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Dear Parents/Guardians/Staff and Students,

LONELINESS IN LOCKDOWN

As you would all be aware I took leave in Term 2 for my daughter’s wedding and some other family matters (a new Grandson for my son and his wife). It was a magical time and I feel blessed to have had it and thank Mr McAllister and the College Executive for their support. 

A significant incident occurred for me when I was away. At a ‘pre’ wedding event (as all young ones have nowadays) we attended a restaurant and had a wonderful meal. As the dancing commenced, I naturally stood back (have you seen me dance!)

One of the others attending was a friend of my daughter’s sitting down and cheering others on as they danced and I went over to say hello. She was a relatively short lady and so happy for the happiness of those dancing. We had a chat and I realised that I knew her parents and she was so pleased to be at the event.

As we talked she revealed her disability about her capacity to move freely and her love of others being able to dance. But her joy in watching others was truly uplifting. After some time, she had other friends come over and I moved off. As I said to her how much I enjoyed our chat she said to me – "thank you for noticing me, most people don’t" 

"Most people don’t".    I was a bit stunned and taken aback and the reason it comes back to me now is that I read of the isolation that so many Australians are feeling in this lockdown period. Unable to visit sick relatives in hospital or homes. Unable to cross into LGA’s of concern and visit family (like me). A forced separation of loved ones, sometimes overseas and unable to come ‘home’. 

I ask that we all look to our neighbour, friends, classmates or whomever that may be in a position of loneliness. YOU can make a huge difference to someone by reaching out to them, offering a conversation, or a smile, or a chance to be listened to. Make it a goal that before the end of this Term there is a someone that has been uplifted because of your actions. They are worth it, but more importantly – YOU ARE WORTH IT.

PARALYMPICS

One of the few good things about the lockdown was being able to watch a bit of the Olympics - well, a lot at times - Cheering on our sporting heroes as they took on the world’s best. Australia uniting behind our athletes and forgetting about the covid virus for a while. The entire world having its focus shifted to a wonderful sporting event.

We now see the Paralympics on the TV and cheer on another group of Australian representatives. “C’mon Aussie c’mon”, let’s get behind them. Most events will be live on the various Channel 7 channels or their streaming services.

What a massive first day gold rush for the athletes. I was glued to the TV with a massive smile and a tear in my eye as the stories of the hurdles these athletes have lived with unfolded.

At the lead in to the Opening Ceremony on Tuesday night they replayed highlights of Kurt Fearnley’s incredible win in the marathon. He then said – ‘No one owns the green and gold, you carry it while you are given the honour’.  And what an honour, to represent your country. Let’s get behind them.

PRAYERS FOR OUR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

The terrible outbreak of Covid-19 that we are going through has made our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community particularly vulnerable. Those living in the central and west of NSW are extremely vulnerable to the disease. We keep these brothers and sisters in our prayers over the coming weeks and months.

CONNECTION TO FAITH AND CHURCH

Each Sunday I watch and participate in the Mass online from the Cathedral in Wollongong. Sadly, it is the best that I can do at the moment.

But it doesn’t alter my faith. Since the beginning of the Catholic Church there have been trials and periods of time that connection has been prohibited.

Fr John Therry was a pioneer in challenging the Anglican English domination of the Irish Catholics that he fought against in the 1820 – 1850’s, eventually establishing churches and schools that were open to Catholics. Establishing St Mary’s Cathedral and St John’s in Campbelltown along the way.

I urge all to stay firm in the faith at this time. Lean on your faith and beliefs as we work through this pandemic and towards a safer society.

Last week we sent out emails to parents about student progress for each subject of study. The information was recorded in a shared spreadsheet which was then used to mail merge out to the parent listed as the first contact in compass. The spreadsheet only allows the email to go to one address but if any parent did not receive this and would like a copy, I am happy to send a copy to you. Please email mcallisterb01@dow.catholic.edu.au to receive this.

We have been trying to balance how much contact we make with home so as not to overwhelm families who may already be struggling, but also trying to keep you updated on how your child is going. Our teachers will send out a letter of concern, if your child is not engaging in lthe learning activities over an extended period, to let you know and to offer support. 

What some Year 10 Students think of Remote Learning -

"Remote learning has had a different effect on all of us. I know for myself and a few others, it has been hard to distinguish the boundaries between school and home. When one area is a place of both home and rest, it can be difficult to separate personal and school lives. As well as having to deal with home distractions and increased computer times. As difficult as this time is for myself and others, I've found that there are always some brighter sides, such as an opportunity to spend more time with my family, having a flexible schedule and windows to take a break when work becomes a little too much. Staying in touch with family and friends, practical zooms that get you up and moving, and being able to learn at my own pace has made this time just a little more bearable, but I'll always be looking forward to going back to school". 

