Canteen Menu

The John Therry Catholic College Open Day will take place on the 26th February from 11am to 1pm. Hear our Principal, Mr Marshall speak at 11am in the Hall, and tour the school between 11:30-1pm. Enrolment applications for Year 7 2023 Open on Monday 28th February.

Last week Year 12 attended their final retreat as a community at two venues, Mulgoa and Mittagong. The retreat is a significant event for all students and as such they shared in a valuable retreat program to begin the 2022 HSC year well.  The Retreat is a catalyst for growth and the student’s were invited through large and small groups as well as personal reflection opportunities to  respond to God’s call in their lives. Most students were amazed how they were able to connect with each other and more importantly themselves and they left the retreat with something more than they came with. This is a reality that goes far beyond “good feelings” and will be evident through a change of attitude and life practices that shows they are living more fully. The significant disruption of last year and the associated disconnect from everyday relationships definitely impacted the students, however, they found a way to contribute meaningfully and walk gently with each other ensuring a very successful retreat. I personally need to thank the staff that gave up their time and talents to facilitate this worthwhile and somewhat critical event and I pray that all participants are blessed for their presence at the retreat.

Below are some thoughts from a few of our students. Have a great weekend. 

• Personally, retreat was an experience that had a significant impact on me. Looking back at all the experiences, I am really grateful that I attended and engaged in retreat. The activities allowed myself and everyone to come together and open up. It was amazing to talk to new people and get to know them and understand their experience. 10/10 experience. - Grace
  
  
• Retreat to me was an amazing experience that opened my eyes to so many new relationships with my peers and my teachers. The activities allowed me as an individual to open up spiritually and emotionally to become more in tune with my grade. (Leyla)
  
  
• Retreat was an experience that I wasn’t sure how to take on. But, it was a truly amazing time getting to know others that I hadn’t spoken to before, my teachers and getting closer with my friends. It was great to hear stories from those around me and get to understand them some more, something I never thought a retreat could do.
  
  
• For me, retreat was not an appealing experience that I wanted to engage in. I must say that now after coming back from it and looking back, I can strongly say that I had an astonishing time. The entire experience was fulfilling, fun and enjoyable. New opportunities, opinions, friends and experiences were all gained. 
  
  
• Retreat was truly a fulfilling experience for me. It encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone, open up and develop new relationships with my peers. Engaging in retreat deepened my understanding of my own intuition, and allowed me to develop greater appreciation for the things around me. Most importantly retreat brought me back to the present, and established a new perspective for me.  I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage in retreat. – Tahlia 
  
  
• Year 12 retreat allowed our year group to become closer with one another and our teachers. We were able to form new bonds and step outside our comfort zones while in a supportive environment. The activities gave us the opportunity to engage with our spiritual and emotional self, and I am very grateful that I was able to go to retreat as it was a different and new experience. - Jess

We commenced a process of considering girls pants as part of the school uniform last year. We have had samples distributed to school and are keen to move forward with a decision so we can have these ready as soon as possible for our girls to wear. 

The samples will remain on display during week 4 & 5, with a survey for girls to complete on their preferred style. We have refined the samples to 2 main styles for our final decision.

Parents are also invited to view these samples at drop off and pick up times, and can complete the survey with their preferences. 

Girls pants survey

John Therry sets and expects the highest standards for uniform. There are many reasons and benefits to this, and our parent body overwhelmingly value and support these expectations. We have also worked with parents and students to make changes to our uniform policy to meet more contemporary expectations, including the inclusion of girls pants, and adjustments to our rule for boys hair length to allow longer hair to be tied back.

We have been clear that for boys hair, extreme variations in length is not accepted and this includes styles like mullets, rats tails, lines shaved into hair and undercuts. Over the first few weeks of school, students have been given some grace time to have this rectified. Students that still have hairstyles outside expectations that are not rectified will be given a letter to have their hair fixed before returning to school. This includes a trend for students who comb over their rats tails, but then take it out once outside of school. Students that are seen in their school uniform, inside or outside of school with these hairstyles will need to have their hair cut.

