Department News

English Department

This Book Changed Me

When we are young children, we often learn about the outside world through books. As we grow, it is books that help us learn about ourselves and each other. An encounter with a book can transform the way we see the world and radically shift who we are as people. Get some holiday reading inspiration from our guest writers who share the books that have changed them.

No Friend But The Mountains, Behrouz Boochani

In our very first English assessment task for year 12, we were asked to choose a related text for the Human Experience module. I was drawn to Behrouz Boochani’s autobiography: No Friend but the Mountains as it aims to expose the ethnocentric prejudice towards refugees and the paradoxes that embody Australia’s justice system. No Friend has helped shape my perspective on the world as it emphasizes that pursuing justice can be hindered by a biased legal system unless individuals and society are willing to dispel the myth that refugees are dangerous and “queue jumpers.”

Something interesting that I learned whilst reading No Friend was the social concept of the kyriarchal system. The kyriarchal system is primarily focused on maintaining power through oppression and aims to demoralize refugees by ensuring that they become lonely and isolated. Boochani’s writing is intense and evoked tremendous sympathy in me for the plight of refugees. No Friend has motivated me to confront the intolerant social and political milieu faced by refugees and fostered profound respect for those who have endured unimaginable hardships such as violence, torture and persecution. For me, Boochani’s very last line was a powerful call to action, “Respect is central. We need that, to continue resisting. We need respect to become stronger and fiercer” as it ensures readers understand the dire plight of people arriving on our shores. 

Meira Jackson 

2022 College Captain

The Red Tree, Shaun Tan

The Red Tree is like a poinsettia at Christmas: something little that is overshadowed by the pulp, the bestsellers and the things that are more cardboard but designed to be indestructible to toddlers. On the surface, it is a picture book with a red leaf on each page.

The minimal text in this picture book is really designed however to elicit a rollercoaster of emotions. As you read it you'll travel from a state of "normality" where things seem okay, to melancholy, sadness, despair, and a (literal) whirlpool of darkness. By the end, you'll have gone through such shifts that only at that point, you'll see that something hopeful is borne out of seemingly unsolvable puzzles and difficulties that aren't readily solved. In the corner of each of these dark pages, as you read back through them, there is a trace of a red leaf; a candle in the night that you only realise was there all along. 

It's a visual metaphor that can be extended to pulling through bouts or prolonged periods of mental illness, dips in what seemed like close relationships, as well as economic hardships. The message at the core is that difficulties can be met with patience to notice subtleties and to allow time for understanding; people have the capacity to heal, grow, and then mature so they can impart lessons from experiences. Likewise, when people lose their sense of hope and capacity to dream, an inner light is snuffed out. Someone quite clever gave me my copy in 2009 and it still sits on my shelf, quietly waiting. How has it changed me? More ways that I can say: It reminds me to take perspective and stock of things each time I read it!

Mr. David Nally

Stage 6 HSIE Coordinator

A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry

Whilst I have always been an avid traveler enjoying the sights, sounds and energy of life outside of Australia, the shifting perspectives of books enables me to view the world through the lens of the characters and rich history that weaves itself into the culture of a country through a narrative.

The book that changed so many preconceived notions of life in India was A Fine Balance. I had been drawn to the country and was fascinated by how different it could be from my closed world.

This novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism of India in the 1970s, at a time when the world was facing much uncertainty. In India, in particular, the government had just declared a State of Emergency and it is within these times that four strangers are thrust together, forced to share their lives in the most unexpected ways. A widow, a student and two tailors who have fled the violence of their village due to the caste system and who now live together in a cramped apartment in secret, whilst facing a difficult future.

This book creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state and will resonate with everyone. The humanity of this rich text, the love, grief and pain, of all the protagonists, combine in delivering a novel that leaves the reader longing for the story to continue, which it, unfortunately, cannot. To read of the caste system, the horrors of being born into a caste where there is no hope for a brighter future and the pain of those born into a caste where they can do little to alleviate the suffering of others, highlight the lack of justice in a society that is fractured on many levels. The governmental policies of the time, impacted on individuals in such a significant way, drawing the tailors, in particular, into a life that became a daily struggle for survival.

However, there is a lesson in this novel for all of us, the power of integrity, compassion and hope in times when there is no hope. The power of the words on a page will shift perspectives and create empathy for humanity. The grief, sadness and anger of turning that final page and its ongoing aftermath will forever stay with me. The lens through which I viewed India’s rich history was changed and upon returning to India, I looked at its people with their smiles that hid the pain of their past and read the lesson for our history here in Australia. Fighting for equality, believing in good fortune and the power of education that promotes and enables justice, are values we are fortunate to possess. I will never forget the heartbeat of this book. It changed me for the better and for this I am grateful.

