Bulletin

More from the 'Christmas cracker' linked chain!

Below:  Winner of the Competition:  Gabriella Kite   (see Mrs Fry's article)

Three highly commended submissions below:

Friday 18 December:  6.00am - HSC Results released by NESA. 

9.00am:  ATAR's released by UAC.

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Tuesday 26 January 2021:  Australia Day Public Holiday.   Boarders return from 4:00pm.

Wednesday 27 January 2021:  Classes resume for Term 1.

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Dear Parents and Carers

Our year literally ended with a "BANG" as we attempted to set a world record for the number of people in a continuous linked chain pulling a 'Christmas cracker'.  While not up there with world records held for strength or speed, it did bring festive cheer to our final assembly.  A big thank you to all staff and students for their wholehearted participation.  We will submit our effort to the Guinness Book of records with hope that if not a world record, we might establish an Australian record!

Our assembly was a colourful spectacle with a strong colour palette of yellow/gold.  A fundraiser was held yesterday to raise greatly needed funds for research into Ewing's sarcoma - a rare cancer that affects less than one in a million people.  One of our outstanding Year 10 students, Mika Singh, is that one in a million, and our support for her yesterday was overwhelming.  Well over $1,000 was raised and if you are looking for a great cause to make a donation to in lieu of a Christmas gift for the person who already has everything, please consider this cause.  As it is such a rare cancer it gets little of the research money made available by the big pharmaceutical companies as they know there will never be a big demand. 

Donate here  https://sarcoma.org.au/donations .

Congratulations to the Year 7's who participated in the Christmas card design competition this year.  The theme of Christmas 2020 was cleverly explained by our winner, Gabriella Kite, who managed to include a burnt tree (bushfire), Australian wildlife, toilet paper and face masks, while still creating a festive image.  There were three highly commended submissions from:

Saskia Muscroft
Ella Stearn
Lulu Oaten

I greatly appreciate the creativity and thoughtfulness of each submission.  Thank you to Ms De Souza and the Year 7 Religion teachers for their support.

I had the privilege of announcing the Principal's Awards for Semester 2 2020.  They were presented to:

Names of Principal’s Award Winners

Tara Boyd, Year 10, Cahill

Lily Rowbotham, Year 7, Cahill

Eliza Gabriel Slater, Year 8, Cahill

Marnie Kenderes, Year 9, Cahill

Grace Cox, Year 8, De Lacy

Mary Crotty, Year 7, De Lacy

Sofia Dermody, Year 10, O’Brien

Lucy-Rose Doyle, Year 10, O’Brien

Katarina Cobden, Year 9, O’Brien

Ashley Lai, Year 9, Williams

Stella Devery, Year 8, Cater

India Venning, Year 7, Cater

Amelia Tooth, Year 9, Cater

Tyler Ellis, Year 8, O’Brien.

The fee draw for Term 4 was won by Mia Dimmock.  Congratulations to Mia and her family.

There were times through the year when I thought it would never end and then yesterday came upon us with an almost suddenness.  We reluctantly had to say goodbye staff leaving St Vincent's - Mr Herbst, Ms Dolso, Ms Desseigne, Ms Aristides, Mr Fry, Ms Young (maternity leave) and the students leaving to move interstate or move to other schools.  It all suddenly seemed too soon and too sad!  A very late addition to this list is Mr Mann, who has accepted a position at Barker College.  The good news from that is that Ms Hamilton is staying.

Thank you to everyone for their support throughout what has truly been an extraordinary year.  It was a privilege to work with a staff so committed to doing their best despite all the challenges, and students full of spirit and enthusiasm that the virus never dulled.

Merry Christmas.  May the new year be full of health, hope and happiness for all.....

Ho, ho, ho... 

Anne Fry
Principal 

Yesterday, Hannah Singh led the fundraising initiative here at the College, and thank you all for your very generous contributions and community spirit.

The family has chosen to fundraise for research into improved treatments and/or cures.  The cancer Mika has is called Ewing sarcoma. This is a very rare cancer and the chance of getting it is 0.6/1,000,000 people.  Less than one in a million!  However, consequently, there hasn’t been much research into alternative treatments and life expectancy hasn’t changed a lot.  Even though most of us these days think that cancer treatment has come so far in terms of breakthrough technology and miracle drugs, chemotherapy treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma is still the same as it was 50 years ago.  It has one of the heaviest chemotherapy treatment protocols around.

