今日吃瓜

The significance of the historical event of the birth of Jesus Christ defined the world in which we now live as a Catholic community. During this Advent season, we await the coming of Christ and with it the expectations of new life and a new beginning. In an increasingly secular time, our Christmas liturgy was a timely reminder of the importance of what it means to be part of a family. The love and care within each family is critical in the lives of our children and our greatest illustration of this is the story of a young couple from rural Israel searching for a place, a room at an inn for the birth of their child. I encourage all families to take the time to visit their local parish to celebrate Christmas Mass. This is a special time of year for all Christians and for all families. Enjoy the time together!

ADVOCACY, SOCIAL JUSTICE & SERVICE-LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS

Developing relationships and learning to engage in the world is fundamental to the growth of any person. At 今日吃瓜, our Marist characteristic of Presence calls us to actively engage with each other and grow our sense of community. This is exemplified through our which is designed to provide our College Community with a framework through which to engage and live-out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its outcome may not be measured during the student鈥檚 College life. It is our aim that the values of faith, love, hope and service will manifest themselves during the student鈥檚 lifetime, and that their Catholic, Marist school experience will be one that transforms and animates them to be people of the Gospel.

Key priorities within our Ministry Plan are advocacy, social justice and service learning partnerships. The aim is to provide a framework for social action that is inspired by Gospel values, which seeks to provide the 今日吃瓜 community with local opportunities to collaborate in ministries of outreach of the Catholic Church. In late November I accompanied sixteen Year 11 students and four staff from our College and St Joseph鈥檚 College Northam to the Philippines. This immersion has become an integral component of our College life because it stimulates our students鈥� sense of social justice and heightens their awareness of the opportunities for service in the community, both now and post school. Pope Francis contends that 鈥�the measure of the greatness of society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty.鈥�

The immersion has three components:

1. Pre-Immersion 鈥� Understanding why: Students and staff complete a program prior to the experience that focuses on learning about the structural injustices that cause poverty and oppression in the Philippines. We learn about the issues that affect young people that include abuse, human trafficking, homelessness and substance abuse. To this end we investigate and learn about the projects undertaken by Catholic Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) such as , the , and . These projects specifically aim to support communities and develop the dignity of the individual to allow them to live and be afforded the rights that we all should enjoy. To support this understanding, we also focus on Catholic Social Teaching (CST) Principles with particular reference to the Church鈥檚 preferential option for the poor and the common good.
2. Immersion 鈥� On ground experience: The students spend time with our partners (NGOs) to witness their work and walk in solidarity with the young people and communities. Being directly involved in activities encourages them to critically reflect on their experiences, enabling them to integrate the meaning of these experiences into their ongoing journey of faith and life.
3. Post Immersion 鈥� Growing our Culture: The impact of the individual may not be measured in the short term. However, in an endeavour to raise awareness across PK-12, the immersion participants are called to action through developing a digital reflection of their experience. This is used to support our fundraising for Caritas Australia, Marist Solidarity and these agencies. Students also present to all staff and in classroom visits.

The impact and effect of this advocacy and immersion experience to the Philippines for our community has been extraordinary. Four years of this experience has grown the culture of engagement and service within and outside our school. We have established a partnership with St Joseph鈥檚 College Northam that engages students and staff from both Marist schools in this project. Our fundraising efforts have doubled and the awareness raising is now part of our pastoral program. Students have used the experience to develop their skills and capacity for critical reflection. This has enabled many students, post-school, in their application for tertiary study and for securing work in human rights and ministry. The most pleasing aspect is our community recognising the work and mission of the Catholic Church. Our students see how good works, with advocacy and service being a fundamental part of this mission.

Year 12 Graduation

This is a very special occasion on the College Calendar and marks the end of a journey from Kindy to Year 12.

In farewelling our Class of 2019, I stressed the importance of living out our dreams and that those dreams are the sum of many opportunities, challenges, experiences and of course people who support and walk with us 鈥� with their own gifts and talents.

I spoke of the recent canonization of Blessed John Henry Newman, our College namesake, whose pursuit was to inspire people to search for truth and freedom of conscience, in a time of great division and inequality between social classes, men and women, countries and more specifically between Catholics and Protestants. Saint John Henry Newman鈥檚 invitation to us is to live our life to be one of humble service and affection to each other. If this can underpin our intent and be the foundation for lives, our future, no matter what challenges we face, will be assured.

Our Year 12 students have been a magnificent exemplar to our College of this inspiration 鈥�.they have stood up for what they believed to be right and just. Their efforts, demonstrated by application, resilience, discipline, shared values, friendships and self-belief have enhanced our Newman culture. They have exemplified the Marist notion of presence by the way they have valued relationships in myriad ways. They have demonstrated a willingness to get involved, 鈥榯o have a go鈥�, and have the flexibility to try new things.

Please click here to access the Principal鈥檚 Graduation Speech.

In the words of Saint John Henry Newman:

Let us grow in wisdom and love
and act with courage to choose what is right.
May we always be open to change
and have the strength to accept
what is new and valuable.
Give us peace and happiness in what we do.

