Secondary

Dear Families

Our 2026 Student Representative Council made an impressive start to their tenure at their leadership development day on Tuesday, where they worked through a series of workshops to explore how to lead with integrity and have a positive impact next year. In the new year, they will finalise a vision that is ambitious yet authentic, in keeping with the spirit of the College founders and in alignment with the College’s mission to be people of competence, conscience, and compassion who are committed to God and the service of others. Thank you to Mr Bostelman, Assistant Deputy Principal – Year 11, for his coordination of the day, to Mr Mahon and David Castelanelli from Levitate Learning for facilitating engaging workshops, and to the staff coordinators who will work closely with each student leader as a mentor throughout next year.

Welcome back to our Year 9 Outdoor Education students, who enjoyed camping, snorkelling, bike riding, and team-building at Rottnest this week as part of their course. Thank you to Ms Gattuso for her coordination of the camps and to the staff members who accompanied to support. Congratulations to our Magis students who demonstrated passion and knowledge at their Personal Projects Exhibition yesterday, impressing us with their presentations. Congratulations also to Year 10 Drama students for their engaging performances at Tuesday’s Drama Night.

Consent2Go

Streamlining parents’ online College experience: digital updates for 2025 and 2026

Over the coming months, the College is upgrading its online platforms to assist families to more efficiently access College information and manage student details. 

A trusted provider in schools across Australia and New Zealand, Consent2Go provides a digital solution to enable parents to keep their child’s health records accurate and provide consent for school events, excursions and camps. 

Consent2Go will be implemented in readiness for Term 1 2026. 

To facilitate this, the College needs parents’ help to ensure their child’s contact and health details are accurate prior to implementation. Parents received an email invitation today to update student contact and health information by Friday 19 December. In the future, this will become a simple yearly process to keep information current. Registering and updating students’ details is a user-friendly process that will take approximately 10 minutes. 

Information regarding the implementation of Consent2Go and other digital platforms to enhance parents’ user experience was provided to all families yesterday. If you did not receive this communication yesterday or the email invitation today, please contact ithelpdesk@johnxxiii.edu.au. 

Social Media Age Restrictions

Parents will be aware that the Australian Government has introduced new legislation – the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 – which will come into effect on 10 December 2025. This law requires providers of age-restricted social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent children under the age of 16 from holding accounts. The aim is to strengthen child safety online and reduce exposure to harmful content and interactions. Under the legislation, children under the age of 16 will no longer be permitted to create or maintain accounts on platforms covered by the legislation (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit). Providers will enforce these restrictions, and parents may notice changes in how platforms verify age and manage accounts.

Through the College’s wellbeing programs, students in Years 7 to 10 will engage in discussions and activities over the coming weeks to help them prepare for these changes. This includes practical strategies to prepare for the transition and alternative ways to maintain social connections, particularly over the summer holidays.

The eSafety Commissioner website provides excellent resources for parents on the legislation and digital wellbeing and safety in general.

SchoolTV has also published a Special Report: New Social Media Regulations: What you need to know as a helpful resource for parents.

Presentation Evening: Thursday 4 December

Our College Presentation Evening will be held in the St Louis Sports Centre on Thursday 4 December, beginning at 6:30pm. As this is an important community event for our College, all students in Years 6 to 11 are expected to attend. Year 12 students are required only if they are involved in the evening as a presenter, performer or major award recipient.

Parking will be available on the College playing fields, accessible via John XXIII Avenue. Entry to the St Louis Sports Centre will be through the doors adjacent to the playing fields.

Guests are to be seated by 6:15pm for a 6:30pm start.

Students who are attending as members of the audience are to wear their summer uniform, whilst all award winners are required to wear the formal winter uniform, including blazer, shirt, tie and tights for girls. Other College requirements regarding grooming are to be adhered to.

Students receiving an award will be notified during the week of the evening and will participate in rehearsals on Thursday 4 December, during the day.

Term 4 Key Dates

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Is your child using the Southern Route Charter Bus in 2026?

With the Fremantle Traffic Bridge closing from February 2026, adjustments will be made to the College’s Southern Route charter service. Parents are asked to review the proposed 2026 timetable and route and provide feedback by 12 December 2025. More details available here.

Pulse 2026

Four of our graduate Year 12 students have been selected to show their artworks at The West Australian Pulse in 2026! The West Australian Pulse is an exhibition celebrating the artworks of Year 12 Visual Arts graduates from across the state and takes place at the Art Gallery of WA in 2026.

We are extremely proud of Catherine, Clara, Sarah, and Bianca who have been selected to show their artworks in this prestigious exhibition.  It is an amazing achievement for our College to have four entries selected and it is a wonderful acknowledgement of the incredible artwork they created this year.

The exhibition will open on 2 May 2026 at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. 