We feel that in this day and age, children/teenagers/young adults should not have to go through all of this if a better solution can be discovered.  For this there needs to be a lot more research into the cancer and possible alternative treatments or alternate chemotherapy drugs.  Sadly, this is not likely to happen unless people like us fight for those to come.  Research into cancer treatments is often invested in by companies who will profit from the treatments.  This leaves rare cancers out of their focus as they aren’t profitable - especially rare childhood cancers.  So, it is upon us to do our best to raise funds and awareness for investing in the future of little people’s lives (those most likely to contract Ewing’s). 

Thank you for your participation in Thursday’s event and thank you for listening/reading/caring.  Such an amazing community. 

Please donate here  https://sarcoma.org.au/donations .

From the Singh Family and

Mrs Joanne Anderson
Head of Cahill House

The College community offers its condolences to the following who have lost a loved one recently:

Monique Savio (Year 9) - Great-Grandmother. 

Ms Alana Santi (staff) - a beloved cousin. 

May they rest in peace.

The end of the academic year always sneaks up on teachers, in the busyness of end of year marking, awarding and reporting.  Maybe not as quickly as the students would like, but certainly for us practitioners, it is hard to believe that yesterday we farewelled our students and today we have just completed our first day of professional learning.  What an extraordinary year it has been!  One that I personally will never forget and continue to marvel.  This year, as we navigated the pandemic with a tenacity to ensure the continuity of learning was preserved, we learnt much. We learnt much about our own capabilities and we learnt much about the possibilities of learning outside the square.  With the ingenuity of our Foxford Program, we learnt that the possibilities are endless in the agile world of learning, as long as you were brave enough and persistent enough to push your own limits of what was once pedagogically familiar and comfortable.  We Google-Met our classes online whilst ensuring that our students were picking up pens and writing in books.  We assessed through submissions rather than in class tests and we asked students to rise to the challenge of being accountable for their own learning, by switching cameras on and placing their microphones on mute.  What we discovered along the weeks of lockdown, were marvellous possibilities of engaging students in their learning whilst we were physically distanced from them.  Many students in return learnt much about their own learning styles and emotional intelligences, vital for student agency and independence in learning deeply. 

This unique experience has permanently altered the psyche of all who love to learn as this year the possibilities of learning at the College seems almost endless.  In this way, COVID 19 enriched all in our learning culture to shift the pedagogical paradigm hopefully forever more.  Whilst I acknowledge the  devastating year for some in our community, our learning culture has been enriched this year through experimental pedagogy well outside of the norm. In this our Year of Service of the Poor, what a gift we have received and how rich we are in spirit now.  As we continue to raise the bar on our academic culture, the learnings from this year and the innovative pedagogies we have adopted, have permanently shifted our mindset.  We will continue to aim high; setting high expectations for our students and as a staff we are committed to encouraging each others’ collective efficacy.

Today our College Hall was buzzing with professional dialogue designed to support our students to learn optimally in 2021.  Our teachers teach with knowledge of who each of their students are as individuals and learners.  Today’s professional focus was in recognising and sharing our expertise on the knowledge we have acquired this year as part of our commitment and privilege to know our students - your daughters.  Teachers who taught your daughters this year passed on their wisdom to teachers who will teach your daughters next year, with full respect to their learning dispositions, our knowledge of their academic potential, learning support, high potential support and your own desires for your daughter’s learning as parents.  It’s days like these where I feel privileged to work amongst such collaborative and caring teaching professionals.  Thus, we are very much looking forward to the 2021 classes that await us.  I think first my colleagues should have a good long summer rest as although still smiling; they are looking a bit tired under the eyes!

From next week, our Years 7-10 families will start to receive their daughters’ Semester 2 Academic Reports.  I know that for each student this year has raised challenges at times, but none that were insurmountable.  To my colleagues - we have taught face-to-face and we have taught on Foxford and in the process we have taught each other.  What we gained is invaluable and as we continue to raise the bar of our collaborative learning culture, we continually strive for academic excellence in our flourishing community of learners.  We have given our best to ensure that every lesson - every day, was meaningful and purposeful and we have learnt in this extraordinary year that anything is possible when we think collectively outside the square.

