Issue 13 - 19 May 2023



Reminders

  • Monday 22nd May: Year 10 Subject Selection Information Evening
  • Wednesday 24th May: College Athletics Carnival at E.S. Marks Field
  • 5th June: Year 10 Parent Teacher meetings
  • 17th July: Year 8 Parent Teacher meetings and Subject Selection Information Evening
  • 24th July: Year 7 Parent Teacher meetings

The School That Hope Built Book Launch - 30th May, 7pm

We are very pleased to support Gemma Sisia, a St Vincent's Alumnae, and her team to launch their latest book 'The School that Hope Built' written by Madeleine Kelly. The book is a wonderful account of the 20 years Gemma has spent building The School of St Jude, a school that is changing the lives of some of the poorest children in Tanzania. Please join us to hear from Gemma, Madeleine and Enock about how St Jude's was started and has grown from Gemma's dream to the successful, multi-campus school it is today. The trio will also very generously hold a Q&A session along with a 'meet and greet' function afterwards. Light refreshments and canapés will be served.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT


Dear Parents and Carers,

It was wonderful to see so many Mothers and Daughters enjoying themselves on Friday night at Doltone House. The energy was high from start to finish and I am sure that culminated on Sunday with family celebrations. An opportunity for year 12 Mothers and Daughters is being considered before graduation comes quickly over the horizon. The proposed date is the 26th of August but venue, timing, and format are still being discussed.  If you have a Year 12 Daughter, we are seeking an expression of interest and we invite you to follow the link below.

https://forms.gle/pYEdN7wHNKvvjgoq8

The P&F will meet online on Tuesday evening and I encourage you to participate in this term's meeting. There are always interesting issues of common interest to parents raised and discussed in good spirits. Please click the link below to join the meeting.

P&F MEETING LINK - 6:30pm Tuesday

We have a busy week ahead with the return of the full Athletics Carnival after a very long break caused by COVID and the refurbishment of the E.S. Marks Stadium. Typically this is a day full of competition on the track and high jinks in the stands as Houses battle for both the Championship Trophy and House Spirit Award. There is an event or role for everyone so again we ask that parents encourage full participation in the day. This year we are allowing students to make their way to and from the E.S. Marks Stadium by either the Light Rail, then using the pedestrian crossing (under the supervision of staff) to cross over to the field; Coming to school first (Dismissal will be staggered so as not to overwhelm the Light Rail in the afternoon) by bus to & from the College for those unfamiliar with the Light Rail, or for whom there is the greatest convenience in the bus option.

Uniform for travelling by either mode is the College Sport's uniform and students will then change into House costumes at E.S. Marks. We pray for good weather but I have resigned from the role of chief weather forecaster after some recent significant misreads of the iso-bars!

On Friday the Nation and the College Community will commemorate Sorry Day with story, music and lament. Our First Nations students will lead us on this solemn occasion as they reflect on what the Uluru Statement of the Heart means to them as emerging leaders within their communities. Unfortunately, I am away from Gadigal land that day as I will be in Wagga Wagga (on the Wiradyuri people's land) at the Riverina Boarding Expo. I take this opportunity however to acknowledge that St Vincent's College is built upon land that was, is and always will be Gadigal land.

I am amazed that next Wednesday, 24th May will be the halfway point of Term 2 and the halfway point of the year 11 Preliminary year. A term goes very quickly but in the second half of this term, there is so much that can still be achieved through application, enthusiasm and cooperation.

A big thank you to the Boarders for their hospitality and information throughout the National Boarding Week. We are so enriched by our connection to our rural communities.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Anne Fry
Principal


FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

 

This week we have celebrated National Boarding Week with the usual delights of Boarders versus Day girls in Netball and introducing a day friend to the ritual of Boarders’ morning tea. What impressed me most was the quality of our College Assembly which showcased the affection and care students have for both their homes and their home away from home. Boarders ranging from Years 7-12 shared a little of their own stories of how they have adjusted to a new way of living within the Boarding House with the support of each other, their Boarding staff, day friends and families and teachers. Millie Spora’s video of life at home on the land for boarders in the holidays was absolutely stunning and a real testament to the deep affection our boarders have for their lives back home. 

