‘Enlivened by the Spirit’

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

AQUINAS CATHOLIC COLLEGE MENAI

21st October, 2013 Vol.20.No.27

Anzac Road Menai NSW 2234 Phone 9543 0188 Facsimile 9541 0398 info@aquinasmenai.catholic.edu.au www.aquinasmenai.catholic.edu.au

As part of the College’s cyclical review in 2013 one of the recommendations of the panel was to revisit the College’s Vision & Mission statement, first developed some 20 years ago. Following staff discussion and consultation a reworked draft has been developed. The aim was to hold true to the original vision, but to word it in a briefer way and in a more contemporary educational context. The current Vision and Mission statement can be seen on the College website [http://aquinasmenai.mycms.com.au/mission.aspx] a cursory glance will see that it is quite lengthy at 748 words. We would be pleased to receive feedback from parents around the draft version that follows. It would be our intent to retain the original Vision & Mission statement in staff handbooks and the like to provide a fuller historical explanation of the journey of the College.

Draft Vision & Mission Statement ~ Without Prejudice

Aquinas Catholic College is a faith based educational community centred on Jesus Christ, enlivened by the Gospels and with the model of St Thomas Aquinas as a faithful learner. At Aquinas we believe that all members of our Catholic community are learners and at our College we aim to be; Learner Centred in the Catholic and Aquinas tradition of Wholeness Practising Contemporary Pedagogy in the Catholic and Aquinas tradition of Hope Growing Community Capacity in the Catholic and Aquinas tradition of Justice A Learning Community in the Catholic and Aquinas tradition of God’s ongoing Revelation

ENLIVENED BY THE SPIRIT

Congratulations to Sara and Renee De-Belin (Year 10) who have recently achieved some outstanding results in the National Acrobatics competition held in Perth. In placing 2nd the girls have qualified for the Australian squad and will be competing in March 2014 for a place on the Australian team to compete in the World Championships in Paris next year. Well done girls, bonne chance !! Year 7 and 9 students received their 2013 NAPLAN results last week and I hope that each family is able to use these results as a way to initiate the ‘home’ preparation for the end of year assessments! The Semester Two exams will be upon us before we know it! James Corcoran Principal

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From the Assistant Principal Key Dates

Week 3A Term 4

Week 4B Term 4

Monday 21st October HSC - Day 6

Tuesday 22nd October HSC - Day 7 Year 9 Mass

Wednesday 23rd October HSC - Day 8 Volunteers Dinner 6:30-8:00pm

Thursday 24th October HSC - Day 9

Friday 25th October HSC - Day 10 Sport World Teachers Day

Monday 28th October HSC - Day 11

Tuesday 29th October HSC - Day 12

Wednesday 30th October HSC - Day 13 Year 12 - 2014 Board of Studies Information Evening (7-8pm)

Thursday 31st October HSC - Day 14 Year 8 Reflection Day - Stanwell Tops

Friday 1st November HSC - Day 15 Sport Year 11 Reflection Day - Stanwell Tops

Hats and Water Bottles The students are encouraged to bring water bottles and be wearing the College cap during break times and sport. Students are also reminded that caffeinated drinks should not be brought onto the College grounds at any time. Please pray for our Year 12 students as they continue their study in preparation for their Higher School Certificate Examinations and begin the second week of exams today. Good Luck Year 12’s. Mr Anthony Hulme Pastoral Care Coordinator

Robert Nastasi Assistant Principal

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Religious Education at Aquinas

RE Surveys - CEO Youth Forum Year 8 and 10 students are taking part in surveys in Religious Education, evaluating the curriculum that they have undertaken over the past two years. Representatives from both year groups will be taking the data that they collect to the Southern Region CEO Youth Forum in late October. It will be used to help shape the direction of the new Archdiocesan Religious Education curriculum. I encourage students to speak to their RE Teacher if they have any questions. Year 7 Reflection Day Last week Year 7 participated in a day facilitated by Chris Doyle of Karis Ministries. They took part in a variety of activities which gave them the opportunity to have fun together, developing their relationship with each other and reflect on their lives. I would like to thank Year 7 for the way that they entered into the day and for the teachers that supported them.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Course On Thursday some Year 11 students and staff attended an Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Course run by the Archdiocesan Liturgy Office. The course was led by Fr Danai Penollar from St Mary’s Cathedral, who offered his knowledge, faith and humour throughout the day. The staff and students will be commissioned during our final College Eucharistic celebration this year. HSC Prayer Families We encourage all HSC Prayer Families to send a written message to the student(s) that you have been allocated. These can be initially sent to the College office, labelled clearly with the student name and that it is from their HSC Prayer Family. Messages will then be forwarded to the student(s). Mrs Catherine Nolan Religious Education Coordinator

‘Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at

His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts’

Blessed Mother Teresa

Reflection on the Gospel

In Sunday's Gospel (Lk 18:1-8) Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. Luke’s community lived at a time when hope for an imminent return of Jesus was fading. The initial enthusiasm of faith was wearing thin with the constancy of living in a society where Christian values are odd. This parable is an encouragement to be persistent in faith and to not give up.

