Secondary

Dear Families  

The significance of a strong school community cannot be overstated. It forms the bedrock of a successful educational experience, where students not only thrive academically but also grow emotionally and socially. I continue to be moved by the profound sense of community that is evident at John XXIII College. John XXIII Day presents a perfect example of such spirit, bringing staff and students together to honour our inspirational Founders; Ignatius of Loyola, Mary Ward and Pope John XXIII, as well as fundraise for our College charities. A day such as this could not run without the incredible planning and effort from a wide range of people from across the College: House Coordinators, teachers, student leaders, performers and technical crews, and support staff, all giving their best to make the day as successful as possible.  

The invitation to join each other in being people for others through the joyful and reverent Mass was a fitting start to the day. Congratulations to the many students who participated in the service as readers or performers to make this a very special celebration of the Eucharist. The traditional Running of the Colonnades was hotly contested by a number of Year 12 students.  Congratulations to Jasmine Boog and Angus Furn for their impressive run to have their name join previous champions on the Colonnades Honour Board. A highlight of the day, the food and fete stalls raised in excess of $10,000 to donate to our College charities, Mary Ward International and Jesuit Missions, in support of their work with vulnerable communities. Our Alumni network is an important part of our community, and it is always wonderful to welcome past students back to the College. Year 12 students took on competitive Alumni teams in netball and football with the Theresa Elliott shield awarded to Year 12 in a close scoring match, 22-16. The Alumni football team took home the Ron Logan Cup, 33 to 2. The highly anticipated Variety Concert delivered a creative and entertaining end to the day with staff and students showcasing their musical, comedic and dancing talents. Congratulations to Drama Captain Felix and Music Captain Xavier for their skilful compering of the concert, as well as the incredible efforts of Multimedia Captain Jackson and the AV crew for their behind-the-scenes planning and support.  

High Achievers’ Breakfast 

Students’ commitment to their learning was acknowledged on Wednesday with the High Achievers’ Breakfast to celebrate the achievements of students in Years 7 to 12 from Semester 1. Students enjoyed a morning of collegiality and hospitality as they listened to the experience and wisdom of Alumni, Jasmin Collins (Class of 2020). Jasmin’s insights on her belief in pushing oneself out of their comfort zone and trying a variety of pursuits to gain a well-rounded view of life provided students with a thought-provoking and encouraging message. Congratulations to the students below for their hard work and dedication to their learning last semester:  

Student Podcast 

The JTC Student Podcast is a new and engaging way for students and staff to find out more about the College through coverage of major events, insights into departments and clubs, and up-to-date news and current affairs.

The first episode has now arrived and students can listen now during Homeroom, or as background listening during Wellbeing or study periods, on the way to and from school, while working out, or even just chilling at home! There will be regular opportunities for engagement and interactivity through features like polls, Q&A’s, competitions, and interviews.

Brought to you by the hard-working students of Media Club – we hope student's will enjoy this new medium for accessing College news!

Yokoso! Benvenuta!  

A warm welcome to our Japanese and Italian visiting students and accompanying staff for their exchange experience over the coming weeks. Students from Osaka Kasugaoka, Japan arrived Tuesday evening and will be visiting until Wednesday 7 August. We also look forward to the arrival of our friends from Vasto, Abruzzo tomorrow evening, who will be staying with host families from the College until Thursday 15 August.   

Sport Photos 

Sport Photos are scheduled for Monday, 5, and Tuesday, 6 August. Photos will take place in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre and students should arrive five minutes before their scheduled photo. The timetable for the day is below.  

A reminder that students must be in correct sport uniform with College sports shirt, College sports socks, College sport shorts and tracksuit pants. Students not in the correct uniform will not be allowed in the photo. 

Car park etiquette 

Senior students and parents are reminded to be courteous and considerate and mindful of pedestrian safety when driving or parking in the car parks. The end of the school day is particularly busy with students departing the campus, and there have been a few narrow misses recently.  

Rotary Exchange  

Rotary Youth Exchange WA provides the opportunity for young people aged 15 to 18 from overseas to ‘live like a local’ and attend school for a year. The organisation is looking for families to host Ria, a 16-year-old female from Germany, from November to January or May to July 2025. Ria will be attending Shenton College. Interested families can contact Donatienne Bailleux at donabailleux@yahoo.com.  

Wishing all musicians and performers a successful Music Eisteddfod this coming weekend, a great way to launch Music and Drama Week!  