Mrs Fry acknowledged that it is often the boarders at the heart of future reunions drawing the community together with their many shared memories. Our Co-captains observed that the presence of the boarders amongst the broader community teaches us all about the importance of kindness, communication and appreciation – what boarders interact within the Boarding House becomes a model for us in our classrooms. Our Boarding Co-captains, Molly McPherson and Rosie Secombe shared how the experiences from diverse rural homes add to the tapestry of the Boarding community and that it is this rich appreciation of individuality and togetherness that shapes a community of inclusion. 

This appreciation of the link between the family home and the school home offers a reflection upon what we could all learn from the terrific efforts of our boarding parents about parenting. The commitment and hope that these parents have for their children is evident in the enormous decision to offer the opportunity for education in a boarding school as they would likely not have such opportunities back home. There is a real need to identify in their daughters their strengths, reminding them of what attributes they have within them to manage life and relationships away from the daily intervention of parents. We see such growth in resilience, independence and empathy in our boarding house each day and we know very well that parents play a significant role in this in how they respond to their daughters in times of challenge and homesickness. I imagine the planning and prioritising that has to go into work and home schedules to enable the visits during term time where possible. And I know of the great partnerships formed between parents and our Dean of Boarding Ms Susan Turner and the Boarding Coordinators. Such relationships of trust are only achieved with your open communication and support.

I pay tribute to our Boarding parents and carers. Thank you for the trust you place in us in nurturing your daughter in her home away from home. I acknowledge with awe the many long distance phone calls and car trips you invest as you continue to be the active parents in conversation and companionship with your child as she traverses her adolescent years here at St Vincent’s College. Know that our community is richer for the experience your daughters bring to our community.

Mrs Elizabeth Brooks
Deputy Principal


FROM THE DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

This week, we enter the mid phase of our term, a time when assessment notifications become more frequent and we look towards capturing and synthesising our learning from the last month. I would therefore like to continue with my focus on effective habits and strategies for engaging in learning at home, with a particular emphasis on what effective study habits look like.

As we engage in learning it is not uncommon for us to need to internalise what we come to know, and have it become part of our long term memory where we can access, apply or connect it to future learning. Assessments often act as a deadline by which we need to have undertaken this process, requiring us to develop strategies that are effective and efficient in helping us to store and recall new knowledge. So what are some of these strategies?

Have a goal in mind. I don’t mean a goal of marks or ranks. Unfortunately, these are not entirely in your control. I sometimes hear students state that they want to be ‘above the average’ but this requires another student to fall ‘below’ the average and therefore rely more on the actions of others than yourself. An effective goal is one that is going to offer a specific target for your own learning e.g. what do you want to be able to do? In what ways is your goal responding to past experiences? 

A goal is helpful because it will direct you to the study habits you might need to consider. For example, a goal of being able to write an essay will require habits and strategies such as establishing a clear argument, remembering to include evidence to support your assertions or engaging with the keywords of the question. A goal of being able to complete your depth study might require habits and strategies around data collection, being able to offer an evaluation rather than a description or using scientific terminology in your response.

Choose your time wisely. If you know you need to study for a subject you find particularly challenging or that is less intrinsically motivating, think carefully about when and how often you will study for this subject. Starting your afternoon with this subject can help you avoid ‘running out of time’ for it and delaying studying until the next day. Alternatively, you might find studying this subject for half an hour every day is more effective than forcing yourself to study it for longer periods  2-3 times a week.

Embrace what is difficult. We all like a little motivation and so it can be easy to engage with the subjects we like, the questions we are confident about or the concepts we feel to be more straightforward. Unfortunately, this is reinforcing what we already know, and not helping us to develop new knowledge. That’s why we need to focus on the difficult questions in our textbook, ensure our study timetable includes the difficult concepts and that we follow up in class on questions or ideas we stumble over. This is where learning takes place, and while it can be confronting and feel daunting, it is here that we will find the greatest rewards. 

