Acting Principal`s Message

Issue: 05
Date: 01 April 2015
REMINDER:
Monday 20 April 2015 Term 2 classes begin.
- STUDENTS ARE TO
WEAR FULL COLLEGE
WINTER UNIFORM
Inside this issue:
Acting Principal’s Message
1-2
Performing Arts Festival
3
Yr 12 Retreat artwork collage
4
German Study Tour update
4
Social Justice News
5
From Acting Dir of Welfare
6
Performing Arts News
6-8
From the Uniform Shop
9
From the Science Dept
10
From the LRC
10-13
Gifted Education
14
Careers News
14
Sports Report
15-16
Development & Foundation
16
Recommended Reading
17
From the P&F Association
18
Mother’s Day Dinner invite
18
Important Dates:
20 April - Boarders’ Travel Day Boarding House open from 3.00pm
22-24 April - Year 10 Camp Somerset
25 April - ANZAC Day
30 April, 01-02 May 7pm; 02 May
2pm - College Production, Waverley
29 April - Dress rehearsal College
Production Waverley from 3.10pm
01 May - Next Bulletin published
Acting Principal’s Message
As the season of Autumn reveals itself this
Easter I am reminded of the healing power
of seeking space, shedding excess and
being still that Holy Week provides. Whilst
it has been a very busy term I am delighted
with the accomplishments of students and
staff over this time. As I mentioned in the
last Bulletin Week 9 was all about Wellbeing
and Spiritual Nourishment. I would like to
thank the following staff who attended and
led the following camps and retreats:
Year 7 Camp – Jo Anderson (Cahill HOH),
Annette Lawler, Trevor Corkin, Julianna
Wick, Helen Marshall, Jenny McCarthy
Year 8 Camp – Simone Lock (Williams
Acting HOH), Chris Reynolds, Sana Issa,
Cheryl McArthur, Sister Anne Taylor,
Margaret Murton and David Woolbank.
Year 9 Camp – Mark Bradley (Cater Acting
HOH), Di Williams, Stephanie Matthews,
Charlotte Fairfield, Mary Crotty, Emma
Palmer, Joseph Gillin and Chris Tan.
Year 10 Camp (in anticipation) - Liz
Young (Aikenhead HOH), Annie Cahill, Niall
Gilhooly, Jan Hansen, Laura Devane,
Alanna Santi, Jacinta Jacobs, Jessica Lee
and Alison Coates.
Year 11 Retreat - Kate Parish (Acting
DFM), Penny Radford, Laura Wilson, Maria
Geracitano, Charlotte Burton, Graeme
Colman, Robert Bielenko, Mariann Barkho
and Steven Taylor.
Year 12 Retreat - Rose Reid (Director of
Boarding), Sr Anne Taylor, Jo Kenderes, Jo
Tardo, Suzanne O’Connor, Sonia Clancy,
Deborah Moir, Margaret Woods, Jeff
Lowndes and Sue Kennedy.
These staff gave of their time and energy to
ensure that the retreats and camps were
successful. The Heads of House have been
working in Term 1 to review our camp and
retreat program. In Term 2 parents will be
invited to share their thoughts and provide
feedback through an online survey around
timing, cost, benefits and suggestions for
improvements in the future.
Europe Trip
On Saturday I bid farewell to thirty four
students and six staff members as they
excitedly left our shores for Germany,
France and Italy. Thank you to Mr Richard
Kable who has organised the Europe trip,
allowing students who are passionate about
languages to experience the culture and
Page: 2
Issue: 05
Acting Principal’s Message (cont)
practise their speaking in situ! I look forward to hearing the
reports of students and staff on their return. Special thank
you to the following staff who are leading each country
experience:
France - Mr Joseph Hekeik and Mrs Angela Dainter
Italy - Mr Robert Graham and Ms Maria Manitta
Germany - Mr Richard Kable and Ms Hannah McLean.
Performing Arts Festival
One of the great things about being the Acting Principal is
experiencing things for the first time, like being on stage at
NIDA! There was such a buzz on Monday night as we
celebrated performing arts in our community. Many thanks
to Ms Catherine Johnson and her team for a fabulous
festival which began with the House dances last week.
There was a real sense of joy as students showcased their
skills in music, drama, dance and team work. The House
dance performances
were electric and big
congratulations go to
Aikenhead for their
highly choreographed
routine. A special
congratulations to
Emily Morgan, Year
12 Aikenhead, who
was outstanding in
her organisation and
leadership of this
dance.
I look forward to this
event growing in the years to come. A full report from the
Performing Arts department will come in the next Bulletin
where information on acquiring the professional photos
taken on the night will be provided.