Term 3 Key Dates 

Warm regards

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Year 11 Pilgrimage student reflection - Group A

On the 24 June we had the privilege of being part of 32 Year 11 students that set off on Pilgrimage to Cape York in North Queensland. We flew into Cairns, camping for the first two nights. The first day we embarked on an Indigenous snorkelling experience at the Great Barrier Reef. Our cultural guides provided fascinating stories and traditional knowledge of the flora and fauna from the Gimuy-Walubarra Yidi people of the region. The first community we visited was the Balnggarrawarra Ranger Base. We were greeted warmly by Bulla and his family through a smoking ceremony. During our time with them, we learnt about how they manage the land through controlled burns as protection from bushfires whilst assuring plant regrowth. They showed us sacred rock paintings and told us many stories of the land. After four fun but informative days, we left for our second location of Biiba-Garr. Once more we were greeted with open arms by our Indigenous hosts Gary and Kaylene. Both had a prominent understanding of the various flora and fauna of the area. We were even lucky enough to get a lesson on the Guugu Yimidhirr language, spoken in the surrounding areas. On the Pilgrimage we gained a profound appreciation for the deep connection Indigenous people have between nature and spirituality. We took away a greater understanding of the importance of preserving tradition and how we, as school students, can help and make an impact.

Welcome to the International Japanese Exchange from Osaka Kasugaoka High School

A warm welcome to the International Japanese Exchange from Osaka Kasugaoka High School. The group comprising of 20 students, with one teacher, Kawaguchi Sensei, and one representative from Gold Educational Tours, Ottaway San, excitedly arrived in the afternoon of Tuesday 30 July. The exchange group will be visiting from 31 July until the 7 August and will be staying with families in the community. 

During their time in Perth, they will visit and be a part of a range of intercultural classes on our campus. On Wednesday 31 July, they commenced their day with an acknowledgement to country, the College prayer, icebreakers and a College Tour with the Year 10 and 11 students of Japanese. Next Wednesday 7 August they will visit Caversham Wildlife Park with the Year 10 students of Japanese and will feed some of our native Australian animals.

Some of the on-campus lessons include an Art, English, Science, History class and visit to the Primary Japanese class, presented by our John XXIII teachers. The exchange group will also be independently involved in a range of off-campus activities, organized by Gold Educational Tours.

The brief but invaluable time on campus has enabled the Japanese students to be involved in a range of activities, conversing in both Japanese and English. The sharing of different cultures, traditions and routines, enabled a greater appreciation and understanding of the Japanese and Australian culture. Not only does it link with our curriculum, but the building of relationship with students in similar ages, has made the learning of language authentic and enriching. 

This exchange would not have been possible without the support of the whole College and the Languages department would like to extend a thank you to the grounds and maintenance team, the visual-audio and marketing team, and to all staff and students that have made them feel welcome and have been a part of their experience. 

A particular thank you to Glass Sensei and Aghdasi Sensei for all their preparation, efforts and time spent with the exchange; prior, during and post their visit.

The exchange will conclude on Wednesday 7 August, with a brief farewell celebration to the families that have hosted and the students that have been involved with them whilst on campus.

The French Alliance Française Examination 

On Tuesday 30 July, Year 10, 11 and 12 French Second Language students sat the prestigious annual Alliance Française examination. This examination is sat by students studying French in schools in Western Australia and must be completed all on the same day. It is an external written and marked examination, comprising of listening, reading and writing sections and is closely aligned to the Western Australian and ATAR courses. It is an invaluable opportunity for our ATAR students to have exposure and practice in fine-tuning their skills prior to completing their WACE, later in the year.

Well done to all students for enthusiastically completing this external examination.

Merci beaucoup to Madame Griffin-Appadoo, Madame Outtrim and Monsieur Quayle for preparing the students. 

Melissa Polizzi

Head of Learning Area - Languages 

SPORT

Fr Kevin King Cup – Interhouse Athletics Carnival 

We could not have asked for a better day for our Interhouse Athletics Carnival last Friday 26 July. The weather was truly on our side and this set the stage for a beautiful day. The Year 12 parades, dances and war cries were once again a grand opening to the carnival and a huge highlight for the day. Well done to all the Year 12’s, together with their Homeroom teachers and House Coordinators, for their hard work in the lead-up.  The spirit was evident throughout the whole day, with chants consistently filling the stands. 

The competition for the Fr Kevin King Cup was very close throughout the day. However, Campion House was victorious in the end. This year, Koolyangarra House took out our Spirit Award, and our best-dressed were St Louis, who looked ‘incredible’ dressed as The Incredibles. 

