Secondary

Dear Families 

Grounded in our Ignatian spirituality of ‘finding God in all things’, Reflection Days provide students with time and space away from the normal College program to engage in prayer, learning and reflection to help develop a stronger sense of their own beliefs and values. They encourage students to engage in their faith journey by taking time to reflect on the theme of the day, their relationship with God and others, and their own personal experiences through a spiritual lens.  Reflection Days also serve as opportunities for students to come together as a community, sharing their reflections and insights to develop empathy, connection, tolerance and a broader understanding of each other. In support of the Ignatian principle of ‘Cura Personalis’ – caring for the whole child, the Reflection Day experience complements the wellbeing program for each year group through the following themes: 

• Year 7: Community in Christ 
• Year 8: Respectful Relationships 
• Year 9: Self Image 
• Year 10: Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God 
• Year 11: How people may search for meaning and purpose through religion 

Students in Years 7 to 10 in their reflection days this year have benefited from rich discussion and reflection of themselves and others, and Year 11 students will deepen their understanding of other faiths on their Reflection Day on Tuesday, 10 October.  

Year 10 Reflection Day 

Wednesday's Year 10 Reflection Day theme was 'Micah: Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God'. The day commenced with a celebration of the Liturgy together in the Chapel and was followed by a rotation through three activities centered around social justice:

• ‘Pope for a Day’, a session in which students created their own encyclical based on a current social issue and produced a call to action;
• ‘A Divided World’, where students looked at global inequalities and unequal distribution of resources worldwide, and the third session, 
• ‘Modern Slavery’, provided the opportunity for students to learn about various forms of slavery in our world and reflect on the actions they can take to make a difference. 

The day concluded with an interactive presentation from YSafe on ‘acting justly’ and our relationships with one another in the online world, covering cyberbullying and the topic of image-based abuse.

When asked what the most meaningful part of Reflection Day was, some Year 10 students made the following comments:

To me, the most meaningful part of Reflection Day was learning about what other people have to go through just to produce everyday items like clothing or food.

Finding connection with God.

Learning about how lucky we are to have things that we take for granted, such as shelter and food and education.

Thank you to all the staff involved in coordinating and running the day, including Ms Kalo Bell, Ms Janeen Murphy, Ms Mary-Anne Lumley, House Coordinators:  Ms Morgan Ball, Dr Ylenia Casadio, and Ms Catherine Roberts for running the activities, as well as the Year 10 Homeroom Teachers and supervising staff for their involvement and participation on the day. 

Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding achievements in their sporting endeavours in recent weeks!  

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

Term 3 Key Dates 

All the best to our talented musicians and music staff for this evening’s Spring Soiree and also to our netballers in this weekend's finals. Wishing all our fathers and father figures a very happy day on Sunday. We hope you are surrounded by love in recognition of your contribution to your family.  

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Join us for a morning of community gardening! 

Get your hands dirty for a great cause at John XXIII College's second community gardening session of the year! 

• Date: Saturday 9 September 2023
• Time: 8:00am - 9:30am
• Meeting Point: B8 Science Garden, John XXIII College

We will be planting native trees and shrubs and doing weeding and maintenance around some of the plants we planted previously.

We are calling for interested parents, students and alumni from the John XXIII community to assist with this initiative. 

The aim of the planting is to offset carbon emissions from the College and provide food and habitat for native bird species, focusing on the endangered Carnaby Black Cockatoo.

Many of the seedlings to be planted have been grown by the Sustainability Club and science classes with the assistance of Trillion Trees Australia.

All equipment will be provided; please ensure you wear comfortable clothing and suitable closed footwear. Also don’t forget to bring a hat and sunscreen. 

Participating students can use the time as part of their service learning hours.

Interested in lending a hand? Please complete the form to let us know you're coming.

Mary Ward Cookie Sale

Mount Claremont Bakery kindly donated their delicious cookie dough for Mary Ward Secondary students to bake and sell at recess on Wednesday. Our students enjoyed developing their enterprise skills as they marketed, baked, and sold the cookies. An impressive $200 was raised in under 10 minutes! The proceeds will go towards buying Christmas hampers for Shopfront. 

Thank you to Mount Claremont Bakery for their generous donation.

