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PARENT ENGAGEMENT
For those lucky enough to be able to attend the Working Bee you were part of a special afternoon of working together to enhance our school environment. As someone said to me:
“It has a special feel out there in the school grounds during a Working Bee.”
This is because of the people who were present. They brought with them a positive spirit and a passion to make the school a better place.
The Working Bees are organised by the Parents and Friends Association. They are a group of parents and carers who know the value of creating and supporting a community.
We are super blessed here at St John’s to have these people and I thought it fitting that you should hear in their words why they do what they do. I have attached a brief video made by members of the Parents and Friends Association executive team.
As you watch the film you will recognise the conversation as similar to the discussion that we have with our young people around the value of engaging in their community, especially through volunteering.
We welcome any support that parents, carers, grandparents and students can contribute to our school community especially in assisting in the canteen, Working Bees and at carnivals.
YEAR 7, 2023 ORIENTATION
How wonderful it was to meet the students who will be joining us as Year 7 students in 2023 on our Orientation Day last week. They were a very interesting and diverse group of students who engaged with the activities of the day with a great sense of vibrancy, fun and respect.
They were welcomed and supported for the day by the Year 9 peers supporting students. These students had trained for a full day and then volunteered to be a leader for this day. These same students will also work with the new Year 7 students when the new year begins.
Mrs Sandra Hogan
Principal
TERM 4 2022
WEEK 7A
Wednesday 23 November: Year 9 Reflection Day (P1-3)
Friday 25 November: St John's Trivia Night POSTPONED to 2023
Friday 25 November: Vinnies Youth Op Shop Sale
Friday 25 November: Year 10 Reflection Day (P1-3)
WEEK 8B
Thursday 1 December: EAT Theatre Performance 7pm
Friday 2 December: EAT Theatre Performance 7pm
Saturday 3 December: EAT Theatre Performance 7pm
WEEK 9A
Monday 5 - Friday 9 December: Year 10 Work Experience
WEEK 10B
Thursday 15 December: HSC Results released.
Thursday 15 December: Year 7-10 Presentation Assembly
Friday 16 December: Activities Day. Final day for students.
RETURN TO SCHOOL DATES TERM 1 2023
Friday 27 & Monday 30 January: Staff Development (Pupil Free Days)
Tuesday 31 January: Year 7, 11 & 12 return (& Year 10 Peer Support)
Tuesday 31 January: New students in Year 8-11 (Partial day)
Wednesday 1 February: Year 8, 9 & 10 return.
Year 11 have started their HSC year with a bang. It has been a very busy first half of Term 4 with lots of wonderful things happening.
Now is also a timely reminder that for this new HSC group the year has just begun with new course content and assessments being worked on. The normal thinking that the year is ending with regard to school work isn’t happening for Year 11 this year and they have been reminded that they need to keep the momentum going through this term and through the holidays.
I encourage students to make use of your study periods and class time effectively and stay in constant contact with your teacher to ensure you are staying on top of the workload.
WIPCI (World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education)
The last holidays saw Madison Doosey, Ky Nolan-Cooper, Hunter Woods and Wil Osgood (Year 12) attend the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCI) in Adelaide for four days. WIPCE is the largest and most diverse Indigenous education forum in the world – representatives from across the globe met in Tarndanya (Adelaide), the home of the Kaurna Nation of South Australia.
The exciting Indigenous education program included keynote presentations, networking, interactive workshops and discussion forums with an associated rich and diverse cultural program.
CATHOLIC MISSION IMMERSION
Fourteen dedicated and passionate students along with Mr Comensoli and Mrs Kelly spent ten days on immersion in Darwin, Tiwi Islands and Kakadu. The following is a reflection from some of the students;
RETREAT
The theme for the Year 11 Retreat was building trust through recognising and understanding the crosses we carry throughout our lives.
The students embraced the activities and connected with each other on a deeper level over the three days.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION & AWARDS
It was a pleasure to present the students with their Preliminary Reports as well as acknowledge those students who received awards.
Students were given Care Packs the following week which included some essential items to support them on their HSC journey.
