SJRC Newsletter: Term 3 Week 4 - 16th August 2024
St Agnes' Parish Drumline Success
We are so proud of the 7 consecutive National Championship titles for Mark Spence and our amazing Senior Drumline.
Congratulations to our SAPSS Senior Drumline and SAPSS Junior Drumline, both taking out first place in their respective divisions (A and B) at the National Percussion Eisteddfod held in Sydney on 3rd August.
On Saturday, August 3rd, Drumlines from across Australia gathered on the basketball courts of Barker College in Hornsby, NSW, to contest the 25th edition of the National Drumline Championships hosted by Optimum Percussion, and despite some stern competition the Senior Drumline representing the St. Agnes' Parish Secondary Schools (and competing under their Port Macquarie Vanguard moniker), walked away with the top prize as Champion Drumline for their 7th consecutive national title.
With a score of 87/100 for the mandatory Test Piece and a 92/100 for their Own Choice, the drumline once again decimated the competition with a show requiring a high degree of technical proficiency fused with complex design and advanced musical responsibility. In addition to the normal drumline components of snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, & cymbals, they were aided by the visual contributions of their Colour Guard, under the direction of their captain Piper Roberts and colour guard instructor Jorjia-Rose Styles.
The Own Choice floor show was titled "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter ', which was conceived, written, choreographed, & directed by drumline instructor Mark Spence, and brought to life through the help of assistant instructors Michael Nixon and Callum Pender as well as Drumline Captain Liam Delandemare. In addition to receiving the highest scores in both the Test Piece and Own Choice sections, the Port Macquarie Vanguard also walked away with an additional "Best Snare Section" caption award, also marking a streak of seven in a row for that particular honour.
The newly formed Port Macquarie Brumbies, conceived as a junior training ensemble for future members of the senior line, also competed earlier that evening prior to the main event. The Brumbies took out 1st place for their Own Choice of "Shake 'n Bake" and were crowned Overall winners in Division B . An awesome achievement.
Both drumlines have a small break before they head North to compete in the Queensland Catholic Schools Music Festival (QCMF) today and then take a short break before starting all over again as they prepare for the 2025 season.
Year 12 Award Sponsorship Opportunity
I invite family and friends of St Joseph's Regional College to become a sponsor of our Year 12 Major Awards.
Payment for sponsorship may be made through the CompassTix platform via the following link: Year 12 Major Award Sponsorship. I kindly ask that if you are considering sponsoring, we kindly receive your support by Friday, 30th August 2024.
Professional Development Day - Student Free
Friday 23rd August 2024
All staff at St Joseph's Regional College will be participating in a
Strategic Planning Day on Friday, 23rd August.
Students are not required to attend school on this day.
Mrs Tanya Daley
Principal
HSC Trials
On behalf of all staff at St Joseph's Regional College, I encourage our Year 12 cohort to continue with a regular study pattern as their HSC trials conclude on Monday, August 19th.
Please find below a copy of the exam timetable.
Parent-Teacher Interviews - Years 7-12
Monday, 26th August 2024 4:00pm- 7:00pm
Parent-teacher interviews are an important opportunity for parents to discuss the progress of their sons/daughters with teachers and to help formulate strategies to assist their children in their educational journey.
- As many teachers have a full programme of interviews through the night, I would ask that parents respect the 5-minute time allocation for interviews (if an extended discussion is needed, a separate time should be booked through the College office to see the teacher).
- Also, I would ask that parents adhere to the allocated time slots – if a teacher appears to be “free” it may be the only break they have all night
How to book a Parent-Teacher Interview:
All interviews are to be booked via the Compass App.
Further information regarding the evening and the link to book an interview will be sent out via the Compass App on Monday.
Bookings are now open and close on Monday, 26th August at 10:00am
We look forward to meeting with you.
Mr Ian Lutton
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
The Feast of the Assumption
This special day commemorates the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. It highlights Mary's special role in God’s plan of salvation and reminds us of our own hope in the resurrection. In our school community, it’s an opportunity to reflect on Mary's faith, humility, and obedience to God, inspiring us to deepen our own faith and commitment to God's will.
