School of Leadership

News from the School of Leadership     

A very warm welcome back to all parents, carers and students - particularly those families new to the College or new to the School of Leadership! We trust you enjoyed a renewing and recharging break with family and friends. 

The beginning of a new school year is a timely opportunity to reflect on the very purpose of education and ultimately, learning. Education is not merely about acquiring knowledge, but also about learning how to think and make the most of our abilities. Indeed, Albert Einstein once said, "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." With this in mind, let us strive to encourage the children in our care to not just absorb information, but to actively engage with it, question it, challenge it and use it to better themselves and the world around us.

As educators, we understand that the beginning of the school year may come with a mix of emotions for both students and parents. We are dedicated to providing a safe and nurturing learning environment for your child. We also understand that as a parent, you play a vital role in your child's education and we encourage you to stay involved and informed throughout the year. We invite you to communicate with your child's teachers regularly and to attend Student-Led Conferences and Parent Learning Walks. Together, we can work towards ensuring that your child has a successful school year.

At the first School of Leadership assembly in Week 2, we shared with students the plethora of opportunities they have to experience new things or become involved in the life of the College. Please see Mrs Camilleri’s section below for more information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here to support you and your child.

Term 1 SoL Parent Learning Walk

We enthusiastically invite you to attend the first SoL Parent Learning Walk on Wednesday March, 1. Register your attendance https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/qparj 

Welcome to our new Colleagues 

Mr Scott Carroll joins the School of Leadership as the Stage 3 Instructional Leader 

Mrs Karen McDaid joins St Luke’s as the Enrichment and Extension Leader

Mrs Kate Kelly - Head of School, School of Leadership

A Note from The SOL Assistant Principal 

A warm welcome back to the 2023 year. A new year always marks that new chance to start fresh, start a new chapter, start with a clean slate. I look forward to working with our new SOL families and students as well as continuing the relationship with current SOL students.

A few reminders:

• Students are NOT permitted to bring glass drink bottles or containers to school as it is a safety issue.
• Please ensure students wear helmets if they ride a scooter or bike to school.
• Hats are needed if the basketball courts or oval are being used.
• Mullets are not part of the school uniform.
• Acrylic nails, nail polish, fake eye lashes or makeup are also not permitted.
• One small sleeper or stud earring per lobe (for both males and females).
• One other item of jewellery is permitted (eg. only one ring OR necklace OR bracelet).
• Sport uniform is only to be worn when students have PE, are representing the school in Thursday sports or gala days or for students in years 7-8 on Fridays. Stage 3 students are NOT to wear sport uniform on Fridays.

Extra Curricular Activities:

There are a number of initiatives students can get involved in:

• Drama Club - open to years 7 - 10 on during lunch on Thursdays in the Activities Club space
• Write What Matters competition -  an externally run competition open to students in years 5 - 12 (with some awesome prizes to be won)
• World Poetry Day (21st March) - we will be launching our very own poetry competition and hosting a suite of activites to celebrate this day. Stay tuned to compass notifications in the coming weeks for more details.

Riding Bikes and Scooters to School

A reminder that if your child rides a bike or scooter to school, they must be wearing a helmet. Bicycle riders are required by law to wear an approved helmet securely fitted and fastened. In NSW there are no exemptions from wearing an approved bicycle helmet. A bicycle helmet that is not correctly fitted and fastened does not provide enough protection in a crash. If a police officer were to stop a person riding their bike without a helmet, they could receive an on the spot fine of $344. Your child’s safety is very important and we appreciate your support with this. 

Mrs Josephine Camilleri - Assistant Principal, School of Leadership

Mr Scott Carroll - Stage 3 Instructional Leader

I would like to echo the sentiments of Mrs Kelly in recognising parents as the first educators of our children and collaborators in our work together. As the adage goes, it takes a village to raise a child, and we certainly have a rich village full of dedicated parents and educators who all want the best for our students.

Our Stage 3 teams have hit the ground running this year with a range of opportunities for students to experience, explore and explain concepts in all key learning areas. The teachers have been pleased to see almost all students coming to school ready for learning with devices charged and wearing their uniforms correctly. There have already been some exciting conversations and questions about our trip to Canberra in Term 2. We look forward to sharing more on that later.