Adapted from a reflection by Mary Coloe

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The night of day one was cold, but sitting in front of the fire made it a LOT warmer. Vivian, Jack, Josh, Rose, Clinton and Sandra sat patiently as the instructors told us the boundaries of where we would be playing. The teachers came in dressed in commando uniforms with painted faces. They took 10 hostages and ran. Our first trip out we got sooooo close to getting the hostages, just metres away before Mr Pay caught us. Our second trip was quite a bit shorter as Miss Niall snuck around from behind. Vivian took the inside of the bottle cap out and gave it to her; she believed it for a second as we made a break for it. Luckily for the teachers, Mr Smith caught us seconds later. On our last bottle cap we made a run for it straight down the middle. Unfortunately we split up and we didn’t have a bottle cap to release the hostages, and soon the game ended. We made our way back to the warm fire and got told a scary and intriguing story about the “Doogie Brothers”. We ended the tiring day with a tasty chocolate milk and soon after went to bed. An amazing first day! Josh Swan and Jack Pethybridge (9 Red) Year 9 camp brought the year group closer as a whole. Camp challenged many people to push themselves to their limits and beyond. Multiple people showed courage and bravery as they faced their fears. Friendships were strengthened and new ones were made, as everyone supported each other when they felt uncomfortable or afraid. Everyone enjoyed all the activities from swinging on the giant swing to crawling through mud; other activities included sailing, sea kayaking and the dual flying fox. Night time included activities that freaked us all out playing commando; sitting by the bonfire brought along scary stories that left us awake in bed in fear. The last night ended with a disco with strobe lights and good tunes. Over the course of three days each individual had challenged themselves at least once, whether it was overcoming their fear of heights or being homesick. Overall camp strengthened our year group and showed multiple people supporting and showing tremendous courage. Eden Tapia and Melanie McDonough (9 Blue) Camp was an amazing experience. We all participated in very fun activities including Mud World, Flying Fox, Giant Swing and many more. Camp really brought the year group together. Everyone displayed team work and also developed skills that might have been lacking before camp. I would like to thanks the teachers that came with us at the camp and also the Morisset Camp staff. Without them, we would not have had an amazing experience at camp. Joshua Incollingo, Rose Lewis and Giselle Merrilees–White (9 Purple)

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Friday 18th October was CanTeen National Bandanna Day. Staff and students showed their solidarity with teenagers living with cancer by buying bandannas and pens and wearing them on the day. As you can see from the photos, the day was a great success with all the Bandannas selling out!

Thanks to the Year 11 students who have supported this worthwhile charity since Year 8 and made a difference in the lives of many other young people living with cancer. We raised $1123.90 for CanTeen. For more information or to make a donation please go to http://www.canteen.org.au/ Mrs Monk

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NICOLE FITZSIMONS FOUNDATION On Thursday 17th October Year 11 were given the opportunity to hear from Kate Fitzsimons from the Nicole Fitzsimons Foundation about the life of her sister Nicole, her family and the importance of safe travel behaviour. Kate spoke to us about the fact that the ‘unthinkable’ can happen to you and emphasised the importance of making sure that you do your best to prevent that from happening. As well as speaking to us about the importance of travel insurance, Kate shared her family’s story about the loss of her sister Nicole. Kate told us the story of her sister’s trip to Thailand and how it ended in tragedy when Nicole lost her life in a motorbike accident. This talk was extremely touching and it was a real eye opener to see that this could happen to you and how the statistics from other countries show that we are not ‘invincible’ and as safe as we think we are. It was a real honour to hear from Kate and to hear her story and how she and her family have made it through the last year. It was a pleasure to hear Kate spreading Nicole’s message to us, ‘Live each and everyday to the fullest’. Kate Athanasopoulos

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STUDY CLUB Do you have trouble studying once you get home? Do you find you don’t understand some of what you need to study? Are your study notes all over the place?

Maybe you need a little help

Come to STUDY CLUB In the LIBRARY

WED and THURS. 3.13 – 4-15

Wk 3 - 5

Work with other students

Clarify with Teacher Librarian and/or teachers the things you are confused about

Get some tips on study notes and study techniques if needed

And don’t forget – the library is open every afternoon until 4.00pm or later every day. It’s a great place to study or do homework away from distractions.

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LOST PROPERTY

We have a number of items in Lost Property.

If you are missing any items please come to the office to check Lost

Property

1. Simplify four less than triple x

2. Simplify 15 - 2 - 8 x 2

3. Evaluate 7x if x = -2

4. Evaluate –2m if m = - ½

5. Simplify (-2)3

Mrs Catherine Fensom Maths Teacher

MATHS DEPARTMENT RECALL CORNER

This column is included each week to encourage junior students in particular, to answer basic skills questions without the use of a calculator.

