Celebrating 25 Years of being ‘Enlivened by the Spirit’

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

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

AQUINAS CATHOLIC COLLEGE MENAI

12th June, 2017 Vol.25.No.16

James Corcoran Principal

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Damien Kerr Assistant Principal

Next week

Event Date

SSCCC Netball Gala Day Monday 19 June

"Try a Trade Day" at St Yons, Bankstown Tuesday 20 June

Aquinas Mass - Year 8 - 8.20am Wednesday 21 June

Regional Debating Competition

Aquinas Whole School Assembly - Period 4 Thursday 22 June

Physics Excursion - from 4pm

Athletics Carnival Friday 23 June

Assistant Principal

This Week

Event Date

Queens Birthday Monday 12 June

Year 11 and 12 Hospitality Work Experience Tuesday 13 June

Aquinas Mass - Year 7 - 8.20am

Year 11 and 12 Hospitality Work Experience Wednesday 14 June

Regional Debating Competition

Year 11 and 12 Hospitality Work Experience Thursday 15 June

Year 10 Excursion - Religious Education

University of Notre Dame - Lunchtime Talk

Year 11 and 12 Hospitality Work Experience Friday 16 June

Year 12 Advanced English Excursion - Hamlet Symposium

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Last term, Mr Bulmer (Leader of Teaching & Learning) presented a workshop to staff on the benefits of embracing a growth mindset. In short, he pointed out that individual talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) by having a growth mindset. People who utilize the strategies of a growth mindset tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts).

When was the last time you cleared your mind and reflected on things outside our everyday matters? After a long tiring day at school or work most of us (that’s me) like to put our feet up, sit back and look at a television screen, play the latest Xbox game or see what’s on our social media sites. Yet, if this becomes a repetitive routine, we could be missing out on some of the best things in life. Reflective thinking itself is not only relaxing, but a way to grasp life's special gifts. Some of the most fascinating adventures lie in the territory of the mind. Thought enables us to break through into unfamiliar ground and can set us on new paths. Mindfulness for Teens-Guided Meditations.

How do we start such a journey? It could be a good book, in prayer, meditating, going for a run or listening to music. A friend told me recently that he sets time aside each day to reflect listening to restful music. Unashamedly, I can recommend …’Bee Gees - Jive Talkin'.

By taking time out to think we broaden our interests, open our hearts and minds to new horizons. To think for oneself is an essential part of the process of self-development and growth. We are then better equipped to deal with the problems life can throw in our path. Which in turn develops the characteristics of resilience and self-confidence. In this 3-minute video, teens share how mindfulness helps them to handle stress by living more in the present moment!

Dr. Dweck found that people’s theories about their own intelligence had a significant impact on their motivation, effort, and approach to challenges. Those who believe their abilities are malleable are more likely to embrace challenges and persist despite failure. For example, a student with a learning goal will pursue interesting and challenging tasks in order to learn more.

Dominic Ritchie Pastoral Care Coordinator

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Learning and Curriculum Matters This Week's Assessment Tasks Lisa Mirabello Leader of Teaching and Learning

Year Subject Date

11 Chemistry 13.06.17

10 Industrial Tech Timber 13.06.17

12 English Studies 14.06.17

12 Industrial Tech Timber 15.06.17

12 Senior Science 15.06.17

11 Mathematics 15.06.17

11 Mathematics General 15.06.17

11 Biology 16.06.17

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Last Thursday we celebrated Aquinas Day. It was a tremendous day as usual. The weather threatened to ruin the day but it could not dampen the spirit. The day began in JPII Hall where our Maliana Immersees reminded the community of our outreach project. Kiara recalled the lyrics of a song sung by children at an orphanage:

“I want to grab the stars, But my hands can’t reach them. Lord, why can’t it be good for everyone?

The bird that brings the message please listen to my voice”

Our fundraising efforts on the day of eating, drinking, singing and throwing ping pong balls helped our school to help make it good for some. This year another four students will venture to Timor L’Este to continue the good work and share the spirit. As Kiara concluded:

“We might not be able to make it good for everyone – but at least they know they are heard.”

It acknowledges that you can’t always help everyone but help who you can

Another powerful moment came in silence. At 1:00pm as the entire College community formed into the 25 on the oval we stopped for a minute to pray for peace as requested by Pope Francis. On a day of fun, noise and laughter it was a remarkable moment. We often talk about wanting peace for our world. We need to realise that we all have a

role to play: Lord help us to do what we can!