Easter Blessing
Today students gathered in the Chapel in Year groups to
reflect on the great paschal mystery of Easter. Each period
was an opportunity for the girls to consider what their
mission is in our family, our community, our country and
our Church today. I would like to thank the many students
and staff who made the liturgy powerful and pertinent to
our students. A special thank you to Mrs Jo Kenderes
(Head of Department Religious Studies) and Ms Sonia
Clancy (Assistant HOD RS) who were instrumental in
ensuring the success of the liturgy.
Below is an excerpt from the Easter liturgy which you may
like to share with your family this week. It would be a good
opportunity to engage in conversation with your family
about what relationships mean to each of you during this
Easter season.
broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup of wine, and after giving thanks he
gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to
them, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured
out for many.”
Lord, you send us people who love us and
opportunities to celebrate with them. Help us to take
the time to celebrate the little things and to rejoice in
the love of those around us. Help us make our
relationships deeper, kinder, more lasting. Lord, you
call us to a mission of relationship.
I hope you enjoy the opportunities afforded to us over the
next two weeks to stop and be with those we love; I hope
the conversations are connected, the food cooked and
eaten with love. I encourage you to remember those less
fortunate in our world during this time, you may even like to
donate to Project Compassion - https://www.caritas.org.au/
donate/online-donation which the students have been
learning about and raising money for over the last three
weeks in House groups.
I look forward to an exciting Term 2 and the continued
development of our vibrant and connected community.
God bless,
Ms Rachel McLean
Acting Principal
Staff Farewells and Changes
We wish Ms Rahab Wilson all the best as she takes
maternity leave for the remainder of the year and welcome
back Ms Janette Ellis who will be taking Ms Wilson’s
classes. We welcome Eunice Grimes (Years 7 and 8
Boarding Coordinator) to the role of Indigenous
Coordinator in Ms Wilson’s absence.
We wish Ms Ann-Marie Bogard all the best for her leave for
the remainder of the year, and welcome back Ms
Cassandra Church who will be taking Ms Bogard’s classes.
We wish Mr Richard Kable every success at his French
Immersion course in Terms 2 and 3, and welcome Ms Julia
Hegarty to the role of Acting Head of Languages, and Ms
Mellissa Darvey who will be taking Mr Kable’s classes.
We welcome back Ms Sue Thomas and Mrs Chris Pechey
from Long Service Leave.
We welcome back Ms Alanna Flint from her leave due to
injury, and thank Mrs Mary Cartmer for her leadership of
Learning Support in Alanna’s absence.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
We thank Mrs Penny Radford for her leadership as Acting
(14:17, 22-25)
Director of Welfare and welcome Ms Jo Tardo to the role.
It was evening and Jesus came with the twelve. They took
their places for the Passover meal. While they were
eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he
Issue: 05
Page: 3
Winning House Aikenhead
Issue: 05
Page: 4
Beautiful Artwork from the Year 12 Retreat - By Ms Sue Kennedy
We have an update on the start of the German Study Tour in Europe with Mr Kable’s group: “ So far we have had a real
taste of spring in Berlin, which includes high winds, rain, sun, and SNOW! Yes, this morning the girls experienced snow on
our way to Potsdam, where we visited Schloß Sans Souci, the
Summer Palace of Frederik the Great of Prussia. Followed by a visit
to Checkpoint Charlie, one of the main crossing points between
East and West Berlin during the Cold War era, before which we
visited the beautiful Gendarmenmarkt Square. Tonight we will
celebrate Miss Hannah McLean’s birthday at the Gaffel Haus
Restaurant.
The girls have experienced traditional German street food such as
pommes and currywurst, and pretzels seem to be a favourite
too. Yesterday the girls became acquainted with the political history
of Berlin as we walked around the Reichstag, and then they visited
the impressive antiquities collection in the Neues Museum followed
by a visit to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church which stands as a
reminder to the destruction caused by war”.
Issue: 05
Page: 5
Social Justice News
Term 1 has once again been a busy time for social justice
events. We finish the term with Project Compassion, our
annual fundraising event for Caritas Australia. This year
this event has been led by Year 10 in each tutor group.
Their leadership skills has been put to the test in their
ability to work individually and together as they come up
with an activity that they believed would work for their
whole House. The variety of activities has ranged from
shoe polishing (De Lacy), pizza lunch (Cahill), cake stall
(Cater), chocolate stall (Aikenhead), an Easter raffle
(Williams) and money collection (O’Brien). The majority of
these activities will be finishing in this last week of term.
On 20 March, Years 10 and 11 students represented the
College as they collected donations from the public for the
Red Cross annual March Red Cross Calling campaign.
We were slightly disadvantaged in volunteer numbers this
year due to Year 12 being on exams. However, this did not
deter how well we ended up contributing to the campaign.
In just less than two hours our girls raised over $3600. It
was a tremendous effort and one where Nicole Baker,
Senior Community Development Executive, will be visiting
the College early in Term 2 to personally thank our girls
with certificates and badges.