We ask this through Jesus, Your Son,
and Mary, our Mother.
Amen.

Cyclic Review

This term, the College underwent a School Cyclic Review conducted by Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA). A School Cyclic Review focuses on the effectiveness of a school鈥檚 engagement with self-review, the impact of self-review on school improvement and the future directions for the improvement of student outcomes that the school has identified. The data sources for this review included parents, College Advisory Council, staff, and students coupled with the College鈥檚 own self review statement, Strategic Improvement Plan, Annual School Improvement Plans and Annual Reports.

The feedback from the review across the domains of Catholic Identity, Education, Community and Stewardship were very affirming for the College. The review report specifically identified the College鈥檚 Vision for Learning Shine Through Discovery 鈥� Let Your Light Shine as a clearly defined strategic and operational direction of the College. It notes Teaching and Learning are student driven and data informed and a learning culture that encourages growth in all students is clearly visible. Underpinning this strategic priority is our renewed focus on Catholic Identity through the implementation of our Ministry Plan and commitment to the formation of the spiritual life of students and staff.

The play-based learning that we foster in our classrooms at the Marian Campus provides opportunities for our students to actively and imaginatively engage with people, objects and the environment. When playing, children may be organising, constructing, manipulating, pretending, exploring, investigating, creating, interacting, imagining, negotiating and making sense of their worlds. Play-based learning looks different across the various year levels, but an observer of play-based learning is likely to see students actively engaged in experiences where choice, wonder and delight are evident in their interactions.

今日吃瓜 Early Childhood Statement of Philosophy

This Term, the Marian Campus staff embarked on a project of documenting their collective philosophies around Early Childhood education. Through much collaboration, we have finalised the 今日吃瓜 Early Childhood Statement of Philosophy. I encourage you to engage with the statements made within this document, as it is an accurate reflection of the teaching and learning commitments that are delivered at the College to our youngest students.

Download Early Childhood Statement of Philosophy

今日吃瓜 Playgroup Semester 1 2020

There are still a few places left for the following playgroup session:

• Wednesday’s聽10.30am to 11.30am

We welcome both new and existing families to our Playgroup and look forward to providing a further opportunity for families to be involved in our College鈥檚 dynamic and child-centred community.

This program is available by application and based on availability, NO FEES are charged. Click here to complete the online booking form.

Pre Primary Christmas Nativity

Last week, the Pre Primary students led the Campus in a beautiful Christmas liturgy at St Cecilia鈥檚 Parish. The students retold the Christmas story through their beautiful song and performance. With the story of the birth of Christ at the centre of our Christmas story, the children were very eager to engage in the true meaning of Christmas.

Count Us In

In Week 4, the Year 1 and 2 students participated in a nationwide simultaneous song-singing event. The 鈥楥ount Us In鈥� program sees students from all around Australia sing the same song titled 鈥榃e are鈥�, on the same day, at the same time. It was a fun-filled activity that promotes the value of music education in the lives of children.

 

It was a busy and celebratory Term 4 at the Lavalla Campus! One of the many highlights was the announcement of the 2020 Student Council to the community. It is important for students to experience leadership opportunities throughout their schooling in order to support them in developing skills in relationship building and collaboration, as well as helping them form identities as individuals and leaders. This year, we have further developed the Year 5 program to offer Leadership Workshops to students in preparation for their final year of Primary schooling. The workshops took place over three weeks, focusing on themes of leading for learning, leading through teamwork, and leading as people of faith. Over 70 Year 5 students took up this opportunity and participated with enthusiasm.

Years 3-6 Awards Ceremony

Last week we celebrated the Years 3-6 Awards for the Academic, Cultural and Sporting pursuits of students and the Year 6 Graduating Class of 2019. This annual event is a wonderful way for our Years 3-6 students, staff and families to come together and celebrate another successful year of learning. Click here to see more photos from the day and the full list of award winners.

Primary Girls Dockers Cup

On Wednesday 6 November, approximately 30 students from Years 5 and 6 represented 今日吃瓜 in the Primary Girls Dockers Cup AFL competition. The competition focuses on player development, with all teams participating in a skills development session run by the AFLW Dockers players. The girls played four rounds demonstrating a high level of skill, sportsmanship and enthusiasm.

Participant, Rio Angus (Year 6) described the day:

鈥淭he girls had four rounds to play not including the bye. The girls did really well throughout the day, with Newman White getting into the Grand Final and Newman Blues giving the competition their best shot too. Good job girls!鈥�

Values for Life: Operation Empathy

The Year 4 Unit took part in a day of team building and empathy workshops presented by the Year 4 Teachers and Tim Powell from Values for Life. The first phase of the morning involved an 鈥楢mazing Race鈥� style challenge where students had to follow clues and problem solve in order to achieve a common goal.

They were then led in an interactive workshop on empathy and celebrating differences led by Tim. The College also held a Year 4 parents workshop led by Tim, reflecting on strategies and approaches to resilience and self control following-on from the learning experiences of the children from the day.