• Hayley D’Cunha 10CN2

"Remote learning has obviously been a challenge for all of us and it’s a very difficult thing for such a long period of time. I’ve managed to stay on top of my work in all of my subjects and haven’t had too many struggles completing anything set by my teachers. Along with all of this, I’ve tried to be outside more often and continue to exercise and play sports with my family. I am always talking to my friends to maintain my relationships and have some form of interaction with people other than my family". 

• Mason McPhee, 10MR1 

"During the lockdown, I have found it rather hard to concentrate, it is the little things that get me distracted the most. But overall I have been able to cope with the work required pretty well. The feedback from my teachers has been excellent. My experience with zoom has been okay, although I am not the biggest fan. Overall I really do appreciate the catch-up days the college organizes for the students. It really helps me to just get myself organized, and get on top of any work, it also gives me time to look after myself". 

• Gabriela Miziniak 10RY1

On Wednesday we enjoyed the second LIVE online event for 2021. This week’s LIVE saw almost 100 people from across the Diocese join to celebrate their faith and engage in community worship. 

This week’s message was about Hope and was led by Meg from the Office of the Bishop. She said that having hope in God means trusting his plan for us. 

Points to remember from this week's Episode: 

• Prayer allows for a development of hope in God 

• Visualise your prayer and having God by your side. Meg used the metaphor of the Avengers standing beside you as God and Heaven by your side

• The most powerful love of all is God’s love for mankind and that is given to us

 This weeks Challenge: 

• Write your neighbour or a friend a letter to say you are thinking of them and praying for them  

A big thank you to the students who joined LIVE! on Wednesday afternoon.

If you missed this week’s LIVE, don’t stress, tune into Week 9 Live, Wednesday 8th September 3:30-4-15pm. It will be the last LIVE online for Term 3, focusing on the theme of Grace and the Holy Spirit.

If you want to learn more about LIVE and Youth Ministry click on Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong

On Monday 16th August Year 7 had the opportunity to join the online Koala kids talk. This talk fits in very well with the Biodiversity and Ecology units currently being studied.

Michaela Beattie, Environment and Education Officer at Wollongong City Council, spoke about the local koala population in Campbelltown, including population size, threats, identification and what is being done to help preserve this disease-free population of koalas. We heard stories about particular koalas who have been rescued and monitored, including koala Bobby (pictured).

At JTCC, we are in the process of becoming a Koalatown certified school. This involves learning about koalas and planting koala food trees on the school grounds that can be harvested and used to feed sick/injured koalas. For more information about the Koalatown program or our local koalas, see https://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/LocalEnvironment/Koalatown.

In week 5, The Australian Museum, Taronga Zoo and Royal Botanic Gardens teamed up to create a virtual study day for year 11 Biology students covering the topic of Biological Diversity.

Over 3 hours online, we examined fossils, specimens, live animals and plants. Students gained an understanding of Biological Diversity by explaining the relationships between a range of organisms in terms of specialisation for selected habitats and evolution of species.

The presenters were fantastic and our students participated well, asking some really thoughtful questions. We especially loved seeing the live animals from Taronga zoo, and learning about their adaptations and selection pressures. 

Wow, what an incredible, crazy, hectic, awesome Science Week the ANSTO Hackathon team (Vivienne Dos Santos, Isabella Nunes, Sarah Jansz, Gemma Quinn, Mrs Smith and Ms Harris) has had! 

The ANSTO Hackathon is a National STEM-based competition. We spent 3 days hacking away at the problem of food waste, jumping in and out of meetings with STEM and industry mentors, attending webinars, working as a team remotely across platforms like Zoom and MS Teams, testing out our ideas with community members and putting in long hours into the night to get it finished. The final product was a 4 minute pitch of our solution to solving food waste at home, a multi-feature app, which you can see below.

We competed against schools all around Australia and just missed out on a spot in the top 4 but were awarded an Honourable Mention!  

It was an absolute pleasure to see the enthusiasm, hard work, commitment, problem solving skills and teamwork that the students put in. The experience they gained from this is fantastic!

Well done on your amazing effort girls!! 

Here at John Therry, students in Yr 8 Japanese have been learning the Japanese script of hiragana and using household objects to recreate them.

Students also tried their origami skills when learning about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by folding the origami crane. The kanji characters for peace - 平和 were also created.

Making use of our language skills - and a flashback to Term 2!

Recently our Year 8 Chinese students have been revising their language skills based on the topic “Food and Drinks” where they learnt the vocabulary and sentence structures to order their own Bubble Tea, and to express which foods they like and dislike. Although this term all of this work is done remotely, we can still flash back to last term when we put our new language skills to the test! 

Last term, we welcomed Bubble Tea expert “Stig” from “Never Fail” Bubble Tea shop who gave us a workshop on the origin and types of Bubble Tea and how they are made. He then ran a pop-up shop where students had to use their Mandarin skills to order the Bubble Tea flavour they wanted.

We also had a ‘Dumpling Day’ where we ordered dumplings as if we were in the restaurant and put our chopstick skills to the test!