Term 3 Week 4 - 14th August 2020

On Tuesday the 19th of July our annual athletics carnival was held at the College.  We were blessed with a beautiful day as temperatures topped 21 degrees at lunch. The prize was the CC Adams Shield which is awarded to the winning House.

The day began with the first of six rotations. All students competed in the 100m, 200m, Javelin, Shot Putt, Discus and Long Jump before lunch.  Our wonderful staff officiated all events and and assisted with recording, marshaling, & catering.  A big thank you to the hospitality students who catered the whole day with the help of our TAS staff.  After lunch the 100m finals were contested followed by the double points relays.

Congratulations to Innes who won the day.

Full results, age champions and records – please read on.

The SJRC Athletics Squad to compete at the Lismore Diocesan Carnival in Coffs Harbour has been notified via email.

Girls Age Champions:

Boys Age Champions:

Records:

Congratulations to Sam Fox (Yr 1) who broke the SJRC 17s Boys Shotput record with a throw of 12.82m.  The old record was held by Shaun Hinton (12.63m) and has stood since 2011.

Congratulations to Bella Lahey (Yr 7) who broke the SJRC 12 Girls Discuss record with a throw of 26.56m.  The old record was held by Jess Leeson (22.60m) and has stood since 2006. 

SJRC Records Page

Damien Kelly
SJRC Leader of Sport

9th August 2022

This week I would like to pay special appreciation to thirty-one Year 11 students who delivered speeches as a part of the Year 12, 2021 Leadership program. Not only was I impressed by the number of students who were prepared to put themselves forward for roles in the College next year, I was also proud of their level of preparation and engagement with the process.

Congratulations to the following candidates:

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students who were announced as Principal Award recipients at this week's ZOOM assembly. Students will receive their awards in House assemblies.

Zoom Assembly 

This week the College ran its second Zoom Assembly for the term. The following articles were presented in good fun and humour. Thank you to the many students and staff involved in making the assembly possible. Please enjoy the following videos.

SJRC Environmental Club

The SJRC Environmental Club has been making Bees Wax Wraps. In the following short clip, club members, Lauren Johnston, Cora Puttick, Brock Holliday, Maisy Taylor and Zoe Copel explain how they are made.

The idea behind the making of the video is to share the need for all students to assist in reducing soft plastic wastes not only at our College but also within their own homes. It is now time for our College community to get involved and the SJRC Environmental Club is here to help kick start that involvement

At our next College assembly, Mrs Mooney, the Environmental Club Coordinator, will draw out, one Pastoral Care group. All Pastoral Care members including the PC teacher will be the lucky recipients of the first batch of Bees Wax Wraps... and the first to make a difference in reducing our plastic waste.

My thanks and congratulations to Mrs Mooney and the Environmental Club for this great incentive.

https://youtu.be/s4AC5E0sYoo

Science with Mr Bennie - Wash your Hands

Thank you to Mr Damien Bennie for making this fun video explaining what is a virus, what it looks like and our best defence against a virus.

https://youtu.be/o2TTXAGkORo

Metal Medial Madness

Thank you to Mr Colin Makay and Jacob Gaskill for putting this valuable video together, highlighting some of the varied skills and fun that our students are able to experience in the Industrial Technology- METAL classroom. 

https://youtu.be/0tPRUKnhRKY

Harry Amon & Mark Spence

We have some amazing talent at St Joseph's Regional College, this week we would like to showcase the very talented Year 12 student, Harry Amon. 

In this piece, Harry is performing "Paper Iron" written by our very own Mark Spence, SAPSS Drumline Leader. This piece was specifically written by Mark to showcase Harry's considerable musical talents. Harry is performing on the biggest instrument which is the marimba, in addition to the bass drum and concert toms. He uses a wide variety of sticks and mallets as well as different performance techniques, many of which are quite advanced.  Mark is playing the vibraphone, concert toms, and cymbals.

The piece was originally written for a soloist with a percussion trio for accompaniment but due to COVID-19, Mark was able to condense them into one single part.

