated in the Girls in Civil workshops. This included learning about civil construction, the equipment used in the industry and the development and planning of work sites. These ladies also had the opportunity to complete their ticket in Operating Elevated Platforms (scissor lift). Well done ladies!
On August 16, Alexis Cook, Zoe Walters, Lily Bull, Gabby Williams and Sophie Carson assisted with umpiring and supporting students at the Netball NSW Schools Cup.
Preparing for exams
In recent weeks we have completed a number of activities focusing on supporting students to best prepare for the end of Year 11 exams, taking place in Week 9 (the exam timetable is available here). We have spent time discussing study and exam preparation techniques, how to manage stress and anxiety during these times, including how to support one another and agencies that can be approached if needed.
Students also completed an Elevate workshop - Ace Your Exams. One thing identified was the vital role parents play in supporting students to always achieve to their full potential. The Elevate Education program offers parents free online webinars and also has a lot of resources online that you can look through here.
Year 12 Leadership Positions
Finally, as we approach the transition to Year 12, students have been offered the opportunity to make a positive impact on the school and consider the legacy they wish to leave for the school by applying for leadership roles in the College. These include College Captains and Vice-Captains, College House Captains, Arts Captains, and Faith and Service Captains. I look forward to reading through the applications and interviewing students for the positions. I encourage all students, regardless of their success in applying for a position, to consider how they can contribute to the culture and functioning of the college.
Mr Luke Andrews
On behalf of the Year 11 PAC team.