Pastoral Academic Care (PAC) 

Pastoral Focus: Junior –   ORGANISING YOUR TIMETABLE

Senior –  TIME MANAGEMENT

Wellbeing Element: ACCOMPLISHMENT + OPTIMISM

Character Strength: brainstorming how they can build their wellbeing and resilience using Perspective.

Parent Wellbeing: a great strategy to put yourself in a positive frame of mind every morning, is to spend five minutes over a coffee, to think about and then write down what you are looking forward to most for the day ahead. They don’t have to be big things. It’s funny how looking forward to something lifts your spirits.

This week we hear from the Year 8, Year 10 and Year 12 PAC Leaders

Year 8

We are well into the winter season and feeling the chill in the air. It is great to see so many students wearing the new jacket to keep them warm. Our uniform looks great. A quick reminder that the winter uniform is to be worn on most days. Sport uniform is only to be worn when a PDHPE practical is scheduled. I often hear I wore my sports uniform because I was cold. Layer up if necessary. 

It is wonderful to see so many of our students getting involved in the sporting life of the school. Well done to our participants in the Diocesan Cross Country and tennis competitions. Best of luck to our students who made it through to the next level. The De Vinci Decathlon was held on Monday and we had a strong team entered. This gave our students many opportunities to be create problem solvers. With the Athletics carnival approaching it will be a great opportunity for our students to shine. On the academic front we have seen a great number of commendations being given out for commitment to learning. 

Our year group continues to navigate teenage years, as maturity approaches there is a range of emotions, highs and lows. Relationships shifts are common. Each student is reminded to show respect and care for one another. If circumstances become difficult please reflect on what is happening, empathise with others and reach out for help. We have a lovely group of students whom I enjoy helping each day.

Mrs Kath Czinner

On behalf of the Year 8 PAC team.

Year 10

On Monday 22nd May, there will be a Subject Selection Information evening for parents and students of our current year 10’s, as they look ahead at their options for moving into Year 11 in 2024. The information evening will begin at 5.30pm. All parents are encouraged to attend.

In term 2, we had a structural change in Year 10, as we went from 5 core classes down to 4 core classes. This was purely down to the number of students enrolled. We now have 87 students enrolled in Year 10. This number has come down from the start of the year when our number of Year 10 students was closer to the hundred mark. This drop in numbers is reflective of the age of our students now they are in Year 10, as some of our former students have decided to make the move to seek alternative educational pathways such as TAFE or to look at apprenticeships or other career options. 

We like to keep reminding our Year 10’s that we do expect an increased level of maturity in their approach to their learning at school, as we are at a stage in our lives where we can forge a path into the future for ourselves. We want our Year 10’s to be engaged with their learning, to not disrupt the learning of their classmates, and be respectful to their fellow students at OCC and the adults that work here. 

Mr Shane McCann

On behalf of the Year 10 PAC team.

Year 12

Year 12 has been a busy hive of activity so far here at school this term, with lots of different things bubbling away underneath the surface of classwork, assessments, socialising and part time work.

A number of our students recently took the opportunity to attend the UNE open day and by all accounts this was a worthwhile opportunity for all students, including those hoping to move away from our local area to continue their studies.

The year 12 leadership team with the support of Mrs McFarland have run a very successful pie drive fundraiser, with thanks to Moxon’s bakery, to begin putting money together for our end of year gift to the College. This fundraising effort is now being expanded with a number of students volunteering their time and effort to run a BBQ breakfast before the Athletics Carnival and the sale of hot chocolates and coffees during the day! We are looking forward to seeing what the students decide to leave behind as their legacy to the school!

The Athletics Carnival is quickly approaching, and as pointed out by the students this is their LAST. Carnival. EVER! As such there is growing enthusiasm and a lot of whispering happening about who is planning what costume and which DreamWorks movie it is associated with - the enthusiasm is quite contagious as we look forward to ticking off another milestone of the year 12 year.

Lastly, this week our College Captains, Lily Moore and Caleb Dubois-Bender and Vice Captains Paige Latham and Ben Harris had the honour of representing the College at the 2023 Citizenship and Keys to the City award ceremony with Mrs Bell. By all accounts, this was a wonderful opportunity for our leaders to be a part of the wider Armidale community and to practise their public speaking skills! Below is just some of what the students had to report back of their experience:

“Year 12 captains attended a ceremony where members of our community were granted their citizenship to Australia. This ceremony was extremely beautiful and it was refreshing to see how happy and keen these new Australians were to contribute to this community. The children were beyond happy and just wanted to shake everyone's hand - we couldn’t help but see them waiting patiently in line just to shake the hands of the guests of honour, which was something we all found  beyond beautiful.”

“The second ceremony was very different to the first and recognised the contributions of Mr Tony Deakin who is a local architect. This man has designed many buildings in our region including the Benilde building here at school. After he retired he continued to design 60 projects free of charge for the community of Armidale and this is a truly amazing thing especially after retirement and as an act of selflessness. It was a privilege to see the first awarding of the Keys to the City in more than 30 years and we are so glad that Mr Deakin was willing to get a photo with us to recognise his contribution to our school!”

As always, we thank you all for the support you provide our Year 12 students as we move through the business of the school term.

Mrs Amanda McFarland 

On behalf of the Year 12 PAC team.