Pastoral Academic Care (PAC) Focus - Total Health

Wellbeing Element: Health and Strengths

Character Strength: Perspective

After the completing the Character Strengths survey (www.viacharacter.org) to identify your top strengths, write them on a Strengths Wheel and put it on the fridge. Download the wheel from the Individual Resources > Character Strengths section of www.learningcurve.com.au. This is a great activity for your whole family to start conversations about strengths at home.

Many students need our support and guidance to raise their self-awareness on how they can adopt healthier lifestyles. They make not think so, but the reality is that there is an increasing proportion of them who are not exercising their bodies or minds enough, eating a diet high in processed and takeaway foods, contracting diabetes at an early age, becoming obese and looking on the darker side of life. These are real and unwelcome outcomes for our future generations should we not act decisively now. Every week there is an opportunity for students to increase their self-awareness of their mental and physical health by completing the “Big Four Check In” activity in their planners/journals. They self-assess on how they exercised, ate healthy, thought positively and slept well. Proactive things that they can do include, have fun exercising for an hour daily with family and friends or on their own, and doing non-electronic brain exercises such as crosswords and scrabble which work well. To think positively, encourage them to look for the good things which fill them with optimism. As a family, turn off your devices at 9.00pm nightly. Provide students with healthy, fresh and unprocessed foods. Is important for you to role model sleeping well, exercising, eating healthy, turning off devices and thinking positively.

Acknowledgement: Hassed & Rath

Year 7

Mrs Natalie Mellowship-Brown

We know that the first year of High School is a period of great change in the lives of our students and for many, their experience in the transition from Primary to Secondary can influence their personal successes. The Year 7 Camp that the students attended this week to Lake Keepit is designed to help address a number of key areas and provide the students with many opportunities such as peer bonding, student/teacher bonding, developing effective communication and collaboration across students, and for students to experience a range of adventure activities to help enhance their confidence and self-esteem. Our aim for camp was for students to build and develop new relationships with students that they may not know or have had the opportunity to socialise with previously which we certainly achieved with many new friendships being formed. The students spent three days participating in a range of activities including Kayaking, Raft Building to the Commando Course which were organised and delivered by the highly experienced staff team at Lake Keepit.

I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our wonderful staff team who also attended camp - Miss Clydsdale, Mr Honnery, Mrs Gurr, Mrs Osborne, Mr Griffin, Mr Healy, Mrs Healey, Georgia MacMahon and Caitlin Honeysett (LaSallian Youth Ministers).

Now that we’re home and recovering from an action-packed few days, as a PAC team, we plan to continue to work on developing and embedding the skills learnt and practiced in our everyday lives. I wonder if anyone has identified a new ‘superpower’ from their experience on camp?

Mrs Natalie Mellowship-Brown

GALLERY: Fun times at school camp. Learning through activities.

Year 8

Mrs Kathryn Czinner

Year 8 continue to explore their strengths and weaknesses. This week students sat the PAT testing for Literacy and Numeracy. This came easily to some and others found it challenging. The results will be used to inform teachers where the students are at and help them to work on strategies to bring their learning forward.

Our aim is to participate in five great lessons each day. Students were asked to reflect on progress after six weeks of school. Students could articulate their understanding of ‘Living Well, Learning Well’. In our PAC lesson the key focus was to revisit the key themes of ‘I am safe, I am valued respected and cared for and I am a learner’. Several learning conversations have been taking place in PAC with the PAC teachers and myself as Year Leader.

I am always impressed to see our students getting involved in the extra curricula activities. Students have involved themselves in music lessons, Agricultural earShows, Futsal, Hockey, Netball and Rugby.

Congratulations to our SRC representatives Liam Best, Tom Lockyer, Lang Toakley ,Hannah Friedman and our ATSI representatives Rowie Willis, Paicey Noakes and Brienna Naden.

Well done to Maya Teege on receiving the first Year Leader award.

Mrs Kathryn Czinner

Year 9

Mr James Russell

Two weeks ago our Yr 9 Cohort climbed onto buses and made the trek down to Lake Keepit for our annual Year 9 Camp. This is a major event on our yearly calendar and one which always has an amazing impact on students and staff who attend. Our 2021 Camp also did not disappoint. Our Year 9’s spent an action packed three days engaging in a range of excellent activities ranging from pure good old fashioned fun like the giant slip and slide to the very challenging Commando Course. We set off for camp with a number of goals in mind, primarily that students would mix and get to know each other a bit better and become a more cohesive year group and most importantly, that each student was challenged to discover more of who they are and what they can achieve. It was extremely pleasing and a credit to the camp facilitators that our students managed to tick off both goals successfully.