To my colleagues especially my own teams - the Heads of Department and Diverse Learning team, thank you for your exceptional commitment and hard work this year.  Your total support and patience to adapt and shift the pedagogical platform at a moment's notice with skill and commitment was extraordinary.  To our families, thank you for your generosity in supporting us to ensure we could preserve the continuity of learning for your daughters in this unprecedented year.  Enjoy the festivities and precious moments of the Christmas season with your families - be safe and be happy in the knowledge that we made it through the 2021 academic year with flying colours - A+ to all!  

Mrs Jasmin Mano
Director of Teaching and Learning

We have reached the end of the 2020 school year, but we have not reached the end of our to-do list.  We have Viva Lasagna for the St Canice’s Cooking Project on 17 December and 24 January.  The roster is full for those dates, but we need to be sure we deliver our lasagna on time at 7.30am on those days. Those rostered on are welcome to deliver directly to St Canice’s or drop it in to Reception next week and I will get it frozen and delivered on the correct day.  I know the crew at St Canice’s really appreciate our efforts and their guests are happy to enjoy the culinary skills of the SVC community.

Advent has arrived.  Our Charism team have put together three challenges for their peers in the lead up to Christmas:  A Daily Challenge for self-improvement, a Weekly Challenge aimed at making life easier for the whole family and an Advent Challenge designed to engage the mind and heart in learning about the human condition and how it intersects with the divine.  Reading and ideas will appear over the next week in the Student Wellbeing Classroom.  I hope your daughter will discuss some of the reading material with you or pass it on for you to enjoy.  Ask her about it.  You never know.

We have rounded off our Catalyst of the Week with a very special edition.  We are blessed to have this extraordinary woman on our team and part of our SVC family. 

I leave you with this Advent Reflection.  I got it from my friend Fr Ross Jones SJ, Rector at St Aloysius.  I have yet to find something that helps me understand Advent better than this.  I don’t know who wrote it, so I can’t acknowledge them.  I wish I had written it.  As a most enlightened student in my Year 11 class commented this week, “Jesus is just on about love.  That’s it.  That’s all we need.  Love is the answer.”  Love is the reason, the answer, the solution.

An Advent Reflection

Among the poor

Among the proud

Among the persecuted

Among the privileged

Christ is coming

He is coming to make all things new.

In the private house

In the market place

In the wedding feast

In the judgement hall

Christ is coming

He is coming to make all things new.

With a gentle touch

With an angry word

With a clear conscience

With burning love

Christ is coming

He is coming to make all things new.

That the kingdom might come

That the world might believe

That the powerful might stumble

That the humble might be raised

Christ is coming

He is coming to make all things new.

Within us

Without us

Among us

Before us

In this place

In every place

For this time

For all time

Christ is coming

He is coming to make all things new.

Mrs Jo Kenderes
Director of Faith and Mission

The last In Weekend of the year is always a fun occasion with the anticipation of returning home for the Boarders.  Grace Kelly, Boarding Co-Captain, hosted a ‘Pitch Perfect Riff Off’.  To be honest I was dubious, probably because I was unsure what it meant, but it was a hit!  Year groups combined to come up with songs against each other and, as expected, became quite competitive.  I don’t think anyone is able to say who won, there is lots of conjecture but it was thoroughly enjoyed.

A BBQ and pool party is always a good idea on a hot Saturday and attending Taronga Zoo on a hot Sunday may not seem like a great option, but leaving it early was definitely a very, very good alternative!  Thank you to Mr Fry and Isabella for assisting with supervision for the day as we were short staffed.

The Boarders’ Christmas Party is an event where we get to celebrate together and thank all who have been involved in the Boarding life throughout the year.  In 2020, we were more than happy to celebrate together knowing that we got through the year with lots of learning about ourselves and each other. The relationships this year have changed - they have strengthened, they have blossomed and they have matured.  Living together in lock-downs, shut-outs and shut-ins, taught us just how resilient Boarders' can be and celebrating the end of the year on a high was a milestone that will be remembered.  Phoebe and Millie were our MC's for the night and did a fantastic job ensuring that there was enough music to keep us bopping in our seats, enough time between courses and enough laughter to leave the night on a high.