Keep moving. While we want to sit with the difficult, we need to be balanced about this. Not moving on to the next concept or question until everything in the current concept is mastered may not always help. It can become demotivating, you can lose clarity in thinking, and you run the risk of not getting to other concepts that you will understand and be able to apply.

Do more than read. I love reading, but I also know that sometimes I can read and not remember what I have just read. If you want to remember what you are reading, try to do something active as you read. Writing down keywords or phrases as you go, highlighting, walking, talking…these are just some strategies that help your brain to focus on what you are reading and commit it to memory.

Best wishes to all our girls (and their parents) as we collectively enter into this intense phase of learning for the term.

Ms Alison Boyd-Boland
Director of Teaching and Learning


This week we celebrated National Boarding Week. It is a week that provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits of boarding and to recognise the significance of boarding as part of the fabric of the School.  It showcases and celebrates the culture and diversity of the young people who call the boarding house home for the majority of the year and gives recognition to the trust parents place in the school when sending their children away to board. 

At Vinnies, we have a total of 54 boarders - 47 girls from 28 different rural locations, 3 are interstate and 4 Sydney based. Two families are currently living overseas (America and Bali). The home locations of our current boarders are Armidale, Balgowrie, Baradine, Bourke, Bowral, Brisbane, Broken Hill, Carowindra, Condobolin, Coonamble, Crookwell, Darwin, Dubbo, Forbes, Gilgandra, Gloucester, Gulargambone, Griffith, Narromine, Newcastle, Molong, Mudgee, Orange, Rothbury, Sydney, Tamworth, Trangie, and Wagga Wagga.

Led by the Boarding Co-Captains we undertook a week of boarder-centred activities which included an opportunity to speak at the staff forum, a tutor quiz, a bring a day girl friend to morning tea, a lunchtime netball game (boarders v day girls), and a country music session in Caritas Christi. 

  

At the whole-of-school assembly, the boarders had the opportunity to speak to the assembly, show a video of country life and generally give the day girls awareness of what life for them is like in boarding. The netball game was wonderfully exciting with the boarders scoring two goals in rapid succession. Then the battle was on, the game was thrilling and fun, and we eventually conceded the game to the day girls. You would have been so proud of your daughters!  They played well and fair, they were well supported by the boarders on the sidelines and they were gracious in defeat.

Mrs Susan Turner
Dean of Boarding


Wrap With Love

Autumn is particularly cold this year, and social justice is at the roots of our school values. Wrap With Love is a new student-led initiative encouraging people to come and share the passion of crochet, led by the crochet expert, Ms Khachigian. Together we are doing our bit for the community, helping others stay warm this winter. All creations are being donated to the Vinnies Night Patrol and we aim to create all sorts of items including beanies, scarves, and a granny-square blanket with a couple of squares made by everyone. This is a great opportunity to try something new, 

Everyone is welcome!! All levels from beginner to advanced, come and enjoy the beauty and therapeutic nature of crochet and knitting. It is a great opportunity to connect with other girls and give back to the community (who may not have warm overcoats!) during the cold seasons, and no need to come with any experience as learning the basic skills is easy and will carry you through life with an endless supply of warm scarves.

To keep our donations flowing and our creations going, we are in constant need of more wool. If you have any spare balls of yarn at home that won’t be used, please feel free to bring them in and join us. The creative opportunities are endless! 

We greatly encourage everyone to come and join Wrap With Love Crochet Club, our minds are open to any ideas that may come about. 

By Isabelle Hunter and Eliza Doyle 


From Ms Marshall's Desk

Career News
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Dance

Yr 10 Elective Dance classes have commenced Composition. Creating new work in dance uses numerous stimuli including music and sound, sometimes poetry, film or Visual Artworks. The students go through an extensive Improvisation and motif development phase where students video their improvisation and reflect on their work before extending and progressing. Current Year 10 Dance is at the short video and reflection stage. It is exciting seeing small series of movements develop from these various stimuli and begin to be honed into expressive, engaging, breathtaking movement - moments that when we have the privilege to be an audience reminds us that Dance is an elite sport. I am very excited to see ideas coming together and look forward to seeing the Annual Dance Concert in Term 4 at the Seymour Centre where we might see some of these works.

