Secondary

Dear Families 

Teacher wellbeing and student wellbeing are interconnected. When teachers are physically and emotionally well, it positively impacts the learning environment and the overall educational experience for students. A teacher who is physically and mentally well is more likely to be effective in their teaching to deliver lessons with enthusiasm and creativity to make learning enjoyable and effective for students. Teachers who are well-rested and feeling emotionally balanced are better equipped to create a positive and nurturing classroom environment that promotes student engagement and overall wellbeing. This also results in the building of positive relationships, which are critical for students’ emotional and social development.  

Staff wellbeing is important to us at the College, and staff benefit from a range of wellbeing initiatives as part of a supportive and collegial workplace. This week, to complement RUOK? Day, we promoted Staff Wellbeing Week. Staff engaged in the following activities throughout the week to support and promote the importance of them taking care of themselves in order to be at their best for students.  

• Mindfulness Monday with Guillaume Hauer (Mary Ward Secondary Education Assistant) to take some time to pause and be present throughout the day. 
• Ticker Tuesday got the heart rates up in a Staff vs Student volleyball game. 
• Wellbeing Wednesday walking.  
• Thursday bacon and egg breaky in the Staffroom.  
• Faith Friday to celebrate Mr Mahon’s Commissioning.  
• An important element of one’s wellbeing is the practice of gratitude, and through the week staff contributed donations to the Wellbeing Week Appeal in support of the efforts of CARAD to support and advocate for people seeking asylum in Perth, who depend on the community to provide food and hygiene items through their foodbank program.  

RUOK? Day 

Congratulations to Wellbeing Captain, Charley Laver, who, with our Psychologist, Eva-Maria Catina, Counsellor, Elise Svanberg and Year 9 students, promoted RUOK? Day with a variety of activities for students to engage in this week. In the Wellbeing period yesterday, Charley shared some insightful and powerful words with students to raise awareness of the importance of the question ‘RUOK?’  

Whilst our young people are not expected to be the primary support people for friends experiencing challenges, by following the RUOK? steps below, they can start a conversation that could make a significant difference to a friend or a peer:   

• Ask R U OK?  
• Listen 
• Encourage action: seek help from an adult or use known strategies as healthy coping skills 
• Check in 

More information on RUOK? Day can be found on the organisation’s website: 

A conversation could change a life | R U OK? 

Year 10 Atticus Finch Justice Award Finals  

Congratulations to all finalists who presented their ‘Speak Truth for Future Generations’ speeches to their cohort and a judging panel on Wednesday at the Atticus Finch social justice and public speaking finals. The Atticus Finch Justice Award was initiated in 2011 and exemplifies the College’s motto of Seek Justice through the study of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird and students’ learning of Catholic social teaching through their Religious Education course. Finalists expertly linked these stimuli and this year’s theme to contemporary Australian issues and were impressive in their delivery, depth of knowledge and passion. Congratulations to the following students, who should be very proud of their efforts:  

• Logan Blake  
• Miranda Clyne 
• Kai Cranfield 
• Joshua Engelbrecht 
• Luke Green 
• Charlie Haines 
• Valentina Kuruc 
• Sofia Lamattina 
• Sarah Panetta 
• Bianca Petsos 
• Jennifer Ong 
• Elsie Samson 

Student Congratulations! 

Congratulations to Tiffany Cesare (Year 12) for securing a Murdoch University scholarship to support her studies next year in a Bachelor of Science, majoring in forensic biology. Well done, Tiffany! 

So that we can shine the light on student achievements, please share the good news by emailing me Shani.Andrews@cewa.edu.au.  

Well done to all performers at last night’s Year 9 Drama Night and to all students involved in today’s Commissioning Mass for Mr Mahon who were impressive ambassadors for the College. All the best to our netballers, Creative Edge team and Tournament of the Minds team for this weekend's finals. Also, to our ACC athletes for the Interschool A-Division Carnival on Monday (after being postponed from Wednesday due to weather), we are thrilled that you still get the chance to represent the College and hopefully dominate on the day. Go JTC!  

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Lights, camera, action! Media Night

Join us for an enchanting evening as we unveil the incredible talents of our students at our highly-anticipated Media Night. Expect a captivating showcase featuring diverse films, from gripping genre pieces and thought-provoking documentaries to heart-pounding action trailers and mesmerising music videos. It's a cinematic journey you won't want to miss!

Thursday 12 October, 6:15pm to 8:30pm

Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre

Robert Di Giallonardo

Media Teacher

Community planting and weeding session

Last Saturday morning a group of 25 students, parents and staff spent two hours on weeding and planting native plants near the steps leading up to Montgomery Hall on the western side of the College. Thanks to their hard work, we were able to clear a large area of invasive weeds and plant over 30 native plants, including a mixture of banksias, grevilleas, hakeas, kangaroo paws and eucalypts. Thank you to all who came and contributed to our efforts to revegetate the banks with plants that support our native wildlife.

Adrian Sims

Sustainability Coordinator

SPORTS

ACC A-Division Athletics Carnival - Rescheduled

After consultation with the schools and Venues West, the ACC has confirmed that the A Division Athletics Carnival will now take place on Monday, 18 September, with the usual full-day program of events.

The event will be live-streamed on the following link https://streamer.com.au/club/accwa/event/acc-athletics-a-division 

Important Carnival Information

Time and Date: Monday, 18 September 7:30am to 3:00pm

All team members are required to meet in the St Louis Sports Centre at 7:15am

Venue: HBF Athletics Stadium, Stevenson Avenue, Mount Claremont

We are so appreciative and relieved that our team have been given another opportunity to represent the College at this incredible event.

Let's go JTC!!!

Congratulations

Congratulations to Zephyr O’Brien(Year 9) for being selected to represent WA in the national Waterpolo Championships in the September school holidays at Olympic Park in Sydney. 

Sara Kononen

Head of Sport