Each year at the SVC Swimming Carnival we have had a Boarders' team to race against the day girls.  This race always ends up with us not winning against the fastest swimmers in the school, understandably!  However, this year has been different.  Okay, we still didn’t beat the fastest girls in the pool, but we did beat the staff.  With an amazing swim, by originally reluctant relay members, I think we may have started a new trend!  A huge thank you to Mia Cluff-Freemantle (Year 11), Sarah Fitzgerald (Year 9), Tameka McGlashan (Year 11), Chloe Mudford (Year 8), Isabella Quinn (Year 8), Rosie Secombe (Year 9), Amelia Vaughan (Year 9), and the person who overtook Mr Mark Bradley and brought home second place, was Elliane Davies (Year 8).

Thank you to all our parents and carers for your support during 2020.  All Boarders' have finished this term happy to be on holidays and going home and we are never taken aback by this, because home is where their heart is.  We enjoy waving goodbye to them at the train station or the garage or the front gates.  I know there is a lot of work to be done at home for the Boarders and they are very excited to be home doing it!  On behalf of all Boarding staff, I would like to wish you a safe and joyful Christmas break together.

A reminder that the Boarding House re-opens on Tuesday 26 January from 4.00pm. 

Yours in Boarding

Ms Maryanne O'Donoghue
Director of Boarding

Below:  Boarders' Relay Race at the Swimming Carnival

What a wonderful way to finish a challenging year! It gave us great pleasure and pride to have the achievements of four of our 2020 HSC students in Technology and Applied Studies courses recognised through nominations for two prestigious exhibitions of exemplary major projects. We have admired the resilience and tenacity of all our students as they faced a year which asked so much more from them beyond the already significant demands of completing a major project.

I would like to praise and thank the committed work of their teachers, Ms. Emma Palmer, Ms. Priscilla Laliotis and Mr. Bob Anderson. Few people realise the ways in which teachers of senior courses “live” each major project. Together with our students we achieve excellence at the different levels of each student. External recognition is never expected or assumed – but it is always welcome.

The projects of Design & Technology students Georgie Ward and Charlotte Pizzinato have been nominated for the Shape 2020 Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.

Georgie designed and produced a Sculptural Bee Pitstop – in Georgie’s own words: “for the purpose of allowing the bees to rest, rejuvenate and pollinate, which simultaneously raises awareness of the importance and contribution of bees to our society and environment. The pitstop is a ‘living structure’, that helps the bees thrive amidst an urban city environment, by assisting the pollination process through the plantation of a variety of bee pollinated flowers. Through educational information panels, the pitstop informs the public of the need for bees, as well as a scannable QR code which leads the viewer to an associated social media page that raises awareness of the bee crisis.”

And to use Charlotte’s own words to discuss her Adaptive School Uniforms for Students with Disabilities, she chose to “work towards creating a future of inclusion, acceptance and opportunity in a school environment and in the fashion industry to empower children with disabilities, and enhance confidence through independence. I have produced a collection of three contemporary school apparel targeting children with upper body physical impairments who attend a mainstream school. To achieve this, I focused on design modifications, particularly alternate and innovative fastenings – incorporating sewing magnets to replace problematic closures of buttons and zippers, guaranteeing independence, and ease of use whilst maintaining the look of standard and traditional school garments.  

The work of Textiles and Design students Lauren Carr and Emma Collinson have been nominated for the Texstyle Exhibition.

Ms Palmer writes of the students work:

“Lauren Carr produced an apparel outfit inspired by the 1942 Utility Clothing Scheme and contemporary fashion designer Gabriela Hearst. Her design features a khaki tailored, single-breasted jacket and white full-length flared trousers made from scuba fabric, with all patterns drafted and modified to suit the final design. Lauren’s focus was on sharp tailoring, clean lines and fabric manipulation, incorporating box pleats and braided yarn, as well as experimenting with dyeing techniques. Both garments display a high degree of difficulty through the construction, manipulation and fabric selection and were produced to a professional standard of manufacture.  

Emma Collinson produced a wearable Textile Arts piece inspired by the environmental issue of coral bleaching on the Australian Great Barrier Reef. The delicate design and structure was created to convey the fragility of coral and raise awareness of the bleaching of coral reefs. Emma incorporated a range of techniques throughout her design, focussing on crochet and latch hooking to create a bodice that reflects the nature of coral. She also experimented with natural dyes to incorporate colour throughout her design. This wearable textile art has been individually designed as an expressive piece of art made principally from natural fibres to produce a sustainable garment.”