One of the highlights for staff attending camp is to watch students participate in a totally different context to school and it is often surprising to see which students shine the brightest. Many students demonstrated important character qualities such as leadership, determination and self-sacrifice as they navigated through the challenges involved in each activity. It was also extremely pleasing to watch students mix and mingle with peers that they may usually not interact with at school.

All things considered Year 9 Camp 2021 was a great success. Students and staff had an amazing time and have returned to school with a much greater appreciation of themselves and each other. At this point I must make special mention of and say thank you to the amazing staff who attended camp - Mr McCann, Miss Plane, Miss Trigwell-Lindley, Mr Bell, Georgia (Lasalian Youth Minister) and Mrs Biddle. What a wonderful and poignant step in our Yr 9 journey towards ‘Good...Better...Best!’

Mr James Russell

Year 10

“Choices, smart choices”.

Firstly, we want to wish a big thank you to all of the parents who joined us for the Year 10 Parent Information evening; it was a lovely opportunity to meet our parent/guardian community and highlight some of the milestones that come with Year 10.

We would also like to thank the Year 10 PAC team for the great start to the year and their continued support to both of us in our new leadership journey. Your insight and support is appreciated more than words can say. To the wonderful students who make up the Year 10 cohort we also would like to say thank you. The majority of you have settled into Year 10 solidly and continue to make smart choices and great headway with your studies. As always, remember we are here to support you and we are only an email away.

The students recently completed their literacy and numeracy PAT tests, allowing the team to gain a better understanding of the students and identify how we can improve the overall learning outcomes for individuals. Thanks to all students for their active participation in this process.

Our wellbeing focus for this week is all about our strengths and health and many of our students need both support and guidance to ensure that they are adopting a lifestyle that will allow them to succeed as we move towards senior studies. Year 10 is a transition from junior to senior schooling and with it comes many challenges and responsibilities including part-time work, drivers’ licenses, increased workloads/study commitments from school and growing social commitments. This year is an opportunity to ensure that our students are following good habits and setting themselves up for success – this doesn’t come easy, however; and we as parents, carers and teachers must ensure we act as role models and help our students really work out what is required of them to develop these habits. We encourage you to discuss this with your students so they may all utilise the opportunity that year 10 is to “have a go” at getting better at these things so they are in the best position they can be for their upcoming stage 6 studies.

Ms Amanda Bell / Mr Frank Patricks (on behalf of the year 10 PAC team)

Year 11

Mrs Vicki Channon

Year 11 have been busy completing All My Own Work modules. This is a NESA requirement and covers information regarding rules and regulations on copyright and plagiarism. This will particularly help with students starting to complete assessment tasks. It is imperative that work taken from other sources for tasks are acknowledged correctly. And it is also good practice to summarise the information that you find and place it in your own words.

The first flexible learning time has taken place this week, and by most accounts, students have followed the guidelines set out by Ms Menz in the letter forwarded to all parents/carers and students. The students were asked to fill in a quick survey regarding their plan for the learning time. This will be kept as an ongoing record, and I will be having conversions with all of the students to help them understand that this time is for learning, NOT for heading down town for 2 hours, doing part time work, socialising with friends etc…

A big thank you to all of the Year 11 students who are really tackling their senior studies with fervour, maturity and commitment. I appreciate your respectful manner and approach to the whole Year assemblies also. We will now have these every fortnight in the library learning space.

Remember, Year 11 is a journey and a practice for the HSC year, which starts Term 4 of this year, not far away. You might as well make it a good 3 terms and not waste this important time of growth and learning - getting the basics under control. This will make HSC life so much more bearable for everyone:))) Seek assistance from teachers if you are struggling. It is all about forming good relationships with teachers and your peers. We are all in this together. Have a great weekend.

Mrs Vicki Channon (on behalf of the entire Year 11 PAC team)

Year 12

Mr Mark Fulloon

The Senior Success information evening for all students enrolled in Year 12 is to be held at the College on Monday 8th March, commencing at 6pm in the College Quad. This evening is designed to offer strategies and support for students and their family during the HSC year. A follow-up session will be held in July.

If you are available to attend the evening could you please email your child’s pastoral teacher to confirm your attendance. All parents and students are strongly encouraged to attend the evening, and students are asked to bring their Senior College diary and a pen.

PAC Leader: Mr Mark Fulloon mfulloon@arm.catholic.edu.au

12 PAC 1 (Mr Mark Harris, Mrs Megan Wooster) mharris@arm.catholic.edu.au

mwooster1@arm.catholic.edu.au

12 PAC 2 (Mr Nick Bolger, Ms Regina Menz) nbolger@arm.catholic.edu.au

rmenz@arm.catholic.edu.au

12 PAC 3 (Mr Dave Lush, Miss Melanie Sampson)

plush@arm.catholic.edu.au msampso1@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Mark Fulloon (on behalf of the entire Year 12 PAC team)

ATSI (Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander) Program at O'Connor

Pride Group