School of Leadership

News from the School of Leadership     

The Joy and Importance of Regular Reading for School of Leadership Students

In today's fast-paced digital age, regular reading holds immense value for all students. Beyond enhancing academic performance, reading cultivates a love for learning and opens doors to countless worlds of imagination.

Reading offers immense pleasure. It allows students to escape into different worlds, experience various cultures, and understand diverse perspectives. This immersion fosters empathy and emotional intelligence, vital traits for personal growth and social interactions. When students engage with characters and plots, they develop a deeper understanding of human emotions and relationships, enhancing their ability to connect with others and know themselves.

Reading is breathing in, writing is breathing out. That is, students who read regularly become stronger writers as they develop stronger vocabulary, better grammar, and improved writing skills. These benefits extend across subject areas, enabling students to comprehend complex texts and write their own increasingly sophisticated responses. Moreover, reading stimulates critical thinking and analytical skills, preparing students for future challenges.

Importantly, regular reading also promotes a lifelong love for learning. When students discover the joy of a good book, they are more likely to seek knowledge outside the classroom. This habit of continuous learning is invaluable in today's ever-changing world. The discipline and focus required for reading also transfer to other areas of life, helping students develop strong study habits and time management skills.

To incorporate reading into daily life, encourage students to set aside a specific time each day for reading, even if it's just 15 minutes before bed. Creating a cozy reading nook at home can make this time more enjoyable. Audiobooks are a great alternative for busy days, allowing students to listen to stories during commutes or while doing chores. Visiting libraries and bookstores regularly can also spark interest and help students find books they love.

Very shortly, our College Hub will receive a delivery of 500 more books for students to enjoy. We are excited about the addition of new texts, including an abundance of graphic novels and comics and the next titles in the series most loved by students. We will also take delivery of new shelving and displays to continue to make the Hub a warm and inviting place for enjoying a plethora of good books! 

Yr 8 Career Expo and Choose Your Own Adventure Insight Night - 3-5.30pm, July 2

Staff and students are excited to showcase the wonderful offerings available to students in Year 9, 2025. 

After the Career Expo, parents and students will be directed to the Performance Hall for light refreshments and a short presentation regarding the subject selection process. Students and parents who attend will be issued with their unique login in order to register their preferences. 

We look forward to seeing you on July, 2. 

Year 7-12 Study Centre

Many thanks to the generous teachers routinely giving of their time to attend the weekly Tuesday Study Centre. This Is a wonderful opportunity for students to collaborate, ask questions, receive support and work in a quiet environment. 

Mrs Kate Kelly - Head of School, School of Leadership

A Note from The SOL Assistant Principal 

Balancing the Parenting Role

As a parent, it can be difficult to navigate the spaces our children inhabit to ensure that they are safe. In real life, we are often very protective of our children, ensuring that we know where they are at all times (perhaps through a phone tracking app), know who they are with, and get to know their friends' families. A challenge we face in our technologically driven world is protecting our children online, a space we often “under protect”. The cyberworld is often a space we rarely navigate together with our children, yet it is one of the greatest dangers our children face or are exposed to. Being involved with your child’s online presence is vital in protecting your child, just as you would in the real-world space. Knowing your child’s passwords, actively checking their browser history, checking their message exchanges and their use of apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, or TikTok, turning the wi-fi off during the night (after bedtime), and removing devices such as phones and laptops from bedrooms can assist you in protecting your child in the cyber world.

Being a moderator of the non-productive screen time your child is spending is another facet of protecting your child from the dangers of the online world. Increasing their real-world experiences can also help improve their wellbeing and physical health. Scheduling regular family time to participate in activities such as board games, a family bike ride or walk, taking the dog for a walk, or visiting a national park are ways to safeguard your child. Spending time with your child will help you build connections even at a time when they want to become increasingly independent. It is in these moments that our children converse and share their experiences and feelings. I know when I ask my daughter about her day, the answer I often get is “It was good” but when I spend time kicking the soccer ball with her in the backyard, she opens up and confides in me about her day and her interactions with others. It is in these moments that I really get to know my child.

Trusting your children to perform tasks around the house that they can manage such as helping with cooking, can also build connection and teach your child vital life skills they will not get from sitting aimlessly behind a screen scrolling and clicking through their multiple tabs. It will also help promote a positive sense of self and improve overall wellbeing. If you are making your child’s lunch, why not task them with making it themselves - an activity that you will appreciate the break from. Real-world engagement with our children will help them find purpose and meaning in their own lives and deepen their bonds with you as their parent.

Attendance and Lateness

The above infographic captures the time missed from learning when your child is late. Being late to school on a regular basis has a profound impact on your child’s learning, and affects their entire day as they could feel rushed or anxious about their schedule. It also impacts their social connection with their peers. Being at school by 8:15 am establishes skills needed for life beyond school, it allows your child to connect with their peers and be mentally prepared for the day of learning ahead. Whilst we know some instances are out of your control meaning your child is late, please ensure this is kept to a minimum and that all late arrivals are explained through Compass with an appropriate reason (as this is a legal requirement to account for your child’s whereabouts).