At the College, we recognised this day with a lunchtime mass for those who wished to attend. The Mass was presided over by Father Prodencio, one of the Assistant Parish Priests in our St Agnes' Parish. It was wonderful to see staff and students step out of the busyness of the day to celebrate Mass together.
Through Mary’s example, we are called to live lives of service, love, and trust in God’s providence. May the Feast of the Assumption strengthen our connection to our faith and to each other as we continue to grow in our spiritual journey.
Prayers for the Feast of the Assumption can be as simple as the Hail Mary or Rosary. The Assumption, like other Marian feast days, is a popular day to begin a Novena, such as the 54 Day Novena.
Heavenly Mother, filled with God’s grace, pray for us today and all days, that we may strive to trusting, patient and faithful, as you were, so that we may one day join you and all saints in heaven. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.
Refounding the House Names - Round-table Discussions
On Thursday afternoon a small group of staff, some Year 11 students, parents and members of St Agnes' Parish gathered in the College staff lunchroom to discuss what values and qualities the new names should embody. We were very fortunate to have our Parish Priest Father Paul in attendance as well. The invitation went out to our whole community through the newsletter, Facebook and Parish correspondence.
The discussion was rich and it was quite impressive to see so much alignment in the group thinking about aligning values and creating a strong sense of belonging with a clear Catholic and inclusive feel. From this time together, it affirmed what we would like to achieve through our House name changes. We are now at a point where we can begin to consolidate a criteria and then gather ideas for names. For House names to be considered - they will need to meet the set of criteria. We will communicate more about this process in the next few weeks as we begin asking staff, students, parents and other community members to submit suggestions along with an explanation of why names would be suitable.
St Agnes' Church Gospel Reflections
Fr Paul Gooley is continuing to provide Gospel readings and reflections via email and online Monday to Saturday for those interested in connecting with their faith in this way.
Click to watch Fr Paul's Gospel Readings and Reflections.
St Agnes' Parish News Bulletin
The Parish news bulletin is produced weekly. In this week's bulletin:
- Reflection on opening ourselves up to God
- Masses for the Feast of the Assumption (15 August)
- Hospitality Volunteers
- Sacraments for Children
- St Agnes' Foundation Appeal
- Catholic Women's League
- St Joseph's Regional College - Refounding College House names
- Ecumenical Dialogue - Save the Dates
The latest edition is available via this link Parish News Bulletin
Assistant Principal- Mission
'Smashed Productions'
On Thursday 22nd August, Year 8 will be attending a Drug and Alcohol Education performance delivered by Smashed Productions. We have hosted Smashed Productions for several years now and this is always an engaging and educational experience for our students. The performance content aligns with the Year 8 PDHPE curriculum. Parent resources and information are provided and can be accessed at THIS LINK.
SJRC Student Wellbeing Survey
This week all students in Years 7 - 11 participated in the annual SJRC Student Wellbeing Survey. The survey provides an opportunity for our Wellbeing Team to tune into the trends and needs in the student wellbeing space, and to plan our programs and support in response to students’ needs. The following information may be insightful for parents:
- The eSafety Commissioner recommends technology curfews for all school-aged young people. The following graph represents the breakdown of SJRC students who report having a technology curfew in place at home:
Uniform Reminders
Students this week were reminded that correct footwear is required for participation in Sport and PE pracs. Sneakers/runners with correct support are essential items. Flat-soled leisure shoes such as those in the images below are not to be worn to school. We appreciate parent support in this matter.
Mrs Jennifer Furney
Leader of Pastoral Care
Festa Christi
Festa Christi was a gathering for selected Year 8 students from Parish Secondary Schools in the Lismore Diocese to celebrate their faith at a Diocesan level. The gathering was an overnight experience which allowed relationships to be built with other students from throughout the diocese as well as a chance for students to talk and share about their faith journey.
The two-day retreat experience involved activities that focussed on ‘walking in another person’s shoes’, having the students overcoming their fears and gaining a greater awareness of social justice and Catholic Social Teaching (CST) principles. Activities included working as teams to get through a Commando Course with mud run and obstacles, a giant swing and ladder climb. All activities helped students to focus on helping each other and being the best people they could be while focusing on the CST principle of the ‘Common Good’.
