Secondary

Dear Families 

The newly developed College Wellbeing Framework was launched at last week’s Secondary Parent Information Evening. Based on the Ignatian concept of Cura Personalis which centres on the care of the whole person as a unique child of God, the Framework aims to facilitate the creation of a safe and respectful environment where genuine connections flourish, the spiritual, physical, and mental health of community members is supported, and individual growth and meaningful accomplishment is nurtured.  

Within the Framework are four key elements that will guide the exploration of opportunities to evolve and consolidate a strong sense of wellbeing at the College. Whilst the elements will remain the same, initiatives in support of these will change over time. For 2024, the following initiatives will be a focus within the Secondary School: 

Serving someone or something greater than yourself for the benefit of others: 

• The consolidation of the Year 9 Roncalli Service program to build partnership with Montgomery House.  
• Sustainability initiatives regarding the general care and cleanliness of the Secondary campus.  
• Continuing student agency regarding relevant issues such as the evolution of the Reconciliation Action Plan and broadening student activities during recess and lunch.  

Nurturing an inclusive community through positive relationships and experiences:  

• In partnership with URStrong, Armed for Life, Levitate Learning, Paul Dillon and ySafe, delivery of wellbeing programs to develop students’ character, concept of self and positive interactions with others based on respect, empathy and compassion.  
• Development and implementation of a Positive Peer Relations Framework. 

Support individual growth and meaningful achievements:  

• Helping students harness their character strengths in their accomplishment of goals and individual success.  
• A focus on the use of data to inform effective teaching practices and support the learning progress of each student.  

Fostering optimal spiritual, physical and mental health: 

• The introduction of the Year 8 Life Skills program as a continuation of the Year 7 program in the development of key competencies and skills. 
• The introduction of a revised NAS competition, increasing participation rates for Interschool sports for all year groups and the introduction of an alternative wellbeing program for students not involved in the competitive program.   

Secondary Parent Information Evening Feedback

For the second year running, our Secondary Parent Information Evening took place on Tuesdays in a revised format that provided parents with a wide variety of presentations throughout the evening to attend. It was wonderful to reconnect with parents to commence the new year and we hope those attending found the evening informative. Assistant Deputy Principal Presentations are available via SEQTA Year Level categories, and all other presentations can be accessed via the General Secondary category. For those who attended, we welcome your feedback. Please take 5 minutes to complete the following survey. 

Term 1- Key Dates 

Help improve safety

A reminder to all parents and Year 12 drivers to drive safely and at the speed limit whilst in the vicinity of the campus as there have been a few near misses in recent weeks. 

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

On-campus Psychology class

While it's not our first-ever class, it's a historic moment at John XXIII College as we launch our very first on-campus Psychology class for students!  For the past four weeks, our Year 11 students have been delving deep into the intricacies of brain structure and function. Their hard work culminated in the creation of brain hats, proudly worn during our engaging lessons!

Janine O'Grady

Science Teacher

Yarning Circles

Diving into Stories of Resilience and Strength! Year 8 students were captivated by "Sister Heart" by Sally Morgan. This powerful novel follows the journey of a young Aboriginal girl, torn from her home in the north and sent to an institution in the distant south. Despite facing adversity, she finds solace and strength in new connections and friendships. Through poignant storytelling from the child's perspective, "Sister Heart" highlights the importance of family and kinship. Following this inspiring read, our students engaged in yarning circles to further explore the stories of resilience from the Stolen Generation survivors.

Sarah den Haan

Head of Learning Area - English

SPORTS

NAS Carnival Years 7/8 

Well done to all students and coaches who have been training in preparation for the Carnival. It is finally here, with all teams taking on the other NAS schools at various locations. It will be a day for new friendships, experiences and hopefully some premiership flags for the College. 

All information can be found in the document attached, including the venues for each sport and the staff who will be accompanying these students. 

NAS Swimming Meet information

• Friday 1 March (Periods 2 to 6) 
• Students will attend classes Period 1 and head to the St Louis Sports Centre directly after Period 1 to prepare and head to Newman College
• The NAS Swimming Meet will provide an opportunity for all Years 7 to 10 students selected to race again and help secure their place in our ACC A-Division Swimming Team
• All NAS Schools will be present to allow for a competitive environment (Sacred Heart, Newman, Chisholm and Servite College)
• A reminder that interschool jumpers are not available for purchase until the final ACC team has been announced

NAS Swimming Team

Congratulations to all the students below for making our 2024 NAS Swimming team. 

Parent permissions will be sent home early next week. 

First XI Cricket 

John XXIII College has been taking part in the Graeme Wood Sheild T20 format competition. In our second round against Shenton College we came away with the win! 

A big shout out to the whole team, and particularly the following students. 

• Max Brooks 19 Runs
• William Stockdale 28 Runs
• Asher Aylmore 39 Runs
• Hunter Bovell 37* not out
• Mahalia Upton took 3 wickets for 27 runs
• Tom Syminton took 1 wicket for 22 runs

We are looking forward to the next two home games on Wednesday afternoons 1:30pm - 4:30pm against Belridge College and Butler College. Thank you to the staff involved and for all their work with training and game days. Miss Tansi Price, Michael Reynolds and William Stacy – JTC Alumni

Years 8/9 Rugby 7’s 

The Years 8/9 UWA Western Force Rugby 7's Tournament showcased intense competition, with John XXIII facing strong opponents such as Aranmore and Thornlie. Despite the challenges, John XXIII demonstrated remarkable team spirit, camaraderie, and executed impressive plays throughout the tournament, reflecting their dedication and skill on the rugby field. A big thank you to Mrs Pippa Pickering and Coach Christian Golding for their support and great work with the boys. 

Cross-Country Training

Cross-country training is in full swing, and we have had great numbers in our first week. A big thank you to our Coaches – Mr Steele Meade and Jake Soutar (Alumni Class of 2023), who will be preparing the students in the lead-up to the Interhouse Cross-Country Carnival and the subsequent interschool carnivals.

All students are welcome to join our morning training sessions no matter your experience. The more, the merrier.

Training

Every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00am-8:00am on the College Ovals. 

Rowing Registrations -  Years 9 to 12

The John XXIII Rowing Club welcomes existing and new members for our 2024 season. Please complete the online Registration Form: 2024 Registration Form. Those who have not rowed before or would like to be a coxswain and represent the school are encouraged to register.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Angelina Smythe who represented the Seychelles 🇸🇨 at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha!

She competed in the 100m backstroke and the 100m freestyle, finishing 2nd and 4th in her heats respectively, and achieving personal best times in both these events.

Such an amazing experience as she was exposed to competition at the highest level, gaining much insight into the elite athlete life and connecting with many of her swimming idols and international coaching experts.

Angie says she feels privileged to have been given this opportunity to represent her country and experience racing on such a big stage, amongst the world’s elite swimmers.

Congratulations to Sylvia Czajko, who was selected to attend the NexGen training program in Canberra for swimming. Being coached by Simon Cucack and training with the NexGen top 8 freestyle sprinters (and their coaches) from all around the country was an incredible, challenging, exhausting, informative and very humbling experience for Sylvia.

The camp was held at the AIS facilities and involved a lot of technical analysis, work on technique and relay changeovers. Casually bumping into Olympians was very inspiring for Sylvia.

Sylvia will now put all that she learned to practice in the Victoria Open Championships this weekend. She is racing next to Emma Mckeon (29) and Kaylee Mckeown (22) in the 100m freestyle. We wish Sylvia all the best and congratulate her on this amazing achievement!

Jessica Pillera

Head of Sport