Newsletter Term 2, Week 2 2020

Dear SJC Families and Friends

I trust this finds you well and that you have enjoyed the recent Easter break. Well done to you, as an Australian, for doing so well in ensuring the COVID-19 outbreak did not impact our country as it sadly has in other nations. Please keep all the victims of this tragedy in your prayers.

I have written prolifically in the past five weeks so I will keep this newsletter somewhat brief. If you would like to catch-up on any correspondence from the College or the CSO, please go to this site.

May, the Month of Mary our Mother

In the Catholic Church, May is a month devoted to our Mother Mary. Please be sure to offer any prayers to the Mother of Our Lord during this month. She is a shining light in our Church and a sign of faith, devotion, sacrifice and bravery that we should all aspire to attain. 

Return to School Plan

All families should have now seen the return to school plan that was shared last week. In short, all students will be back at school full time by Week 7 (June 9). Please check the SZapp, Facebook and your email for the schedule. All families will be sent an SMS the night before their child is due at school as a reminder. If you have not already watched my message to students, please do so here. 

You will note that schools in the area have different plans for the return of students. Please understand that the NSW Catholic Schools have decided to implement plans that are slightly different from the DET schools in the state. No one school is the same and our plan has been met with the approval of the Catholic Schools Office. 

Can I please also reiterate that if your family is experiencing financial strain during this time, you are encouraged to contact the parish office to discuss how the school can support you across the next couple of months? There are a number of measures that can be implemented for families who are struggling currently.

SEAA Reports Issued

All students and families would have now received their SEAA reports. Congratulations to the students who attained a Gold SEAAR during this very disruptive period. It has certainly been a challenge for all. If your child received a SEAAR less than their usual standard, can you please encourage your child to contact their teacher and seek feedback to ensure they improve during the next reporting period? A higher than usual number of students received scores of '1' indicating they are not engaging in online learning. Members of the College Welfare Team will be contacting these families this week to offer support. 

Again, thank you parents and carers for the support you have shown during this difficult time. I hope you are coping with such a different household and that you are looking forward to Week 7 as much as we are.

COVID-Safe App

As we transition back to face-to-face teaching with more students attending school over the next few weeks than working from home, it is important to note that if a spike in community numbers of COVID-19 occurs, our plan may change. With the adherence to good procedure and practice, there will hopefully be no cases that occur at our College.

In the event that there is an instance of the disease at SJC, community tracing would be made so much more efficient if all students, parents and staff had downloaded the COVID Safe app. If you have not done so, I recommend that this occurs. 

Year 7 Enrolments 2021

As you would know, our enrolment process has been, like so many other things in society, quite disrupted through the crisis. If you know of any families who are thinking about enroling their child into Year 7 for 2021, or another grade, can you please direct them to the College website or ask that they contact the College on 07 5524 9002. 

Child Protection Policy

Please note the places you can view the updated Child Protection Policy and regulations relating to mandatory reporting. These pieces of information can be found on the College website and at the College Parent Hub. 

Take care and God bless

Scott Thomson

Postponement of Term 2 Vaccinations for Year 10

Due to the current health situation, NSW Health have advised that the Term 2 Year 10 Vaccinations will be postponed. The proposed new date is Tuesday 28 July (Term 3, Week 2).

Mr Eamon Brown
Leader of Student Wellbeing & Pastoral Care

Study Skills Tip for May – Top Tips for Staying Focused in an Online Lesson

By now we are all starting to get a bit more used to different modes of learning. If you are still finding it challenging to stay focused in online lessons, here are some tips to help you:

1. Have clear distinctions between schoolwork time and your personal time. If you let those two worlds collide you will end up never really feeling like you can have time to yourself without feeling guilty. Then in the learning times you can make a more conscious effort to stay on track.
2. If you know you can’t stay focused in your bedroom, then do your learning in another part of the house where someone can check up on you. Working in an area of the house where you will be supervised can help you stay on track.
3. Take notes when you are listening to the teacher talk or make a mind map about what is being discussed in the lesson. If you are writing about what you are learning it will help you to be more focused.
4. Turn off all notifications and make sure your mobile is on silent (or preferably in another room). Don't have other windows or applications open on your computer. Take away the temptation so you don't send messages to other students or work on other tasks during a lesson when you are meant to be focused.
5. Every 20 minutes look away at something 20 feet (about 6 metres) away for 20 seconds to reduce eye strain. Stand up and stretch if you need to.

