Newsletter Issue 6 : 24 June 2016

St Mary’s 7-10 Campus 273 Victoria St, West Melbourne 3003 Tel: 9321 9200 FAX: 9321 9299 St Brigid’s VCE Campus 20 York St, Fitzroy North 3068 Tel: 9403 6800 FAX: 9403 6899

www.sccmelb.catholic.edu.au principal@sccmelb.catholic.edu.au

To conclude Semester One, we held a Whole School Assembly in the St

Brigid’s Hall on the last day of Term 2. Our Whole School Assemblies

remind us that, whilst we are a two campus school, we are a vibrant

multicultural Catholic secondary school for boys from Years 7-12. One

of the reasons we organise these occasions, is to acknowledge and

recognise the efforts and achievements of students across all Year

Levels.

A particular focus at this Assembly was the presentation of the

Principal’s Award for students, based on their Semester One Academic

results. To receive a Principal’s Award, a student has to be in the top five

students in their Year Level from Years 7-11, whilst at Year 12 a student

must be achieving an average of 90% or more in two or more subject

areas in their assessement tasks.

Our Term 2 ACC Soccer and ACC Football teams were also presented

at the Assembly. These teams certainly represented Simonds Catholic

College with great pride and produced some really pleasing results. I

believe it is worth noting that over ninety students represented the

College in ACC sport in Term 2. I particularly thank staff who generously

gave up their time to work with students in a coaching capacity.

On the evening of Thursday June 9, the Year 12 Formal was held at Fenix

Events in Richmond. With their Semester One Exams, behind them this

event is always a significant night that our Year 12 students look forward

to with much excitement – with many of them inviting partners from our

neighbouring schools . I might add the behaviour of our Year 12 students

on this evening was quite exemplary which is a great credit to them.

Enclosed with this newsletter is your son’s Semester One Report for 2016.

I would encourage all students and their parents/guardians to read their reports carefully as you identify areas that have

gone really well in Semester One, but also identify areas that need change and improvement in the second half of 2016.

Hopefully, the Semester One Report can be a real platform for setting realistic goals in Semester Two. I hope all families

enjoy a restful holiday over the next two weeks.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Peter Riordan Principal | Simonds Catholic College

FROM THE PRINCIPAL – Mr Peter Riordan

Parent Teacher Interviews

Please note that PTO Login details will be sent home on Wednesday 20 July. Parent Teacher Interviews are

scheduled for Thursday 11 August. (2pm – 6pm)

Semester One Reports Your son’s Semester One report is enclosed in this mail out. It provides an overview of his performance and achievement in each subject undertaken. A Pastoral Care Teacher report as well as a Student Reflection which reflect your son’s participation in whole school and year level events and the pastoral care program.

Subject Selections - 2017 In the lead up to subject selections for 2017 there will be a VCE and Careers Information Night on Wednesday 20 July. An invitation to Year 10 families is enclosed with this mail out.

Term 3 There will be a professional learning day for staff on Monday 11 July. Students will not be required at school on this day. Term 3 commences on Tuesday 12 July with a Week 2 timetable. All the very best for a restful term break.

Mrs H Koutoulogenis Deputy Principal (Learning & Teaching) | Head of St Mary’s Campus

Principal’s Awards The Principal’s Award is designed to promote and acknowledge academic excellence. The recipients received a certificate and badge from Mr Riordan at the Whole School Assembly at the end of Term 2. To be eligible for the Principal’s Award, students in Year 12 will have achieved an average of 90 or above in 2 or more subjects in Semester 1. The 5 best performing students in each of the other year levels also received the Principal’s Award.