Mark who has been Harry's music tutor since he was in Year 4, says "Harry should be very proud of his abilities after many years of practice & study". 

https://youtu.be/GhHvg8-bbY8

God Bless

Jim Dempsey
Principal

Mobile Phones

The College recognises that the possession of a mobile phone by students is common and necessary on occasions. Their use at school, however, can lead to problems such as harassment, distraction in class, social division and security issues.
The following is a reminder of the mobile phone rule at the College:

• Mobile phones are not permitted to be used from arrival at College until 3.15pm, except by seniors who may use it during recess and lunch in senior areas only. Mobile phones may not be carried in students’ top pockets.
• If your child breaks the rule and their phone is confiscated, they will receive an afternoon detention. They will need to pick their phone up at the end of the day from the FRONT OFFICE.
• If you need to contact your child during the day, please call the office on 5525 4100 and we will go through our usual channel of communication to contact your child. Your child is able to make contact with you via their coordinator or the front office also.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Chicken Pox

We have been notified that a student has contracted Chicken Pox. Please refer to the following advice from the NSW Government in regards to this infectious disease.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/chickenpox.aspx

Tanya Daley
Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care and Staff Support

Trial HSC Exams

Next Monday sees the start of our Trial HSC exams for our Year 12 students. Although this year has obviously been somewhat disrupted for everyone, I am very confident that our students have been well prepared for the Trials, and the HSC, by their dedicated teachers, who have worked hard to ensure students have had relevant, meaningful activities throughout the disruptions.

I would remind students that it is essential that they know their exam timetable, as no allowance can be made for missed time or a missed exam due to a misreading of their timetable (as is also the case in the HSC exams). I would also remind them of the need to contact the College immediately should any circumstances arise that may prevent them from presenting for an exam, and that current documentary evidence (e.g. a doctor’s certificate dated that day) is required to support any such claims.

I’d like to take the opportunity on behalf of all the staff to wish our Year 12 students all the best over the next two weeks as they work through their exams.

Hastings Education Fund

Applications are now open for HEF grants for 16-25 year olds from the Port Macquarie, Hastings area who will struggle with starting post-school study in 2021 due to financial or circumstantial needs.

You can apply online and find more info here. We encourage you to share the following link and also make a donation if you are able to. 

https://cef.org.au/foundations/hastings/

Mr Tim McCosker
Assistant Principal - Curriculum & Administration

Ph) 5525 4100

Year 8 - Catch the Wave Program

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual

In the following weeks the Year 8 RE students will participate in:

• group development activities,
• a showcase of the events and activities that Youth Ministry students are involved in,
• hearing the stories of older Youth Ministry students and Youth Ministers
• the opportunity to ‘Express Interest” in joining a Youth Ministry class next year.

This week Year 8RE2,3,4,6,7 and 8 classes attended their first session. There are some pictures from these sessions below.

Thank you to Chloe Nash and Amelia Stennett, our amazing Youth Ministry Officers, for designing and running this program.

About Youth Ministry at the College

The College offers Youth Ministry classes in Years 9 and 10 that have an additional focus on Youth Ministry development. Students who attend these classes often go on to become members of the Senior Youth Ministry team in Years 11 and 12 and some become Youth Ministers at our College and Diocese.

Our Youth Ministry classes participate in programs called Introduction to Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry and Leadership, and Youth Ministry and Spirituality during Years 9 and 10 in addition to their normal RE curriculum. Students who join the class also commit to activities outside the classroom such as:

• Planning and running retreats for Year 5, 6, and 7 in our local primary schools
• Planning and running liturgies in our school community
• Involvement in Parish youth activities and liturgies
• Outreach and service activities

For further information contact Mr Timo Gobius, Leader of Evangelisation.

Prayer through Music

Check out some of the great music featured this week on the SJRC Digital Ministry Blog https://sjrcministry.wixsite.com/digitalministry

Featured Music

Digital Ministry

We invite you to click on the links below to see the great resources on the SJRC Digital Ministry Blog and Instagram Page put together by our Youth Ministry Officers, Chloe Nash and Amelia Stennett.

SJRC Digital Ministry Blog https://sjrcministry.wixsite.com/digitalministry

SJRC Digital Ministry Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/sjrcdigitalministry/

Timo Gobius
Leader of Evangelisation

Year 8 PE classes have been completing a unit on ‘Relationships’ and in the last few weeks, students have been learning about Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture - Kinship, Totems and Connection to Country. As part of the unit, students have been playing some Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander games.

Carly Taylor
Indigenous Education Officer 

Year 9 Food Technology 

There has been a lot of activity happening in the Year 9 Food Technology class this week. Students baked their own cupcakes which they then had to decorate in a theme of their choice. I am definitely impressed with the quality of the decorating, with students using a number of different piping and decorating techniques to bring their theme to life. 