Karen Bataille

RE Teacher

Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke

I used to scoff at the proposition that words on paper could change someone. My answer to ‘favourite book’ was an eye roll and “I don’t read”… until this year when I was finally baited into reading Maria Rainer Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, for the sole reason of how tiny the paperback was (I’m not gonna lie here). Perhaps it was typical adolescent angst faced in one’s final years of schooling. Perhaps it was not, but I found myself mad at everything, yet also stuck, trembling in the total dread of the unknown. I couldn’t reconcile with myself the fact that I had to actually do work if I wanted to pass my exams. I couldn’t reconcile the fact that I have full autonomy over my own actions… that I was in charge of my own living. I couldn’t reconcile with anything. In a series of letters, Rilke gives beautiful advice to a 19-year-old aspiring poet, Franz Xaver Kappus, who stood meekly in self-doubt. In the treacherous journey of finding oneself, and pursuing one’s purpose, Rilke urges you on. Whilst flailing my arms in a whirlpool of fear, doubt, confusion and uncertainty, Rilke told me that ‘What matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now.’ To embrace uncertainty. Except for the certainty ‘that something is difficult, should be one more reason to do it’. I could quote him all day. As I traversed the year’s trialing and unexpected conditions, I clung onto these words of Rilke. 

‘Life is right, whatever happens.’

 He honestly carried me through the HSC. 

Cynthia Liong

2022 College Vice Captain

Window, Jeannie Baker

Have a look outside your bedroom window. Is the view the same as when you were young, or has it changed? Does that make you feel anything? Happy, or perhaps nostalgic?

Window by Jeannie Baker is a picture book that my mum introduced me to when I was very young. I don’t have very many clear memories of the books I read during my childhood, but this story has stuck with me, and always will. It follows the story of a family, a backyard, and an environment as viewed from the same window over many years, from the time a baby boy grows into a man. 

The first picture shows a mother holding her baby son in front of the window but the most important element is what’s outside the window - nature, as far as the eye can see. The family’s backyard is virtually bushes and trees, even a small pond, where rich and pale shades of green alike, extend until they meet the blue of the horizon. As years pass, while the window stays the same, the backyard changes. Trees are cut down to create space for a fence, a clothesline, a road, another house, and another. The human-made world invades the natural world until the boy is a married man. The sky is dulled with smog, and built structures clutter the horizon. The only green left, is the confined squares of dry grass that now constitute a backyard.

This story was quite poignant for me, even as young as I was. Yes, the streets were bustling, people had grown up, humankind had evolved in an industrial sense, but I was not sure I enjoyed this evolution. Where was the canopy of trees, the intricate detail of leaves? How could something so beautiful and alive possibly be buried under layers of concrete and brick? As a child, these thoughts began to form, developing me into the young woman I am now, with a deep appreciation for the natural world and all things green. Since viewing that picture book, with a sense of sadness that I probably wouldn’t have understood, I’ve retained an awareness of the sentience of the natural world. I have always loved spending time at the beach,  climbing trees,  holidaying in the woods, and have always kept an eye out for ways I can help maintain nature’s beauty. Maybe this story was why!

If you can, have a search for Window and give it a read; maybe it will have the same impact on you as it has had on me.

Yasmeen Janschek

2023 College Captain

You can “view” this book on Clickview here

Natalia Hennessy       &       Clare Rose

Head of Department: English                   Assistant Head of Department: English

Mathematics Department

Year 8 Mathematics

During the last two weeks of Term 4, Year 8 have been busy working in teams to design and build a racecar. The car needed to be able to move by itself. The students then researched, designed and made their own models. Some of the cars needed to be redesigned and adjusted numerous times which allowed thoughtful discussion and problem solving from all groups. 

One of the most successful designs came from Evelyn, Valerie, Zoe and Victoria. 

A big THANK YOU to Evelyn Cheung (Year 8) for bringing us along on her journey…

In our last few classes, Ms Spillane arranged an interesting challenge for us to try: building a small car that can move. This STEM project was super fun and helped build my collaboration and problem-solving skills. In our group, we decided on a design that functioned using elastic potential energy. To be more specific, we wound up an elastic band and when it unravelled, the back wheels turned. Some modifications we made to this design was enlarging the back wheels (from bottle caps to CDs) and changing the positioning of the weights. Because of the difference in wheel sizes, the front of the car lifted up, which we fixed by placing two 20-cent coins at the front. These changes helped the design move at a reasonable pace. If I could do this again, I’d like to try different methods so that it can drive up a small hill.  Some other STEM projects that I think will be interesting are designing a drinking straw roller coaster or completing the classic egg drop! I’m really excited for what Maths, next year, will enable me to do!

