College News
Chess
Mr Peter McLeish
Our chess students were excited to compete against McCarthy Catholic College last week in an inter-college competition organised by Mr McLeish and Mr Nichols (McCarthy). Thanks for making the trip up the hill to give our students some more chess competition experience.
CHECK MATE: Some photos from the day.
Board 1 saw a stalemate between Brad Lidgard and his Year 9 opponent.
Board 2 was also close until John Harris took control late in the game.
Board 3 saw Tom Honeysett defeat his Year 8 opponent in a fast game and,
Board 4 was a lucky victory for Harrison Ross against his Year 9 opponent who made a couple of crucial errors at the very end of the game.
Will Kentwell, Jackson Burton, McLaren Craven, Archie Howarth, Ben Kurian, Marko Mijajlovic, Joe Schmude, Josephine Ryan and Joel Croft also enjoyed some social games against some of the McCarthy students and we look forward to more games in the future with our friends down the hill.
O'Connor Chess Competition Presentation
Following on from our previous report last fortnight, the presentation of both the individual trophey's as well as the house points trophey were presented at Friday's whole school assembly.
Thank you to those who have supported the competition along the way, it has certainly created some interest in Chess!
It is the first time the Ann Canfell Interhouse Chess Competition had been conducted since 2015 with alumni Tim Hanrahan being the previous overall winner.
The house points trophey was awarded to Ursula House with House Captain Emmerson Fittler collecting the winnings for the most house points earned in the competition.
CHESS SUCESS: (L to R) Emerson Fittler, Brad Lidgard, John Harris and Tom Honeysett.
Debating
Mrs Jenny Roff
Congratulations to our Year 8 team who won their debate against TAS on Friday arguing in the affirmative “that sports drug cheats should receive a lifetime ban”. Team members were Skye Barley, James Everett (who have both demonstrated huge growth in skill level), Jess MacMahon and Archie Howarth. Thanks also to Maddy and Maggie who chaired the debate.
Congratulations to the Year 10/11 team who won their debate against TAS this week. Tebitha, Niamh, Sophie and Isabelle Kelly successfully argued the affirmative “that reality television is harming society”. Many thanks to Angus for his assistance with adjudication.
ARGUING THE POINT: Tebitha, Niamh, Isabelle and Angus who helped with adjudication.
We have one last friendly debate against TAS next week for our Year 7 team, bringing up a total of 7 debates in preparation for the Armidale Diocesan competition and the Australia wide IEU/NGS competition that start next term. The College would like to thank TAS for the opportunity to prepare our students and to give our beginners some debating experience in a safe and friendly environment.
Step Day
It was a pleasure to welcome a broad group of Year 6 students to our College on Thursday. The students undertook a variety of activities that give them a taster of what life at O'Connor will be like for them next year.
They experienced our college farm, PE games, Laser cutting in the DT area and creating a bookmark in textiles. Morning tea and lunch were a great chance to socialise and get to know all the other Year 6 students, and to eat cake.
Year 7 2023 Parent / Carer information night
Thankyou to our Year 12 student leaders who helped out with the successful Parent/Carer night on Wednesday.
O'Connor Community BBQ Next Monday
### POSTPONED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER - NEW DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON ###
Quota International Women's Day Breakfast
Some of our Student Leaders accompanied by Mrs Channon, Miss Roache had an early start to their day attending the annual breakfast this morning, celebrating International Women's Day. The guest speaker for this year was Rachel Parsons, Director of NERAM.
Rotary Public Speaking Finals
Angus Scrivener was selected to speak at the Rotary Public Speaking Finals at Port Macquarie last Saturday. Although not a place getter, Angus' speech titled 'Deception in a box' gained special comment following the event from a lecturer in philosphy regarding its content. Angus explored mis/disinformation in society and the importance to fact check things that are presented to us. The competion was a great opportunity and Angus learnt a lot from the experience.
Youth Group
Youth group has made a great start to 2022. The group meets after school every Friday at AG3 and is a great opportunity for students to meet together for games, reflection and food! All welcome.
FRIENDSHIP, FAITH AND FUN: Connecting at Youth Group.