Shauna Craig

Teacher - Mary Ward 

Languages Week 

This week we celebrated Languages Week. Languages help to broaden our horizons. Practically, they facilitate communication, but they also teach us about other cultures, traditions and identities. 

Our language students are equipped with the skills to participate more effectively and responsibly in a multi-cultural world, and this week we celebrated with our students and staff. Each year group thoroughly enjoyed different activities that not only enabled them to combine with the other language students, but also fostered competence, conscience, compassion and commitment. 

We commenced our week with the Year 12 French, Italian and Japanese students leading us in the Hail Mary in the three different languages. 

Year 7 students competed passionately in our version of the Giro d’Italia and in teams of four with scooters, they raced each other to win the gold medal for their ‘squadra’ (team). Years 9 students, participated in a language quiz and discovered the traditions and cultures of France, Italy and Japan. 

Year 10 and 11 students designed images and slogans on eco-friendly tote bags to promote languages. Our week ended with the Year 8s joining together to participate in our version of the Olympic Games. In teams of eight, they participated and battled it out with various games. 

In the Primary school, a colouring competition and language expo corner in the library was set up and facilitated by Rowson Sensei.

Students and staff enjoyed traditional food and treats from France, Italy and Japan. 

This week would not have been successful without the support and help of past students and the enthusiasm, efforts, and passion of the Language teachers. Grazie a tutti! 

Melissa Polizzi

Head of Learning Area - Languages

2023 Western Australian Constitutional Convention

 Yesterday a select group of talented Year 11 Politics & Law ATAR students participated in the annual School’s Constitutional Convention. The Convention, which was held at the WA Constitutional Centre in West Perth, was attended by more than 90 students. This year’s Convention theme was ‘A Conversation on Constitutional Change in a Referendum Year’.

Students heard from a panel of experts, including Professors from the University of Western Australia, Notre Dame University and Edith Cowan University.

Students who attended the State Convention are invited to apply for the National Schools Constitutional Convention to be held early next year in Canberra.  We commend these Year 11 students on their ongoing political engagement. 

Daisy Farley

Magis Coordinator – Gifted and Talented

SPORTS

ACC A Division Athletics Team

Our 2023 ACC A Division team has been finalised! A full team list can be accessed in the SEQTA notices. All team members are strongly encouraged to attend our last few training sessions to ensure we will be our absolute best on the big day.

Athletics Training and Team Dinner

On Monday 11 August our ACC A Division Athletics team will gather for a team dinner to celebrate a wonderful season of athletics. Please find all the details below:

When:                Monday 11 August

Time:                  3:30-4:30 pm: Training

                             5:00-6:15 pm: Team Dinner

Where:               Training on College ovals, followed by dinner in the Thomas More                                                Exhibition Center (TMEC)

Registration:     Please confirm your attendance via this link. 

Years 9/10 Water Polo

Our Year 9/10 water polo trials will be held on Thursday 7 September at 7am in the dive pool at HBF Stadium. Any students wishing to trial are asked to make their own way to the venue. At the conclusion of the trial, a bus will transport students to the College at 8am. If students cannot make this trial, they must communicate this with Miss Power or Mr Morris before the trial. 

Western Force Rugby

Well done to Years 7 to 10 students who have been competing in the Western Force Rugby Cup. The boys have been training all term and playing games each Wednesday afternoon. As you can imagine, rugby can be an intimidating sport, especially when you are versing very experienced players. Our boys never hesitated or showed an ounce of fear. Rather, they have played with a big smile, taken on all advice, and kept going. 

A very big thank you to coach Christian Golding and staff Pippa Pickering and Jessica Pillera, who have been supporting the teams over the term.

Athletics Training

Athletics training is now in full force in the lead-up to the 2023 ACC A-Division Athletics Carnival. Training occurs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7am to 8am with our specialist athletics coaches.

A detailed schedule of all sessions can be accessed below. 

State Sporting Representation

Any students representing their state this year are encouraged to complete the form below. Next term, this information will be used when we create our special State Sporting Representation video.

Congratulations

Congratulations to recent alumni, Emily Elkington (Class 2022), who will be making her debut for West Coast Eagles in the AFLW Derby this weekend. 

Sara Kononen

Head of Sport