2016 Recipients of the Principal’s Award:

Year 7

Best Performance Year 7 | Noah Seiderman

Ryan Di Pietro – Eldrick Nuique – Anh Minh Vo – William Truong

Year 8

Best Performance Year 8 | Leonardo Pacioni

Jomar Inot – Ethan Epifanio – Marvin Encena – Francis Nguyen

Year 9

Best Performance Year 9 | Dante Johnson

Joshua Slaviero – Carlo Nilo – Xavier Volonnino – Dominic Babula

Year 10

Best Performance Year 10 | Ashane Silva

Francesco Pacioni – Daniel Lu – Matthew Gossman – Morgan Lu & Johan Pagdanganan

Year 11

Best Performance Year 11 | Cholo Viray

Kevin Van – Michael Dang – Jake Green – Nathan Kwong

Year 12

ear 12 | Jacky Chen & Adam Monteleone

End of Semester Information

Awards

Commendation Awards Teachers have nominated up to two students in each of their classes to be awarded Certificates of Commendation in Semester One recognising their outstanding performance. Over 200 Commendation Awards are being sent out with the reports.

Year 7

7B Drama Hayden Bright Sebastian Flanagan 7B English Ethan Oscini Christain Carelse 7B Food Technology Hayden Bright Karl Bonnici 7B HPE Akol Mabok Ethan Oscini 7B Humanities Michael Tesfaye Thomas Lam 7B Mathematics Thomas Lam 7B Science Ethan Oscini Stelios Politis 7G Art Minh Anh Vo 7G English Alexander Iannuzzi Ryan Di Pietro 7G Humanities Alexander Iannuzzi 7G Mathematics David Batonda Ryan Di Pietro 7G Music Will Zhang 7G Religious Education Kevin Troung Minh Anh Vo 7G Science Ryan Di Pietro Minh Anh Vo 7G Italian Alexander Iannuzzi Will Zhang 7R Religious Education William Truong Vincent Lam 7R Drama William Truong Mackog Mackog 7R Food Technology Jude Collins Harvey Browne 7R Humanities William Truong Jude Collins 7R Italian Tenbete (Tim) Daniel William Truong 7W Art Michael Nguyen Robert Phan 7W English Noah Seiderman Eldrick Nuique 7W Italian Luke Solano Moutaz Elnoush 7W Mathematics Robert Phan Eldrick Nuique 7W Music Thomas Matijevic Eldrick Nuique 7W Religious Education Eldrick Nuique Jordan Nguyen

7W Science Eldrick Nuique Jordan Nguyen

Year 8

8B Mathematics Ryan Nguyen Anthony Duong 8B English Jervin Mabanag 8B Humanities Jack Keating 8B Music Anthony Duong Nathan Ngo 8B Science Jack Keating 8G English Simon Tran 8G Humanities Marvin Encena 8G Science Marvin Encena William Rendle 8G Product Engineering Tyler Harris Marvin Encena 8G Italian William Rendle Nathan Ngo 8G Japanese Han (Ming) Zhou Mabanag Jervin 8R Music Alex Trinh Leonardo Pacioni 8R English Francis Nguyen Jomar Inot 8R Mathematics Leonardo Pacioni Andy Nguyen 8R Religious Education Francis Nguyen Leonardo Pacioni 8W Religious Education Kingston Trinh Ethan Epifanio 8W Italian Ethan Epifanio William (Billy) Twyford 8W Japanese Kingston Trinh Inot Jomar

Year 9

9B English Nathan Chen 9B Humanities Thomas Cao Huy Le 9B Mathematics Hoang Nguyen 9B Religious Education Huy Le Bryan Pham 9B Science Thomas Cao Bryan Pham 9G English Dante Johnson Thomas McCormick 9G Humanities Dante Johnson Dominic Babula 9G Mathematics Adam Tran Dominic Babula 9G Religious Education Adam Tran Thomas McCormick 9G Science Carlo Nilo Xavier Volonnino 9R Careers & Civics Alessandro Fernandes Brendan Pham 9R Mathematics Joshua Slaviero Brendan Pham 9R Religious Education Alessandro Fernandes Matthew Gonzaga-Hicks 9R Science Joshua Slaviero Brendan Pham 9 Italian Joshua Slaviero Dante Johnson 9 Japanese Huy Le Trinh Khiem