Mr Scott Carroll - Stage 3 Instructional Leader

Stage 3 Stories… 

Science and Technology in Stage 3

The Year 5 students paired up in groups with Stage 3 students to share their knowledge of what the relationship between ‘force’ and ‘energy’ is. With students developing their ‘knows and need to knows’ in the learning space, teachers can now direct the learning to what each group of students needs relating to the topic. Mr Stevens and Miss Bishay were also impressed with the ability of students to share their thinking beyond general statements.

Students will use their knowledge of forces and the transfer of energy to design and construct their own ‘Rube Goldberg’ system.  This gives them the opportunity to apply what they have learned, as well as to expand on their knowledge by incorporating different types of forces into their designs.

They began to prepare for this by learning how to work collaboratively when sharing ideas.  In this photo, students in Acutis are sharing their ideas.  They are learning how to listen, acknowledge the ideas of others, then build on what has been shared.  

This was followed by students reflecting on what strengths they bring to collaborative work and what skills they would like to develop.

English, Stage 3

As students research a landmark that is of interest to them, they have been encouraged to locate information that explains:

• The cultural importance of the landmark
• The impact of tourism on the landmark
• Other positive, or negative impacts on the preservation of the landmark.

In order to achieve this, students are learning how to take notes, so that the information is easier to understand.  The final step is to create a summary of the main ideas.  This helps students to identify information they can clearly and accurately recall, as well as the areas of their topic where they may need to ‘dig deeper’.   In particular, we are learning that:

In the loop…. Seesaw

Dear Families,

Again, this year we are using Seesaw to share and communicate with families in the School of Foundations and Stage 3 (K-6). Your child will post to Seesaw to share their learning. Teachers will also use Seesaw to send you messages and reminders. Seesaw is private; you'll only see posts created by your child.

Please Sign Up Now

1.  Choose your child's class.

Click on this link https://app.seesaw.me/s/735-872-182

If Stage 3 Acutis:

Click on this link https://app.seesaw.me/s/344-575-875

If Stage 3 Freeman:

Click on this link https://app.seesaw.me/s/097-166-783

If Stage 3 Malala:

Click on this link https://app.seesaw.me/s/042-161-471

If Stage 3 Riley:

Click on this link https://app.seesaw.me/s/932-313-387

1. Choose your child from the list
2. Create your account
3. Once you are approved you can see content from your child

After you sign up, download the free Seesaw app and sign in. You can also access Seesaw from a computer at https://app.seesaw.me.

If you used Seesaw last year or have more than one child using Seesaw, follow the link above, then click the 'Sign in' tab at the top of the screen. You do not need to create a new account.

If you have any problems accessing Seesaw and your child's account please contact our IT Team using the email stlukesict@parra.catholic.edu.au

Settling in….

 Year 5 students have made a smooth transition to learning and life in Stage 3 in the SoL of Leadership. They’ve taken advantage of the new play areas and are keenly getting to know their new peers and teachers. 

Introduzione all'italiano

This year at St Luke’s, all Stage 3 students will have the opportunity to experience Language instruction via the Introduction to Italian Language course prepared and delivered by our specialist secondary Languages teacher, Ms Gallo. This is anticipated to start in Week 6. 

From Year 7…

Year 7 Induction

Our new Year 7s arrived at the College fresh faced and ready for all that the high school experience might throw at them! Day 1 was January 31 and saw Year 7 engage in a 2 session induction program facilitated by House Leaders and Year 7 teaching staff. This was an important facet of the “Welcome to the School Leadership” program and was successful in putting students at ease. Year 7 have since participated in a Google-suite Bootcamp and House Meetings and are quickly learning how to navigate their timetables!

Year 7 English

This Term in English, students are participating in a unit entitled “The Hero's Journey.” Students will be introduced to the study of films and more specifically the journey of a hero in a film. Year 7 will trace the journey of the hero in the class film. 

Mr G and Mrs Kelly’s Teal class have spent the early lessons unpacking the stages of the Hero’s journey and unpacking what it means to be an anti-hero which proved to be an interesting concept to several students! 

