今日吃瓜

Our Champagnat Week festivities have enabled us to reflect on our Marist charism and our commitment to building strong relationships underpinned by our family spirit.

St Marcellin Champagnat鈥檚 vision for change and transformation inspires us to break new ground, forge new pathways and build better futures. This week, our students have come together to celebrate this vision by their active participation in community building activities such as Kicks for Kuya, Phun Ties for Philippines and other campus-based events.

At the heart of Catholic education is our commitment to serving others who are less fortunate and building the common good. Our ministry at 今日吃瓜 seeks to form our young people to be transformative in the world in which they live. An example of this has been this school鈥檚 ongoing commitment to supporting the Kuya Centre for street children in the Philippines. This Centre supports homeless children by providing education, training, advocacy, legal aid and shelter.

Over 50 Newman students and teachers have visited the Centre in the last five years. Our commitment forthwith is to create an awareness, to tell their story and imbue in all of us to share their plight; moreover the aspirations and dreams of these young Filipino children. Their dreams are the same as our students鈥� dreams. Their aspirations are the same as our students鈥� aspirations.

We have asked families this week to donate between $5-10 to support these children. This is a small ask that will yield massive results for these kids鈥︹�� food on the table, a roof over their heads and an education. These basic human rights are privileges for many children across the world. At our Marcellin assembly this week, I encouraged students to reflect and give thanks for what we have and challenged them to consider how they could be an advocate for change.

For many of us it starts within鈥︹�� to have the courage, the conviction and the belief that 鈥業 am powerful鈥�, that 鈥業 can make a difference鈥�. We are only afraid of what we can do, not what we cannot do.

This week we celebrated our Champagnat Award Winners across each year group. Congratulations to the following students on the receipt of this prestigious award:

• Addison Blizzard 鈥� Year 7
• Zara Kok 鈥� Year 8
• Holly Agostino 鈥� Year 9
• Abraham Chesson 鈥� Year 10
• Olivia Kojundzich 鈥� Year 11
• Meg Hobson 鈥� Year 12

These award winners have been recognised today because they are the embodiment of our Marist values.

As we celebrate Champagnat Week, it is important to recognise the why in what we do.聽 Most of us are fortunate enough to have access to the basics of life and then some. This week, students were asked to donate $5 – $10 to support and to think about how this contribution could make a difference to the life of someone else.聽 It is hard for us here in our context to understand the enormous impact that this small donation can have on the most vulnerable. $5 for us here at school means a sausage roll at the canteen. $5 for a child from Kuya means food for a week. $100 from one PCG means Netflix, Stan, Disney, online gaming for a month. $100 for Preda means getting access to education. $1000 for us means a new mobile phone. $1000 for Kuya, Preda and Fatima means being able to house young people in safety away from violence and off the streets.

Several initiatives and activities were run throughout the week to raise awareness for the Philippines including Kicks for Kuya, Staff vs Student Basketball game, Phun Ties, and the Philippines Expo. On Friday we had our PK-12 Prayer Service, Buddy Day and Guild activities to celebrate our connection to the Marist Story.

Your support of Champagnat Week and Marist Solidarity Australia is very much appreciated.

Champagnat Awards

At our Principal鈥檚 Assembly on Wednesday our Leaders of Wellbeing presented a student from their individual year group with the Champagnat Award. These students have embodied our Marist Characteristics, Love of Work, Presence, Family Spirit, Simplicity and in the way of Mary. They have all displayed commitment to the life of the College, students who as Marcellin said, 鈥榙o good quietly鈥� and are never seeking public recognition. Please click here to view our award recipients.

At the heart of our school curriculum is a program of Religious Education which is innovative and contemporary. We aim for students to become familiar with the story of Jesus and with what it means to be a Christian today. Beyond the classroom, we provide our students and staff with opportunities for outreach, service and advocacy, whilst educating young people about our commitment to Catholic Social Teaching principles such as Option for the Poor, Dignity of the Human Person and the Common Good. This week, as part of our Champagnat Week activities, students across the College engaged with and explored the stories of the people and agencies in the Philippines which 今日吃瓜 works actively to support. This is an authentic example of how we give Christ like witness by walking in solidarity with others.

COVID-19 UPDATE

If you are concerned about your own family situation, please contact Lisa Fogliani, Vice Principal, for additional clarity and advice lisa.fogliani@newman.wa.edu.au

If Students are Unwell鈥�

The College asks that students who are presenting with a fever or flu like symptoms stay at home until their symptoms are clear. 鈥�It is the responsibility of all families to ensure they support the wider College community.

Parents and Caregivers

Parents and caregivers are allowed onto school grounds to drop off and collect their children. To ensure the 2 metre rule is adhered to, parents are asked not to enter classrooms at the beginning or end of the school day.

Reporting

To ensure student progress is fair, valid and supported by evidence, the College has adapted its reporting protocols for Semester 1 2020 in response to the disruption caused by our COVID-19 response. We recognise there has been variation in the disruption experienced between students and the validity of assessment across developmental age groups.