WORKING BEE HELPERS
Year 11 was well represented at the Working Bee last week with 29 students rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty to ensure our school environment looks the best it can.
Thank you to all those students and parents who attended to support our school community.
YEAR 12 FORMAL HELPERS
Several Year 11 students did the most incredible job of assisting at the Year 12 Graduation Dinner last night.
These wonderful young people added the last minute touches to the hall and worked tirelessly all evening to serve guests whilst Daniel and Finn worked as DJ's in charge of the music. Thank you to each and every one of you!
JERSEYS
The students are looking great on Fridays in their new jerseys. They have also been reminded that they must wear their correct uniform under their jersey.
YEAR 11 SCIENCE EXTENSION
Our Year 11 Extension 1 Science students are on their way to success, spending last Wednesday afternoon with their teacher Dr Elton, planning their Personal Interest Project topics.
YEAR 11 CONSTRUCTION
YEAR 11 VET FITNESS
STUDENT NEWS
Harry Tan, Jarrah Treweek have been selected for Illawarra South Coast Dragons Rugby League Train On Squad to compete in the Laurie Daley Cup early in 2023. Congratulations to both Jarrah and Harry.
Jamie Beattie and Harrison Shepherd have both completed their Rural Fire Fighter training this year and are now qualified fire fighters. Thank you both for your future service to the community.
AMONGST THE WORLD'S BEST
'God has no hands but yours'
Mrs Lynette Kelly
Year 11 Coordinator
LEADERS AFTERNOON TEA
GRADUATION DINNER
Hello and welcome to all staff, and importantly: Year 12 class of 2022. It is awesome to see you all here tonight, celebrating your success and achievements in finishing high school. I am thankful to all of you for making the effort to attend tonight and share this experience with your peers and teachers.
It is no surprise that I strongly believe you as a year group to be the best! Other members of staff are more diplomatic. Although seeing how many of them have come to support and celebrate with you tonight is very telling of how they feel about you as a cohort Year 12.
On that note there are a few people who I would like to publicly thank on behalf of both Year 12 & myself in getting this beautiful space and event put together. In particular our thanks goes to Mrs Susan Surreau for her work behind the scenes for many months leading up to tonight. Susan has been an incredible force of enthusiasm and creativity in making the formal so special for all of our students. Our thanks also goes to Scott Horne, Jay Jayasuriya, Mark Burian, Andrew Warfield and Michael Christie for their help in getting curtains set up, lighting, sound, other IT and instruments ready for this evening. Thank you also to Sandy Johnston, Janie Hamilton, Serena Jablonskis, Jacob Stephenson, Val & Brad Lewis, Bumpy Road Catering and Hoorah Events for all they have done in adding to our beauty space and ensuring the many different aspects tonight have run smoothly. Finally, a big thank you goes to our Year 10 and 11 students who have helped with the set up and running of tonight.
Over the past month or so, it has been incredible to see your fresh and enthusiastic faces as you have finished your exams and have come back in to sign out your textbooks, collect reference letters and so on. Some of you have even stopped by to help staff and younger students with various things or just to say a friendly hello. I can tell the relief you are all feeling with exams done and dusted, just by the looks on your faces. As Mel & Isaac alluded to - this relief extends to the new freedom you have, in deciding how to spend your time, what to wear and when to use your phones.
Whilst it might seem funny for me to say now, I’d like you to remember the fortune that you have all been blessed with in being a part of our amazing school community. The rules of our school and high expectations, although some of you have commented can be a lot - have provided structure and guidance to set you up well for success wherever life takes you. Our uniform has instilled a sense of pride, equality and cohesion - ensuring that you know you are all valued and important members of our community. Please remember that just because you have graduated and each year there will be new Year 12 jerseys and with increasing years on their backs that over time might start to make you feel old - you will always be a part of the St John’s family. Your stories, memories, personalities and faces will forever be part of the history of our school.
I realise that this may sound cliche, but I genuinely mean this when I ask you to keep in touch. In a little under a month we will have our morning tea after the HSC results are released. Regardless of your score, number or bands - please come in and say hello; and beyond this as you move about in your lives, know that we would love to hear from you and what’s new.