Miss Wick and Ms Jones’ class learnt about Indigenous Australian heroes, and the impact so many wonderful individuals have had throughout history, and in the present as role models for young people. Students selected one person to research, then represented the heroic nature of the influential figure they had selected in a “one pager”. Below are a few examples belonging to Sia, Anne, Namit, and Martina. Well done, class! 

Science 

Year 7 has been busy learning how to be safe scientists in our labs. Each student has had the opportunity to learn how to light a bunsen burner and obtain their bunsen burner licence. Throughout the term students will be exploring matter and our chemical world whilst developing their skills in the lab. 

From Year 8…

What's new in Life Design?

This term in Life Design, Year 8 students are learning to ‘Lead without Authority’. Students are currently learning about the Six E’s of leadership as coined by Brendon Burchard, which includes: Envision, Enlist, Embody, Empower, Evaluate and Encourage. Students are tasked with looking at their own actions in their daily life, and question whether or not they are truly leading through their actions. 

Through collaborative tasks, workshops, and journaling, students are able to challenge themselves, extend their knowledge and reflect on the types of people they want to be in their final year in the School of Leadership at St Luke’s. 

Mathematics in Year 8

Our Driving 

Question

Our Knows and Need to Knows

Year 8 Mathematicians:

In Year 8 Maths we are currently learning about equations. We've learnt how to solve equations using trial and error and correctly solve one-step and two-step equations. We know that equations need to be balanced and we also know that we can solve equations using inspection. In class, we are open to joining workshops that are run by the teachers.These workshops allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the unit and learn strategies to correctly solve the equations. We apply our understanding of equations through deliberate practice worksheets. We can work collaboratively with our peers and assist each other. After completing the practices, we can check our answers and evaluate our own work. Next lesson, we will be learning how to solve multi-step equations.

Japjit Kaur Year 8 Teal

In Year 8, we are learning how to solve equations and think efficiently. Maths in Year 8 is all about problem solving, working together, and using trial and error. There are workshops in every lesson to help us understand the unit, and our teachers always help us when we need it. We can rely on our peers in Year 8 to help us. We start off each unit with Knows and Need to Knows to let our teachers know where we are with our knowledge, and we can work on tasks from there. Maths in Year 8 is a helpful, safe place to learn!

Layla Dimacali Year 8 Teal

Wellbeing in the School of Leadership

St Luke’s College provides a safe, inclusive and engaging learning environment that provides a comprehensive wellbeing and positive education program for our School of leadership. Our wellbeing programs and interventions are based on the work of internationally renowned psychologist professor Martin Seigman and consist of positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. 

Peer Companions 

Our Year 5 students will commence a Peer support program this term which we call Peer Companions. Several Year 8 students have expressed their interest in leading a group of Year 5 students to discuss and provide peers with enhanced mental health and wellbeing through personal experiences and to provide students opportunities for personal growth and self reflection.

There is so much data and research that supports a program such as this as it provides numerous opportunities and benefits for all students involved. These benefits include improved social skills and self-esteem, increased sense of belonging and connectedness to the school community and development of leadership and communication skills.

Finally, the Peer Companions program can provide a safe and supportive environment where students can share experiences, offer advice, and work together to resolve conflicts, promoting a positive school culture. 

Peer Companions meet 3 times each term.

Year 8 Peer Companion leaders met with their groups on Friday the 10th of February. The leaders were engaging and very welcoming to their year 5 companions.

From the House Leaders

The House System is now in effect at St Luke’s. Students have been allocated to one of six Houses and experience mentor time with a mix of their peers from Years 7-12. During the first few weeks of mentor, teachers have been facilitating ice-breaker activities with their groups with a goal of each student knowing the names of their peers. This will help students build connections within their mentor groups and Houses where they feel known across our schools. Next week, students will engage in their first House Meeting and together with their peers and leaders have another opportunity to contribute to shaping the identity and culture of their House.

Below is an overview of the Houses, the House Leaders and the Student Leaders, which was presented in a House Launch Assembly towards the end of 2022 -

Free webinar - Navigating Online Friendships

This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school.

 It will cover:

• how to support young people to have safe and respectful relationships online
• what to do when something happens at school and ends up on social media or private messaging apps
• how to report to social media platforms and eSafety.

Thursday 23 February

https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/2317136520471063820