We still have one class yet to complete their cupcakes on Monday. So next week we will feature the finished sweet delights.

Mrs Diana Walsh
Assistant Leader of TAS

Washable Face Masks

Year 8 Tech Skills students have been busy making face masks. If you have access to a sewing machine, we encourage you to have a go at making your own mask using the below easy pattern along with the instructional video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox0fkareJCw&feature=youtu.be

Ms Catherine Morton
Textiles teacher

KidsLit Quiz Presentation

Congratulations to our heat winners in last term's KidsLitQuiz Mid North Coast competition. Tiana Daly, Mikayla Hill, Hannah Thompson and Jack McManus were proud champions, and due to their efforts, the Library now has some new books to add to the collection.

Well done team!

Library Spaces

The Library has a few different spaces within its ‘shell’, used for many different purposes. Last week, with Year 10 students making big choices about their future studies, and Year 12 students completing online applications for tertiary places in 2021, Mrs Tinsey, our College Careers Advisor, utilised the seminar rooms to conduct interviews with students to support them in these processes. It was great to have the Library (a centre for information and ideas) used in this way. 

Podcasting

During this week, former school captain Steve Lyons visited the College to take part in an interview for the archival podcast "Regionals" currently under production in The Imagination Station in the Library. Steve attended the school in 1987-1990 before going on to complete his secondary education at MacKillop Senior College.

It's great to see the cutting-edge technology in The Imagination Station coming into its own. Stay tuned for more news about the "Regionals" podcast.

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2020

The Challenge is drawing to a close with 28th August being the final date for students to add their books to their log to be verified and signed off on. Some of our participating students have completed the Challenge, while others are yet to do this. We will follow up on students again around mid-August to make sure they are on track to complete.

Significant Literary dates

Now known as graphic novels, but formerly known as “Comics”, generations have found this genre to make for compelling reading. Many have thrilled to the adventures of Superman and warmed to the feisty Lois Lane, the character closely linked to Superman’s alter-ego, Clark Kent.

Background

As a school library, we like to think that part of what we do is connect people, ideas and information. The “Humans of New York” phenomenon was used as a basis for introducing the idea to students in the Library. Historically, the HONY project started out as photography only, but then morphed into people willingly sharing something of their story. The premise is that “everyone has a story”. The project fosters opportunities for active listening, courageous conversations and empathy. Individual storytelling is celebrated.

We hope to bring you a “Humans of SJRC” story once a week for a little while. We are proud of our ‘humans’ who acknowledge that they have a story to share that is meaningful to them.

Introducing this week's Human of SJRC- Jake Green

COMPASSION

Meaning: Sympathy and concern for the sufferings or misfortune of others. "everyone should be treated with compassion"

Vinnie's Winter appeal, we would normally be doing a sleep-out

Debating

It is a pleasure to announce the SJRC Debating teams for 2020:

Year 7/8 team:
Kieran Copeland, Zoe Copeland, Lauren Johnston, Jack McManus, Maisy Taylor and Brock Holliday

Assistants:
Cora Puttick and Oscar Johnson 

Year 9 team:
Emily Edmed, Emily Dunstan, Chelsea Lewis, Findlay Marshall, Josie Yardley, Harrison Brown and Jeff Keena.

Year 10 team:
Charlotte Schrader, Bronte Hudson, Sea McManus, Lexie Williams and Dylan Gilbert.

Year 11 Assistants:
Rachel Dutlow and Gianlucca Polacci Byrnes

The above students will be participating in the Intercollegiate Debating Competition with Mackillop College on Thursday, 27th August 2020 to be held at SJRC. We wish our teams and their coaches all the best with their preparation.

In the SJRC Literacy Enrichment Spotlight

Books That Have Changed Me

This term, we are sharing stories about the stories that have changed us. These might be books from our childhood, our youth or simply last week!

Thank you to the following staff who have contributed to the first part of our series. 

And over to you!

We welcome the whole SJRC community to be a part of conversations on books and reading in general. Have you read something that changed your perspective, or a story that still resonates with you even now?

Please share with us the story about a story that may have impacted your story!

Keep reading, writing, reflecting, composing, creating, musing and connecting.

The SJRC Literacy Enrichment Team