Pastoral Academic Care (PAC) Focus

This week’s Pastoral Academic Care focus is RECODING LEARNING

Wellbeing Element: ACCOMPLISHMENT + OPTIMISM

Character Strength: APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY AND EXCELLENCE

Wellbeing Reality Activities: RECODING LEARNING

Parent Wellbeing:

A great daily mindfulness challenge, which will connect you with yourself and the moment, is to notice at least one thing different about every day. You are focused on looking for good stuff, not just drifting along.

Note Taking should be much more than purely writing, and there are more effective and intelligent ways to do so. Optimal learning occurs when students use both sides of their brains to gather information by hearing, seeing, feeling and sensing it using their dominant Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles and drawing idea maps, using thinking tools, making lists, creating flowcharts and using abbreviations. Google the Cornell method for taking notes. When taking notes in class, many students try to write down everything that the teacher says and consequently, find great difficulty keeping up, which in turn, puts them under pressure and tests their resilience to stay focused and engaged. For many students this leads to anxious feelings. The 80/20 Principle is an effective listening and note taking technique, and involves listening attentively for 80% of the time and writing/ posing questions/ recording/ drawing for 20% of the time. Questioning what they are listening to, lights the fire in their brains to start looking for connections to what they already know. Their brains are engaged in exploring and searching for meaning and patterns, which is real learning. Encourage them to use the character strengths open-mindedness, perspective and curiosity in their note taking.

Acknowledgement: Wade & De Bono

Year 7

Mrs Kath Czinner & Mr James Russell

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to supervise the Yr 7 students who were at school and I had a great day. It was so fantastic to see so many smiling faces. While it was great to catch up with students face to face, I was particularly impressed by the behaviour and work ethic shown by our wonderful Yr 7’s as I moved around rooms. It was simply outstanding! This is particularly impressive given that we have been moving through a difficult and disrupted time. Traits such as maturity, adaptability and persistence spring to mind as I reflect on this and these are all qualities that we hope (in combination with all that you do at home) to instil in our students. It is extremely pleasing and a credit to the Yr 7 Cohort that they have been able to apply and demonstrate these qualities during this period of connected learning. The good news is that it appears that we will continue to make a shift back towards normality at school. From Week 5, Yr 7 are encouraged to attend on Wednesday and Thursday and they will be following their regular timetables on those days (rooming may change). If you have any questions or concerns around these arrangements, please let myself or Kath Czinner know.

Another highlight from last Thursday was the number of students receiving Commendations, Year Leader Awards and even Principal Awards. Congratulations in particular to the following students:

Year Leader Awards - Shyan Dodd, Bryce Hemsworth, Liam Best,Tahlia Bird, Bernard May(2), Lang Toakley(2), Delilah Layton(2), Maya Teege, Brigdette Diefenbach, Nevaeh Bateman, Ella Lunhich, Kaylah Selby, Damian Czapracki, Poppy McKay.

Principal’s Awards - Bernard May, Shanae Wark, Lang Toakley, Ava Loudan, Hannah Friedman and Lillie Kelly.

James Russell and The Year 7 PAC team.

Year 8

Mrs Katie Biddle

Firstly, a huge congratulations to all the amazing students in Year 8 who are developing skills to manage connected learning and balance this with their wellbeing. This is a difficult skill to master and I want you to be proud of each step you take towards this. As we begin transitioning back to increased time at school, please remember that feeling nervous is a perfectly normal way to feel. I anticipate that many students will smoothly transition back to school. However, I encourage those who have difficulty to reach out and accept the support that we have at school to help you to get back into the swing of things.

I have been so impressed to see Year 8 taking on the challenges set by their PAC teachers. Well done - check out these amazing creations by Luke, Ben, Laura, Lara and Aveline.

Congratulations to the Year 8 students who have received Commendations since the last newsletter.

Year Leader’s Awards

Josephine Ryan

Adrian Walters

Emily Simpson

Principal’s Awards

Ben Fergusson

Ava Vaughn

Jessica Ferris

Luke Rogers

Year 8 has been challenged to go on a 'gratitude scavenger hunt' this week. I wonder what they will find?

Katie Biddle and Year 8 PAC team

kbiddle1@arm.catholic.edu.au

Year 9

Mr Lloyd Honnery

Over the past two Tuesdays it has been an absolute pleasure to see Year 9 back at school. I have been so proud of the engagement and positivity that Year 9 has shown during this difficult time.