Dance Incursion with Omar Backley-Astrachan

Omar Backley-Astrachan has followed a rather unconventional path as a dancer and choreographer. After being conscripted in the Israeli army as a teenager, he began his formal dance training in his early twenties. Today, he’s a teacher and mentor for young dancers and choreographer for Sydney Dance Company. He started dancing as a child with an Israeli contemporary folk-dance group. He took his first Ballet class at the age of 18 which was the same year he joined the Israeli Air-Force. He was a Black-Hawk helicopter technician for three years before he could start his professional dance training at the age of 21. He worked with many choreographers and companies and as time passed he started understanding the things that truly drive his passion for dance. He moved to Australia in 2014 and pursued a direction to sustain his love of dance. He started making works and exploring the role of the choreographer.

In a recent interview, he said that “Calling myself a choreographer was the greatest gift I ever gave myself. Doors opened to realms I never expected and I discovered a world where creativity is a primary ingredient. This journey also led me to teach and mentor young dancers. I am very passionate about sharing my knowledge and experience and in the best way I know, helping young artists hear their inner voice and using it loud and clear.”

One of the students who attended Omar’s incursion wrote to Mrs Santi the same night as the incursion and wrote:

“I'm so sorry to bother you late at night, but I just wanted to thank you so much for organising Omer to come and teach our class today! It was honestly such an amazing experience to have him come and teach us about ways and strategies to tackle improvisation. The things he taught to us will stick with me forever. Improv has always been something I really struggle with and coming into the class I was quite nervous, but he really broke down the barriers or fear that have stood in front of me for many many years and for the first time I really felt comfortable and safe moving my body with no instructions purely just listening to the music and completely going outside my comfort zone. This class meant so much to me and I am forever grateful I was able to participate in something that I feel has truly changed me as a dancer.”

A big thank you to Mrs Santi for bringing the professional world of dance to our students and really working to find the most inspiring individuals to ensure our Dance students are completely engaged with the curriculum in an exciting and fresh way every year.

  

Drama

In term 1 Yr 11 Elective Drama worked hard to finish producing their first Individual Project. Students were able to select from and experience Performance, Costume Design, Set Design, Directorial, Film, Promotions and Publicity, Script writing or Theatre Reviews. This experience leads well into term 2 where students began researching and studying the Elements of Production and the roles of the people who create theatre. This project - the Year 11 Drama play requires and necessitates complex problem solving and negotiation with the whole class as well as managing and including their creativity! The class of 2023 have written an original play “Murder at Mayfield” which is a murder mystery set in the ’80s. They pitched it, wrote it and now are acting, directing, costuming, set designing and organising promotions and publicity for it. It is an excellent learning experience and this year's group is excited and organised which is a great combination. I hope parents and students will come and see their show in week 9.

Yr 10 Elective Drama is learning lines and creating scenes based on their study of Commedia dell'arte. Some students have been challenged by the traditional scenes as the stock characters have choreographed movement and structured scenes and jokes. Others have enjoyed these scenes, scripts and the costumes! Some students much prefer the scenes where they are challenged to use the traditional characters and create a modern scene based on these archetypes! It is so gratifying when a student comments on how Shakespeare borrowed this character or that character! Jane Austin and Pride and Prejudice start to sound very familiar and then they realise a Romantic Comedy they watched on the weekend is a reworked Commedia scene… The study of historical styles and forms in year 10 ensures students have great grounding and confidence in general and solid foundations for senior drama if they select Drama for years 11 and 12.

Yr 10 Drama Samara and Alexis

Entertainment

Our Yr 11 Entertainment students have been busy last term getting to know the College sound system and setting up for such events as College Assembly and the Day 10 concerts in the Caritas Christi Courtyard. This term they are beginning to learn about Safety and Lighting. They are moving on to such exciting things as using and setting up, testing and operating a Follow Spot.

