Secondary

Dear Families

The significance of a strong school community cannot be overstated. It forms the bedrock of a successful educational experience, where students not only thrive academically but also grow emotionally and socially. In my short time at John XXIII College, I have been moved by the profound sense of community spirit – something that I have often described to people as the ‘incredible heart’ of the College and its people. John XXIII Day presents a perfect example of such spirit, bringing staff and students together to honour our inspirational Founders; Ignatius of Loyola, Mary Ward and Pope John XXIII, and fundraise for our College charities. A day like this could not run without the incredible planning and effort from a wide range of people from across the College: House Coordinators, teachers, student leaders, performers and technical crews, and support staff, all giving their best to make the day as successful as possible.  

The invitation to join each other in being people for others through the joyful and reverent Mass was a fitting start to the day. Congratulations to the many students who participated in the service as readers or performers to make this a very special celebration of the Eucharist. The traditional Running of the Colonnades was hotly contested by a number of Year 12 students.  Congratulations to Victoria Hyde and Harrison Upton for their impressive run to have their name join previous champions on the Colonnades Honour Board. A highlight of the day, the food and fete stalls raised in excess of $10,000 to donate to our College charities, Mary Ward International and Jesuit Missions, in support of their international development work with vulnerable communities. Our Alumni network is an important part of our community, and it is always wonderful to welcome past students back to the College to take on Year 12 students in competitive netball and football games. The highly anticipated Variety Concert delivered a creative and entertaining end to the day with staff and students showcasing their musical, comedic and dancing talents. Congratulations to Drama Captain, Mia and Music Captain, Hannah, for their skillful compering of the concert, as well as the incredible efforts of Multimedia Captain, Caelan and the AV crew for their behind-the-scenes planning and support.  

Sports Photos 

Sports Photos are scheduled for Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 August. Photos will take place in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre. Students are reminded to arrive five minutes before their scheduled photo. The timetable for the day will be released next week.  

Students must be in the correct sports uniform with a College sports shirt, College sports socks, College sports shorts and tracksuit pants. Students not in the correct uniform will not be allowed in the photo. 

Being mindful of our neighbours 

Senior students and parents are reminded to be courteous to our neighbours and considerate of them when either driving or parking in streets surrounding the College. Recently it has been noted that vehicles are parking in the ‘no parking’ area along John Woods Boulevard, which creates concern for residents regarding the safety of students and other pedestrians. Students and parents should use the parking or drive-through facilities available on campus.  

Health Centre pick up 

The Health Centre has relocated to the refurbished Student Wellbeing Centre. Parents collecting Secondary students should now park in the short-term bays out the front of the Thomas More Exhibition Centre when collecting their child from the Health Centre.  

Term 3 Key Dates 

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Year 11 Pottery Incursion

Year 11 General Visual Arts students were lucky enough to have renowned local ceramicist Fleur Schell come in and teach her unique methods of construction and decoration. Students learned how to wedge stains into clay, compress slabs and apply texture to create unique forms. 

Angela Bollam

Art teacher

Chess Club

The Chess Club has resumed now that the Magis Chess Tournament has finished. This week students signed up to play chess in a social environment emphasising competitive but social games in the relaxed atmosphere of the Ignatius Centre Library. Games will be played at lunchtime every Wednesday for the rest of the term. 

The games for next week’s round are:

Damien Connellan

Chess Club Coordinator

Alliance Française Examinations

Years 10, 11 and 12 French students sat the Alliance Française examinations on Tuesday, 1 August. This annual prestigious examination is completed by other schools on the same day they are studying French.

The examination enables students to put into practice their French reading, listening, and writing skills over a range of topics as well as demonstrating a complexity of vocabulary and grammar. Once marked by an external committee of French teachers, students that have performed in the top 10% of their year group will be invited to participate in an oral component.

Merci beaucoup to French teachers, Madame Griffin-Appadoo and Madam Outtrim, for their efforts in preparing the students for this examination. We look forward to receiving their results in the next few months.

Melissa Polizzi

Head of Languages 

Japanese students enjoy a typical school lunch box

Over the past week our students of Japanese in Year 8 have enjoyed a typical Japanese school lunch in class. The students ate an ‘obento’ with either chicken or tofu katsu and sushi. It was 'oishii' (delicious). In addition, the students learnt how to eat with chopsticks and what is considered good manners and bad manners at a meal. The students all started their meal using the Japanese terms 'itadakimasu' (thank you for what we are to receive) and when they finished their meal they said 'goshisou sama' (thank for this banquet). 

Thank you to Aghdasi Sensei and Glass Sensei for giving our students this opportunity to learn about the customs and cuisine of Japan. 

Melissa Polizzi

Head of Languages 

SPORTS

Fr Kevin King Cup Athletics Carnival 

Our Interhouse Athletics Carnival was a huge success despite the rain and wind experienced on the day. The Year 12 parades, dances and war cries were some of the best John XXIII College has seen. Congratulations to all students who braved the weather to represent their Houses proudly on the track in their field events.

The competition for the Fr Kevin King Cup was very close throughout the day. However, it was Campion House who were victorious in the end. This year our Spirit Award was taken out by Loreto House, but warm congratulations must go to all Houses, as the spirit displayed was incredible. 

The final standings for the day were:

1st           Campion            3291

2nd         Loyola                 2815

3rd          Ward                   2776

4th          Koolyangarra     2655

5th          Loreto                 2622

6th          St Louis               2471

Congratulations to our Champions and Runner Up Champions. 

There were an impressive 10 records broken this year. Congratulations to our 2023 record breakers.

NAS Athletics

Our Years 7 to10 NAS Athletics team was posted in the notices this week. This team will attend period 1 on Tuesday, 22 August and then travel by bus to the HBF stadium to compete in the NAS Athletics Carnival. This day will provide a competitive environment for our team as well as provide them with an opportunity to secure their position in our 2023 ACC A-Division Athletics team.

Important NAS Athletics Information

• Please note the NAS Athletics team is not eligible to purchase the interschool jumper - this is only the final ACC team. 
• Students attending may wear their PE uniform to school on the day.
• Attend period 1 as normal.
• At the end of period 1, meet in the St Louis Sports Centre ready to depart at 10:00am.
• All athletes are asked to wear the College athletics top (these can be purchased from the uniform shop).
• If you are in field and track events that are on at the same time, make sure you are at your track events as they will run strictly to time. You can go to your field event after completing your track events.

ACC Netball Championship

Our NAS Senior Netball team are heading to the ACC Netball Championship semi-finals next week! They played an incredible game against St Stephen's School Carramar to lead 36-19. 

All members of our John XXIII community are welcome to come down and support our team.

ACC Netball semi-final Details

Date:                   Tuesday, 8 August

Time:                  4:00pm - 5:00pm

Venue:               Gold Netball Centre

Athletics Training

Athletics training is takes place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:00am to 8:00am with our specialist athletics coaches.

A detailed schedule of all sessions can be accessed below. 

State Sporting Representation

Any students representing their state this year are encouraged to complete the form below. This information will be used next term when we create our special State Sporting Representation video.

Sara Kononen

Head of Sport