9W English Carlo Nilo Xavier Volonnino 9W Humanities Daniel Pisano Xavier Volonnino 9W Italian Xavier Volonnino Daniel Pisano 9W Mathematics Carlo Nilo 9W Religious Education Xavier Volonnino Alexander Esposito 9 Media Xavier Volonnino 9 Product Engineering Alexander Esposito Adam Tran 9 Visual Art Alessandro Fernandes Matthew Gonzaga-Hicks

Year 10

10B Mathematics Daniel Lu Morgan Lu 10B Science Andre Antic Ricky Spano 10G Humanities Matthew Gossman Ashane Silva 10G Mathematics Ashane Silva Matthew Gossman 10G Religious Education Ashane Silva Matthew Gossman 10G Science Ashane Silva Matthew Gossman 10R Career Education Ari Kokkaliaris Andy Pham Nguyen 10R English Francesco Pacioni 10R Humanities Ari Kokkaliaris Francesco Pacioni 10R Mathematics Shane Phan Francesco Pacioni 10R Religious Education Andy Phan Nguyen Shane Phan 10R Science Francesco Pacioni Andy Phan 10W Career Education Andy Tuano 10W English Andy Tuano 10W HPE Kurt Adamcewicz 10W Humanities Andy Tuano Joshua Bowker 10W Mathematics Johan Pagdanganan Danny Quan 10W Religious Education Johan Pagdanganan Jerwin Mabanag 10W Science Johan Pagdanganan Edward Kwong 10 LOTE | Italian Francesco Pacioni 10 LOTE | Japanese Alan Nenh 10 Music Joshua Bowker Angus O'Callaghan

10 Visual Communication

& Design Angelo Stephen Berro

10 VCE Geography Khang (Kenny) Lieu An Andy Tuano

10 VCE Health & Human

Development Matthew Gossman Ashane Silva

Year 11

11 Ethics & Morality Cholo Viray 11 Accounting Jason Ly 11 Biology Cholo Viray 11 Business Management Thomas Rendle 11 Chemistry Cholo Viray Kevin Van 11 Chemistry Jason Ly 11 English Cholo Viray 11 Ethics & Morality William Nguyen Kenny Hua 11 General Mathematics Anson Tran Julian Kis 11 Ancient History Anson Tran Riyad Abou-Eid 11 Italian Zachary Ghanbari 11 Japanese Kevin Van 11 Legal Studies Julian Kiss 11 Mathematical Methods Kevin Van Tai Tran

11 Product Design &

Technology Sam Montesano

11 Physical Education Stephen Nguyen 11 Physics Cholo Viray Kevin Van 11 Psychology Adam Carinci Zac Ghanbari

11 Visual Communication

& Design Kelven Loc

Year 12

12 Biology Jacky Chen Louis Tran 12 Business Management Kenny Hua Nicholas Higgins 12 Chemistry Adam Monteleone An Trac 12 English Jacky Chen 12 Further Mathematics Nathan Kwong Tai Tran 12 Further Mathematics Jason Ly

12 Health & Human

Development William Nguyen Timothy Nguyen

12 History - Revolutions Jacky Chen Anthony Tan 12 Italian Anthony Titone 12 Legal Studies Kevin Tsang 12 Literature Jacky Chen 12 Mathematical Methods Thai Le John Nguyen 12 Mathematical Methods Adam Monteleone 12 Physical Education Nick Ziemkiewicz 12 Physics Adam Monteleone 12 Psychology Cholo Viray Jake Green 12 VCAL Literacy Xanh Nguyen Curtis Reeder

12 VCAL Personal

Development Skills Xanh Nguyen Curtis Reeder

Congratulations to all recipients.

