Canteen Menu

P & F UPDATE

The Parents and Friends Association meets once per term and aims to provide the opportunity for collaboration to improve our College. It is an opportunity for parents to share insights and discuss issues that are affecting their children, and hear about how the school addresses these issues. A significant role of the P & F is to make decisions on how to use the P & F levy to improve College amenities for your children.

The P & F have recently undertaken a significant spending program to use money accumulated through COVID and ensure that levies collected are used in the time your chidlren are here. We will aim to share some of the many ways these finds are used in future newsletters.

Outdoor learning space and Senior area - the P & F have made a significant contribution to the creation of an outdoor learning space and senior area that backs onto our prayer space and Aboriginal Garden. This is coming along nicely with shade sail to be installed in week 4 of this term. A grant from the Government has also been put towards this space.

P&F KLA grants - were provided to each KLA for specialist equipment and resources that were outside their regular budget means. HSIE have used some of this funding to have maps of the world put on blinds in their classrooms to liven up their spaces. 

Wellbeing dog sponsorship - The P & F have also sponsored the purchase and Dogs Connect program for Clover, our wellbeing dog. See the update later in the newsletter.

Discussion items - Uniform

The P & F have requested that we investigate bringing back the long sleeve winter shirt to make the jumper more comfortable to wear. We are also reviewing the composition of the jumper, and considering a move to a poly cotton jumper instead of a wool blend jumper. This is a move being made in many schools to provide a more comfortable option, particularly for students with allergies and sensory issues, more common with the feel of the woollen jumpers.

We are also looking at a redesign of our Tracksuit top to transition in future years. We will review the make and style of the jumper, looking for a slightly warmer option with more contemporary styling.

The process for uniform changes will always be to provide samples for review and feedback from students and parents, before a decision is made in consultation with our P & F. Changes will be phased in to avoid any unnecessary cost to families who may have recently purchased uniform items.

Bushfire Management Plan

John Therry completes a bushfire management plan each year as we are considered to be in an area at risk. With recent housing development around the school this risk is quite minimal, though we do have a small nature corridor that runs along the back of the school and OLHC that presents a small risk. Our plan is similar to our emergency evacuation procedures with our College Hall being our shelter in place location. With a long hot summer predicted it is important to consider this, even though our risk is very small.

Palestine and Israel - being mindful of social media

As always, the wellbeing of students and staff in our Catholic school communities is paramount. Recent events in Israel and Palestine are widely publicised across all media platforms, including Tik Tok and Instagram, and may cause distress and concern for our young people. There are concerns that distressing images may be livestreamed and so it can be an opportunity to talk with our children about the dangers of watching this footage and protecting themselves. 

It is normal to have feelings of distress in response to these events and awareness of the impact of this information and images on our young people is important. If at any time, you are concerned about the explicit nature of any information your child, or the young people in your care are exposed to on social media platforms, please contact the e-safety commissioner website to report this. (Information regarding what constitutes inappropriate content, and ways to report this are available on the e-safety commissioner’s website.) 

We pray for all the innocent victims caught in this conflict and pray for peace and resolution in this very complex situation.

School Improvements

John Therry successfully secured funding from the Australian Government Schools Upgrade Fund – Open Round for the 2023 school year. The Schools Upgrade Fund provides funding to improve and upgrade school facilities, to help keep students safe and get their education back on track after the COVID-19 disruptions of the last couple of years.This investment demonstrates the government's commitment to providing our students with the best possible learning environment. 

With this funding the school is installing a shade sail and outdoor tables near our Aboriginal Gardens as an outdoor learning space for staff and students. This space sits alongside a teaching and learning block of classrooms, and will allow learning to take place in an outdoor setting, connected to the natural environment. This will also be used as our new senior student area with an outdoor kitchenette with microwaves available for student use. 

We acknowledge the Australian Government’s contribution and thank all those involved in making this funding possible.Through this partnership, we can continue to shape a brighter future for our students. 

Uniform Reminders

It has been fantatsic to see our students return well in summer uniform. Over the last week, staff have been reminding students of uniform expectations. Key reminders include:

- Black leather shoes are to be worn with the College uniform. Converse or sneaker style shoes are not permitted (see examples below).

