Secondary

Dear Families

So many people say that one of the defining characteristics of John XXII College is the sense of community and I can firsthand attest to this in the incredibly warm welcome received from staff, students and parents this term. If we were to consider ‘community’ as a unified body of individuals with shared sense of place, interests and values, then Open Day last Saturday would be a living example of the vibrant community we have. Primarily designed to promote the College among prospective families, my experience of the day was one of connectedness and collegiality, as existing community members worked together to celebrate their shared pride in the College. A huge thank you to everyone involved – staff, students and parents – for making our guests feel so welcomed.

Harmony Day  

Next Tuesday 21 March, we celebrate Harmony Day across the College. Australia is one of the world's most successful multicultural countries and our cultural diversity is at the heart of who we are. Over half of Australians were born overseas, or have at least one parent who was born overseas, which is why is it so important to celebrate our country’s diversity through Harmony Day. 

Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, from the Traditional Owners of the land to our most recent arrivals. On Tuesday, students are encouraged to wear an orange accessory (e.g. socks, hair tie, wrist band) for the day in recognition of our own multicultural diversity as a community. SRC leaders will make and distribute friendship bracelets at lunch on the Chapel Lawn for students to enjoy. 

Shani Andrews

Vice Principal - Head of Secondary

Parent Teacher Interviews (PTO)

Parent, Student, Teacher interviews are a wonderful opportunity to spark conversations with your child and their teacher about their progress in their courses, following the release of the Interim Reports. Please be mindful that the Interim Reports are often generated with very few assessment tasks having been completed. As such they are an indication of progress, not a precise measurement, and are prone to vary from the reports at the end of Semester One. 

All parents are required to book their meeting online via the SEQTA Engage Parent portal under Parent Teacher Online PTO.  Bookings will be open to parents from Monday 20 March from 6:00pm and will close on at 6:00pm on the day before the interview date you have chosen.

Please keep an eye out for the email which will provide instructions on how to schedule appointments with teachers. 

Interviews with Secondary Teachers will take place in the St Louis Sports Centre at the following times:

• Monday 27 March - 3:30pm to 6:00pm
• Thursday 30 March - 3:30pm to 6:00pm
• Friday 31 March -  8:30am to 3:30pm

Greg Moran

Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning

Live Simply Day

In Laudato Si, Pope Francis reminds us that ‘it is a return to simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.’  

Each year during Lent we support Caritas Australia by raising funds for their Project Compassion by participating in the College’s Live Simply Day. This year it will be held on Friday 24 March. 

Live Simply Day is an opportunity for personal reflection and prayer, combined with learning and action and it encourages us to fast, give alms to those in need and pray. 

On the day we can choose to live more simply and consume less, take shorter showers, ride or walk to school, limit social media or have a simple lunch of bread and butter. 

Please invite your friends and family to sponsor you for your efforts. The funds raised supports Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion Lenten campaign.

Slavery Free Chocolate Campaign

Pope Francis said, “every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic – act.”

Not all chocolate is sweet. Not if a child has been forced to pick the cocoa beans - a key 

ingredient of chocolate. About 80% of cocoa comes from West Africa and it is estimated that almost 2 million children are in child labour in these areas.

They may never go to school or taste the chocolate they help produce.

Companies sourcing cocoa certified by Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance are working 

towards the elimination of slavery in the cocoa industry.

The Chocolate Scorecard 

(https://www.chocolatescorecard.com/) is also a useful resource in this regard.

Make a change this Easter and only buy chocolate displaying the Fairtrade or Rainforest 

Alliance logo. 

Janeen Murphy

Deputy Principal of Faith and Mission

SPORTS

Northern Associated Schools (NAS)

Congratulations to all teams who played against Servite College this week.  

Next week, our teams will play against Chisholm College. We wish all teams the best of luck in their games.

For updates on the current placings for all teams, please click on the link below:

NAS Fixtures, Results & Ladders | Associated & Catholic Colleges of WA (accsport.asn.au)

 Please note the important NAS information below:

• The number one priority for all NAS games is that you have fun!!!
• All NAS Coaches award an MVP at the end of the term, so make sure you are displaying sportsmanship, assistance and playing to your best as much as possible.
• A reminder that all students travelling off site are to change during lunchtime. Students must wear correct PE footwear (no crocs or slides are permitted).
• Teams travelling to Sacred Heart, Chisholm, Servite will leave at 2:50pm.
• All Indoor Cricket teams will leave at 2:50pm.
• All remaining teams will leave straight after school at 3:15pm.
• Correct College PE uniform must be worn to avoid uniform points will be deducted.
• All games are played from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. Students playing away games will arrive back at the College between 5:30pm and 5:45pm.

Interhouse Swimming Champions

All our individual champions and runner ups were awarded their medals at our secondary assembly this week. 

Congratulations to all our swimming champions.

ACC A Division Swimming Carnival

On Wednesday 22 March, our Swimming Team will compete in the 2023 ACC A Division Swimming Carnival. Our team have an extraordinary task of taking on the rest of the A Division schools to try and defend our 2021 Swimming Title. Given there was no official carnival last year due to Covid-19, there it will be a real battle for all schools to try and take out top spot. 

Our team had a full squad training session at HBF stadium this week, which was a huge success and provided an invaluable experience for all members. This session also provided an opportunity for our relay teams to practice their race order and strategies.

The ACC A Division Swimming Carnival next week will be extremely competitive, and we could not be more excited for this challenge. The spirit amongst all members is incredibly strong, we know we will give our absolute best and can’t wait to see what the team can achieve on the big day.

Link to ACC Live Stream: https://bit.ly/3IW5XL0 

Let’s go JTC!!!

Cross-country training

Cross-country training sessions are underway every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00am-8:00am. These sessions will continue into Term 2 up until the ACC Cross-Country Carnival. 

Both sessions next week will be at the College. All students are welcome to join our morning training sessions. 

Congratulations

Well done to David Gardner for his selection in the 2023 ACC Representative Cricket team.  The ACC team will play the Combined Government Schools team on Friday 17 Mach.   

Sara Kononen

Head of Sport