If a student breaches the late-to-school policy three times within two weeks (ie. comes to school late without a valid reason or note explaining the lateness from a parent/carer) they will receive a timeout (issued by the Wellbeing Coordinator). If a student receives three timeouts for unexplained lateness (ie. nine unexplained late days in a term) they will be placed on an afternoon detention. Continued lateness beyond this will result in an Attendance Plan being developed by the relevant AP and Wellbeing Coordinator.

Regular school absence impacts a child’s:

• Mental health and general wellbeing (Emotional and Psychological wellbeing and increases the risks and likelihood of depression and anxiety)
• Social connections and their relationships with peers and rapport with teachers (social development)
• Learning due to lost time which is compounded with each day off, impacting your child’s overall academic performance.

We know that some parents may struggle with getting their children to school. If you are experiencing difficulties, please do not hesitate to reach out to the school or contact me directly for support at jcamilleri39@parra.catholic.edu.au or call the College.

Mrs Josephine Camilleri - Assistant Principal, School of Leadership

Mr Scott Carroll - Stage 3 Instructional Leader

On Thursday morning, we included the Mountainview Nursing Home in our prayers as Mr Rodwell told us that they were in lockdown, due to traces of COVID-19. The residents of the nursing home are currently unable to spend time with their children or grandchildren, so we decided to follow Mary Mackillop's steps, because we saw a need and decided to do something about it. We wanted to comfort these people and help them to not feel as lonely by letting them know that people are thinking about them. 

To do this we each wrote a letter to the residents, telling them a little bit about ourselves, and trying to brighten their day by telling them about our plans for the holidays, drawing them a picture or telling them a joke. We really enjoyed this activity and I feel it has helped us to further extend the St Luke’s community and ask if people are OK to make sure they feel included and not forgotten.

Tanvika R

Stage 3 Stories… 

Stage 3 students visited the kindergarten class to watch their presentation of chairs they had crafted for their toys. The kindergarten students have been studying materials and the purpose of objects, which they explained to Stage 3. Year 6 students assisted kindergarten by guiding their presentation, providing prompts for discussion and offering positive feedback. Overall, Stage 3 found the experience enjoyable and looks forward to visiting kindergarten again soon.

Science

This term students have been exploring the way living things are adapted to their environment. To round out the term, year 6 have been conducting a practical investigation to explore factors affecting plant growth. Students have been working collaboratively to set up their experiment and have been developing their practical writing skills. Students are excited to see their plants grow and collect their data over the next few weeks. 

English 

STEM MAD - Technologies/TAS

We have a range of students from years 5 to year 10 involved in the STEM Make A Difference event that is facilitated by the CSPD. Students are given the opportunity to solve a problem that requires a solution utilising a combination of their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics skill. They will attend the event in Term 3 along with students from other CSPD schools to showcase their ideas and solutions they create. They will also engage in some activities including Bridge Building, Bottle Rocket launching and Aeroplane Racing to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Below is some of the progress we have made so far, and we are really looking forward to designing, making, creating and testing our solutions at STEM MAD. Watch this space!

From Year 7…

Technologies

Students have rotated through to their new technologies and have begun exploring ideas to design their new projects. When coding a robot to follow instructions, a lot of planning is involved including outlining the basic steps that it will follow. This is called an Algorithm, and students have engaged in this by developing Flowcharts. These flowcharts will eventually become the code that their robots will follow to solve a series of problems and challenges, and below is an example of a year 7 student planning a flowchart to instruct a robots to navigate across a map with various colours to detect.

Mathematics 

Walter Purcell from Year 7 during the after school Study Centre meeting Mr Rodwell’s advanced algebra challenge.

Visual Arts

Our Year 7 students recently visited the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prize exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW. This rich and immersive learning experience offered them a unique opportunity to engage with a diverse range of artistic styles and perspectives. It not only enhanced their critical thinking skills but also inspired their own creative endeavours. We are pleased to share that the students thoroughly enjoyed the visit and found it both educational and inspiring. 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mrs Zorzo, Mr Bagus, Ms Jacka, Ms Ford, Mr Gutierrez, Ms Chand, Mrs Benson and Mrs Falzon for organising and supervising this wonderful excursion.

From Year 8…

Religious Education:

Year 8 students have been delving deeply into the concept of social justice. They independently crafted Social Justice Collages, each piece uniquely reflecting their personal interpretations and critical understandings of social justice and injustice. Below are some examples from their creative endeavours.

 Student Sample 1 - Danielle Panganiban - 8 White

Student Sample 2 - Suhana Nand - 8 White:

HSIE

This week, Year 8 students have been involved in a mock United Nations Conference where they represented developing countries and provided recommendations of how international connections can improve the quality of life for people in their selected country. Students have provided fantastic recommendations and shown their depth of understanding from the unit. From improved infrastructure through international investment, to bilateral agreements and  support for tourism, students have shown a fantastic understanding of the need for their country and linking this to international connections. Year 8 students are to be commended for their work. 

LIFE DESIGN

8 Life Design

Year 8 Life Design have been exploring their strengths as revealed through their completion of the Clifton Strengths Explorer. Using these strengths, the students have been aligning their interests with career clusters to prepare for their Careers Expo which will be held in the Year 7 and 8 classrooms on Tuesday 2nd July, starting at 3pm.

As part of their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) cluster, students got to design, build and use a marble run.

In the coming weeks, Year 8 will be deep diving into their chosen career clusters in preparation for their career expo.