We congratulate these students, their families who supported them, their classmates who accompanied them and their teachers who guided and assisted them.

Mr Graeme Colman
Head of Department Visual Arts and Design

Year 11 English Advanced 

This term, at the commencement of their HSC studies, Year 12 English Advanced have been studying the play, The Crucible as part of their study of the Common Module: Texts and Human Experience. 

Now that they have completed their studies, and handed in their first Assessment Activity, the two Year 12 English Advanced classes joined together to synthesise their thoughts.  This was achieved through a Socratic Circle.  Socratic Circles are a way of generating discussion amongst all students.  All students participate in the discussion as speakers, as observers of the speaking patterns of other students, as advisors to speakers and as notemakers on the content of the discussion for the group.  The aim of the Socratic Circle is to generate and verbally rehearse as many ideas as possible about the play: The context, the plot, the concepts and the theatrical techniques.  This is great preparation for the flexible thinking required when confronted with the final HSC question. 

Here is a comment from student, Lucia Holt:  

I really enjoyed the Socratic circle: having the input of the other class was fascinating and really helped me to develop and synthesise my ideas about The Crucible.

Year 10 English

This semester, students began their study of Fitzgerald’s classic, The Great Gatsby, as an introduction to Modernist literature and model for their own narrative writing.  Here is what one student, Lilas-Mae Njoo, had to say about the unit:

If I’m completely honest, I wasn’t looking forward to the topic on Modernism.  We’d just floated through the unit on romantic poetry, delighting at the profound simplicity of nature and I really didn’t feel like diving into the complex, wordy, and abstract world that is Modernist literature.  I’d read The Great Gatsby at the start of the year, so by the time Term 3 rolled around I honestly didn’t remember that much about the story except for being unsatisfied with the plot ending.  In essence, I came into Modernism with a pretty pessimistic opinion.  However, as we began to read extracts from Gatsby, looking for narrative elements such as symbolism, characterisation, internal and external conflict and many more, I found that Fitzgerald’s writing was growing on me. In line with the fragmentation often seen in Modernist writing, we didn’t study the book in chronological order and instead drew out extracts. These disjointed passages are what finally won me over.  They allowed me to appreciate the complex beauty of this style of writing.  Take for example, “So we drove toward death through the cooling twilight.”  I mean, have you ever heard something as elegant, as ethereal as this?  I found that Modernist literature was even better than romantic poetry; beautifully insightful, but somehow even more impactful due to its probing reflective style. 

As we began to write our Gatsby-inspired narratives, I became interested in short Modernist stories.  The works of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and Katherine Mansfield, allowed me to learn new styles of writing and stop being so restricted by my traditional ideas of what a story should be.  I really enjoyed having to challenge myself to “go with the flow” of the stream-of-consciousness writing and appreciate the beauty of the language on a sentence level.  Even though I began this unit with doubts about my ability to enjoy a story with barely any structure, I would now go as far to say that I’m a Modernism fanatic.  I’ve read tens of short stories - even Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway - and plan on continuing to read Modernist literature. 

Finally, this term, students have immersed themselves in learning how to write in the discursive form.  This is a new style of writing introduced in the English syllabus which allows students to develop a more personal voice.  Classes were given a brief to compose a discursive piece on a topic/issue/question of their choosing to include in a class anthology for their peers. 

Considerable time was devoted to explicitly teaching students the process of writing - from brainstorming, planning, researching, drafting, editing, peer-reviewing, proof-reading, creating bibliographies and even writing a ‘Writer’s Note’ to explain their inspiration, concept and stylistic choices.  All these skills of learning how to learn are vital for student success in both the Standard and Advanced English courses which now demand greater engagement with the process and craft of writing. 

Ms Rune’s Class:  Frankie Oaten explores her love/hate relationship with dairy and the complexities of a lactose-free life.  Read here

Ms Playoust’s class anthology:  Read herethe collection with illustrations by the students.

Year 7 English  

This semester, students studied popular culture texts which explored Asian perspectives.  They were introduced to Japanese comics and film (called manga and anime) which have become increasingly recognised as being both globalised and localised reflections of culture and society.  Through their study of anime, they learnt the art of storytelling and gained a deeper appreciation of narrative features such as characterisation, conflict, setting and themes and applied these in their own narrative openings. 