Congratulations to our Champions and Runner Up Champions. 

Year 7   

Runner-up Champion Girl          Miriam Sekendy

Runner-up Champion Boy          Oscar Lim

Champion Girl                                Vivienne Barley

Champion Boy                                Jack Hodge

Year 8   

Runner-up Champion Girl          Jessica Hutchinson

Runner-up Champion Boy          James Mann

Champion Girl                                Mollie Heller

Champion Boy                                Tanxsta Harris

Year 9   

Runner-up Champion Girl          India Bester

Runner-up Champion Boy          Max Tonich

Champion Girl                                Rosabelle Taylor

Champion Boy                                Ethan Soh

Year 10 

Runner-up Champion Girl          Emily Hutchinson

Runner-up Champion Boy          Noah Boruff

Champion Girl                                Sasha Pallis

Champion Boy                                Dominic Jeffery

Year 11 

Runner-up Champion Girl          Neva Barker

Runner-up Champion Boy          Finnian O’Donnell

Champion Girl                                Ruby Verleg

Champion Boy                                Ciaran Doyle

Year 12 

Runner-up Champion Girl          Emilee Paterson

Runner-up Champion Boy          Nicholas Silva

Champion Girl                                Jasmine Boog

Champion Boy                                Xavier Jeffery

There were two records broken this year which is an amazing effort by both Sasha and Ciaran. The 400m record was held since 1979!! Well done Ciaran. 

Sport Photos 

John XXIII College Sports photos will take place Monday, 5 August and Tuesday, 6 August in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre. 

• All students are to arrive five minutes before their scheduled photo
• Students must be in full College Sports Uniform with white socks (tracksuit pants and shorts required), they can be in sport uniform for the day.
• Students not in correct uniform will not be allowed to feature in the photo
• All Years 9/10 NAS Winter teams will be finalised in next week's newsletter and notices in time for photos

All teams including Social NAS teams thus far can be found in the schedule attached.

Years 9/10 NAS Teams and Training

Well done and thank you to all the students who trialled for the Years 9/10 Winter NAS Teams. All teams have been published in the College notices. 

Please see the training dates for your sports below. Each team will have two sessions a week in weeks 4, 5 and 6. We have placed trainings in the morning or afternoon depending on space available and to align with community sports. Read the table carefully. Morning training is in the first column and afternoon training in the second, with each sport colour-coded. 

All team members must train in the lead-up. If you cannot attend any of the sessions, you must let your teacher in charge know via email or in person. Training is compulsory, so please ensure you attend as many sessions as you can. 

Those students not competing in a team can email Mr Kowal to attend as a helper. All other Years 9/10 Students will remain at John XXIII College and take part in a Wellbeing Day with a various range of activities from Zumba, dancing, a range of sports, self-defence and mindfulness sessions.  

Training Schedule

Northern Associated Sports (NAS) Athletics 

Our Years 7 to 10 NAS Athletics team was posted in the notices this week, and all students and families have been emailed. This team will attend period 1 on Tuesday, 20 August, and then travel by bus to the HBF stadium to compete in the NAS Athletics Carnival. This day will provide a competitive environment for our team and provide them with an opportunity to secure their position in our 2024 ACC A-Division Athletics team.

Important NAS Athletics Information

• Please note the NAS Athletics team is not eligible to purchase the interschool jumper - this is only the final ACC team. 
• All students in the NAS Team are encouraged to attend at least two training sessions in the lead-up to the day.
• Students attending may wear their PE uniform to school on the day.
• Attend period 1 as normal.
• At the end of period 1, meet in the St Louis Sports Centre ready to depart at 10:00am.
• It is preferable that athletes run in the College Athletics singlet (can be purchased from the uniform shop). A College Navy shirt is also acceptable for this day
• If you are in field and track events that are on at the same time, make sure you are at your track events as they will run strictly to time. You can go to your field event after completing your track events.

Athletics Training and Challenge Mornings

Athletics training is still in full swing Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the College Ovals and are open to all students not just the Interschool teams. There will be opportunity for students to challenge their results for a spot in the final ACC team. Please see dates below:

• Tuesday 20 August - NAS Athletics Carnival
  • Top 5 Athletes from each event will be selected for this day
     
• Wednesday 21 August - 7:00am to 8:00am at JTC College Ovals 
  • 1500m and throwing events
     
• Friday 23 August  - HBF Athletics Stadium 6:30am to 7:30am
  • 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m, Hurdles
  • Long jump, high jump 

Jessica Pillera

Head of Sport