College News

Prayers Please

We keep in our prayers the family of Mr Apolloni, grandfather of Izabella and Joel Apolloni who sadly passed away.

We also pray for any families in our community who have lost loved ones or are suffering illnesses.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Year 8 sends support to South Africa

Year 8 Geography includes a topic called Global Issues. This topic focuses on common needs throughout the world, including health and education. AIDS-afflicted villages are prime examples of the deep challenges when faced with a lack of health and educational support. Sr Theresa Foley has spent over a decade in South Africa providing such support and Year 8-1 and 8-4 were privileged to hear a presentation from Sr Theresa on her time spent there. Following her presentation, both classes expressed a desire to support some of the orphans that Sr Theresa helped raise and who subsequently completed their schooling and are now at University. Both classes have raised $100 for these students (see photos below) and some have also established email contact. Thank you Year 8 for your material support, thank you Sr Theresa for so clearly living your life for others and a big welcome to Phillipine, Mmatlou and Mosibudi to the Marian family.

Year 11 Legal Studies

Following the Preliminary Yearly Exam in September, the Year 11 Legal Studies class has plunged headlong into their major HSC topic of Crime. To support this and their other 2018 topics of Human Rights, Family and World Order, 11 students spent 2 days in Canberra in November, right in the middle of one of the most tumultuous periods in the nation’s capital since 1975! While we arrived in a non-sitting week which meant there were no politicians around, the legal institutions more relevant to our course were willing and able to help our students unravel the mysteries of the law.

First stop was the Canberra Community Law Centre, where Genevieve Bolton, the executive director, and another solicitor, Radhika Chaudhri, made informative presentations and stimulated fresh discussions on issues that directly addressed a key theme, the effectiveness of our legal system.

Next stop was the Australian National University where Dr Imogen Saunders, lecturer at the College of Law, shared a rich life story that crossed the public and government sectors before settling at ANU. Several current and new perspectives were covered on our World Order, Crime and Human Rights topics. Dr Saunders later commented on the quality of the discussion that the presentation morphed into. Some of the students seemed to be wondering, ‘Maybe I could see myself doing something like this!’

Rounding out a jam-packed day was a guided tour around the High Court, cue jokes from The Castle, as we all felt ‘the vibe’. Hearing the history and philosophy behind the High Court’s design and construction was fascinating. We asked for a photo of 7 of us in the Judge’s chairs, but in these new days of terrorist threats, had to be content with a meek picture of sitting in the gallery!

Final stop of the excursion, Parliament House, was interrupted by an unscheduled visit to old Parliament House steps where we reenacted the most famous speech ever given there (as claimed by the speaker, of course) - Gough Whitlam’s ‘Kerr’s cur’ response to his sacking on Remembrance Day 1975. Jeremiah Dixon played Kerr’s official secretary, David Smith, and Paul Pfitzner played the just-deposed Prime Minister. The rest of the class were the rabble crowd and media and it was a fearless performance before some bemused onlookers!!

However it caused us to miss the scheduled guided tour at the new parliament House. As a quick resolution, the staff deputised me as a new guide and I frantically did a speed-read on the map provided as I proceeded to stumble upon the most venerable rooms in our land - the Senate and the House of Reps. Zarah Sully even managed to find Harold Holt in the Prime Ministers’ Portrait Gallery, plus field a job recruitment pitch from one of the AFP officers, but we did achieve the most important goal of all: selfies!

Thanks very much to all students for their success in combining a ‘fun’ ethos with a productive approach.

Last College Social for 2017

Students are encouraged to wear all white

To follow the 'Neon' theme students can:

-Wear white

-Draw glow paint/crayon on their clothes

-Bring glowsticks

Year 12's will also have glow paint on the night and be selling glow sticks as well.

Hope everyone can make it

Addams Family Sponsorship

Sponsorship packages are available for our 2018 production of The Addams Family -all packages enable the sponsor to buy tickets before the general public so why not become a sponsor and get the best seats in the house!! Packages are available by emailing aventib@ww.catholic.edu.au