Steve O’Connor Religious Education Coordinator

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The Rosary

‘The Rosary &

Prayer Intentions’

will be held every

Tuesday @

lunch… Room 25

YOUTH MINISTRY @ AQUINAS Fr Rob Galea Concert:

There will be a youth ministry event coming to the shire, featuring Fr Rob Galea.

When: Week 9, Friday 23rd June

Where: St John Bosco College, Engadine

Time: 3-7pm

A relaxed afternoon/evening filled with music, prayer and worship.

Any students interested please see or email Miss Kilzi for a permission note.

catherine.kilzi@syd.catholic.edu.au

This is a free event

Miss Catherine Kilzi Youth Ministry Coordinator

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On Thursday the 8th of June 2017 (Week 7), the Aquinas community held their annual Aquinas Day, which celebrates the feast day of our patron saint, St Thomas Aquinas and attempts to raise money for the Timor L’Eeste immersion programme. The day was divided into 3 sessions. Firstly, students attended a whole school mass in the JPII Hall. Straight after mass, we hoped that the whole school would move onto the oval and form a large ‘25’ and an image would be taken using our new drone. Unfortunately the wet weather worked against us at that time but we were lucky enough to have the showers stop prior to 1pm and the College community formed again on the oval and the image was successfully taken. It was a fantastic effort for all the students to form the ‘25’ on the oval, stop and participate in the Pope Francis prayer for peace and then have some aesthetically amazing shots taken of the students and the surrounding areas of the College. During the middle of the day, students were able to enjoy themselves by running and participating in stalls and activities. The stalls and activities encompassed a wide range of indoor and outdoor things to do as well as sweet & savoury treats to eat. These included karaoke, a disco in Room 9, soccer and football challenges on the oval, indoor activities such as balloon popping, lollipop pong, FIFA and Wii U challenges, an indoor arcade, putt putt, futsal, photo booth activities, table tennis, rowing machine and paper plane races. There was also a wide variety of hot and sweet foods available ranging from KFC, pizza, hot dogs, hot chip sandwiches and a sausage sizzle BBQ as well as lollies, a wide variety of chocolate items, baked goods and even Lebanese sweets. Any of the treats could be washed down with soft drink, water and frozen snow cones. The day concluded with the annual Aquinas Talent Quest, where many Aquinas students showcased their marvellous talents but once again, the Year 12 student act managed to defeat the staff act with their singing, dancing and acting skills. Once all the invoices have been settled, the final amount raised on Aquinas Day will be published in next week's newsletter. My most sincere thanks to all the staff, who once again worked tirelessly throughout the day to ensure its smooth running as well as to all the students who participated in and celebrated a wonderful Aquinas community and did their best to raise money for Timor L’Este. Denise Martin Social Justice Coordinator

Aquinas day 2017

THURSDAY WEEK 7 08/06/17

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Celebrating Mass

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Stalls and Activities

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Talent Quest

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Gifted Challenge Day at Aquinas Last Wednesday 24 Aquinas and 12 Holy Family students were involved in a vertically streamed challenge day in our Resource Centre. Students had the opportunity to work with other like-minded students from Years 5-10 on a variety of activities and challenges. These included:

Lateral thinking: Cryptograms, encoded puzzles and quizzles which challenged the students lateral thinking and creative thought.

General knowledge: Students tested their general knowledge of geography and history and were asked questions like “In what country can the indigenous people called the Inuits be found?”

Engineering: Students tested their creativity and patience when they were asked to build the tallest tower they could with only three pieces of newspaper without using glue or sticky tape. (photos included)

Maths: For many students the maths challenge was something they had been waiting for all day. There was silence in the library as numbers were crunched and theories and rules applied to the difficult questions.

Drama: Our budding actors and actresses were asked to create an adver tising campaign for something you might not think needs advertising- the humble safety pin! Students dressed up, created posters, sang jingles and used a variety of advertising techniques for their hard sell.