The second workshop was about
alcohol. We learnt some shocking
statistics concerning young people
and alcohol, and discussed the prevalent problem of
alcohol in high schools and the affects it has on us. We
also learnt about the ways the Salvation Army is trying to
attack the problem of alcohol and alcohol fuelled violence,
and how we can get involved in these programs. This was
a great time to discuss our ideas with students from
different schools and learn about the ways they deal with
social justice at their school.
The third workshop we attended was about "stories on the
inside", a BBC program about young people who were in
prison. It was a highly powerful program as it really
showed us what these young people were going through
and how they ended up in jail. There was a discussion
afterwards about how the program made us feel relating to
young people in jail and the experiences they faced.
After these workshops and lunch we were able to talk to
other schools who had similar interests in social justice.
After lunch there was a panel of five guest speakers
consisting of two refugees and three missionaries for the
Salvation Army. They answered questions asked by
On 27 March, eighteen Year 10 Caritas students were VIP school students and we listened to their amazing
invitees to the Salvation Army’s conference in Auburn. The experiences. We were enriched and awed, especially by
girls were given the chance to meet other like-minded
the two refugees stories and how they were both so
students and hear from guest speakers on youth
different from each other.
homelessness, mental health and refugees. The girls had
a wonderful experience with which they will share with you Overall, it was a great and worthwhile day. We learned
and gained a lot from the social justice conference, to bring
in their reflection after this article.
back into our College community. Thank you Ms Lee for
Caritas Christi continues to strive in raising awareness and giving us this great opportunity and for taking us.
funds in their initiative to assist Arrupe place in Parramatta. Daniella Radford and Claudia Saule, Year 10
Being still a relatively new venue for refugees to seek
advice and to meet other families, we are continually
building new ideas together with Maeve Brown, Shelter
Project coordinator. At present, we have raised funds
through the Caritas girls’ personal donations and a giant
Easter egg weight guessing competition. Next term, we
are hoping to increase the level of fundraising with an
information evening for parents, friends and businesses in
the local community, as well as a movie night at the
Randwick Ritz for Mother’s Day. I hope to see you at these
events next term. In the meantime, I wish everyone a
peaceful Easter and a rejuvenating holiday.
Ms Jessica Lee
Social Justice Coordinator
On Friday 27 March a group of Year 10 students from the
social justice group, Caritas Christi, attended the annual
Salvation Army Conference at Auburn. At the conference
we attended three workshops. The first workshop was
about Reach Out, a website dedicated to helping young
people deal with stressful situations. This stress ranges
from high school exam stress, to suicidal thoughts. This
was a great website to hear about since we all deal with
stress everyday, such as exams, and we can use it
ourselves or refer a fellow friend or peer to use it.
Page: 6
Issue: 05
From the Acting Director of Welfare
Performing Arts News
After a very busy term with lots of activity culminating in
most camps and all retreats last week, everyone has
earned a relaxing holiday. The girls were particularly
enthusiastic this week at the Performing Arts evening at
NIDA, so “congratulations” to everyone who participated,
staff and students alike. It was a fantastic evening and well
supported by parents. Next year we would like to see the
event grow in popularity and I encourage all parents, if they
missed Monday night’s event to look out for it in 2016 and
purchase tickets when they become available.
Performing Arts Festival was a huge night showcasing
the many talents and the enthusiasm of our students when
engaging in Dance, Drama and Music. The three Houses
that made it through to NIDA were fabulous and fun.
O’Brien and De Lacy were great, but Aikenhead wowed the
judges taking out the House shield for 2015.
Year 10 is the only remaining Year group yet to go on
camp in week 1 Term 2, so I encourage the girls to review
the equipment list issued to them. I suggest locating the
items from their wardrobe early to ensure they are well
prepared for camp. Ms Young has worked hard to ensure
the girls are in workable groups, and hopefully all will go
well weather wise, for their outdoor experience.
WINTER UNIFORM - TERM 2
When students return for Term 2 they will be in full winter
uniform, so please check that all buttons are sewn on,
seams fixed and uniform length corrected to touch the knee
when standing upright. The tunic length is important
as many girls grow so quickly that uniforms that were the
correct length last year may well be too short this year.
Can I please ask for parental support with this aspect of
your daughter’s uniform as it is frustrating to pull up girls
repeatedly for the same issue. It might be a good
opportunity to teach your daughter the valuable life skill of
hemming a dress - something your parents may have
exposed you to but today’s generation rarely has this skill.
For Years 11 and 12, the girls need to get their skirts
adjusted so that the waist fits them without rolling the
waistband which inevitably shortens the skirt.
If all uniforms could be checked in the holidays, Tutors and
Heads of Houses will be most grateful. The spare uniform
cupboard is well stocked in the Direct of Welfare’s office,
and the same procedure will be followed with winter
uniform as outlined in the earlier Bulletin around summer
uniform. Student services will be well supplied with tights
for those students who persist in wearing laddered tights.
