Secondary

Project Compassion Launch

This week the season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Our Year 10 Student Leaders represented the College by joining the online Project Compassion Launch on Shrove Tuesday. They found out that the theme for this year is ‘Be More’. It challenges us to venture into a new experience of compassion, and is taken from the invitation of St. Oscar Romero, to “Aspire not to have more, but to be more.” This message invites us to step up and step out for those who do not have the essential resources they need for their survival. Those whose needs at this time are far beyond ours. 

Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, The Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression, and injustice. The John XXIII College Live Simply Day, will be held on 12 March with all funds raised going to support the work of Caritas Australia.

Janeen Murphy

Director  - Faith & Mission

High Achievers’ Breakfast

This week we held the High Achievers’ Breakfast, bringing together students from Years 8 to 12 to celebrate their outstanding academic achievement in Semester 2 2020. It was a special opportunity to affirm their dedication and to focus on academic goals for the year ahead. Such gifted students, who remain humble in their achievements.

The keynote speaker for the event was Evelyn Collier (Class 2016). Evelyn began at John XXIII College as a Year 7 student in 2011. She graduated in 2016 with joint Dux, the John XXIII Award and the Mother John Prize for Music. Evelyn then began tertiary studies at UWA studying a double major in Engineering and Physiology.  

Since leaving school, Evelyn has moved to Ireland and back twice; once for a university exchange and the other to work at Medtronic designing coronary artery stents. Some of Evelyn’s most memorable moments post school have included playing lead saxophone in the West Australian Youth Jazz orchestra, seeing the Northern lights in Norway, attending a tomato throwing festival in Spain and learning to make cheese!  

Having completed her undergraduate degree last year with First Class Honours, Evelyn is now working as a research assistant at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. She is about to begin a Masters in Biomedical Engineering and has taken on the role of President for Engineers Without Borders UWA for 2021. 

Ash Wednesday College celebration of the Eucharist

This week, on Ash Wednesday, Secondary and Primary students gathered to celebrate the Eucharist and to receive Ashes to mark the beginning of the annual Lenten season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

“Through prayer we are drawn closer to God so that we are better able to realise our baptismal promise to live justly as Jesus teaches us. Fasting joins us in solidarity with the poor who often have no choice but to live without basic essentials. Almsgiving is a sign of our commitment to justice as we are called to acts of service.”

Integral to the celebration of the Eucharist is being sent forth on mission to bring Christ to the world, by being people for others. Each Lent, the College takes up this challenge by engaging with Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion.  This year’s Project Compassion theme is drawn from the words of St Oscar Romero, ‘Aspire not to have but to be more’. 

Lent is a time to reflect on ourselves and the ways in which we can ‘be more’ to positively impact the lives of others.

Student leaders from Years 3 to Year 12 were asked to commit to promoting Project Compassion through learning, fundraising and praying in their respective classrooms or homerooms.  They also committed to encouraging their peers to ‘be more’ by being more aware, more green, more involved, more kind and more giving. 

Wednesday’s Mass included the rite for receiving our newly trained Year 12 Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.  The College community is blessed to have a fine group of students to take on this ministry of giving the Body and Blood of the Lord to their sisters and brothers and to serve to build up the Church community of John XXIII College.

Mary Anne Lumley

College Liturgist

[1] Caritas Project Compassion 2021 Schools Guide, https://www.caritas.org.au/media/4b4ddqly/pc21-school-s-guide.pdf?_ga=2.54893739.1452152091.1613605031-1587359683.1612356044,15.

[2] Caritas Project Compassion 2021 Schools Guide, 2.

Drama 

Enter almost any classroom in any school and you can predict what you will see, rows of desks filled with students, books out and facing a whiteboard where a teacher stands giving a lecture. A drama classroom is slightly more unpredictable. You may find the students gathered in a circle attempting to synchronise their breathing, or gathered in small, loud groups scrambling to create a Brechtian work of epic theatre as Mr Tsak bellows “one minute to go!”. One thing is certain, no one in that classroom will be bored. 

In Year 7 I was drawn to drama because it represented a break from the normal school environment, we were allowed or even encouraged to be silly or unconventional. As I followed the course up through the years we have had to study some theory as well, but still we are able to experience and put into practice what we are being taught as we learn new concepts. What I love about drama is the unique opportunity it offers for students to be expressive, unorthodox and, for 55 minutes a day, leave the boredom of the classroom behind. 

Oscar Hegge

Drama Captain

SPORT - Summer NAS

All our NAS trials were conducted this week. All students are to be commended for their punctuality and behaviour for each trial. Thank you to all staff and students who assisted with our team selection process. All teams have been posted up in the pavilion and in the notices.

NAS fixtures begin next week with our first games against Newman College.

A reminder that:

• Years 7/8 teams will play on Tuesdays.
• Years 9/10 teams will play on Wednesdays.
• All Years 11/12 students will play all their games on Friday 19 March in a One Day Carnival.
• Teams travelling to Sacred Heart, Chisholm, Servite and Ozzie Indoor will leave at 2:50pm
• All Indoor Cricket teams will leave at 2:50pm
• Teams travelling to Newman and Lords will leave at the normal time of 3:15pm
• Correct John XXIII College PE uniform must be worn as uniform points will be deducted.

Any questions, please see Miss Kononen or email sara.kononen@cewa.edu.au

The Summer NAS Schedule for the term is attached below.

Years 7/8 Schedule

Years 9/10 Schedule

Swimming Training

Swimming training started this week. Training will take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:00-8:00am in the lead up to the ACC A Division Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 24 March. All students are welcome to attend. As a result of the Interhouse Swimming Carnival being postponed to Tuesday 9 March, Years 7-10 students wanting to make the NAS Swimming Carnival on Friday 5 March are encouraged to attend training.

Cross-Country Training

Cross-Country training also stared this week. Training will take place on every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00-8:00am in the lead up to the ACC Cross-Country Carnival on Thursday 27 May.  All students are welcome to attend.

Sara Kononen

Head of Sport