Our reporting expectations are aligned to directives provided by both CEWA (Catholic Education Western Australia) and SCSA (School Curriculum Standards Authority). It is very important to note, student achievement is based on judging standards that articulate student achievement at the end of the school year.

We believe these minor changes to the Semester 1 reports ensure that:

• Students are fairly assessed
• The professional judgement of teacher can be supported by evidence, and
• Parents and students are given accurate 鈥榩oint in time鈥� feedback.

Please click here to access specific campus reporting information which was published in Newman News Term 2 Week 6.

SEQTA Login Instructions

Download SEQTA Engage Login Instructions

Parent Teacher Interviews

The College will host Parent Teacher Interviews for all students K-12 (except Year 7) on Tuesday July 21 from 10.00am – 7.00pm. With restrictions lifting, we are pleased to give parents the opportunity to meet with their child鈥檚 teacher at the College.

Primary interviews will take place in classrooms and Secondary interviews will take place in the Marist Auditorium. As per COVID-19 safe guidelines, parents who are unwell are asked to cancel their meeting times. Hand sanitizer will be available on arrival and hand-shaking is discouraged.

For families on the Marcellin Campus, please note that Year 10 students, together with their parents, will meet for a course counselling interview BEFORE the end of term. We are very mindful that secondary teachers teach more students than available time slots for interviews and as such priority will be given to students in Years 11 and 12. We hope that student results and comments available to families on SEQTA together with the Semester One report will give parents a level of feedback and academic progress information.

Year 7 families will have an opportunity to meet teachers on Thursday 30 July, from 3.30pm-7.00pm in the Marist Auditorium.

PTO Login Instructions

Download PTO Parent Instructions

Music Parent Interview Evening

On Wednesday 18 June, we invited our families of students in Years 3-12 in the College’s Instrumental Program to meet with instrumental tutors at the College to discuss the instrumental music journey.

The opportunity to have a student led conversation around student achievement, learning goals and strategies to support instrumental practice was well received by tutors, parents and students alike.

We are most grateful to all of our music tutors for sharing their expertise and feedback with our families and for families’ willingness to support this new mode of reporting and for their ongoing commitment to the College Instrumental Program.

Below are some comments received from parents/guardians who were invited to share their thoughts following the interview experience.

Reflecting on the interview experience, “what do you consider to be valuable or helpful?….”

• 鈥淛ust to be able to finally have a chat with the teacher face to face and get an understanding of the weekly feedback she wrote in the student diary”
• 鈥淗aving our child present at the interview to be able to join in or ask any questions he might have.”
• 鈥淣ice to touch base with tutors and have a quick chat about progress – especially with this crazy, interrupted year it was very hard to know how Jack had been going. So was good to get that feedback. I also learnt more about practice expectations.鈥�
• 鈥淕reat communication, useful feedback. Tutors took time to listen and it was very positive and encouraging for our child.鈥�
• 鈥淲e were pleased with the tutor’s ability to be able to know our child in such a short space of time and be able to discuss her with an insight of someone that had known her for a much longer period.鈥�
• 鈥淧arents, tutor and students communicating together and being on the same page. Making our child realise the importance of daily practice even if it鈥檚 for just 15 minutes鈥�

Interviews for Semester 1 will continue next week. We look forward to bringing our Music community together for a second round of instrumental reporting and feedback in Semester 2.

Newman Parents – Term 3

On Wednesday 26 August we will welcome Psychologist, Jocelyn Brewer from Digital Nutrition as part of the College’s Newman Parents evenings. Jocelyn will present her 90 minute seminar on Untangling your tweens & teens from technology: Practical (and positive) Strategies for Parents. Further details will be made available to families early Term 3.

Pupil Free Days Term 3

A reminder that the following dates have been calendared for staff professional learning and parent engagement opportunities.

• Monday 20 July – Staff Faith Formation Day
• Tuesday 21 July – Parent Teacher Interviews
• Friday 14 August – Staff Wellbeing Conference
• Monday 17 August – College Closed

Code of Conduct

A reminder to all families that the Code of Conduct can be accessed via the College website. The Code is mandated by Catholic Education Western Australia and the application of the code extends to all staff, students, parents, guardians, caregivers, and volunteers.

The Code seeks to value the dignity of every person, foster positive relationships, ensuring confidentiality and accountability and supports professional boundaries. Events held during school hours AND outside of school hours that are associated with the College are also supported by the Code of Conduct. Postings on social media platforms that identify the College or College events are also bound by the Code of Conduct.

Any perceived breaches of the Code can be discussed with any member of the Senior Leadership Team. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support of how we strive to partner positively with one another.

Parent Facebook Groups

A reminder to parents who are members of the Parent Facebook groups that there is a Terms of Reference for the group so that the intent of the group is understood by all parents. If you have concerns about College decisions and processes, teaching or learning, I strongly encourage you to direct your concern to your child鈥檚 Leader of Wellbeing or classroom teacher. Ensuring the parent community is accurately informed is important to us and College staff are best placed to resolve any queries.