Congratulations to Caleb Dubois-Bender, Phoebe Donnelly, Roie Wood and Isabelle Kelly for receiving their Principals awards even during COVID times. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. I also have a number of Year Leader awards to hand out when we are all back at school.

Week 5 will bring a change and another step towards normality. Year 9 will be able to attend school on Monday and Tuesday. On these days they will be attending their normal lessons with most of their normal teachers - this will be an opportunity for students to ask for help or clarification with the remote learning content.

During this time of change it is important to remember that O’Connor has an amazing counselling team who can help with strategies to take care of mental health - or just lend an ear for your student to talk to. If you notice your student struggling, don’t hesitate to email myself or their PAC teacher and we can put your student in touch with the counselling team.

Year 10

Mr Peter McLeish

By the time you read this, Week 4 will be done and dusted. Bring on Week 5. Things will slightly different in Week 5. Year 10 will be at school on Monday and Tuesday. They will be attending regular classes and following their regular timetables for those two days.

My team and I have been so impressed with the way our students, your children, have adapted to home learning. By following their asynchronous timetables and attending their scheduled Zoom meetings, they have kept pace with their learning. It seems to me that they have almost mastered it all and these new skills concerning adaptability will help prepare them for the changes which may continue to occur in the future within the framework of these COVID-19 times.

Students have also risen to the Daily Challenges that appear in the Daily Notices. This has led to a plethora of Commendation Certificates. There are far too many to individually recognise.

The following students have earned Year Leader Awards recently: Lara, Lauren, Bonnie and Fletcher who now has two.

Congratulations also to the following students who have recently earned Principal’s Awards: Nathalie, Jenna, Mia and Angus.

Keep up the great work Year 10. You are an amazing bunch of young people.

Don’t forget to email your child’s PAC teacher or me if you have any concerns about their well being. We are here to help!

Until we reach the new normal, be kind to each other and stay safe.

Peter McLeish (on behalf of the Year 10 PAC team)

Year 11

Mr Mark Fulloon

Year 11 have now started their managed return to school as a staggered start for Weeks 3 and 4. Students have been busy completing academic work and have also had a busy ‘Zoom’ timetable with their teachers. As we now start to see a return to school for students we ask that they observe the new hygiene and safety features in place for them here at school. They will be asked to wash their hands regularly, use the hand sanitiser and wipes in classrooms and maintain social distancing as standard practice. School may now look very different in the ways that things are done, however Stage 6 courses are running as usual, and I urge Year 11 to keep up to date with their work and any assessments and learning tasks.

Last week I received a lot of emails and compass notifications for commendations and I wrote quite a few Year Leader awards for students. It was also good to see a number of Principal awards going to students so early in the school year. Keep up the good work Year 11, stay in contact with your teachers, keep up with zooms as required and stay safe.

Regards,

Mark Fulloon

(on behalf of the Year 11 PAC team)

Year 12

Mrs Vicki Channon

Our PAC team would like to commend Year 12 on another two weeks of solid learning in the current space in which we are working. Students are maximising their time that they have in the school environment, and the majority of students are engaging well in online learning.

Students continue to be awarded accolades for commitment to studies and efforts across the breadth of school life, including the daily challenges.

Assessment tasks are still at the forefront for our students and it is vital that time is managed well so that the stress levels do not build up and everything gets out of hand. If you are struggling please seek assistance.

It would be wise to start assembling some revision/study cards, making effective summaries in order to consolidate the learning for each subject. Completing past papers and asking for feedback is a proven way in which to gain more marks. Let’s all try and aim for ‘one more mark’.

We are starting to make enquiries regarding the Year 12 Formal. I have a group of keen students who have formed a committee to start researching areas that we will need to investigate. Fingers crossed, things will be back to normal (positive thinking) by November. In any case, the show must go on but what it might look like is up in the air at the moment.

The PAC team has had constant contact with the students during this unprecedented period that we are facing, and I thank them for this. I have also had many learning conversations and I am so encouraged by the level of maturity in which the students have conducted themselves throughout this process. It is understandable that for many students, this is a time of uncertainty and feelings of being overwhelmed are not unusual. Again, please seek help if needed.

I look forward to seeing all students back on deck full time very, very soon.

Mrs Channon (on behalf of the entire Year 12 PAC team).

A Letter from the Bishops of Australia