Co-Principals' Report

Amazing Events!

The opportunities to be involved in major events continues unabated. Congratulations to Mal Dunstan for having the energy, passion and commitment to pull together numerous students into one mega event which was the “1980’s Music Performance Night.” It was a tremendous night of fun, creativity and good times. The fact that the songs were like the soundtrack of the Acting Co-Principals childhood, helped just a little too! Well done to the many musicians who showed courage to showcase their talents. Our VCE Media students also showcased their project work at the inaugural VCE Media Review Night. The short films and documentaries presented during the night were impressive - creative, original and professional. Congratulations to these students and Matthew Scott for his initiative in introducing this new night. Currently some of our Italian students are on the annual CEO Sandhurst Italian Camp with students from schools across the diocese. We trust that this is proving to be a valuable learning experience. The experience of Year 9’s being involved in Mock Interviews also occured this week. The chance for our students to prepare a job application, resume and then present at a simulated job interview is invaluable learning. Thanks to the staff involved in preparing our students, to the Beacon Board and to the members of our community who donate their time to conduct these interviews. It is much appreciated! Last week we also sent a large team to the Campaspe Interschool Athletics competition in Bendigo. There were many exceptional performances and our students conducted themselves in an exemplary manner. More information on this is contained in the Sports Report.

Personal Best

We quite often read research that suggests we vastly underestimate our students. In the role this term we have seen evidence of that first hand! You may remember that through her own initiative, Lucia Rochford single handedly brought Neale Daniher to our school. In addition to this, currently our Year 9 students are involved in a subject called “Personal Best.” Working with others this unit is designed for students to work with, or for our school and wider community on projects that will help others and develop a wide range of life skills. The other day Trey Smith, presented his project to us - the design and building of a 3D printer! Trey has planned for this, will source the parts himself, work with our front office staff to finance it and then build the 3D printer all from scratch! Once completed it will be provided to the school as a valuable resource for many curriculum areas and will be available for the benefit of hundreds of students for many years to come. Congratulations Trey - a simply mind boggling and stunning achievement! To all our other Year 9 students we look forward to the wonderful work you present being celebrated as well.

Parent Teacher and Learning Mentor Interviews - The Learning Pit

Following release of reports we are in the midst of our Term 3 Parent Teacher and Learning Mentor Interviews. Once again this is a terrific opportunity to engage in discussion and work in partnership with each other to maximise success at school. As stated before, we know on the surface that teenagers are keen to ensure that their parents are pushed into the distance. We also know, however, that deep down they appreciate the interest and care you show in their education. The research constantly reminds us of this, as parent engagement is a crucial factor in student achievement. During Learning Mentor time our students have been discussing the concept of “The Learning Pit.” This is a well known theory that the best and deepest learning happens during the times where we are challenged, feel confused and struggle to master concepts. However, if we persist we can emerge from the pit with not only more consolidated learnings but also with an enormous sense of satisfaction. In many ways this also speaks of resilience, a willingness to persist and persevere. It also speaks of hope that despite the struggle, we can maintain our efforts and things will improve.

The short video below provides more information about the Learning Pit and we recommend you take a look!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh7SRvQeCAI

Recent Mental Health Statistics - The Resilience Project

In Term 2, we hosted Martin Heppell from the Resilience Project. His message is still reverberating around our school. Recently the founder of this project, Hugh van Cuylenburg was interviewed on Channel 9’s Today Show. In a frightening statistic he suggested that the latest research statistics indicate that 40% of secondary school students report some kind of mental health issue. To say that is alarming and a cause for concern would be an understatement! Given this, the work that Hugh and the Resilience Project team are doing in our community is even more crucial. The link to the video is below. It goes for about 9 minutes, but for any parent in today’s modern world it is extremely valuable and worthwhile viewing!

https://www.9now.com.au/today/2018/extras/clips/clip-cjlobfcm6002z0snqtg60dj74

Fundraising for Drought Relief

Today we held a casual day in our endeavours to fundraise for the farmers in NSW who are experiencing significant hardships from the effects of ongoing drought. Gold coin donations will go to the ‘Buy a Bale Campaign’. We know that in times of hardship Australians rally together in partnership to support those in need. Thank you to our students who donated and to Year 11 student, Grace Hammond, for her initiative and energy to plan, organise and drive this day.

Staffing Changes for Term 4

We have some staff on more extended leave at the beginning of Term 4. Mrs. Michelle Anderson, Mr. David Armfield, Mr. Ted Ripon and Mr. James Rogerson will be on leave for periods ranging from 2-4 weeks. Mrs. Anderson’s classes will be covered by Mrs. Shari Gotch. Mr. Armfields’ classes will be covered as a combination between Mrs Suzanne Langborne, with the Year 12 classes being covered by other members of the Year 12 Further Maths team - Mrs. Helen Fontana and Mrs. Sarah Richardson. Mr. Ripons’ classes will be covered by Mrs. Suzanne Langborne. Mr. Rogersons’ classes will be covered by existing Year 12 English teacher Mrs. Rolfe and Year 11 English by Mrs Kirrilee Westblade. On top of this Mr. Kemp will return to more teaching with Year 7 Humanities.

A Reading from the Gospel of Luke 6: 27-38

Last week we attended a KEM Principals Meeting in Melbourne where we reflected on a reading from the Gospel of Luke. This is the well known passage where Jesus asks us to ‘turn the other cheek’ and to ‘do unto others as you would have them do to you’ - the Golden Rule which is present in all major world religions. This particular Gospel passage lies at the heart of our Catholic message, a message that talks of forgiveness, compassion and kindness. It is also the most difficult of messages because it asks us to love our enemies. We live today in a world of violence, of increasing litigation, of vendettas and criticisms often stirred up in the media, of terrorist attacks on the innocent and of political leadership characterised by fear and division. In the face of this reality, it is even more important that the ideals of love, kindness, respect and care are shared in our world.

All the best for Spring Holidays!

In Term 4 we will welcome back Michael Delaney following his long service leave. From all reports he has had a tremendous time and experienced some amazing opportunities. He is feeling enthused about returning and ready to take on the many challenges of school life. For us it has been a privilege to lead the St. Joseph’s College community during Term 3. We have been amazed at what our students and staff have achieved during this term and thank everyone for their support and encouragement. We wish everyone all the best for a relaxing and rejuvenating Spring holidays!

Kind regards,

Grant Kemp and Kirrilee Westblade

Acting Co-Principals