- The College sports jacket is not to be worn with the College uniform. The College jumper may be worn with the summer College uniform in cooler weather. 

- Male students must be clean shaven at all times.

- Hair that is shoulder length must be tied back.

- Sport uniform is only to be worn on Tuesdays or days when a practical sport lesson is timetabled.

Uniform detentions are issued for uniform infringements, and these are completed for part of lunch break. In the case of significant breaches, for example, extreme hairstyles, students may be sent home from school until the issue/s are rectified. 

Clover - our new Wellbeing Dog

Clover, our wellbeing dog, is now 12 weeks old and has met the team of teachers and staff of caring team. Clover will soon begin to visit the College after hours to familiarise herself with the environment. It is important that all students and staff are aware of how to interact with Clover and understand her purpose within the College. Essentially, she will be a staff member, and will have a timetable and a specific role to play. Over the next few weeks in staff meetings and pastoral lessons, students and staff will learn about her role and our responsibilities in working with Clover.

Clover will be introduced to students slowly, allowing us to ensure there is shared understanding of her work and that she is comfortable in our environment. To begin, there are three expectations for all members of the community:

1. Say hello to the person, not Clover. This ensures Clover is not overwhelmed in large groups (such as in the playground).

2. Give lots of space to Clover as she passes you. She is being trained to move well on a lead and to stop only when told by the staff member leading her.

3. Keep moving! Clover is learning that she is not always the centre of attention, and needs to be trained to not engage everyone in play. 

We are looking forward to having Clover join us. Updates will be posted to the College social media pages. 

Background about the program:

John Therry Catholic College has been running the Amgen Biotechnology Experience (ABE) in selected classes since 2019. This program involves completing a genetic engineering experiment but in a school laboratory setting. This exposure to a real life cutting edge technique gives students valuable experience and encourages them to consider a future career in science, whilst also addressing key syllabus outcomes. Amgen also runs a Master Teacher Fellowship Program for teachers with the aim of forming connections with a worldwide network of scientists participating in the program and creating additional resources related to the ABE program to improve student engagement and outcomes. 

Project description:

In 2022-2023, Dr Harris participated in the ABE Master Teacher Fellowship Program. She applied for the Master Teacher Fellowship for a new challenge; to further her knowledge about biotechnology and to create a resource to help her senior students. The topic she chose was real world applications of genetic technologies. She chose this topic as it was an area of weakness in HSC Biology students so she felt that it needed a new resource and teaching sequence that provided a clear outline of each technology, examples to draw upon and in depth analysis of the associated social/economic/ethical and environmental issues that can arise with the use of these technologies. She collaborated with scientists and staff from the US to create a new series of learning pathways and accompanying worksheets on the online learning platform, LabXchange. This teaching sequence covers a large section of the Module 6 Genetic Change module for HSC Biology, and could also be used in HSC Investigating Science. After completing this series of lessons, students rated their knowledge of these areas as high, showing a definite improvement in understanding of this content. To further extend students, she also organised the Biotechnology conference held in May this year which included 5 guest speakers from The University of Sydney. 

Dr Harris really enjoyed the international collaboration and connections formed during this fellowship and was happy to have been able to produce a resource to help students excel in this area. 

Example of learning pathways:

Example of scaffold:

Last Term Year 7 created Picture Books, below are a few examples of the amazing work that was created.

Living off the Sea - https://jtcc.aflip.in/e37b50f081.html

The Sad Truth behind Deforestation - https://jtcc.aflip.in/69e2bd9426.html

What if a Koala had a Voice - https://jtcc.aflip.in/fb1c7100f3.html

Doesn't affect Me - https://jtcc.aflip.in/f7f88eff12.html

The Jumps - https://jtcc.aflip.in/ba76121c2a.html

Congratulations to Elijah Byrant (Year 10) on receiving a commended award in the Annual Photography competition at Wollongong Art Gallery. This competition was open to all students who study in NSW. This year the theme was ‘Reflection’. The title of the work is’ Glass’ in the category for Years 9 & 10. The work is original and thought-provoking photography. The exhibition contains striking imagery that excels at storytelling and allows us to see you interpret the theme of ‘reflection’ in students' photography practice.