Students developed their film and visual literacy skills and designed film posters to advertise their narrative.  To end the unit, we were very lucky to have a current Year 12 student, Jessie Smits, present her personal passion for all things anime and manga; particularly her interest in cosplay (the practice of dressing up as a manga/anime character).  Her understanding of the genre was so detailed and specific, inciting curiosity for many of the students who continued to ask her questions even after the lunch bell.  We wish Jessie well as she leaves the College to pursue a career in special effects make-up.

Here are some photos of Jessie with the Year 7 students. 

Ms Monica Jarman - Head of Department English
Ms Anita Playout / Ms Josie Rune - English Teachers

UNSW Medicine Interview Process Changes

Due to the current situation with COVID-19 and related travel restrictions, UNSW Medicine has made the decision to conduct all interviews for entry into the BMed/MD program for Term 1, 2021 online.  This means that shortlisted applicants will not be required to come to their Sydney campus for a face-to-face interview, but will instead join the interview online from home.  There have been no changes to:  How applicants are selected for an interview; the interview format; the interview dates.  Interested students can find all relevant details on UNSW’s how to apply website.

The interviews will be conducted using ZOOM and if an applicant is offered an interview, detailed instructions and a personalised link to a ZOOM meeting will be emailed on the dates advertised on UNSW’s Important Dates website.  More information on the online interview, technical requirements etc can be found on UNSW’s Selection for Interview website, in the ‘How do interviews work?’ section.

University of Sydney

Science Student Panel on 9 December 2020 from 4.00pm-4.30pm via ZOOM Webinar

If you any student is considering a future in Science, sign up to this webinar to hear from current USYD Science students about what they are studying, their favourite subjects and what it is like to be a University student.  Registrations are essential here.

University Admission Centre ( UAC)

Changes to Student Contribution Bands

The Australian Government has re-designed the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) funding clusters and student contribution bands for students in Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) under the Job-ready Graduates Package.  As of 1 January 2021, the amount of money the Government provides universities (the Commonwealth contribution) for different courses will change and the amount students pay to study (usually deferred through a HECS-HELP loan - the student contribution) will also change.  For more information use the link here

Summer Skills Program

The government is offering a new Summer Skills program of fee-free training and skills support to all 2020 Year 12 school leavers in NSW.  There are short vocational courses over the summer period and both short or long courses throughout 2021.  Whether students are going on to university or a vocational training organisation, starting work or taking a gap year, the courses are there so they can gain new skills or experience some jobs firsthand.  For students looking at taking their vocational education and training one step further, there are also fee-free part or full qualification training courses available via NSW JobTrainer.  For more information on available courses go here

I’d like to wish everyone in the St Vincent’s College community a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.  Thank you for the positive emails and feedback I have received this year and I look forward to keeping you up to date with careers information in 2021.

Ms Helen Marshall
Career Adviser

Enrolments for 2021 co-curricular tuition and ensembles have opened on the College website. There are several changes to ensembles next year including the introduction of hip hop, a new drama ensemble and a concert band.  Please read the information in the booklet via the link HERE , and please email peoplesb@stvincents.nsw.edu.au if you have any further questions.

Ms Belinda Peoples
Co-Curricular Co-Ordinator

Sport Staff Contacts for Term 1 2021:

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

Head of Tennis:  Ms Therese Taylor:  0408 711 881
Head of Touch and Volleyball:  Ms Elyse Harmanis:  0434 610 870   
Head of Water Polo:  Ms Hayley Boatswain:  0404 267 554.

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

TERM 4 SPORT

Ascham Futsal/Five-a-Side

Congratulations to all players on a great season.  Both teams made the finals which were played last Friday.  Well done to SVC 2 who were runners up in their division and SVC 1 finished third.  We look forward to seeing you all back on the pitch next year!

Mr Hugo Forlico
Head Futsal Coach

Santa Sabina Basketball and Volleyball

This term St Vincent's College entered two basketball and six volleyball teams into a competition held at Santa Sabina College.  This competition is a lovely way to end the school year, sharing lots of laughs whilst also learning and developing new skills.  It has been such a pleasure to watch every single girl improve out of sight this term - evident in our weekend results!  A huge congratulations must go to SVC 3 volleyball, for taking home a bronze medal!  We are excited to have six volleyball teams entered in the new Santa Sabina competition next term.  These teams and training times are on the College website.  Don’t forget to practise over the holiday’s girls!