Students will be asked to change if their tights are laddered
and the cost billed to parent’s accounts. This practice also
extends to furnishing students with new diaries to replace
lost ones, and for broken locks for lockers.
Please check with your daughter over the holiday break if
her diary is serviceable, her lock works and that her
uniform is presentable and fits the diary guidelines, pages
45-47.
I welcomed back Ms Joanne Tardo to the Acting Director of
Welfare a few weeks back. She will be taking the reins
fully from Term 2 as I return to my role as Head of O’Brien
House. I have enjoyed the challenge of this role in Term 1
and wish Ms Tardo every success for the remainder of
2015.
Mrs Penelope Radford
Acting Director of Welfare
Congratulations to all the ensembles, soloists and House
Dance students for all your hard work. A big thank you to
all staff, tutors, our judges and our accompanist who
helped make this event what it was and parents for their
ongoing support of the students and the Performing Arts.
Hot on the heels of this big event is the College Production
of The Birds by Aristophanes. Anyone who came to
the Performing Arts Showcase would have seen one scene
from the play, and I hope they are enticed to see the rest.
Bookings can be made through the Trybooking website.
Please see the poster in this publication.
Ms Catherine Johnson
Head of Performing Arts
Years 9 and 10 Elective Music Soiree
On Monday 23 March from 5.30pm to 6.45pm the Years 9
and 10 elective Music students gave their first concert for
2015 in the MCR Hall. For Year 9 it was their first Soiree
and a big step up from classroom performance in Year 8.
Year 10 students have had more experience in
performance, but for all of us it is a challenge to stand up in
front of an audience and present a vocal or instrumental
solo.
An audience of Music students with their parents and
friends filled the MCR and they were entertained by a
varied and entertaining concert. Year 10 had to choose a
piece representing jazz, their topic for Term 1. Year 9 had
a free choice for their first Soiree.
Emily Smith (Year 9)
performing Not About
Angels
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Issue: 05
Performing Arts News (cont)
All the girls had conscientiously prepared and supported
each other in this process. I think it’s fair to say that all
parents were glowing with pride not just in the
accomplishments of their daughters but in the courage and
character they displayed in taking on this challenge. As
their teacher I was thrilled with the independent spirit and
collegial co-operation that guided their preparation and
performance. I also rejoice in the very high standard that
the girls have achieved.
journey to develop and unfold into what we saw on stage.
All elective classes are currently starting a unit on
composition and will be working towards producing their
own composition in Term 2. The inspiration and
knowledge learnt from this excursion will assist them in this
process. We look forward to seeing our own girls and the
works they produce.
Congratulations to the students and heartfelt thanks to
parents for all you do to support of our young musicians.
A New Jazz Band for St Vincent’s
Beginning in Week 2 of Term 2 we are offering members of
the College Orchestra or Choir the opportunity to join a
new invitational College Jazz Band. There will be an
opportunity for students to perform jazz pieces in a small
ensemble of eight to twelve musicians, and learn to
improvise solos characteristic of the jazz styles being
explored. The Jazz Band will have opportunities to perform
for College functions and to provide support for elective
Music students’ assessment tasks. There is a fee of $100
per term to cover tuition which can be paid through your
College account. Rehearsals will be on Thursday
afternoons from 3.15pm to 4.15pm in the MCR Hall.
We are very fortunate to have engaged Nadia Burgess to
direct the ensemble. She has extensive experience in
tuition, performance and composition in jazz and fusion
styles. Nadia has performed as a solo pianist,
accompanist and recording artist in Sydney for many years.
Her most recent post graduate study was her recently
completed PhD in Composition, having studied with
Matthew Hindson and Carl Vine at the Sydney
Conservatorium of Music.
Please visit Nadia’s website to read about the exceptional
breadth and depth of her musical expertise:
Ms Alana Santi
http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/artist/burgessDance Teacher
nadia
For all enquiries about the jazz band please email
coatesa@stvincents.nsw.edu.au .
Ms Alison Coates
Music Teacher
Years 9 and 10 Dance Elective Excursion
On Wednesday 18 March Years 9 and 10 Dance elective
classes went on an excursion to the Sydney Dance
Company schools’ matinee performance. The production
featured two exceptional works performed by the company
members, Fames of Mind and Quinette. Both works
featured an amazing display of technique and exceptional
performance quality.
Students were given the opportunity to ask questions to the
choreographers themselves, which gave us an insight into
their works. We were provided with information on their
inspiration, the intent, the choreographic process, a day in
the life of a dancer, and how the movement was taken on a
Page: 8
Issue: 05
From Performing Arts
(Waverley College)
Issue: 05
From the Uniform Shop
Page: 9
Issue: 05
From the Science Department
Kaleidoscope Science Incursion
On Friday 20 March Year 8 attended a Science incursion.
