Pastoral Academic Care

Pastoral Academic Care (PAC) Focus

This week’s Pastoral Academic Care focus is: REVISING = ACADEMIC GROWTH

Wellbeing Element:  ACCOMPLISHMENT + OPTIMISM

Character Strength:      HUMOUR

Strengths Booster:    SONG STRENGTHS

Wellbeing Reality Activities:   REVISING = ACADEMIC GROWTH

Parent Wellbeing:

Having hope relies on: goals, which guide your actions, pathways which are ways to achieve your goals and motivation, which activates your pathways. Describe how you are developing each of these hope components. Acknowledgement: Synder

Extending students’ learning beyond the classroom, builds their independence, brain pathways and growth mindsets, and one of these learning environments is at home. Having an area predominantly for study will build patterns for their brains that associate that place with study, thus creating habits and reducing barriers to getting started. Desirable conditions include well lit, quiet, warm and comfortable, a copy of their Personal Timetable on the wall, well resourced, away from distractions, especially TV and loud music and mobiles on flight mode. Students need to revisit what they learn in each of their subjects every night, or their brains will “forget”. Facts relating to how much the brain retains: • should notes not be reviewed within 24 hours, 60% to 80% of is forgotten • after a month with no reviews, only 3% to 4% is remembered • the brain pathways which were created wither and die • when 50 minutes of learning is not reviewed regularly, it takes 30 to 40 minutes to relearn it; why learn it in the first place? Renowned Polish pianist, Ignace Paderewski, once said, “If I miss one day’s practice, I notice it. If I miss two day’s practice, the critics notice. If I miss three days practice, the audience notices it.” Acknowledgement: Wade & Walsh

Wellbeing Measurement Tool:

Students, staff and parents can measure the state of their wellbeing by taking the free PERMAH survey at https://permahsurvey.com Acknowledgement and thanks: Dr Peggy Kern & Michelle McQuaid

Year 7   

Mrs Kath Czinner

What a week of full of activity. The students enjoyed the change of pace (much faster) for the retreat day and enjoyed many team building exercises. It was a great opportunity for our students to get to know other students in our year group. The leadership displayed was tremendous and it gave our students a chance to share their personality and interests in a relaxed environment.

The Lasallian Youth Leaders Eliza Clark, Brydie Hawthorne and Taryn Ramage engaged the students with enthusiasm and genuinely shared their love of working with young people.The activities presented were highly motivating, interactive and meaningful.

We shared the last week with the Year 12 students and farewell and wish them all the very best in their future. Time will fly and we will soon be seeing this Year group graduate in 2025.

Commendations a plenty this week which was great to see. 

Year Leader Awards went to: 

Tom Lockyer, Brienna Naden, Neve Paterson, Freya Giles, Samanths Robinson, Emily Helfer, Byron Kolloscheand Olivia Fenton.

Principal Awards to Taran Sandu, Paicey Noakes, Montana Dodd, Rowena Willis and Talia Bird.

We farewell Bryce Hemsworth this term and wish him all the best for his future schooling in Dubbo.

Mrs Simpson also embarks on a new journey to work in a new Catherine McAuley College, Medowie. We thank her for her work with PAC7.4 and the school SRC. We wished her well in our assembly and shared a special message to farewell her.

‘’The will of God wont lead you, where the grace of God can’t keep you”

Be ready for Term 4 with a full stocked pencil case, perhaps new books and a fresh approach to learning.    Please take the time to rejuvenate over the holidays. Rest and take care. 

Mrs Kath Czinner

Year 8 

Mrs Katie Biddle

Parents please support your children to be ready for each lesson they  have. Please remind them to have pens, pencils, books and a charged device each day. Students are reminded that water bottles need to be refilled in breaks and not in class time. 

Below is a photo of some of our fantastic students receiving commendation cards in week 9.

Year 8 have had a focus on checking in with their friends and identifying people that they can go to if they need support. Last week we did role plays to practice how to check in with someone on how they are going. We practised using the ALEC model. 

ASK

LISTEN

ENCOURAGE ACTION

CHECK UP

Sincerely,

Katie Biddle and the Year 8 team

Year 10

Mr Peter McLeish

This is Timeless….

And people stayed at home

And read books

And listened

And they rested

And did exercises

And made art and played 

And learned new ways of being

And stopped and listened

More deeply

Someone meditated, someone prayed

Someone met their shadow

And people began to think differently

And people healed.

And in the absence of people who

Lived in ignorant ways

Dangerous, meaningless and heartless,

The earth also began to heal

And when the danger ended and 

People found themselves

They grieved for the dead

And made new choices

And dreamed of new visions

And created new ways of living

And completely healed the earth

Just as they were healed.

History repeats itself. I came across this poem written in 1869, reprinted during the 1919 Pandemic. I really wanted to share it with you.

Congratulations to Tom Bible, Lilian Bridge, Tommy Nguyen, Mia Brotherson-Moffit and Emma Gray who received PAC Leader Awards recently and also to Ryan van der Veer, Sari Belson, Alexandra Shepheard and Bride Giles who qualified for Principal’s Awards in the last fortnight.

