Pastoral Academic Care
PAC
Wellbeing Builder: Middle – ETHICAL LIVING AND RESPECTFUL
Wellbeing Element: MEANING AND PURPOSE
Character Strength: SPIRITUALITY
Parent Wellbeing: Gilbert Chesterton once said, “there are no uninteresting things, only
uninterested people.” Describe three things you are uninterested in, but really need to be interested in, in order to achieve what you have set out to do.
To quote Howard Gardner from his book Five Minds, “I have nothing against excellence, but at the end of the day, the world doesn’t need more of the brightest and the best, but more of those of good character.” The five minds he describes are the creative, critical, synthesising, respectful and ethical minds.
For a decade, the relentless pursuit of literacy and numeracy through standardised testing, has seen insufficient time allocated to building students’ social-emotional resilience, wellbeing, ethical mindsets and the capacity to nurture respectful relationships. This has seen a huge escalation in adolescent mental health and relationship issues. It’s time to put wellbeing ahead of data collection.
Teaching students about what living ethically looks like, sounds like and feels like will sow the seeds to strengthen their characters. These include acting in ways which they know will benefit their and others’ wellbeing because they matter and making choices based on what their minds tell them is the right thing to do for them. Also, not doing something for personal, material or prestige gain at the expense of others, being grateful for good things that happen and using their top strengths in their every thought, word and action to do good and to feel good.
“Our characters are a result of our conduct.” Aristotle
Year 7
Year 7 have had a busy start to term 2. NAPLAN,
P & F evening, Year 7 retreat day, the athletics carnival, information sessions from the local police and photo day to name a few events.
Congratulations to Year 7 on a fun and reverent Year 7 retreat. Students worked with Lasallian Youth Leaders, Lasallian Youth Ministers and each other to find out more about Catholic faith, each other and themselves.
Year 7 have been achieving some great things at O’Connor this term especially focusing on their learning. Well done to those students who have receiving commendation awards so far this term.
On Tuesday Year 7 met with local police officer Jamie Porter to discuss how to be safe online, now and in the future. Students had some insightful questions and actively engaged with what Jamie had to say.
I will be away on extended leave for the remainder of this term. please contact Katie Biddle for any matters regarding year 7 during this time. kbiddle1@arm.catholic.edu.au
Have a great rest of the term and I look forward to working with you all again in Term 3.
Best wishes,
Yolanda Kreuzen
Yr 7 PAC Leader
Year 8
It has been a busy two weeks for Year 8 with the athletics carnival, cross country, basketball and retreat. Good luck to everyone participating in the eisteddfod this week. I look forward to getting your results out in the coming weeks.
Some VERY fit Year 8 students represented the school in Gunnedah at the Dio Cross country. Congratulations to Chelsea Morley for gaining 3rd place and to Sarah Fowler for 5th. There was also a strong performance from boys with Nick Newsome winning 1st, Logan Booth placed 3rd and Billy Imberger rounding out the team with 4th place.
Basketball started up again for the all-important winter competition. It was fantastic to see some new faces while some old faces were on hand to show off their modelling skills. Keep up the good work!
For the retreat, Year 8 worked with the Lasallian Youth Leaders and Lasallian Youth Ministers to discover the connections between our Catholic faith and how we treat others. Remember, each choice you make can turn you into a superhero for someone else and can have a huge positive impact on someone’s life.
Everyone has been working well this term and I hope the lessons from the retreat remain at the forefront of your minds when interacting with your family, teachers and your peers.
Lloyd Honnery.
8 PAC
Year 9
It’s hard to believe we are almost half way through the term.
NAPLAN has come and gone. Despite some initial problems ‘logging in’ across the state, the roll out of online testing ran relatively smoothly. Students were assessed on their skills in writing, reading, spelling, grammar conventions and numeracy. Results should be available more quickly than in previous years.
In class, most students are doing their very best to maximise their learning opportunities. Most students take pride in their uniform. Most students treat each other and their teachers with respect. Most students use their devices at the appropriate time for the appropriate reason. Most students are prepared for their lessons and bring the necessary equipment.
Parental support is a vital component of any student’s education. Encouraging your child to do their best, to wear the correct uniform, to be respectful, to use their devices appropriately and to remember to bring the right books and equipment (especially calculators) is something you can do as part of our education partnership. Thanks for your ongoing support.
Our PAC focus for this week is Ethical and Respectful. To live ethically and respectfully means you choose to think and act in ways to benefit others’ and your wellbeing. Your moral compass tells you what is right for you to do and you don’t do things for personal gain at the expense of others.
Congratulations to Ben, Oluoma and Tahlia who received Commendation Certificates this week.
Peter McLeish
Year 9 PAC Leader
(on behalf of the Year 9 Pastoral Academic Care team)
Year 10
It has been a busy few weeks for year 10 organising themselves for work experience and the recent sports carnival which was last Friday. On the subject of the O’Connor sports carnival it was great to see Year 10 students participating in their chosen events and their involvement within their houses. Some real school spirit was on show. Also Year 10 have had their school photos taken they looked great on the day. As we head further into the term students will have a variety of assessment and learning tasks to complete, so it will be a time to focus on the tasks at hand. As it is also an academic reporting term, it is a timely reminder for students to complete their work to the best of their abilities and study and revise where required. I wish all Year 10 the best of luck with what they have to complete between now and the end of this semester.
Mark Fulloon
Year 10 PAC Leader
Year 11
The Year 11 LaSallian Youth Leaders had an amazing day of leadership training on Wednesday 8th May. This day was led by Seb, from Sydney, and the Youth Ministers from O’Connor, Isaac, Brydie and Eliza. Their enthusiasm and excellent role modelling was very much appreciated.
It was a great opportunity to develop the skills required to become an effective leader, remembering that there are many personalities, backgrounds and characteristics that make up a person. Students had the opportunity to interact on a social basis and to communicate with some of their peer group that they may not normally mix with on a social level.
The day was really important as a lead up to the Year 7 and 8 Retreat days, where they became leaders of a small group of junior students. The Retreat days are all about developing friendships with the younger students, perhaps reach out to those that are shy and are not as forthcoming as others, or to share some stories to encourage others to be brave.
The students participated enthusiastically in the mixture of interactive and fun activities. The level of cooperation and teamwork displayed throughout the day was very impressive.
We wish Nathan Czinner all the best as he heads to Europe to represent O’Connor and the wider community in hockey. We look forward to hearing all about it in the weeks to come.
Congratulations once again to students who continue to strive to do their best in their learning. These students received commendations this week.
Vicki Channon
Year 11 PAC Leader
Year 12
Learning is our core focus at school and this generally takes place in the classroom, however at times we have the chance to step out of our regular routines and learn from other experiences and opportunities. Recently we have had a few of these opportunities and Yr 12 Students have done a great job of embracing these. On Friday the 17th May one of the great events on the school calendar, the School Athletics Carnival, was held. Yr 12 were simply awesome on the day. Their enthusiasm and involvement on the day was outstanding and all events for their age groups were packed with competitors. When gathered as a year group we often talk of the importance of Yr 12 setting the standard for the rest of the school and it depends on them if the standard is one that is mediocre or of excellence. The standard set by our senior students was one of excellence, and this carried through to younger students and ensured that the carnival was a great success.
James Russell
Year 12 PAC