Mitchell from Kaleidoscope Science came into the College
to demonstrate various
chemical reactions. The
first experiment was a
reaction that involved
changing the colour of a
transparent and
colourless liquid by
combining it with another
unknown liquid. He
placed the first liquid into
a glass that held a very
small amount of another
substance, and
immediately it turned
pink. He then repeated that process with two other
glasses; the second glass turned yellow, and the third
turned black. He explained that there was a chemical
reaction between the
two substances,
causing them to mix
and change colour.
Mitchell then
performed a few more
experiments, but one
of the most interesting
was when he
combined three
chemicals which
created three
reactions that circled
in a loop, the colours
went dark blue, yellow, orange and then back to dark blue.
He explained that this happened because one chemical
reaction occurred, which set off another reaction which set
off another, and the reactions were still circling until the
chemicals ran out of energy. He demonstrated more
experiments which included two explosions of foam and a
fireball.
Overall this incursion was entertaining as well as
educational and informative, I certainly learned a lot and I
am sure the rest of the year found it interesting as well.
Veronica Wong Year 8
Page: 10
From the Learning Resource Centre
Parents and the College Community
Students and teachers are in the centre of any school
community with abundant information about different
aspects of school life. Parents, however, have vested
interest and make key decisions about their daughter’s
education and life, but rarely feel that they have a full
picture about their children’s time at school. Many
teachers have discovered this as a big surprise in their role
as a parent. I remember a surprised revelation of a
kindergarten teacher and Deputy Principal in my son’s
school. When his daughter started in kindergarten, he
thought he’d know everything that was going on with his
daughter’s learning. But, to his big surprise, he didn’t. The
discovery made this wonderful community-oriented teacher
even closer to parents. At this College, teachers often
refer to their experiences as parents to find ways of
strengthening their connections with the parents of their
students. In the LRC we are trying our best to include
parents in the College community, knowing that it takes a
village to raise a child and the whole College community to
develop a confident lifelong learner.
In the Loop
We hope that all parents and caregivers have received the
first issue of our newsletter for parents distributed by email.
We will soon have electronic copies available on our web
page. We aim to send In the Loop once a term offering
brief information relevant to parents. We welcome your
feedback about the newsletter and suggestions for future
topics.
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Issue: 05
From the LRC (cont)
Evening with Indira Naidoo
This event is organised with parents and other adults in our
community in mind. We hope you will be able to join us at a
thought-provoking and enjoyable evening event with Indira
Naidoo, a prominent media personality and our good
neighbour. This event is in the first week of Term 2 so
please put the date (Thursday 23 April) in your diary now
and let us know if you wish to come (see flyer for details
page 13).
morning. The voting started at 8.15am and finished by the
beginning of Period 1. We auctioned some of the cakes to
staff and students who were buying them by the slice
during the breaks. All proceeds will go towards our Spark
for the Dark initiative.
Happy Easter!
Edible Book Festival
We celebrated the Edible Book Festival on 24 March when
students brought cakes on a book theme early in the
....and the winners are…
Dr Suzana Sukovic
Head of the LRC
First Place
The Lorax made by Tilly Wenck , Year 7
Second Place
The Bible made by Georgia Plantzos and Anna
Blackledge, Year 10
Third Place
Alice in the Wonderland made by
Edi Cartmer, Year 9
Winner in the Staff Category
Ladybird and The Hungry Caterpillar by the
library’s own Ms Sarah McInnes
HOUSE POINTS
1. O’Brien 34 points
2. De Lacy 24 points
3. Cater 15 points
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Issue: 05
From the LRC (cont)
See our photo gallery for more photos
Issue: 05
From the LRC (cont)
Page: 13
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Issue: 05
Gifted Education
Next term will see the start of the Gifted Education
Enrichment Program for Years 7-9. Parents of students
who are participating should have received letters about
this opportunity. All students at the college will be issued
with new timetables by the beginning of Term 2 and those
students participating in the program for the remainder of
the year will have their enrichment session and location
included in their timetables. If you have any questions
about the program please contact me on the college
number or via the email address below.
Last night students from Years 11 and 12 attended the first
in this year’s series of Intelligence Squared (IQ2) Debates
at the City Recital Hall. This opportunity for senior students
is supported by the host of the debates, the St James
Ethics Centre and the College were regular attendees last
year with a hard core of dedicated students who didn’t miss
a single event. Exposure to intellectual discussion of
current social and political issues provides a wonderful
occasion for students to engage in critical thinking about
meaningful real-world problems facing Australian society.
The enthusiasm and energy ignited by the debates also
motivates students into engaging with further research and
learning around the various topics explored in the debates.
The second debate is in Week 4 of Term 2 and permission
notes will be available early in Week 1. Students will be
notified by email and through the Gifted noticeboard now
situated in the Tarmons foyer at the base of the stairs.