 It can be viewed on the Wollongong Art Gallery  online YouTube exhibition. This video showcases all our commended and winning entries from age categories: Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6, Years 7 & 8, Years 9 & 10 and, Years 11 & 12. It is ;

https://youtu.be/wWcF0r_v1xI?si=rpqyOmfESv_MlTSF

Well done to our other students who entered into this competition;

Year 10: Christian Berbari, Evlyn Booth, Bradley Calvert, Gaius Cassar, Indyani Fitriadi, Khirbanadan Kuganantha, Raniell Maningas, Ashleigh Mupombwa, Alexander Nohra, Caiden Osorio, Charlotte Russell, Isabella Stockford. Year 9: Metta Keen, Iyrene Navin Marcel and Nicholas McLeod.

Mr Stephen Peters
Creative Arts Leader of Learning

Congratulations to Nicholas McLeod (Year 9) who has been awarded Second Place
in the High School Division of the Caring for Country Category in the 2023 Macarthur
Nature Photography Competition!

The prize for this achievement includes $100.00 giftcard prize gifted by the
Macarthur Councils. Nicholas took the photograph while on class excursion in Week
10 to the Mt. Annan Botanical Garden. Well done to the other students who
submitted their photographs; Year 10 Alexander Nohra, Year 9 Ayen Ajak, Metta
Keen, Iyrene Navin Marcel and Prisha Jett.

The three categories for the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition are:

Caring for Country: People helping the environment, Cultural Connection, Life, Waterways. Photograph the positive impacts, actions and behaviours of people helping the Macarthur environment.

Threatened Species: Our rare, endangered and vulnerable native plants and animals: koalas, orchids, native plants and animals under threat (i.e. birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians).

Australian Native Plants, Animals and Pollinators: Lifecycles, Spring, Macro-Invertebrates, New Growth, Seasonal Changes .This includes the leaves, branches, flowers, seeds, lichen, bark and fungi that make up the Australian plant community. Australian Animals and Pollinators includes the furry, scaly, slippery, feathery, and crawly beings that are uniquely Australian wildlife.

We look forward to continued success in the competition next year.

Mr Stephen Peters
Creative Arts Leader of Learning

On September 21st in our double period Year 9 PDM travelled by bus to Mt. Annan Botanical Gardens. This was an initiative to increase engagement in the wider community. The class took a series of photographs for the Macarthur Nature Photography competition in our classes double period. They departed at Recess and returned at lunch to the school. The Macarthur councils once again hosted this highly anticipated Macarthur Nature Photography competition and did encourage the community to enter their most striking, engaging and enticing images of local native flora, wildlife and natural scenery taken from within the Macarthur area. The three categories for the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition were: Caring for Country, Threatened Species, and Australian Native Plants, Animals and Pollinators. The students’ behaviour and cooperation was excellent. Thank you to Mrs. Jansz who assisted us on the day.

Stephen Peters
Creative Arts Leader of Learning

Career Opportunities for Y10 students through the MWLP Transition to Work Program

During the last four weeks of term 3, eleven students attended MWLP to update skills in workplace requirements and participate in a week’s work experience in a field of their choice.

The following information was received by the school from MWLP after the course.

“Yesterday the boys gave feedback to David (our CEO), then Michael (operations manager) and myself about the program generally as well as the work experience. Some worthwhile discussions. Sounded like they all enjoyed their work experience. Looks like some will gain employment should they wish to follow up. Let me know if you have any suggestions about improving the program.

We also went for a walk, which I find is a useful tactic for boys with so much energy. David was kind enough to buy them lunch.

I found them all to be good young men. I hope they successfully transition to apprenticeships and become good tradesmen.”

Regards,

Dr Greg Kerr
Project Manager
MWLP

The Diocese of Wollongong is hosting an event for young adults at the Campbelltown Catholic Club on Saturday 28 October 2023. The event is open to young adults from 17 to 35 years of age. Staff members under the age of 35 are also invited to attend the gathering.

Please find below a link to the latest Parish Bulletin

https://www.olhcrosemeadow.org.au/bulletin/