Mrs H Koutoulogenis

Deputy Principal (Learning & Teaching) | Head of St Mary’s Campus

JOIN US ON THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME AMAZING TRIP. “Natural Wonders of the Outback”

Spend 9 days in the unique heart of Australia exploring and experiencing stunning natural landscapes and get an insight into indigenous culture. The tour includes an overnight stay in underground accommodation at Coober Pedy, a visit to our national icon, Uluru and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, Kings Canyon and camping at Alice Springs.

The tour is designed to gain improved knowledge of Australia's unique environment through experiencing some of our geographic wonders. It will also encourage team bonding and leadership skills through camping and living in remote areas.

For the tour to be viable we need a minimum of 25 students. The intention is to go in September 2017. At this stage the estimated cost will be $1300. This is based on 2016 costs as rates for 2017 are not yet available, and may be subject to change.

Please contact Mr Peter Dingli (pdingli@sccmelb.catholic.edu.au) if you want to know more about this wonderful opportunity and to be placed on a list of those who may be interested.

Mr P Dingli| Art Faculty Manager

SIMONDS is going to CENTRAL AUSTRALIA!

Holidays and Wellbeing:

Now that the holidays are upon us, it’s worth taking a look at the 2016 Australian Child Health Poll statistics. In a survey fielded in October 2015, Australian adults were asked to rate how much of a problem they considered 29 child and adolescent health issues to be for Australian children. The results of this survey of adults perceptions of the top child health problems were as follow:

1. Excessive screen time 58% 2. Obesity 55% 3. Insufficient physical activity 54% 4. Unhealthy diet 54% 5. Bullying 53% 6. Illegal drug use 50% 7. Family and domestic violence 49% 8. Internet safety 46% 9. Child abuse and neglect 45% 10. Suicide 41%

Hopefully these statistics are a reminder about what sorts of things we should be permitting our children to do, and not to do, in their free time.

Parents of African background:

Two meetings have recently been held to look at ways of increasing the involvement of our parents of African background in the school. A core group of parents has planned an afternoon/early evening for Term 3 when boys and parents will meet for a gathering, including food and a basketball comp. A number of these parents will also now join our Parent Wellbeing Team

Parents and sons at one of our recent meetings

Alumni Wellbeing Team (AWT): This team consists of a group of 8 ex-students (from years 2012 and 2015) whose affection for their “old school” has extended to returning to assist current students. They meet regularly to discuss and plan ways to enhance the wellbeing of Simonds students. On Thursday 16th June, the AWT members presented to the year 12 group on their experiences of transition from year 12 to life beyond school. They will continue this presentation, in small groups, early in term 3. The young men presented competently and interestingly to a very receptive audience. The chatter and questioning after the presentation bore testimony to the effectiveness of their words. The Team will also speak with the year 11 and year 10 cohorts in Term 3 on other wellbeing matters. We are very proud of our young men! We are grateful for their generosity and continued connection to their school that they continue to love.

W@SP – Wellbeing at Simonds Program

Above and below: Members of the Alumni Wellbeing Team … and speaking with year 12’s. They are currently

preparing for presentations to years 11 and 10. Pastoral Care Program, Reports and Review: When you read your son’s report this semester, you will notice a new addition. It’s a “Pastoral Care” page carrying your son’s reflection on what he has most appreciated from the pastoral care set of lessons in Semester 1. This is a point of difference in reporting, and at SCC we are proud to be making this difference for our boys. Pastoral care lessons aim to provide students with solid information about issues that affect boys of this age. They give students and staff a chance to discuss matters outside of the academic realm that assist boys to advance their appreciation and understanding of themselves and others. At SCC we value the voice of students. We have therefore engaged in a review of the Semester 1 program and interviewed one student from each homeroom (23 students) on how we can improve what we have provided. Staff have also provided feedback via Coordinators. Feedback shows strong support for the program from students and staff. Two student reflections below provide a window into their experience of pastoral care … Year 8 student:

My most significant learning through the pastoral care lessons this semester has been learning about self-harm. Self-harm is a very sad habit that people may have. People usually harm themselves after experiencing depression or grieving. I've learnt that it is very serious and that you should support anyone who does harm themselves, which is of course if they want your support. I also found our 'EMOTIONS' class useful and helpful. This is because at this age you experience a lot and talking about your emotions and thoughts can be helpful. It helped me learn that talking to someone can be very helpful because you can't fight every battle alone. Our organisation class was important because at this age we should be more organised with high school you have to put in the effort to get in class on time alone unlike Primary School where the teacher help you with that. High school shows you that organisation is very important in our lives.

Year 12 student:

My most significant learning through the pastoral care lessons this semester has been the opportunity for self-discovery. This topic was especially prominent in the lessons where we discussed about personality traits through the pictures we drew in class. More importantly, I discovered some interesting traits that belonged to me that I didn't think was a part of my personality. Another example of discovering more about myself in pastoral care has to be when we watched the short film 'Who Moved My Cheese'. The themes it conveyed really impressed me as I came to realise the value of adapting to inevitable change in our lives. I learnt that change can be extremely difficult to manage in the early stages, but given time, it will be something we can all embrace and cherish as it is just another stage in our lives. As they say, "everything happens for a reason".

The final and the most valuable learning experience from these pastoral care lessons on a personal note has to be the significance of nutrition/health, career aspirations and also organisation. Nutrition has given me an insight into how much health correlates to learning. As a result, I have attempted to choose a more nutritious eating habit for myself so I can arrive to school in an optimal mindset ready to learn. Furthermore, both the careers and organisation lessons has helped me become more aware of what the future holds for us. However it has made me realise just it is more valuable to focus all our energy on the facts rather than on the unknown future.

And: Here’s wishing all in our community, students, parents and staff (if you are in the position to have a break), a safe, happy and refreshing holiday.

Mr P Rohan |Coordinator Student Wellbeing / Counsellor

Most Year 11 students would have completed their Career Action Ideas report over the past term. These reports have been submitted online via iSimonds. As part of this process, all students will complete a 20-minute interview with Mrs Amanda Ellwood (College Careers Counsellor) exploring possible career pathways and researching university or TAFE courses. The goal is to encourage Year 11 students to attend Open Days in Term 3 to further consolidate their choices. Families are asked to speak with their sons and “start the conversation” about their child’s strengths and aspirations. Remember school work is

meaningful when students see a link between their present and their future goals. Students don’t need to decide on a “job” or a “course” yet. But talking about their future would be beneficial to them so they could have a general idea of what they can do, what they are interested in and what they do not want to do! If families wish to obtain any further information, please email

Mrs K O’Toole |Year 11 Co-ordinator

‘Year 12 Generals’ syndicate have finished on top of the list of Simonds Catholic College participants for Game 1. This syndicate, comprising of Gustavo Arbizu-Duran, Aaron Lai, Jenwin Mabanag and John Nguyen, narrowly beat the next best syndicate ‘Austin Powers’ (Kedus Joseph, Jason Lieu and Dut Dut). Certificates will be presented to all

participants at the next Assembly and a hamper prize will be presented to the winning team. Game 2 commences in July. Any student from any year level can compete so email Mrs Karen O’Toole (kotoole@sccmelb.catholic.edu.au) in the first week of Term 3 if you want to be part of this experience.

Mrs K O’Toole |Year 11 Co-ordinator

A reminder to all families that Simonds offers various payment options to suit your particular circumstances.

Please contact the college to discuss / arrange a mutually agreeable payment arrangement.

Mr Danny O’Malley / Business Manager

Tel: 9321 9202

Email: domalley@sccmelb.catholic.edu.au

Year 11 Career Action Ideas

ASX Schools Sharemarket Game 1 RESULTS!