Limited free tickets will issued on the basis of returned
completed notes.
parents. If you did not receive your copy or cannot find it
please contact me on the email provided below and I will
send you an electronic copy.
Ms Cheryl McArthur
Gifted Education Coordinator
mcarthurc@stvincents.nsw.edu.au
Careers News
EducationUSA
U S Consulate General Sydney
Level 10, MLC Centre, 19-29 Martin
Place NSW 2000 ph: 9373-9230
sydney@educationusa.info
Following are the details on the information sessions
EducationUSA will be holding during the April 2015 school
holidays. RSVP is essential at www.trybooking.com/89936
(copy + paste to your browser). Details are as follows:
1. US Undergraduate Information Session + Sport
Scholarship Information Session
Date: Wednesday April 8 2015
Time: 1:30pm for 2:00pm-4:00pm
Location: EducationUSA as shown above.
A number of free opportunities for all students at the
Intended Audience: High school students aiming to
College to engage with experts on big ideas is available
compete in NCAA college sport + parents and students
through Sydney University’s Science Forum. These free
interested in learning about the US undergraduate
public lectures are attended by families, university students application process.
of all levels researchers and lecturers alike. The lectures
Other Information: A free general information session on
are always followed by discussions, and questions from
the US undergraduate application process and NCAA
primary and secondary students are welcome. In my
eligibility process. RSVP is essential by Monday 6 April
experience high ability students find these opportunities
(places may be filled before the RSVP deadline).
stimulating and engaging, with the enthusiasm that is
RSVP: www.trybooking.com/89936
sparked leading to higher engagement in classwork and
NCAA sponsored sports are listed under the sports tab at:
study. A part of this year’s Enrichment Program will
include opportunities for independent project work this is a http://www.ncaa.com/.
great forum for discovering a passionate interest to explore Photo ID is required for entry to the Consulate.
further. If you are interested, more information is available
through the following link:
2. US Undergraduate Information Session
http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/whats-on/forum/
Date: Friday 17 April 2015
index.shtml
Time: 1:30pm for 2:00pm-3:00pm
A reminder that Academic competition applications are due Location: as shown above.
by the beginning of Week 2 next term. I recommend that
all gifted students complete these tests; the ICAS tests and Intended Audience: High school students interested in
Science Gifted and Talented Discovery Program Qualifying learning about the US undergraduate application process.
Other Information: A free general information session on
Examination are particularly useful for future applications
the US undergraduate application process and NCAA
for other external opportunities specifically aimed at high
eligibility process. RSVP is essential by Wednesday 15
ability students, such as the International Youth Science
April (places may be filled before the RSVP deadline).
Forum, university study opportunities in Australia and
RSVP: www.trybooking.com/89936
overseas available to enrolled secondary students,
International Science School, GERRIC school holiday
Photo ID is required for entry to the Consulate.
programs and Autumn Engineering School etc. Earlier this
term students were offered paper copies of the application Ms Helen Marshall
form in class and electronic copies were emailed to
Careers Adviser
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Issue: 05
Sports Report
Water Polo
Water polo at the College was awesome in the lead up to
the grand finals with two teams making it to the big game.
Teams 1 and 5 both had tough matches with team 1
coming out victorious! All the girls from every team this
term have been great at training and have always tried
their hardest. There has been a lot more St Vincent’s
College spirit this term which is great to see, and I'm sure
everyone will bring that back in Term 4. Congratulations to
all the teams for their effort and a big thank you to all the
coaches and parents for being a great support.
Ms Steph El Safty
Head water polo coach
SVC Firsts with their trophy for the second year in a row
IGSSA Tennis
St Vincent's tennis had four senior teams and four junior
teams including the Year 7’s. All the girls showed great
dedication to their respective teams by attending training
after school and matches on the weekend. The College
had some good results with the seconds and fifths making
the top four of their respective divisions while the Year 7
First’s finished first at
the end of the season,
and won their final last
weekend. All players
need to be
congratulated on their
sportsmanship and
respect for their
opponents and they
represented St Vincent's
College to the highest of
standards.
Beginners and
advanced tennis lessons
Tennis SVC Team 7 - Year 7 players will continue next term.
Please contact Christian Stella Holt, Helena de Castro Lopo,
Bronte Gooch and Hannah Quinn
on 0416 071 033 if you
are interested in signing up.
second round in the singles, while only our seeded doubles
pair made it through to the second round, but not after
coming from two match points down to defeat their
opponents.
The College should be extremely proud of the girls who
competed as they never gave in during their matches, and
showed great sportsmanship towards their opponents,
respect towards the umpires and lines girls, and team spirit
for their teammates when they were playing.