Kiri Moore

Visual Arts Coordinator

First Lego League Innovators

Last Friday, two robotics teams competed in the First Lego League Regional Competition.  Both teams demonstrated persistence and creativity in coding and an archaeological innovation project.  Our team named The Tiny Arms Club (a nod to the T-Rex) took home the Innovation Award for their extensive work developing an app aimed at protecting Aboriginal landmarks and heritage sites. The award is one of the highest team awards at the competition.

Through their research and networking within the Australian archaeological community, the team have been invited to share their research and app idea with the Australian Archaeological Association next year. 

Each year, the College sponsors two teams of dedicated Years 7 to 10 students who compete in the First Lego League Competition.  The competition is judged on robotic design, robotic coding, innovation project focused on a particular theme, and demonstration of core values. 

We are saying farewell to our Year 10 students: Ava C, Scarlett P, John P, and Sarah S, and wish them luck in their Year 11 and 12 studies.  Thank you for your dedication to the Robotics Club over the last few years.  Keep coding! 

Anna Davila

Head of Learning Area - Technologies

2026 Campion Booklists

Campion Booklists are now available for families to view via the College website. The attached flyer will help you to order for your child/children. 

To purchase supplies for 2026, please head to: https://order.campion.com.au

• John XXIII College resource code: YWMW
• Order-by date is 28 December 2025

Families should order by this date to get the first choice of resources and the best delivery costs. Please be aware that books bought from other providers or second-hand will result in your child being unable to access the Campion MyConnect2 online platform.

The Campion Parent Hub includes:

How to Order video & How to Order PDFs in 11 languages https://campion.com.au/parents/how-to-order/ 

Family help:

FAQs: https://campion.com.au/support-help/support/

Email help@campion.com.au

Telephone 1300 433 982

Second-hand Book Sale

Join us for our annual Second-hand Book Sale at the Chisholm Pavilion – a wonderful opportunity to buy, sell, or exchange textbooks ahead of the new school year.

• Saturday 6 December
• 7:00am – 11:00am
• Chisholm Pavilion, John XXIII College

What to know:

• No set prices – negotiate directly with sellers (typically around half the new price)
• Bring your book list for smooth transactions
• No commission charged by the College
• A sustainable, cost-effective way to prepare for 2026

Cannot attend? Families can also source or sell second-hand textbooks through our partnership with Sustainable School Shop.

End-of-Term Library hours update

Please note the updated Library closing times for the remainder of Term 4.​

• Week 8 (Monday 1 December to Thursday 4 December): Library closes at 5:00pm.​
• Week 9 (Monday 8 December to Wednesday 10 December): Library closes at 5:00pm.​

• Last day for students, Thursday 11 December: Library closes at 3:30pm.​

   

The alumni tutors are not attending after-school for the remainder of the term, as the examination period has finished for students in Years 10 to 12.

Student SmartRider Orders – Last Call

The last date for ordering a Student SmartRider through the College is next Wednesday, 3 December. This allows enough time for cards to be delivered before students go on holiday. To place an order, students simply need to visit the Library and complete the SmartRider form with library staff.

Jean Redfern

Library and Learning Services Educator

SPORT

First XI Cricket 

John XXIII College is a part of the Graeme Wood Shield, WA's Twenty20 School Cricket Competition. We are calling students who will be in Years 10, 11 or 12 in 2026 to register interest. Students must be able to commit to one morning training per week and after school games, most likely Tuesdays. Games typically commence at 2:00pm, which means students will miss periods 5 and 6 classes on game day. 

Nomination Form 

Years 7/8 Water Polo

Congratulations to Years 7 and 8 students who represented John XXIII College at the School Sport WA Water Polo Tournament. We look forward to sharing results and photos with you in next week's newsletter.

Thank you to Mr Morris, Mr Tirant and Miss Power for their work with the teams in the lead-up.

Volleyball Club Term 4

Volleyball Club will continue until the end of Term on Monday afternoons 3:30pm to 4:30pm in the St Louis Sports Centre. All students are welcome; we look forward to seeing you there.

Swimming Club

Wednesday afternoon, College Pool 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Swimming Club will continue for the rest of the term each Wednesday afternoon.

All abilities and experience levels are welcome. There will be something for everyone, making this a great way to end the day, especially as the weather warms up! We would also like to invite current Year 6 students to the training as a great chance for them to get a taste of high school swimming. 

Congratulations 

Congratulations to Jake Scott, Year 10 who will be representing WA at the Junior National Championship in Wollongong this week. Congratulations also to Ben Scott, Year 10, who has been selected as a reserve for the team.

Congratulations to Taj Dorrington, who was named last week in the Under-17 Western Suns team (state team) and Super Surf League team by Surf Lifesaving WA to compete at Maroubra Beach in January 2026

We wish them all the best!

Jessica Pillera

Head of Sport