Maya Mabey

Head of Department: Mathematics   

Science Department

I cannot believe I am writing the last article for the newsletter of the year 2022. The year has flown and the students have had an uninterrupted year of learning which is a wonderful return to normality. 

The students have learned many and varied concepts and skills to help them navigate and understand their world and drawn the links with scientific understanding and how this advances society. I love when students are able to see what is discussed and learned in class, is able to be recognised outside of the classroom and in their everyday lives.

An example of this is when I had a recently graduated student, who is currently overseas, send me an email of a link to an article where a young girl had been cured of her leukaemia using a Biotechnology that we had investigated in-depth in year 12 Biology and was the basis of an assessment task. Here is a link to an article explaining the technology and its lifesaving application. 

I hope now, that as we look forward to the Christmas season and a time of rest and being with our families, that all the students are able to look at their world with wonder and awe and yet understand it better, from their learning in the science classroom. 

I would like to thank the hard working members of the Science department for their dedication to teaching and learning at Brigidine in 2022. It’s been one to remember!

Tess Waterhouse

Head of Department: Science

Visual Arts Department

Art Gallery of NSW Visit

Years 7-9 visited the Art Gallery of NSW as part of the end-of-year Tourists In Our Own City and were lucky enough to visit the brand new Sydney Modern wing. Year 9 Visual Arts student, Isabella Larbelestier reflected on her experience of this wonderful addition to Sydney’s cultural highlights.

“The building of the new art gallery amplified the atmosphere and feelings of the artworks' initial effect on the audience such as being grand, spacious and unique. I saw many types of modern art (including paintings and sculptures and an immersive exhibition) which were quite fascinating as they included multiple art styles and pushed the boundaries for the viewers. For example, one artist utilised small bits of discarded items and created many magnificent structures which pushed the boundaries of art, as it shows that art can be expressed not only through delicate strokes but household items and can have the same effect as more traditional art forms when viewed by the audience.

My experience at the new Sydney modern wing was quite mesmerising and broadened my views and opinions on modern art. This is due to the artworks presented but also the beautiful building which created a calming atmosphere which I view as very beneficial when viewing an artwork as it allows you to feel the need to take your time when viewing a piece of art. My favourite part of the Sydney Modern wing is that it adds a different perspective on art and how art is developing within modern society. This is because the original art gallery’s great artworks and expressions of the past are intertwined with art history and society, therefore the modern wing provides an extension of art which conveys the expressions of people living in modern society.

My favourite artwork was titled "Beneath This Dry Land" created by Fiona Lowry, which won the Wynne Prize in 2017. Fiona Lowry assembled this artwork through synthetic polymer paint on canvas and through her unique art style, she created a blurry feel to the artwork. This blurry addition to the artwork caught my attention since I have never witnessed "blurred" artwork and it made me want to learn more about the artwork. Moreover, through pausing and reflecting on the artwork I felt more connection as it is called "Beneath This Dry Land" since Australia is a dry land and I thoroughly enjoy exploring the outback but also exploring the meaning of the many Aboriginal communities across Australia. Additionally, the artwork points out to audiences, the ethically and politically complicated conservation issues in Australia and since I am very passionate about saving the environment, I felt very touched by the artwork and exhilarated that artists are using their platform to support change and secure a better future for our earth.”

As well as the new Sydney Modern, students visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales to explore and discover the treasures of the collection. Below are some Year 7's encountering traditional landscapes, portraits and contemporary sculptures. 

The Visual Arts team has had a wonderful year creating and exploring art and are looking forward to seeing what 2023 brings from the creative and committed Visual Arts students at Brigidine.

Melissa Nutter  &  Clare Rose

The Visual Arts Department

Futures

Term Four is a very busy time of year for the Futures Department, with students in Year 12 finalising their pattern of study and processing applications for vocational courses for Years 10 and 11. In addition, our 2022 graduates are finalising their preferences for university study.

Externally Delivered Vocational Courses (EVET)

In 2023, students will be studying a variety of courses including Entertainment, Laboratory Skills, Business Services, Real estate, Early Childhood, Travel and Tourism, Allied Health, Design, Retail, Laboratory skills and Community Services, offered by our external providers. This partnership allows students to study a wider variety of courses than can be offered within the school setting. Of particular note is the Certificate II in Animal Care. Completion of this course is a  prerequisite for studying the Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing and is an excellent pathway into this field. We would like to congratulate Year 10 student Meike Anderson who has been selected to complete this course at Taronga Zoo in 2023 and Year 12 student Jasmin Pennesi who will complete a Statement of Attainment in this course in 2023. Jasmin will then complete the course in an accelerated format in 2024; meaning she will be eligible to begin the Certificate IV course six months earlier than she otherwise would be. Congratulations to both students.