We appreciate that some students may need to consider their priorities around whether they would like to seek more flexibility at another school setting to keep their hair, and we respect students and parents in their decisions here.

JTCC SPORT UPDATE - Week  4

Another beautiful, but very hot Tuesday sport.  MISA round 1 commenced, with mixed results for our teams. Congratulations to those students who represented John Therry this week in MISA and also in Diocesan Tennis Teams. Those students who missed out, there are many future opportunities to represent JTCC, keep an eye out on the Sport Bulletin Board in the A-block corridor and on the Compass Newsfeed. 

The behaviour and participation from the majority was great, with everyone embracing the directive for this year to ‘be like Barty’.  A reminder that consent for all sporting events must be given via the Parent Portal on Compass. Please ring the school if you have issues logging in or accessing Events. 

Diocesan Events

Diocesan Tennis Teams 

JT sent two teams down to Wollongong to represent the College at the Dio Tennis gala day. After an early start with only Mr McKenzie running late the team arrived in the Gong to perfect weather. The teams were full of enthusiasm with a mix of experience & a number of new players making their debut for JT on the tennis court.

The girls team had a tough first up match going down to the eventual winners & were narrowly beaten in their consolation match. The boys were unlucky to go down in both their matches after finishing equal on sets & getting pipped on games in countbacks.

The highlights of the day included the trivia challenge on the drive down where the junior  students clearly dominated their more seasoned year 11 team mates. Followed by a trip to the world famous ‘Chicko’s’, lunch & ice-creams at Flagstaff Hill Lighthouse looking out over the magnificent Wollongong City beach, a stop off at Mt Keira Lookout & of course a great hit of tennis.

U15 BOYS AFL - Combined Regional Trials (Wollongong and Canberra/Goulburn)

This year the pathway to NSWCCC U15 boys preliminary AFL has changed, with BOYS required to trial for the Wollongong and Canberra/Goulburn Dioceses Regional team to progress to NSWCCC trials. More information can be found on the Compass newsfeed. The link to register is below. Students will need to be approved by the Sports Coordinator in order to go. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfohNAVWo_WtfHm3S8HI5GcddxLg1q3XdfkW0rXDa2Uv6PVHA/viewform  

NSW CCC

Remember that there is a new way to nominate individual sports for NSWCCC. This information, including registration closing dates can be found on the website:

https://csnsw.sport/

Please note that some sports are selected by individual trials, and these can be held throughout NSW. Individual nominations require students to make their own way to and from selections. 

Selection in the following sports: Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics, Touch Football, AFL (Boys) and Football are done through the Wollongong Diocese carnivals by way of representing John Therry at these respective carnivals.

Selection in the following sports: AFL (Girls), Baseball, Basketball, Cricket – Girls,  Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rugby League, Rugby, Softball, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball will need to be done via individual nomination and selections.

John Therry Swimming Carnival

The 42nd Annual Swimming Carnival will be held at Bradbury Pool on Friday 4th March, 2022 . Permission notes will be distributed digitally on the Compass App, and all consent needs to be given online. 

Students should assemble on the basketball courts at the rear of the Bradbury pool (Gordon Fetterplace Aquatic Centre) from 8.15am as the attendance rolls will be marked at 8.30am. 

In the event of bad weather, a cancellation announcement will be made on C 91.3, via school email and on the School’s website from 6:30am onwards and a normal school day will be held.

Registrations for 200m IM and 200m Freestyle will be posted on Compass.

If your child has had an outstanding high level  sporting achievement outside of school, we would love to hear from you. Please email me so we can celebrate  their achievements with the JTCC community. 

Yours in Sport,

Mrs. Georgia Roberts 

(RobertsG03@dow.catholic.edu.au)

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