Thank you to Grace Edgar, Charlotte Knoke and Benjamin Capovilla (10 RED) who helped Ms Shepherd and I coordinate the day. Finally, congratulations to all the students involved in our challenge day. You worked well in your teams and came up with some interesting concepts and answers throughout the day. Unfortunately there could only be one winner and that was Team 5:

Matthew Nolan (Yr 5) Maddison Kedwell (Yr 6) Keylani Senior (Yr 7) Julia Nappa (Yr 8) Michael Larkham (Yr 9) Xavier Rozanc (Yr 10)

Catherine Capovilla Gifted Education teacher

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Regional Catholic Schools Debating Competition - Round 5 Last Wednesday 7th March the Aquinas Year 7-10 Debating teams travelled to MSJ, Milperra to compete in Round 5 of the Regional Catholic Schools Debating Competition. The Round 5 topics were centred around Social Issues/Politics which was quite a broad starting point! Fortunately, the topics ended up being based on the experience of teenagers today, giving our students lots of experiences to draw upon. The topics were as follows: Year 7 & 8: That there aren't enough good role models for children Year 9 & 10: That there are more obstacles facing teenagers today The Year 7 team continued their undefeated success this week, being the only team to win their Debate. While our other teams did not win their Debates, they faced their defeat with such great sportsmanship! In exciting news, the Year 7, 9, 10 and Senior teams have made it through to the Semifinal Round this Wednesday at OLMC, Burraneer! Congratulations and good luck to each of these students. Congratulations also to our Year 8 team for their fantastic efforts and continued commitment throughout the first 5 rounds! Well done to all of our Round 5 Debaters: Year 7: Ariana Halar, Jennah Bradstock, Sarah Doyle, Emily Maguire and Tamara Talevski Year 8: Jessica Sewell, Jasmin Hatter, Caitlin Monk and Zane Assen Year 9: Emily Lane, Joel Johnson, Michael Kerle and Nicholas Katsiris Year 10: Charlotte Knoke, Benjamin Capovilla, Benjamin Ferraro and James Selas Thank you to Mrs Fensom for adjudicating; to Mrs Capovilla, Mrs Buttling and Mrs Dickinson for coaching students and to the families who came along to watch the Debates this week. Good luck to all students competing this Wednesday! Danielle Cooper

Each week Maths Recall is included in the newsletter to encourage junior students to regularly focus on non calculator skills. Please show your answers to your maths teacher during your next lesson, as it shows interest and excitement about mathematical skills. 1. Evaluate 3

3

2. Write 48 as a product of prime factors

3. Convert 850cm to m

4. Write the ratio 16:20 in simplest form

5. Simplify 2a + 3a + 5a

Mrs Catherine Fensom Assistant Mathematics Coordinator

MATHS DEPARTMENT RECALL CORNER

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Jessica Fraser Librarian

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CANTEEN ROSTER TERM 2

TIME: MONDAY-THURSDAY 10:00-1:35, FRIDAY 9:30-12:45

MONDAY 12/6 PUBLIC HOLIDAY TUESDAY 13/6 ROBYN GRAHAM WEDNESDAY 14/6 JULIANNE LANE, LEANNE SWALES, KAREN BRADSHAW, KERRIE HARRINGTON THURSDAY 15/6 KIM GLENIE FRIDAY 16/6 KARINA MICHAEL, ARISTEA MARAKAS, LIZ RUDDER MONDAY 19/6 ROSEMARY MORRISEY TUESDAY 20/6 AMELIA KATALINIC WEDNESDY 21/6 STAM FARRUGIA, JEANETTE CABRERA THURSDAY 22/6 GEOFF RAYMOND, LISA TUDEHOPE FRIDAY 23/6 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Uniform shop will be open on

THURSDAY 15 June

8:00am—9:00am

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

The Uniform Shop now has Eftpos facilities

Answers:

MATHS CHALLENGE

1 27

2 48 = 42 x 3

3 8.5m

4 4:5

5 10a

Maths Department

SUTHERLAND LIBRARY These July holidays Sutherland library is holding two free activities: Book Squad – Thursday 6 July 3.00pm - 4.00pm An informal book group for teens with a focus on fantasy. High school students are encouraged to come along and discuss Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and more! Snacks provided. This is a great opportunity to meet other book fans and hear what’s new in the YA fantasy genre. http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Library/Services/Youth-Connect/Teen-Book-Squad Comic Book Layout Workshop - Tuesday 11 July 2.00pm - 4.00pm A hands-on comic creation workshop for high school students, with award-winning artist Louie Joyce. This session will be valuable for students with an interest in comic art and drawing, whether for their personal enjoyment or the development of their creative portfolio. http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Library/Services/Youth-Connect/Comic-Book-Layout-Workshop

Bookings for both events are essential. Phone the Library on 9710 0351.