Visit www.studyskillshandbook.com.au to learn more about how you can make your life easier by being a more effective and efficient learner:

Username: sjc
Password: 24results

Mr Carlo Trimboli
Leader of Pedagogy

UNSW Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing

Are you an aspiring science writer in Years 7-10? You could win a stack of great prizes and be published alongside Australia’s best science writers!

2020 theme: The Big Ideas Saving the Planet

What are the solutions that will help us to address global challenges such as catastrophic climate change, global pandemics, severe weather and sea level rise?

From bushfire science using smart satellites and Indigenous knowhow, to vaccine development, citizen science apps tracking insect population decline, and science that literally creates water from air, in 800 words, describe some scientific research that has delivered a solution that you believe could change the future for our planet.

Click on the link below for more information, and to enter this competition.

Mr Matt Hall
Leader of Learning - Science

The Big Science Competition

The Big Science Competition is an online science competition testing critical thinking and problem solving skills with competition questions aligned to the Australian Curriculum – Science.

All students in Years 7-10 can enter. Competition registration will close on Wednesday 13 May and the competition window will run from 20 May to 5 June 2020. This year access to the competition can be from school or home. The cost of the competition is $7.

Please email me fiona.murray@lism.catholic.edu.au if you are interested.

For more information, click on the link below.

Ms Fiona Murray
Assistant Leader of Learning - Science

RMIT Experience Surveying Day - Tuesday 26 May

One hour, one workshop, and one more chance to learn about surveying and its study options!

The RMIT Experience Surveying Day has been running monthly for a number of years now. With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping teachers, students and university staff indoors, the RMIT team have redeveloped their workshop. The class is ready to stream online, so students can participate from any location.

This online class is held from 2:00pm-3:00pm AEDT on the last Tuesday of each month, and is ideal for students in Years 10, 11 or 12 who love maths, geography, STEM subjects and the outdoors. It breaks down the ins and outs of surveying technology and study pathways.

The next workshop is on Tuesday 26 May at 2:00pm and students can register for a free spot in the workshop now. Click below to learn how...

MyYear13 Link

Year13, the digital career and life advice platform, have kindly offered all students a free Premium MyYear13 Account at this time, where you can:

• Get your own personalised skills forecast,
• Build your own career plan using their career explorer tool, and
• Access the Year13 Digital Careers Expo, which will be held on May 18-22. You’ll hear from awesome speakers such as:
• • Laura Enever, a Pro Surfer, 
  • Will Hodgett, the Creative Director of GoPro Europe,
  • Hugo Gruzman of Australian band Flight Facilities, and
  • Industry experts on a variety of topics, ranging from creative industries, sustainability and apprenticeships!

If you haven’t already checked it out before, you’ll likely find this site really interesting and helpful – it’s run by young people, for young people - and they have some really great tools and resources to help you as you think about your future beyond high school.

To get signed up:

1. Click on the link below
2. Fill out your details
3. Click Attending Expo
4. Complete your skills forecast and career plan

If you already have a MyYear13 account, please go to your profile, and add this code UPPRGRMV in ‘link school’.

Between now and the beginning of the Expo on May 18, they will be sharing tools and tips through your new profile so make sure you tune in.

If you have any questions, please reach out to hamish@year13.com.au.

Thanks, and please take advantage of this access – It’s not usually free and these tools will really support you during this period.

