Secondary

Dear Families

What a week it has been! A huge congratulations to our Swim Team for their courageous and determined effort to place second overall at Wednesday’s ACC A-Division Carnival. The team spirit and energy among the students were electric poolside and every member of the team should be proud of their efforts throughout the season and on the day. 

Well done to the Year 12 SRC and their visible leadership among Secondary students at last week's assembly and in the organisation of St Patrick’s Day celebrations and Harmony Day activities throughout the week. Mindful of their responsibility as positive role models, their creative flair in encouraging students on wearing the correct uniform through the video here was a hit among the students. 

The uniform is a symbol of belonging and identity to our community and whilst many students are wearing the uniform correctly, others are not. Excessive jewellery and wearing skirts too short are an issue among female students, whilst some male students can improve by being clean shaven and keeping their hair neatly tied back if longer than collar length. The ability to wear the sport uniform and House shirt on Wednesdays has been well received by students (a reminder to wear House shirt, not College shirt as the video suggests!), but with this opportunity comes the expectation to wear the uniform correctly on other days. As we head into the winter uniform next term, please ensure that jumpers purchased are to correct fit and not oversized. Working together, we can send a consistent message to our students, encouraging them to wear the uniform neatly and with pride. 

The Uniform Shop is offering winter uniform fitting appointments for families: a 20-minute one-on-one appointment before school, or on the Parent-Teacher-Student Interview days in Week 9. Please use the link below to choose a day and time that suits your family. 

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Year 11 Visual Arts workshop

Yesterday the Year 11 Visual Art General students engaged in an all-day workshop with artist Desiree Crossing. They produced an artwork using screen printing and acrylic painting in the style of Pop Art, inspired by Roy Lichtenstein.  

Angela Bollam

Art Teacher   

Year 12 Visual Arts workshop

Last week our Year 12 Visual Art General students participated in an artist incursion with Maggie Johnson. The focus was still life using acrylics, where they adopted Johnson's style and process to complete the paintings in a day.

Angela Bollam

Art Teacher   

Year 11 ATAR Geography Excursion 

On Wednesday 22 March 2023, Year 11 ATAR Geography students travelled to the Hills Discovery Centre in Mundaring to participate in a range of learning activities relating to bushfires. 

A member of the Department of Parks and Wildlife spoke to the students about how bushfires start, the impact of bushfires and proactive management strategies. The group then learnt about the devastating consequences of the 2021 Wooroloo Bushfire event in which 86 homes were lost. In the afternoon, students participated in a range of hands-on geography-based activities such as measuring and comparing the amount of leaf litter and tree coverage in a prescribed burn area and a non-prescribed burn area. They also enjoyed creating a firesafe emergency plan for the Hills Discovery Centre. 

As fieldwork and practical skills are a fundamental part of the course, it was fantastic to see the students enjoying the range of activities on offer throughout the day. A special thank you to Mrs Kalo Bell (Geography Teacher) for accompanying the students.

Chris Morris

Head of Learning Area – Humanities and Social Sciences

Welcoming the West Coast Eagles

This week we were fortunate enough to have a visit from the WA Football Commission together with players from the West Coast Eagles. The students participated in fun and engaging skill based games and activities on the oval. It was wonderful to see the excitement on the children’s faces as they interacted with Luke Shuey, Shannon Hurn, Jamie Cribbs, Tom Barrass and Elijah Hewitt. It was a pleasure to see such high-profile players act with warmth and kindness towards the students and show an interest in them and their skill development.  

June Chiaroni

Head of Mary Ward Secondary

Mathematics Week

Last week, the College celebrated Mathematics Week. The timing of this week is chosen as ‘Pi Day’, the 14 March falls during this week. The Mathematics department ran several exciting challenges for students. 

During Homeroom, students had daily Mathematic puzzles and challenges to solve. Well done to Year 10 Koolyangarra, Year 11 Campion and Year 9 St Louis who came out as the top Homerooms in these challenges. 

On Tuesday the 14 March, students took part in the Pi Day Challenge, with a large number of students participating. Well done to Sasha Pallis, Year 9 Campion, Alyssa Nelson, Year 8 Loyola and Tahj Arundell, Year 8 Campion who took out the top prizes on the day. 

Towers of Hanoi took place during lunchtime on Wednesday, with Neva Barker, Year 10 Campion  setting an impressive record of re-arranging eight boxes on the day. 

The week finished with a St Patrick's Day Mathematics challenge on the Friday.

I would like to thank all the students who took part so enthusiastically and for the Mathematics teachers who ran the activities throughout the week. 

Joanne Friel

Head of Learning Area   Mathematics

St Patrick's Day celebrations

On Friday 17 March, the College came together to celebrate St Patrick's Day. At lunchtime, students performed songs by Irish artists on the Chapel Lawn. Well done to Holly Denton (Year 11 Campion), Jackson Tout (Year 11 Ward), Abigail Stephenson (Year 7 Loyola) and Julian Hawson (Year 12 Loreto), for performing on the day. Without your courage, events like this would not occur. There was then a break for Irish dancing! A special mention must go to Mr Conor O’ Hara (Mathematics teacher), Charlie Clarke (Year 12 Campion), Gus Kenny (Year 12 Loreto) and Luka Lee (Year 9 Loyola) for leading this dancing segment, with the rest of the student and staff body joining in. It was a wonderful gathering of the College community. It meant a lot to each staff and student member with an Irish connection to share this special celebration. 

Joanne Friel

Head of Learning Area   Mathematics

Slavery Free Chocolate Campaign

Pope Francis said, “every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic – act.”