Ms Elyse Harmanis
Head Coach Volleyball and Basketball

ESTA Touch

A very big well done to all 16 touch teams for their efforts during this term.  It has been a great term with many teams qualifying for the finals.  We placed a well deserved fifth place in the overall School Championship Trophy, which is equal to last year.

Some very special congratulations must be given to Lani Bresnahan, Year 11, Kate Johnson, Year 9, Poppy White, Year 8, India Venning, Year 7, Alexa Rubenstein, Year 7, who were awarded the Best and Fairest (B&F) Award for the competition.  This award is voted by the referees each week and these girls were outstanding on the touch field all term.  Well done girls!

A huge congratulations to all ten SVC teams who qualified into the semi-finals, but a very special mention to SVC 1, SVC 2, SVC 4, SVC 7, SVC 10 and SVC 15, for all making it into the grand finals.  We had some very close games leaving the decider of first place to come down to golden try, but SVC 7 came out firing on Saturday, leaving them to be the Champions of Touch 2020! 

(Winners - SVC 7 pictured below)

Thank you to the coaches for all their hard work with the girls this term, it has really shown on the field and the girls have loved it.  Let’s get ready for another promising term of touch in Term 1 2021.  The 2021 teams and training times are on the College website, however these may change slightly after the first training session back next term.

Ms Elyse Harmanis
Head Touch Coach

Below:  Alexa Rubenstein (B&F)

Below:  Kate Johnson (B&F)

Below:  Lani Bresnahan B&F

Below:   Touch SVC 1 in action

IGSSA Water Polo

This term in water polo the girls achieved some highly commendable results with the teams improving exponentially throughout the course of the season. SVC 1 placed first overall in their competition.  SVC 2 placed second and both SVC 3 and SVC 6 placed a well-deserved third overall in their respective competitions.

Thank you to the parents who drove the girls to their venues all over Sydney each weekend, especially those who collected the Boarders' on the way, we hope you got to enjoy a couple of the last matches you were allowed to watch.  Thank you also, to the dedicated coaches who have worked hard with the girls this term.  We look forward to seeing most of you back next term.

Training times and team lists for 2021 will be updated on the website soon, and we look forward to another strong season in the ESSG competition in Term 1.  Swimming training over the holidays would be a good idea, so we don’t lose our fitness!

Ms Hayley Boatswain
Head Water Polo Coach

IGSSA and Tildesley Tennis

We have six teams entered in the IGSSA tennis competition next term on Saturday mornings.  The teams will be saved on the College website once we have the coaching days finalised.  Therese is head coach and the Tildesley Tennis team will continue to train on the same days with Therese and Tonya unless notified otherwise next year.  Any questions please contact Therese at therese.taylor@icloud.com

Ms Therese Taylor
Head Tennis Coach 

Swimming Carnival and Training

The Inter-House Swimming Carnival was a great success at Drummoyne Pool on Wednesday 2 December.  It was a wonderfully spirited day and we had two records broken, both by Maddison Neill in Year 12.  Congratulations to Cater on winning the overall point score and to O’Brien for winning House Spirit.  Also, a huge congratulations to Maddison Neill for winning the invitational 50m freestyle again this year in a new record time of 27.90 seconds.

Below:  Cater Overall Point Score Winners

Below:  O'Brien Winners for House Spirit

The 2020/21 Age Champions

13 years - Lily Rowbotham - Cahill

14 years - Ruby Thompson - Cahill

15 years - Ruby Etherington - Aikenhead

16 years - Alexandra Tait - Cahill

17 years - Molly Whitely - Cater

18 years - Maddison Neill - Aikenhead.

Below:  Off and Racing at the Swimming Carnival

SPORTS STARS OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to our Premier's from last week's finals.  Water Polo SVC 1 and Touch SVC 7.  Your pocket authorities have all been entered onto Edumate.