Torrens University Virtual Tertiary Careers Expo

Torrens University Australia is hosting a virtual careers expo during Thursday 7 May and Friday 8 May, 12pm-8pm (AEST). This expo is an innovative and interactive collaboration between Australia’s major tertiary education providers, designed to showcase the wide range of options available to students as they prepare for life after school.

With over 75 exhibitors, the Virtual Careers Expo is a unique opportunity for you to explore some of the country’s best tertiary education providers and get the information you need to map out the next steps on your career journey. 

Click on the link below to find out more information and to register.

Gold Coast Virtual Careers Festival Lauch

Students will be able to discover career pathways and opportunities for their future through this online event, from 1 May to 31 July 2020.

This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with a wide range of education and training providers, who will showcase their latest courses and pathways and provide invaluable tips on how to choose the right path, how to prepare for life after school and how to become job ready.

Access is completely free and registration is easy. Students simply head to the website, create a login and join instantly, without the need to download any software or apps.

What is on the site?

This year the event has transitioned from physical booths to virtual booths. Each education and training provider has set up a virtual booth with informative documents such as course guides, scholarship information, open day flyers with important dates and more. The virtual “swag bag” allows students to select items of interest and download them for review at their leisure, giving them access to relevant information for their chosen area/s of interest.

Informative videos including career resources, inspiring job opportunities and course programs are also accessible for all students to view. These include ATAR information, building a professional profile, resume & cover letters, life after school and much more.

Live Chat - on Wednesday 13 & Thursday 14 May all users will be able to access instant information from the recruitment teams of education and training providers.

How to Access the Event: 

1. Visit www.careers-festival.com 
2. Click on the top banner through to the Event Registration Page.
3. Register your details – then return to page to log into site.
4. Start browsing the Virtual Careers Festival

Navigating the Virtual Careers Festival:

This is a user friendly site and is easy to navigate. Below are the features available at the Virtual Careers Festival:

• Exhibitor Hall – is all the booths – click on a booth to learn more about what they have to offer.
• Video Vault – browse the numerous videos that providers have uploaded (these are accessible via each booth as well).
• Swag Bag – the student’s collection of documents they wish to keep looking back through.
• Auditorium – Stage Program with videos of Career Resources, Inspiring Job Opportunities and Institute Schools & Courses.
• Networking – LIVE CHATS on 13 & 14 May – students can speak directly to their preferred institutes and ask further questions about their future.

Stay tuned – further information will be provided next week including handout/worksheets to make the most of the website, the top go-to videos as well as profiles of the education and training providers at the Virtual Careers Festival.

Careers News for Year 10 Students and Parents/Caregivers

During the end of Term 1 and throughout Term 2 we would normally be engaging in a series of careers workshops with the aim of investigating post-school options and developing a career plan. We do this to get you thinking about occupations and the path you want to follow after school so that you are able to make good decisions about the subjects you will study in Year 11 &12.

This morning I sent you an email about the Virtual Gold Coast Careers Festival. We would normally be attending this event as part of our senior subject selection and careers program. You should register and get involved. The festival is designed to help you to find out about the work and training options that may interest you.

You should also go to the College careers website https://www.sjcbanoracareers.com/ 

• From the menu across the top select 'FOR STUDENTS'
• Select 'STUDENT'S SECURE AREA' from the dropdown menu
• Follow the prompts to register for an account.
• This will give you access to a range of tools that are shown in a vertical menu on the left hand side of the page.
• Under 'Tests/Quizzes' complete each of the quizzes - particularly the first two or three. Each one will generate a report for you and suggest occupations that you may be suited to. You can then use this information to start exploring post-school options. There are lots of ways to do that on the SJC career website so start exploring.

Doing this sort of research will make the decisions about what subjects to study in Year 11 & 12 easier and in line with your plans beyond school.

Once you return to school we will continue your preparation for subject selections.

Start exploring!

Regards

Ms Frances Stegeman
Leader of Careers and EVET
Leader of Learning - Work Readiness Pathway