Secondary

Dear Families

Our Year 12 students are nearing the end of their Secondary journey and we wish them every success for their upcoming work placements, completion of courses and ATAR examinations over the coming weeks. Whilst the end is in sight, we encourage them stay motivated, take care of their wellbeing, lean on family and friends for support and visualise success to finish their Secondary journey strongly. To celebrate their final day of term, we enjoyed a beautiful mass this morning and hosted another fantastic performance from Death by Denim to accompany a BBQ lunch. A huge thank you to Mr Andrew Osnain, Assistant Deputy Principal – Year 12 for organising a special day for the Year 12s.  

Congratulations to our talented Music students who wowed the audience with their final performances at Wednesday’s Year 12 Recital Night as a special way to finish their association with the Music program.  

Congratulations to all finalists who presented their speeches to their cohort and a judging panel on Tuesday at the Year 10 Atticus Finch social justice and public speaking finals. The Atticus Finch Justice Award was initiated in 2011 and exemplifies the College’s motto of Seek Justice through the study of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird and Jack Davis’ play No Sugar in English and students’ learning of Catholic social teaching focusing on Freedom, Conscience and Social Justice in Religious Education. Finalists expertly linked these stimuli and this year’s theme of ‘the privilege of choice’ to justice and freedom through the ideas of service to self, God and community. Weaving in their own personal stories, they were impressive in their delivery, depth of knowledge and passion. Congratulations to the following students, who should be very proud of their efforts: 

• Annie Anan
• Tate Hewitt
• Dominic Jeffery
• Charlotte Long
• Noa Mintz
• Grace Nicol
• Zeph O’Brien
• Mateus Pereira
• Charlie Pronk
• Deiran Raman
• Lily Van Pel
• Felicia Zhao

The winner will be announced at Presentation Night next term. 

As the term draws to a close, I wish to advise that James McLaughlin, Assistant Deputy Principal – Year 8, will be on leave for the remainder of the year and we wish him a wonderful break. Miss Jessica Pillera has been appointed as James’ replacement for Term 4 and is looking forward to working closely with the Year 8s to finish the year.  

Following another successful netball season, I wish to take the opportunity to thank our Netball Coordinator, Milissa Jagers, for her years of dedicated service to the John XXIII Netball Club. Under her leadership, Milissa has been the driving force behind the Club’s expansion and the development of a culture that encourages participation, enjoyment, comradery and positive sporting spirit. Last week’s grand finals marked the end of Milissa’s leadership as Netball Coordinator, and we wish her every success in her future endeavours. Milissa’s successor is Dee Meier, a passionate netballer and Secondary teacher who will commence during Term 4. Dee brings experience and enthusiasm to the role and is looking forward to meeting students and parents as she prepares for the 2025 season. 

Wishing all students and families a happy, restful and safe holiday break. We look forward to students’ return on Tuesday 8 October. A reminder that with the commencement of Term 4, students will transition into summer uniform. Wellbeing Wednesdays will continue for the remainder of the year, when students will be permitted to wear sport uniform with a House shirt.

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Year 8 Japanese Karate Demonstration 

Karate is a martial art that originated in Okinawa, Japan. Its name, which means 'empty hand', reflects its nature as an unarmed combat system that focuses on strikes, blocks, and kicks, as well as mental discipline. Karate is not just about physical combat but also embodies a deep philosophical and ethical foundation. It is based on Bushidō, the 'way of the warrior,' which emphasises discipline, respect, humility and self-control. The goal of Karate is not to defeat an opponent but to develop oneself both physically and mentally. 

Year 8 Japanese classes were fortunate enough to have a karate demonstration on Thursday and learn the craft, skills and some of the basic foundations of this art.

Thanks to Glass Sensei and Aghdasi Sensei for organisation this culturally relevant activity. 

Festeggiamo!

This term, the Year 9 Italian classes have learnt about directions and places in the city. One aspect of this topic was examining visiting Rome or another large city in Italy. They learnt how to say and write things they could see and do in these Italian cities as well as food and drinks they could eat and have at an Italian coffee shop or restaurant. To conclude the term, Year 9 Class 1 celebrated with Italian pastries, while Year 9 Italian Class 2 enjoyed some pizzas. Buon appetito!