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LITERACY AND NUMERACY Mrs Kate Wilson (Literacy Facilitator) NAPLAN results arrived at the College at the end of Term 3 and an ongoing analysis of these results will be carried out this term with appropriate strategies put in place for individual students and whole KLAs. The comparison of mean scores for the College and State for Literacy and Numeracy are indicated in the table below. Results for each cohort are commendable, with students in Year 7 and Year 9 scoring above the state mean in all aspects of literacy and numeracy. A detailed analysis of NAPLAN will highlight areas of strength, as well as areas needing further investigation and intervention in 2014.

NAPLAN RESULTS 2013 COMPARISON OF MEAN SCORES

YEAR 9 YEAR 7

AQUINAS STATE AQUINAS STATE

READING 588.4 585.6 556.9 544.5

WRITING 574.4 554.2 546.2 516.9

SPELLING 594.7 591.8 580.7 559.4

GRAMMAR & PUNCTU- 583.1 579.3 559.6 542.0

NUMERACY 606.4 596.0 558.9 549.5

DATA, MEASUREMENT, 603.5 595.1 554.3 550.7

NUMBER PATTERNS 609.1 596.8 562.6 548.0

CURRICULUM MATTERSCURRICULUM MATTERSCURRICULUM MATTERS RoSA Literacy and Numeracy tests

Any student in Years 10 or 11 who intends to discontinue their secondary education at the end of this year and who would like to sit the external literacy and numeracy tests that would provide you with a leaving credential that is recognised by the BOS must see Ms Mirabello prior to Thursday 24.10.13. and be prepared to sit these tests prior to 30.10.13. The tests are not compulsory and students who leave are able to request a copy of their RoSA (Record of School Achievement). This record will include grades from Year 10 and the Preliminary Course.

HSC and Accelerated Students

As our HSC students enter their second week of examinations, we recognise both their efforts and the mature approach they have taken to their exams so far. Reports from the HSC Presiding Officer have been of a cohort of students who are well prepared and who have been giving their best in each examination. We continue to wish these students well and acknowledge that while for some the HSC reaches its completion as early as tomorrow, other students still have several weeks of examinations ahead of them.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise, particularly, the efforts of a group of students who have, or will, complete their HSC examination in a subject a year ahead of their cohort. This year, Danielle Moran, of Year 11, sat her HSC in Retail Services and the following students are the first of the Accelerated Mathematics students to complete their course. We congratulate Danielle and wish the Mathematics students the rewards they so richly deserve as the result of their sustained hard work.

2 unit Mathematics 3 Unit Mathematics Nicole Bailey Blewett, Liam Lee, Jaclyn Tina Kypreos Busin, Sophie Moran, Ella Clark, Lachlan Odewahn, Becky Findlay, Sean Sidhom, Laura Swan, Luke

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CANTEEN ROSTER TERM 4

TIME: MONDAY-THURSDAY 10:00-1:30, FRIDAY 10:00-12:30

MONDAY 21/10 ANITA MORTON, MARIA SKARENTZOS TUESDAY 22/10 CAROLYN COONEY, ANTOINEET KERLE WEDNESDAY 23/10 DIANNE PRESTON, CARLA BRAILEY, DIANE ROBINSON CATHIE FLANAGAN THURSDAY 24/10 JANE LEGHISSA, CAROLINE RAMSAY FRIDAY 25/10 PATRICIA WADE, CATHY CARUCCIO, JOANNE STORTENBEKER BERNAETTE AHERN MONDAY 28/10 JULIANNE MULLER, LISA TUDEHOPE, JACKIE LORENZATTO TUESDAY 29/10 CHRISTINE KLEIN, KRISTINE WUNDERLICH WEDNESDAY 30/10 JACKIE TORO, LIBBY YIP, PHILIPPA MCGUINESS THURSDAY 31/10 TANYA CHANT, ZEFFY DELHAS, ISABEL BAYOT FRIDAY 1/11 CAROLYN BARLOW, JANINE POPULIN, REEMA KATRIB ANN-MARIE WALKER, LEANNE BROWNE

There will be a

SECOND HAND UNIFORM sale

TUESDAY 22 OCTOBER

8:30am-9:00am Outside Aquinas Catholic College Office

Blazers $10

Sports Jacket & Pants $10

All other items $5

If you have any donations, please hand them in to the office

Thank you

UNIFORM SHOP

THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER

8:00am - 9:00am

Please note the Uniform Shop only sells Sports Uniforms and School bags

The Uniform Shop does not accept Eftpos or Credit cards

College caps and sports socks can be purchased from the College Office

Answers:

MATHS CHALLENGE

1. 3x - 4

2. -3

3. -14

4. +1

5. -8

Maths Department