Not all chocolate is sweet. Not if a child has been forced to pick the cocoa beans - a key 

ingredient of chocolate. About 80% of cocoa comes from West Africa and it is estimated that almost 2 million children are in child labour in these areas.

They may never go to school or taste the chocolate they help produce.

Companies sourcing cocoa certified by Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance are working 

towards the elimination of slavery in the cocoa industry.

The Chocolate Scorecard 

(https://www.chocolatescorecard.com/) is also a useful resource in this regard.

Make a change this Easter and only buy chocolate displaying the Fairtrade or Rainforest 

Alliance logo. 

Janeen Murphy

Deputy Principal of Faith and Mission

SPORTS

ACC A-Division Swimming Carnival

What an incredible day the ACC A-Division Swimming Carnival was. All schools are to be commended for the atmosphere and healthy rivalry on show.

It was always going to come down to Sacred Heart and John XXIII College and it was a battle right until the end. The leading school for the day was constantly changing, our team would be three points up and then two points down. It all came down to the final Division 1 Freestyle relays, where Sacred Heart finished up as the reigning team. Our team still managed to come home with the Overall Girls Aggregate and Senior Girls shields. 

We are so proud to come home as the Overall Runner Ups. Our students will use this as motivation to come back better and stronger next year. Winning is amazing, and we are sad to not have come home with the Overall Aggregate Shield; however, we are so happy for our rival school. It was a well-deserved win. This is what makes sport one of the most valuable lessons in life: how we learn to bounce back with resilience and determination for the next challenge. 

Our students were incredible from start to finish with their marshalling, cheering and determination to swim their absolute best for our team. For some of our senior team members, this was their first ever ACC Swimming Carnival. We also had students who fought through injuries in races on the day. This is a credit to the wonderful sporting culture and commitment amongst our students. 

The day would not have been possible without the support of our incredible staff: Miss Pillera, Mr Tirant, Mr Kowal and Mrs Rosa. A very special thank you to our Head Coach, Mr Tirant and our Assistant Coach, Owen Lilleyman for all their time and effort preparing our team.

Interschool jumper embroidery

It is now time for any ACC Swimming Team members to deliver their interschool jumpers to the PE Office to be embroidered. The cut off date for ACC Swimming embroidery will be Tuesday 4 April.

Northern Associated Schools (NAS)

Congratulations to all of the teams who played against Chisholm College this week.  

Next week, any teams that have finished in the top four places on the ladder will either play a Finals 1 ( 1st or 2nd) or a Finals 2 (3rd of 4th). Please see all finals fixtures below. Sadly, any teams finishing fifth will have no more games. 

Teams with no finals are:

• Year 10 Boys Basketball
• Year 10 Boys Indoor Cricket
• Year 10 Boys Beach Volleyball
• Year 9 Boys Frisbee (no final due to a forfeit)

We wish all our teams the best of luck in their finals.

Years 7/8 finals – Tuesday 28 March

Years 9/10 finals – Wednesday 29 March

Please note the important NAS information below:

• The number one priority for all NAS games is that you have fun!
• All NAS Coaches award an MVP at the end of the term, so make sure you are displaying sportsmanship, assistance and playing your best.
• A reminder that all students travelling off site are to change during lunchtime. Students must wear correct PE footwear (no crocs or slides are permitted).
• Teams travelling to Sacred Heart, Chisholm, Servite will leave at 2:50pm.
• All Indoor Cricket teams will leave at 2:50pm.
• All remaining teams will leave straight after school at 3:15pm.
• Correct College PE uniform must be worn to avoid uniform points will be deducted.
• All games are played from 4:00pm-5:00pm. Students playing away games will arrive back at John XXIII College between 5:30pm and 5:45pm.

Senior NAS One-Day Carnival

Congratulations to all Years 11/12 students who have made a Senior NAS Team this term. All teams have started training once a week in the lead up to the big day on Monday 3 April.

Please note that there are still a few places on all teams, with the exception of Basketball and Beach Volleyball, for both more players or helpers on the day. Students are encouraged to contact the appropriate Senior NAS Coach to join a team or volunteer as a helper on the day.

Cross-Country Training

With swimming now concluded, all sights now turn to the ACC Cross-Country Carnival. This event creeps up quickly on Thursday 1 June. A reminder that the team will include the top seven competitors in Years 7-10 and the top ten in Years 11/12 combined.

Next weeks session will be a long run from the College (approximately 5km). If you want to stay on site – you are more than welcome - as there will also be a session running at school. 

Tuesday                            Boys offsite 

Thursday                          Girls offsite 

Meeting time                 6:45am in the Pavilion for students going offsite

                                            7:00am for students at the College

All students are welcome to join our morning training sessions. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Poppy Thorpe, Year 10, on her recent performance at the 2023 National Club Futsal Championship. Poppy has now been selected to play in the Australia 15 Girl's Futsal Team that will tour to Greece in October.

We also extend a congratulations to Elena Kyngdon, Year 8 on her participation in Kiteboarding Western Australia’s Junior Athlete Development Programme. 

Elena has been training hard and recently participated in State and National competitions obtaining some fantastic results:

🥇 Australian Freestyle Champion U18 2023

🥇 WA State Freestyle Champion Women's 2023

🥇 WA State Freestyle Champion Girls U18 2023

Elena has also managed to attain team rider sponsorship from a major kiteboarding brand and is now WA’s youngest, sponsored female kiteboarder. Her next goal is a potential participation in the 2024 Youth World Cup. 

Sara Kononen

Head of Sport