To conclude I wanted to echo what I said in your graduation speech, which is thank you. I am extremely grateful to have been your Year Coordinator and to have shared so many experiences and memories with you all. Thank you to all of the Captains and SRC leaders for your leadership and maturity in bringing not only our year group but the entire school together, even when it proved challenging. Thank you to our amazing staff and the Year 12 PALS team, and finally- thank you to all 111 of you sitting in front of me for being uniquely you. I am filled with gratitude that I have been able to get to know and work with all of you, and I wish you nothing but genuine happiness, success and fulfilment as you move on in the next and very exciting chapters of your lives. Enjoy the rest of your night, remember to be safe and look out for each other.
Mrs Kate Jennings
Year 12 Coordinator
YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE
Term 4 Week 9 (Monday 5 - Friday 9 December)
Thankyou to all of the businesses who will have our Year 10’s in the workplace during Week 9. This is a valuable learning experience and our students will gain knowledge and skills over the week. Any outstanding work experience forms are now overdue, please get them returned to Mrs Hill as soon as possible.
WHITE CARD COURSES
A white card course ran at school on Wednesday 9 November. Twenty students attended, now have their nationally recognised qualification and are ready to attend construction sites safely.
UAC PRESENTATION
UAC presented to all HSC 2023 students, via Zoom, on Friday 11 November. This presentation covered: What is UAC?, HSC, ATAR and entry to University including SRS and EAS.
The presentation slides are available to all students via the Careers Google Classroom page.
AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY (ACU)
Summer School - Western Civilisation
The Western Civilisation Program Summer School is a 3-day academic retreat for high school students going into Years 11 and 12 in 2023.
Students will engage in critical discussions about great books of the Western tradition, gaining invaluable critical thinking, communication, and reading skills – all while having fun and meeting like-minded students.
The Summer School is free and open to students from across Australia. Travel bursaries are available.
Students will study key texts from the Western tradition and make lifelong friends who share their passion for reading and the humanities.
The Summer School will include:
- lectures and discussions
- Year 12 exam and study skills workshops
- all meals and accommodation
- games, activities, socialising and more
The Summer School will be held from 18 – 20 January 2023 at ACU North Sydney and Benedict XVI Retreat Centre. Applications using this link
2023 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Bendigo Bank Sanctuary Point & Districts
Applications are open for the 2023 Bendigo Bank Sanctuary Point & Districts scholarship
Program. Scholarships are available to academically outstanding students whose financial or social circumstances limit their tertiary aspirations. A scholarship helps cover study and accommodation costs that rural and regional students face in their first years of tertiary education. We will be offering one University scholarship and one TAFE scholarship for 2023. Scholarship criteria includes student academic achievement, community involvement, leadership roles and details of their financial and/or social disadvantage.
Applications close on January 31, 2023. To apply, visit bendigobank.com.au/scholarships.
Mrs Carla Hill
Transition & Pathways Specialist
With the conclusion of this year’s HSC exams and the graduation of the 2022 HSC cohort of 4 classes in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, we await to share the joys of their successes at the end of the term. St John’s teachers are currently actively involved in the HSC marking process.
Senior Sciences in Term 4 2022 have a total of 6 senior classes in Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Environment, Physics as well as Extension Science. As such the year 11 (aka new yr12) students have enthusiastically taken on the mantle of our leaders in learning. We also are excited to see the senior sciences swell to incorporate a total of 11 classes at the start of 2023.
BIOLOGY
Biology students have enthusiastically started their HSC year. During their first 5 weeks, students have gained knowledge and understanding of the awe and wonders that are our cells, DNA and the myriad of ways in which organisms can increase their population for survival.
They have modelled the processes of mitosis and meiosis and took to the dissection the onion roots to explore active cell division in new root cells to see the stages of mitosis occurring in nature. They have collaborated with their peers, engaged in Biology tasks and asked a lot of questions. A great start to the course!
Their teachers are already busy planning their incursion early next year when our budding biologists will genetically engineer glow in the dark organisms.
Mr Charlie Coulson-Knight & Mrs Val Lewis
EARTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Earth & Environmental Science have started their HSC year with a plethora of different activities. We have had former student Ellen Boardman come in and deliver a talk looking at the diversity of careers and pathways in Environmental Science.