Mr Christian Gobolos
Head Tennis Coach
Term 2 Sport:
All teams for basketball, hockey and football are on the
Tildesley Tennis Tournament
Sports noticeboard. Coaches and training sessions are
The Tildesley team comprised of twenty girls (seven
being finalised so please make sure you check the Sports
singles, five doubles pairings and three reserves). We also noticeboard before you leave for the term. If there are any
had ten very professional lines girls who trained and
problems please see Ms Jacobs in the Sports Department.
supported our team. This very prestigious tournament is
Sport doesn’t commence until the second weekend back
held over two days at Pennant Hills and has some of the
on Friday 1 May and Saturday 2 May. There will be no
best young female tennis players in the country competing.
sport on the Queens Birthday long weekend and finals on
During the tournament the girls played to the best of their
12 and 13 June.
ability even if they were matched against an opponent who
ranked higher than them. Four girls managed to make the
Page: 16
Issue: 05
Sport Report (cont)
From the Development Office
Sports Uniforms: Some of the teams will be a mixture
of Years 8 and 9, and some of these students may still
have the old Sport uniform. Whilst the new uniform
doesn’t have to be purchased officially until next year,
this year I am calling for any students who still have an
old one spare to please bring it in to the Sports office,
as all players in the team need to be in the same
uniform.
Welcome Back Cocktails
It was lovely to welcome back so many past parents to our
second Welcome Back Cocktail Evening held on Friday 20
March. A thoroughly enjoyable night was had by all with
plenty of conversation and catching up. Parents from 2008
through to 2014 gathered for cocktails and canapes on the
deck. The feedback was unanimous that this is a night to
keep on the calendar. We look forward to growing this
night next year.
Kincoppal Rose Bay Invitational Netball Competition
Trials are
currently in
progress for our
top teams that
we have entered
in the Friday
afternoon
competition at
Kincoppal Rose
Bay. The Year 7
teams will train
on Wednesday
mornings
7.30am-8.30am
and the junior and senior teams will train on Wednesday
afternoons next term on the College courts from 3.15pm4.30pm. The competition commences on Friday 1 May
and training will commence first week back.
Please see the College website for further details.
Ms Kat McGrath
Head Netball Coach (mobile 0411 697195)
SPORTS STARS:
This section is to make the College community aware of
some of the exceptional athletes we have in the College. If
your daughter has recently represented her state or
country in her chosen sport please send us any results,
photos or blurbs on their performance. Please send to
jacobsj@stvincents.nsw.edu.au .
CONGRATULATIONS to Samantha Kennedy, Year 10
and Frances Shires, Year 8 who have been selected in
the IGSSA swim team to compete at the NSWCIS carnival
next term. Both girls will compete in the 200m butterfly and
Frances also in the 400m freestyle. Good luck girls!
Ms Jacinta Jacobs
Sports Co-ordinator
Website details: www.stvincents.nsw.edu.au .
For all draw and venue information please visit this
website.
Sport Co-ordinator: Ms Jacinta Jacobs
Email: jacobsj@stvincents.nsw.edu.au
Mobile: 0418 416 663.
Ms Lyn O’Neill
Development & Foundation Office
Issue: 05
Page: 17
Recommended Reading
Grace’s Table by Sally Piper is about an event familiar to
many adult children: the matriarch’s seventieth birthday.
Grace has decided to mark the occasion at home with
eleven of her family and friends. She has
been widowed for many years and has a lover
but her daughter and son are deeply
disapproving and so Jack has not been
invited. Instead two of her oldest and dearest
friends as well as her children and
grandchildren sit crammed around the table
and eat the roast lamb (except for the
vegetarian granddaughter) and dessert
(except for the dieting daughter). As with all families, there
are undercurrents from the past. In the kitchen, afterwards,
there is an explosion of rage about the death of the third
child and who was to blame. When the shouting and
recriminations die down, everyone has a new perspective.
Sally Piper has written her first novel about recognisable
families and events. She is wise about ordinary lives: like
the protagonist, she has been a nurse and perhaps it is this
calling that has given her both perception and wisdom. For
we adult children, there are some insights that might make
us all flinch a little.
Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots by Jessica Soffer is
almost perfect Easter holiday reading. It involves Jewish
Iraqi cooking, an emotionally cold mother, a self-mutilating
teenager and the beginning of a love story with a boy who
works in a bookshop. There is a possibility
that an adopted child finds her biological
parents and a certainty that a grieving widow
finds that her husband had enjoyed a longterm affair. Lorca is about to be banished to
boarding school by her exasperated mother
who cannot understand why Lorca continues
to cut herself with all sorts of painful blades.
Before she is exiled from New York City, Lorca tries to
think of some action that may please her highly successful
but evasive mother. She searches for a recipe from her
mother’s childhood and, in doing so, finds an Iraqi Jewish
chef who might be her grandmother. During cooking
lessons, they untangle their family histories with both
delightful and sad results. Somehow reading about fish
dishes with spices makes perfect sense when the days are
sunny but the nights are cool and perfect for eating.