I sincerely hope our students take the next two weeks to recharge, re energise, reinvigorate, remotivate and reinspire themselves for what promises to be a huge Term Four. 

Have a great break. You deserve it! May God bless you all!

Mr Peter McLeish (on behalf of the Year 10 Pastoral and Academic Care Team)

Year 11 

Mr Mark Fulloon

Well done to all Year 11 for finishing what has been a very busy term, with yearly exams now out of the way. Then this week with captain speeches and finishing off core Year 11 content ready to start their HSC work in term 4. 

After working alongside Year 11 this term I have noticed a real sense of school community and leadership starting to emerge. The school captain and leadership speeches were great to watch and was great also to see students in a new light after those leadership speeches. Announcements for leadership will be revealed early in term 4, good luck to all students who nominated for positions for 2020/21.

My hope for Year 11 is now that they have some time for themselves to refresh and recharge ready for another busy term 4 and a start of their HSC studies. I hope school holidays provide students opportunities to spend time with family and friends.

Mark Fulloon (on behalf of the entire Year 11 PAC team)

Year 12

Mrs Vicki Channon

Wow, my last newsletter for this great bunch of students……  Sorry, it’s turned out to be a bit long….

As I type this report there are many emotions running through my veins. It has required me to stop (which has been very tricky these last few weeks with lots of preparation happening with final events) and reflect on what has been a very jam packed six years. 

I decided to start by flicking through some folders of photos and I found this one of the Year 6 Orientation Day. The start of something amazing:)

I have fond memories of our Year 7 Excursion to the Great Aussie Bush Camp at Tea Gardens at the end of Term1 in 2015. Here is the link to the movie we made. Enjoy reminiscing:) 

The Senior Retreat was an amazing end to 2019, demonstrating what a fabulous year 2020 was to be!!!!! And now to the year 2020. What a rollercoast ride we have had. 

VIDEO: 2020 WIN:WIN

From the announcement of the theme for 2020: win:win, and the usual excitement and enthusiasm of being the leaders of the College, to the challenges of working through a HSC syllabus remotely due to COVID and trying to keep the spirits high for the whole school. Wow, you have shown true resilience and grit. For some of you, the struggles were real and I am so proud of how you have all pulled together and through this unprecedented and most unforgettable year. I hope you will look back and reflect on your time at O’Connor very fondly, where memories and friendships will remain even stronger due to the challenges faced this year.  

The last few days have been made even more special by the manner in which the students have conducted themselves. There has been lots of laughter, tears and kinship, thoughtfulness towards others and just a general feeling of ‘love, peace and kindness’. 

The Masses were a beautiful reminder of the link we share with each other and the Catholic Church. It was a small consolation I know, for our parents and carers to be in attendance at this special occasion. Such beautiful photos to treasure.

The fun Thursday should be a hoot, with photos to follow:) I am sure the volleyball game against the staff will be played in a competitive and friendly manner:) And staff will come out winning!!!!

The final assembly will be very different, and again, very emotional for our parents and carers who will not be with us physically to share this special occasion. Believe me when I say, you will be in our hearts and minds throughout the ceremony. This will be live streamed, so I do hope that you all get to watch it. Students, please be grateful for the unconditional love and support your parents and carers have shown you for the last 17 or 18 years of your life. You are truly blessed to have such people in your lives. Cherish them xxx

You are all amazing young people (I think I have said that a few times this week) and I am super proud to have been your Pastoral Academic Care Leader for most of the last 6 six years. I do hope you come back and visit us from time to time OR send us a message to let us know how you are doing. Whatever you pursue over the next few years, know that you can achieve anything. 

Now, back to reality and the here and now and the goal of nailing the HSC!!!!!

It’s super important to use the next 3 weeks wisely and productively in order to prepare for the examinations. You do not want to throw away the last 2 years of hard slog, so study hard, revise well, collaborate with your friends to study, to gain those extra few, ten, twenty, thirty marks……

Also, don’t forget to eat well, sleep well (but stick to a normal waking and sleeping pattern), exercise as this provides lots of endorphins and laugh lots:)))

I have emailed all students the timetable for Term 4, Week 1. Please make sure you check this. We encourage all students to attend these study sessions as it may just give you that one extra mark that you are looking for:) 

Tuesday 20th October - HSC begins. Make sure you keep informed by checking emails. Here are the important links to check out:

Remember your teachers are available for you in Term 4, during the HSC period, so please keep those past papers coming in for feedback. Just email them first so that they can check their timetable as we have a new timetable in Term 4.

A huge, heartfelt thank you to the PAC team for 2020, and in fact, every teacher that has had some input into your education over the last 6 years. I am sure you will thank them personally over these last few days to show your gratitude.

The staff at O’Connor Catholic College wish you all the very, very best for the HSC and we are looking forward to seeing you all for morning tea on Friday 18th December.

Vicki Channon (on behalf of the entire Year 12 PAC team)