In Week 4 students completed some field work travelling to Ulladulla and Milton to investigate the formation of fossils, the geological history of the South Coast, and some interesting igneous intrusions in their local environment in preparation for their first HSC assessment. All whilst learning about the theories surrounding the creation and development of life on Earth and what drove this development in the classroom.
Mr Tim Chard
CHEMISTRY
Chemistry are progressing well through their first module for the HSC Course. They are currently studying Equilibrium and Acid Reactions.
In this module, students explore the nature of reversible reactions while building upon their knowledge from Year 11 Chemistry. This includes ideas such as enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs free energy as well as various types of chemical reactions. The class have commenced their first HSC assessment task which is a depth study looking at the reversibility of various chemical reactions and the solubility rules.
Mr Jacob Stephenson
PHYSICS
Physics students are currently working on Advanced Mechanics, developing their understanding of projectile and circular motion which will be applied in the design and build of their medieval siege engine, the trebuchet. Their understanding and working model will form a key component of their depth study assessment.
Mr Craig Holden
EXTENSION SCIENCE
Extension Science students have been working to get research projects up off the ground. The students have been reaching out to scientists and academics in the local community as well as those based in metropolitan universities. It is fantastic to see students passionate about STEM getting the opportunity to take part in real-world scientific research including psychological science, marine biology, medicinal chemistry and ecology. Each of the students is currently drafting a research proposal using the knowledge they have gained through reading multiple scientific journal articles.
All of the students and Dr Elton enjoyed the Extension Science day at the University of Sydney recently - students had the opportunity to talk to many PhD students as well as an expert panel who answered questions about undertaking research during their HSC year.
Dr Tim Elton
Mr Charlie Coulson-Knight
Science Coordinator
GIRLS' LEAGUE TAG GALA DAY
ST MICHAEL'S PARISH NEWS
Part time employment opportunity – Parish Secretary
St Michael’s Parish Nowra
Nowra Parish is seeking the services of a part time secretary for 10 hrs per week 4 days x 2.5 hours. (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 9.30am- 12 Noon)
The position requires skills in administration. bookkeeping and maintaining a database.
The parish secretary needs to be a committed and practising Catholic, embracing the teachings and ethos of the Catholic Church in their daily life.
If interested, please make contact via email to request an application pack for this position to frances.vanleerdam@dow.org.
Applications close at 5pm Friday 2 December 2022
NOWRA PARISH
VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL - WE NEED YOUR HELP!
ZIGGY'S NEW KENNEL
YEAR 7 MUSIC
Below are images of Isaac Howard, Zali Delaney, Emmeline Le, Johanna Pichler, Marshall Avery and Luke West in action!
MINDFULNESS ACTIVITIES
YEAR 9 BUSHCRAFT - CANOEING
YEAR 9 & 10 COMMERCE
YEAR 10 PASS - WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
YEAR 10 YOUTH ADVISORY REPRESENTATIVES
YEAR 10 HISTORY - JEWISH MUSEUM
2 X NSW STATE MEDALLISTS
REMEMBRANCE DAY - 11 NOVEMBER
LUNCH ORDERS
CANTEEN ROSTER
We require 2 helpers (Monday - Thursday) and 3 helpers on Fridays to effectively run our canteen. If you may be able to assist, please contact our school on 4423 1666 or info@sjedow.catholic.edu.au. Grandparents & relatives also welcome!
Well done to the following students:
Emma Bodycott, Lucas Bracken, Tadhg Crangle, Taliesin Douglass, Leila Ferreira, Isabel Gonzaga, Sienna Gordon, Alicia Manuelian, Noah McCoy, Kowan McGuire, Jackson Neradil, Aska Page, Kai Reid, Samuel Rosskelly, Benjamin Rutkowski, McKenzie Smith, Harrison Sutton, Kalarni Thomas, Chloe Watson, Charli Webster.
Keeping in touch with the Catholic Primary Schools within the Shoalhaven District.
Please select below links to the Shoalhaven Catholic Primary Schools websites.