Foolishly, perhaps because of end of term exhaustion, I
judged The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go on
The Tribe by Michael Mohammed-Ahmad is in many ways the basis of its cover. On this cover is the soft face of a
a revelation of what it is like to be a Australian
young woman wearing a cloche hat. I assumed the story
Muslim. The narrator speaks to us from three
would be a romance set in the early twentieth
times in his life: first introducing us to his
century. Instead, as I soon found out, it is a
extended family, then at a wedding and then
cracking mystery with travel, history and
at the death of the matriarch. In other ways, it
doomed romance. A young man called Tristan
is very like my growing up with cousins and
is living in California, has just graduated from
aunts and uncles and a social life that is firmly
university but has few prospects when he
bases on firmly visits. At first the family lives in Alexandria receives a message to call a firm of London
but then moves to Lakemba. There are close cousins and lawyers because he may be the heir to a
strange ones, good uncles and horrible ones. As the boy
massive fortune which has been unclaimed for eighty
gets older, he discovers the divisions between The Tribe,
years. He has three months in which to solve the mystery
between Sunni and Shi’ite and defies that division because and find sufficient evidence to allow him to claim the
of his best friend who comes from the other group. What
millions. Every second chapter is about the young man of
unites all The Tribe is their belief that Australians are
eighty years before who left the fortune to the woman he
untrustworthy, appalling behaved and ignorant of a genuine had loved. Ashley Walsingham survived the horrors of the
and authentic religion. I think this brief novel would be an
Western Front - and I had to flick through those chapters
excellent resource in any school library, to help us all
because the writing was so confrontingly descriptive.
understand each other.
However, he dies on Mount Everest six years later - it is
presumed because there are hundreds of unclaimed
I do not often linger over books, not wanting them to end
bodies on the Mount. Bringing these corpses off the
but I certainly did over Only the Animals by Ceridwen
mountain was and is simply too dangerous. Before his
Dovey. There are ten different stories told by the souls of
final attempt at reaching the top of Everest, Ashley writes
various animals. Some are funny but all are wise and sad. his Will leaving everything to Imogen, the women with
This sadness is frequently caused by the actions of
whom he had a passionate week just before he left for the
humanity against the elephant, the dolphin and the bear.
Western Front in 1916. I am not going to spoil any of the
The settings are located in cities around the
suspense but let me admit that my heart is still hammering
world at various times in modern history.
because of the last fifty pages of the book that is much
Dovey writes exquisitely, whether it is about
more than its delicate cover.
elephants or mussels. In fact, my favourite
newspaper, The Guardian, calls this book
Ms Suzanne O’Connor
“dazzling” and describes the heartbreak of
English Teacher
the story of the twin elephants. I
Community Liaison Co-ordinator
unreservedly recommend this book to
everyone because each person will find
something beautiful in the experience of reading it.
Issue: 05
Page: 18
From the P&F Association
Dear Parents and Friends
Farewell to Term 1! I hope we all are refreshed by the
upcoming holidays in order to take on the challenges of
Term 2 and beyond. On behalf of the P&F Association I
wish you all a happy, Holy and safe Easter.
Best regards
Rob Goldrick
P&F President
Spring Fair
There will be a planning meeting early in Term 2 to launch
preparations for the Spring Fair which will be held August.
Watch this space for details.
events. You can opt to have your details included in the
class contact list. If you have not received any emails,
perhaps the P&F does not have your details. Please
contact Felicity Ratcliffe svcpandfsecretary@gmail.com or
your Year group coordinator. See the list below.
Year 7 (Angela Schacht, Babette D’Arcy, Julie Kellaway,
Patricia Sims) svc.class2020pf@gmail.com
Year 8 (Therese Powell & Despa Fitzgerald)
svc.class2019@gmail.com
Year 9 (Trish Pryke, Carin Gerrard, Gina Turco &
Ann Cahill) svc.class2018pf@gmail.com
Year 10 (Geraldine King, Adrienne Ruz & Katherine
Aitken) svc.class2017pf@gmail.com
Year 11 (Annette Moran) svc.class2016pf@gmail.com
Year 12 (Rebecca Hugonnet & Lynne Carr)
svc.class2015pf@gmail.com
Next P&F Meeting
The next P&F Meeting for Term 2 will be at 7.15pm on
Tuesday 19 May 2015. We encourage all parents and
friends of the College to contribute to P&F meetings even if The P&F Executive
unable to attend, by contacting one of the committee
President:
Rob Goldrick – 0422 259 364
members or your Year parent coordinator whose contact
svcpandfpresident@gmail.com
details are below.
Vice President: Ann Cahill – 0412 283 692
Year Group Parent Coordinators
Treasurer:
Chris Dunn – 0448 882 452
Each Year group has one or more designated volunteers to Secretary:
Felicity Ratcliffe – 0403 756 Assistant
keep parents informed particularly on College P&F
Secretary:
Annette Moran – 0417 169 970