A huge congratulations to our Major Sports Award Winners for this year which were awarded at Speech Night on Monday:

The Running Bare Senior Sports Woman of the Year

This year’s winnerhas represented the College at several sports throughout her five years at the College including water polo, hockey and swimming.  She was an integral member of the College Senior First’s team and made the IGSSA and NSWCIS water polo teams at the start of the year.  She was also the 2019 and 2020 Water Polo Player of the Year and the 2020 Water Polo Captain.  She always gives maximum effort to all that she does and we know she has a wonderful future ahead in sport.  Congratulations to the Running Bare Sponsored 2020 Sportswoman of the Year - Taffy O’Neill, Year 11.

Junior Sports Woman of the Year

This year’s winner is a very talented young sportswoman who displays exceptional ability in several sports, with her dominate one being basketball.  She was an integral member of the College Senior First’s team and made the Comets U16 and Inner City U18 representative teams.  She was then selected in the NSW DAP (Developing Athlete Program) and is playing in the Open Women’s D League with Basketball NSW.  She is also the College Basketball Player of the Year and in the Junior First's for Volleyball and Touch.  Congratulations to our Junior Sportswoman of the Year - Taya O’Loughlin, Year 8.

Team of the Year for 2020

This year the prestigious prize was awarded to the College's Senior First's Touch Team, coached by Angela Bresnahan.  The girls are to be commended on the level of effort and teamwork they put in to both the training and for being runners up in the Senior 1B EASTS Competition, in what was a very hot and intense grand final.  Well done to all players. 

SVC 1 Touch

Lani Bresnahan 11

Ella Emery 11

Clare Lienesch 11

Jasmine Dale 11

Tahlia McCormack 11

Chloe Korbel 10

Charli Harris 11

Imogen Gill 10

Abby Vincent 10

Olivia Rowland 10

Zoe Costello 10.

Below:  Senior First's with Mrs Fry

This section is to make the College community aware of some of the exceptional athletes we have in the College.  If your daughter has represented her state or country recently in her chosen Sport, please send us any results, photos or blurbs on her performance to jacobsj@stvincents.nsw.edu.au

Ms Jacinta Jacobs
Co-ordinator of Sport

Below:  PE staff having fun at the Swimming Carnival

 2021 School Travel Applications are Open

AISNSW (Association of Independent Schools) Resource

https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/learning-from-home/wellbeing#parents.

Greater Good Science Centre: COVID-19 parent wellbeing resources and activities

The Office of eSafety:  COVID-19: an online safety kit for parents and carers

Keeping children educated and entertained during COVID-19 crisis…It’s easy as ABC

http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/keeping-children-educated-and-entertained-during-covid-19-crisis-its-easy-as-abc/

Mindspot

https://mindspot.org.au/assets/pdf/10_Tips_for_Coping_with_Infectious_Diseases.pdf

Beyond Blue

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/looking-after-your-mental-health-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak

Headspace

https://headspace.org.au/young-people/how-to-cope-with-stress-related-to-covid-19/

ReachOut Parent discussion forum

https://forums.parents.au.reachout.com/

ReachOut Youth discussion forums

https://forums.au.reachout.com/

ReachOut.com One-on-One Support 

The Brave Program

https://www.brave-online.com/beating-stress-and-worries-about-coronavirus-covid-19/

FACE COVID ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

If you or anyone you know needs help:

●      Lifeline on 13 11 14

●      beyondblue on 1300 224 636

●      MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978

●      Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

●      Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

●      Headspace on 1800 650 890

●      QLife on 1800 184 527.

Government Agencies:

NSW Department of Health

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/alerts/Pages/coronavirus-faqs.aspx

NSW Department of Education

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety/novel-coronavirus.html

National Coronavirus Health Information Line 1800 020 080 - operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Well 2020 has definitely not been the year any of us expected.  Reflecting on 2020 is going to be very interesting.  I truly hope all our St Vincent’s families will be able to take something positive, no matter how small out of this very unusual year.

As a community I feel we have been lucky to have the leadership we have had.  In comparison to many schools, the disruption for students and families has been handled remarkably well in comparison to other schools.  I would like to thank the Committee once again for their dedication and support, as well as all the parents who attended the meetings this year - your input is much appreciated.

On behalf of the P&F I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with possibilities.  Let’s all say goodbye to 2020 and bring on a much more normal 2021!

Katherine Aitken
President SVC P&F Association