ATAR Language classes dinner excursions

The Year 11 Japanese class recently enjoyed a meal with Aghdasi Sensei and Chinatsu Sensei. They enjoyed an authentic Japanese meal at Omasa Japanese Restaurant. They enjoyed a variety of Japanese dishes including Takoyaki, chicken katsu, chicken karaage and of course sushi. It was a great opportunity to spend time together conversing in Japanese and to also say farewell to Sensei Chinastu, who has been helping them with their conversation classes. 

On Tuesday evening, the Year 12 French class enjoyed an evening together at Chez Pierre Restaurant with Madame Griffin-Appadoo and Monsieur Quayle. Students had the opportunity to converse in French with each other, their teachers, the French chef and the owner, Pierre, himself.

The authentic French meal consisted of an entrée of French onion soup or seafood crêpes, a choice of chicken or duck main, and it was finished off with a delicious dessert of a tarte au citron or crème brûlée. 

Year 11 and 12 Italian ATAR students went to The Secret Italian restaurant on Thursday night with Professoressa Cocco and Polizzi. It was a great opportunity to enjoy authentic Italian cuisine, commencing with entrée boards of cold meats, olives and cheese, a range of homemade pasta and authentic Italian pizzas and concluding with an Italian gelato. The students conversed with the pizza maker, chef and wait staff who were all Italian migrants, who happily shared their stories and cultural differences with Italian food and mealtimes. 

Melissa Polizzi 

Head of Learning Area - Languages 

People's Choice Awards

The 2024 Quality Catholic Education (QCE) Awards recognise programs and initiatives in Catholic schools across WA that support the vision of providing Christ-centred, student-focused engaged learning environments.

The Awards celebrate the remarkable efforts and dedication of Catholic school communities, staff and students across our state, identifying, commending and showcasing the very best of Catholic education in Western Australia.

John XXIII College has an entry under the Stewardship category for The Carnaby's Black Cockatoo Conservation Project, initiated by our Sustainability Coordinator, Mr Adrian Sims.

The People’s Choice Award is now open for voting and gives CEWA school communities the opportunity to have their say in the awards. 

Read more about our entry and cast your vote here: 

Voting for the People’s Choice award will close on Sunday, 29 September.

SPORT

Term 3 Sport 

A big thank you to all who have been a part of the busy world of sport this term. It has been amazing to witness everyone’s achievements. We look forward to seeing you back in Term 4 to bring home a wonderful year!

School Sport WA Touch Football Finals

On 30 August, four teams from John XXIII College participated in the School Sport WA Touch Football championships against 40 other teams. Touch Football is a growing sport at the College and is a major part of the Year 11 and Year 12 Physical Education Studies (PES) course. The Year 12 PES Boys team were successful in advancing through the group stage undefeated and making the finals. The finals were held on Monday against Rockingham Senior High School in the Semi Final. The Boys played an outstanding game and were successful in winning 4-3, scoring their last in the final 30 seconds of the game. The final was played directly after the semi against Aranmore, where the boys played their hearts out but came up short 6-1. The effort and work from the team were a delight to watch, and it has set them up to do well in next week's SCSA Touch Football practicals.

Year 12 Coaching Expressions of Interest – 2025

Year 12 students interested in giving back to the wonderful world of sport at John XXIII College in 2025 are invited to complete this registration form. There are many opportunities to come back and coach, umpire, and support sports. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, jessica.pillera@johnxxiii.edu.au.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Olivia Newcombe and Mollie Heller, who were picked in the Claremont Tigers Junior Development squad, which consists of 25 out of 70 girls who tried out! All the best for your games that will be played in the holidays. 

Alumni Netball Premiers

The Bantock sisters – Emily, Laura and Georgie – had a great day in 2020 when they each won netball grand finals. Emily was in the Year 12 Diamond team, Laura Year 10 Pearl and Georgie Year 9 Tiger Eye. They went one better last Saturday when they played in the John XXIII Alumni 1 team that won the Open Division 9 Perth Netball Association premiership.

Emily was the star in the 40-28 win over Wembley in a team that was coached by Alisha Allen and contained seven players from the three premiership teams in 2020.

Jessica Pillera

Head of Sport