Music

In Yr 10 Elective Music students have been learning about the origins of Blues and Jazz music. This includes such amazing and challenging skills as improvisation. Improvisation in music requires incredible confidence with chord progressions, swing rhythms and jazz harmony. Students have been preparing for a performance of a Blues or Jazz standard in either a solo or a small ensemble as a solo. If you enjoy Blues or Jazz you might recognise some of the works such as At Last by Etta James and Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman - a strong female artist. I am personally looking forward to hearing some of these students perform live at the Music Night in term 3!

Performing Arts subjects continue to give our students opportunities to create and perform live for their peers and teachers and occasionally the whole College. It is always a privilege and a joy for me to be in my drama classroom encouraging my students to perform or visiting our Performing Arts teachers' classrooms and rehearsal rooms to hear and see their progress. The Garcia building, Tarmons Dance Studio and the College Hall are a buzz with class work, assessment and skill building. And as you will see from my yr 10 Drama class photo a love for historically accurate costumes when available!

 

Ms Catherine Johnson Head of Performing Arts


Sport and Health Report

Co-ordinator of Sport:  Ms Jacinta Jacobs:  0418 416 663 jacobsj@stvincents.nsw.edu.au

Head of Volleyball and Touch:  Ms Elyse Harmanis - 0434 610 870 elyse.harmanis@stvincents.nsw.edu.au 
Head of Football:  Mr Nick Schroeder - 0431 117 565
Head of Hockey:  Mr Paul Tssijen - 0406 941 205

Website:   www.stvincents.nsw.edu.au/learning/sport

For all draw and venue information go to:   www.stvincents.nsw.edu.au/sport/weekly-sports-draw/

IGSA Spawtz:  https://igsasport.spawtz.com/  

TERM 2 SPORT

Last Saturday was Mums@Sport Day to celebrate Mother’s Day and all the things our Mums do to support us at sport. Thank you to all those who participated and sent photos in. Below are a few of the ones we received.

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From the Alumnae Office

The School That Hope Built Book Launch 30th May

We are very pleased to support Gemma Sisia, a St Vincent's Alumnae, and her team to launch their latest book 'The School that Hope Built' written by Madeleine Kelly. The book is a wonderful account of the 20 years Gemma has spent building The School of St Jude, a school that is changing the lives of some of the poorest children in Tanzania. Please join us to hear from Gemma, Madeleine and Enock about how St Jude's was started and has grown from Gemma's dream to the successful, multi-campus school it is today. The trio will also very generously hold a Q&A session along with a 'meet and greet' function afterwards. Light refreshments and canapés will be served. RESERVE YOUR SEAT

 


St Vincent’s College Ex Student Union – 165th Reunion Dinner

Just a reminder to all of our ex-students of the invitation extended to you all to attend the 165th Reunion Dinner being held on 16th June. Early bird tickets are currently available here.

The Ex-Student’s Union is also looking for some support for the night by way of raffle prizes. If you would like to contribute, please contact me at heilere@stvincents.nsw.edu.au or the Union directly at stvincentsexstudents@gmail.com


Canteen Information

 Students MUST bring their Student Card with them when purchasing from the canteen.  NO CARD/NO PURCHASE. 

  • Our canteen uses a cashless system so it is imperative that students have credit on their cards.  We are unable to provide service to students who do not have credit available to spend. 
  • You need to refill money onto your card AT LEAST ONE HOUR BEFORE you intend to use the card (as it takes one hour to generate funds onto the card).
  • It is also critical students DO NOT provide their ID card and password to other students.
  • ONLINE ORDERING is also available.
  • GLUTEN FREE products are available - only when purchased through online ordering

TO ORDER A NEW STUDENT ID CARD please click the link HERE.  Please note that students MUST use their College login to sign into the form.

CANTEEN MENU SPECIALS


From the Parents & Friends Association

 

P&F Meeting

Please join us on the 23rd of May 2023 6:30pm-7:30pm for our Term Two meeting. We run a tight meeting and would love you to join, listen and hopefully participate.

SVC P&F Meeting

Tuesday, May 23 · 6:30 – 7:30pm

Time zone: Australia/Sydney

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ojj-gsne-ixa

If you have any questions or discussion, please contact Leisha on 0407 997 895 or email svc.pnf@gmail.com

Leisha Major
President of the P&F Association