The CST principle of ‘Solidarity’ was explored through a simulation of a Refugee Family Journey while escaping war and oppression. Students were each allowed to pack a bag with six items to take. Each family experienced all sorts of difficulties along the way and kept losing items and bags while also being split up as a group. Every student was able to “walk in the shoes” of a refugee during the simulation.
Festa Christi allows time for prayer and reflection and concludes with the celebration of the Eucharist which was planned and run by students. A big thank you to Mrs Jensen and Mr McLeod for accompanying our students.
Vinnies SleepOut
Vinnies SleepOut 2024 at MacKillop College was a great success. 35 students from MacKillop, Newman and St Joseph’s Regional College got together for an evening of games, prayer, fort building with cardboard, and reflections on being homeless. Students were excited to be together but very conscious of being grateful for the lives that they live.
The night began at 6:00pm with some input from Geoff Leary and Terry Memory who provided some insight into the challenges that homelessness poses today in our local area. This was followed by a game where students had to find facts about homelessness hidden around the school grounds in order to be the first team to find all ten facts. Dinner consisted of a variety of warm soup and bread with the bread being kindly donated by Bakers Delight in Port Macquarie. The evening was rounded out by a fort building competition with Cardboard before finishing the evening with a reflection and prayer in solidarity with homeless people.
A 6:45 am start saw everyone packing up their cardboard sleeping mats, enjoying a piece of fruit kindly donated by Kenny Littles Fruit and Vegetable Market and by 7:30 all students had departed.
Special thanks to Mrs Gobius and Miss Morrow from MacKillop College who did a huge amount of preparation and ran the event. Also thanks to Mrs McLeod, Mr Jennings, Miss Gill and Mr Hyland for being there on the night and supporting our students.
Jennifer Grein
Leader of Creative Arts
This week's alumna, Georgia Tarrant is now a practising Registered Nurse specialising in Paediatric Nursing in a rural setting. Georgia is a fantastic example of a student who gained entry to her degree program via an alternative entry channel, picked up a prestigious scholarship opportunity along the way, and is now kicking golas in the health profession, improving outcomes for our vulnerable children.
Congratulations Georgia!
#nurse #Paediatrics The University of Newcastle, Australia St Joseph's Regional College #wherearetheynow #aHSC4opportunity
Mrs Leanne TinseyCareers Pathway
Earlier this month, students from St Joseph's Regional College attended the UNSW Medicine and Health Day at the Port Macquarie Rural Clinical Campus. There they were able to access information from current staff and students and immerse themselves in the practicalities of studying specific aspects of the Medicine and Health sectors. We are very grateful to UNSW for the opportunities they provide for our students to access relevant and timely information.
#aHSC4opportunity
| Term 2 Week 5 Lunch Specials | |
| Monday | Savoury Mince on Roast Potato (GF) |
| Tuesday | Pumpkin Soup (GF) |
| Wednesday | Loaded Bacon & Egg Roll |
| Thursday | Chicken Schnitzel & Salad |
| Friday | Pupil Free Day |
| Term 2 Week 6 Lunch Specials | |
| Monday | Vegetarian Nachos (GF) |
| Tuesday | Butter Chicken & Rice |
| Wednesday | Zucchini & Feta Fritters w/ Yoghurt Dressing |
| Thursday | Chicken Carbonara |
| Friday | Meatlovers OR Cheese Pizza |
The Canteen opens at 8.00 am every school day.
Breeanna Stone
Food Services Manager
The Encounter Youth Program is held every Friday at the Youth Hub. Come along and join in the fun.
When: Every Friday
Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Where: @ The Youth Hub
Cost: $5 for dinner
Small Seeds Mighty Deeds - Friday 16th August
Just like a tiny seed can grow into a mighty tree, our small faith can grow beyond measure and make a big impact.
We’ll discover how even the smallest acts of faith can transform our lives and the world!
Come and see how your faith can flourish and reach new heights at Encounter Youth.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Encounter Kick-on’s (Sunday’s after the 5pm Mass)
Group games and supper. Come join us.
Zac Parnell
Youth Coordinator
St Agnes' Catholic Parish
49 Hay Street, Port Macquarie NSW 2444
T 02 6588 7444
E zac.parnell@stagnesparish.org.au
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