Year 12 Subject Counselling

Our incoming Year 12 students made the most of the careers and subject counselling interviews in order to determine the best combination of subjects to study in Year 12. This involved research into the various tertiary courses in order to consider a wide array of factors including prerequisites, assumed and recommended knowledge as well as the adjustment factors offered by many universities. It is important that students understand that applicants for university are selected based on their overall selection rank. The selection rank for Year 12 students is made up of their ATAR and any adjustment points they have received. Therefore, the lowest selection rank for a course does not necessarily represent the minimum ATAR required for entry into the course. Many students with ATARs below the lowest selection rank do receive offers. Hence adjustment points are one important consideration when determining the best pattern of study. Students are encouraged to continue to research areas that interest them over the school break through the career websites the College subscribes to including https://brigidine-randwick.jobjump.com.au/ and https://studyworkgrow.com.au/ so that they are aware of the various requirements for university entry.

Visits from our Alumni

We welcomed back three of our outstanding Brigidine alumni who spoke with Year 10 about their careers, university and TAFE study as well as offering study tips. Leilah Yousaf our College Dux for 2021 spoke to the students about the importance of using Year 11 as a way to trial what works best for them in terms of study methods, organisation and examination technique. Leilah also highlighted that choosing courses for which they have a passion is key and that even if they achieve a very high ATAR as she did (99.95) which would have allowed her to study Medicine or Dentistry, they should not waver in their choice as this passion is what will lead to success. Leilah has always been passionate about Economics having achieved a ninth in state ranking in 2021 and is currently studying a Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of Arts (Environmental Humanities).

Christabel Chang, a 2019 alumni achieved four Band 6s in Year 12 as well as a first-in state in Hospitality. She has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from the University of NSW. She explained to the students that whilst she may not have been as focussed as she would have liked in Year 10, by being determined in their senior years, they can achieve great things. Christabel also gave an insight into being a Financial analyst at TPG Telecom.

Finally, the students heard from Taylor, who completed her Certificate II in Information and Digital Technology and went on to complete the upgrade to the Certificate III offered by Sydney Catholic Schools during the summer break. Taylor explained to students the benefits of a Vocational pathway. Taylor successfully applied and completed the two-year Microsoft traineeship program in partnership with MEGT (a traineeship and apprentice-focused company), TAFE NSW and Microsoft. She completed a Certificate IV in Information Technology, majoring in Networking, whilst working with a Microsoft Partner in learning and on-the-job experiences. Taylor is now employed permanently and couldn’t be happier. She is an excellent example of the value of vocational training begun in a school-based setting.

Work experience and School-Based Traineeships and Apprenticeships

Several of our students have attended work experience this term, including Sarah Birrell at the Spot Therapy Hub at Randwick, where she will be able to gain a greater insight into the speech pathology and rehabilitation careers. Talia Mano completed a Business Services work experience through Randwick Council, which will prepare her for studying the Certificate III in Business Services at Southern Cross next year.

Jenaya Kelly completed a placement at Pine Cottage Early Childhood centre, where the staff was so impressed that they offered her a School-Based Traineeship in 2023. School-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs) allow senior high school students to commence an apprenticeship or traineeship while at school. School-based apprentices undertake the first stage of their apprenticeship training before the end of the HSC year, whereas School-based trainees complete their traineeship by the end of their HSC year.

SBATs work part-time so Jenaya will be working and undertaking both the on-the-job and off-the-job training. This SBAT will contribute towards her HSC. The College community would like to congratulate Jenaya on this wonderful news! 

Hospitality news

Our Hospitality students attended their Barista training, where they learned how to make espresso coffee, froth milk and coffee art. Students were awarded a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment in preparing and serving espresso coffee and using hygienic practices for food safety. 

Term Four ended with the most anticipated, three-day ‘Paddock to Plate’ excursion to Cowra and Canowindra, a region in rural NSW known for its diverse landscapes and food production industries. The excursion involved experiences in vegetable, wheat and organic farming, animals to meat processing, sustainable land control, food production systems and olive oil processing. 

This excursion was most valuable to Hospitality students as it provided opportunities that will contribute knowledge, industry terminology and workplace examples to support the units of work studied in their course. It also contributes to the mandatory 70 hours of Work placement and the twelve (12)  service periods that VET students must undertake as part of their course. 

We are confident in continuing our wonderful tradition of producing work-ready and qualified students with a passion for lifelong learning. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding Vocational Education team, who have again worked tirelessly for the benefit of our students.  In particular, I would like to wish Mr. Richard Hainsworth every success as he leaves the College for his new role. It has been a privilege to lead such a professional team of teachers.

Vicki Zafiris

Futures Coordinator