School Fees

Wednesday June 8, Year 7’s students participated on our first Year 7 LOTE EXPO. As the end of Semester 1 is fast approaching Year 7 students who study a LOTE (language other than English) have to make an important decision: to choose which foreign language to continue studying at Simonds. By the end of first Semester all Year 7 classes have had “taster” courses in both Italian and Japanese. Parents and students were invited to celebrate some of the students’ achievements throughout Semester 1 but also to hear from senior students their direct experience of studying a foreign language at VCE level.

The Italian program included

Role play performed by:

Tim Daniel, Kosta Xourafis, Sam Duong (7 Red)

Hayden Bright, Ethan Oscini, Sebastian Flannagan, Karl Bonnici (7 Blue)

Videocast by: Alex Iannuzzi (7 Gold) Moutaz Elnoush (7 White)

A short movie presented by Year 8 Italian student Billy Twyford

A speech on the Italy study tour and exchange program by Isaac Montebello (Simonds ALUMNI group)

The Japanese program included

Justin Ho (8 Gold) talked about his recent trip to Tokyo.

Year 7 students presented the poster called “What Japan brings to me!!”

The students from Yr8BG performed a Japanese folk story called “Tumbled riceball”.

Miss Yao showed a video of the Japan study tour 2013.

Mr G Di Fabrizio| LOTE Faculty Manager

LOTE – Year 7 Expo

On June 9, the Year 12 class of 2016 had their formal. The venue was called Fenix Events and it was a beautiful place. People started arriving at 7:00 in the evening and it concluded close to midnight. It was a fun filled night with lots of great dancing and plenty of loud music. There was a professional photographer provided by the venue who had a great set up; he always had a line of people waiting to get a photo as a couple or group. He honestly did a great job. Towards the end of the night, all the photos had been printed and were being sold so that people could buy the photos that they liked. Looking over the photos spread out across the tables, I could see that everyone looked spectacular in them, much like they did in person. At the end of the night, the winners of 5 different categories were announced and they each won a prize. The 5 categories were: Best male dancer, best female dancer, best male dressed, best female dressed and cutest couple. The winners were: Damien Hoang, Vicky Nguyen, Gum Deng, Linda Pham, Rian Triantafilidis and Brittany Clark respectively. All in all, everyone was dressed immaculately and looked superb. Thank you to all the teachers and student leaders who were present and helped organise the evening. It was an amazing night and I’m sure that everyone present enjoyed it very much.

Yuri Bakay |Senior School Captain

Year 12 Formal

On June 16, the Year 10 Japanese students participated in a variety of fun and exciting activities at Nihongo Roadshow organized by Japan Foundation. Here is a comment written by Shane Phan from Year 10 Red:

On 16 June, the Year 10 Japanese cohort was invited to Essendon Baptist Church to participate in a Japanese activity. As well as Simonds, many other schools were invited, such as St Columba, Essendon Keilor and Westbourne. Upon arrival, all 10 of us were separated into different groups which consisted of people from different schools. In our groups, we answered questions based on a topic. Each team representative that got the question correct got one point for their team. Overall, it was an experience that helped with learning Japanese and it was a different scenery to the classroom.

Ms Y Yao| Japanese Teacher

July 11 Staff Spirituality Day | No classes for students

12 Students commence Term 3 13 Year 8 @ Drama Performance

14 Italy Study Tour Parent Information Night

20 VCE Information Evening | 6pm

28 VCE Careers Expo at The Academy

August 11 Parent Teacher Interview Evening

18 Board Meeting ACC Open Chess Tournament Year 10 Social @ The Academy

22 Book Week

September 5 Health & PE Week

6 Sports Photographs

7 ACC Cross Country

8 Year 7 Vaccinations | Round 3

12 - 16 Year 10 Work Experience Year 9 City Experience

13 - 16 Year 8 Camp

16 End of Term 3

Term 3 – Up Coming Events

Year 10 Japanese Excursion