Page 1 Year 1 students studied nature artworks inspired by Andy Goldsworthy Newsletter 2020 Newsletter 2020 Dear Parents/Guardians, Friends & Students of SAC, Staff and students are back in the swing of Term 2, even though some of the experiences that form a significant part of students’ lives are not yet possible. I have appreciated the ingenuity of the leaders of extra-curricular acvies, as they find new ways to engage students that respect the need for physical distancing. The Jusce and Mercy group has done this brilliantly, creang an online resource (ny.cc/ JAMFROMHOME) that encourages the girls to connue to find ways to help others at this me. In some ways, kindness and compassion are more important than ever, and Clare Peterson, Holly Saberton and their team of primary and secondary student leaders are raising awareness of the needs of people and the planet. This week’s focus has been on collecng warm garments for the Adelaide Day Centre, to help the community they support to survive the cold this winter. In addion, members of the Blankets of Love group (led by Wendy-Anne Heuzenroeder) have turned their hands to empowering bright futures Service . Com passion . H ospitality . J u stice . Respect Ms Paddy McEvoy PRINCIPAL . S T A L O Y S I U S C O L L E G E . 1 8 8 0 - 2 0 2 0 . C E L E B R A T I N G 1 4 0 Y E A R S From e Principal Continued on next page... Issue #8 Friday 22 May 2020 National Reconciliation Week
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Year 1 students studied nature artworks inspired by Andy Goldsworthy
Newsletter 2020Newsletter 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians, Friends & Students of SAC,
Staff and students are back in the swing of Term 2, even though some of the experiences that form a significant part of students’ lives are not yet possible. I have appreciated the ingenuity of the leaders of extra-curricular activities, as they find new ways to engage students that respect the need for physical distancing.
The Justice and Mercy group has done this brilliantly, creating an online resource (tiny.cc/JAMFROMHOME) that encourages the girls to continue to find ways to help others at this time. In some ways, kindness and compassion are more important than ever, and Clare Peterson, Holly Saberton and their team of primary and secondary student leaders are raising awareness of the needs of people and the planet. This week’s focus has been on collecting warm garments for the Adelaide Day Centre, to help the community they support to survive the cold this winter. In addition, members of the Blankets of Love group (led by Wendy-Anne Heuzenroeder) have turned their hands to
empowering bright futures
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
local charities. These are practical ways to keep mercy in action alive throughout these difficult times.
Our first online School Tour took place this week via Zoom. One of the features of our tours of the College that visitors appreciate most is the spontaneous interaction between students and staff that illustrate the spirit of mercy alive in our community. Many of the tour participants had visited us on Open Night and were keen to see and hear more about everyday life at SAC. Student leaders Ruby Stefanucci and Breanna Terrington were wonderful ambassadors for the College, answering many questions and giving a student perspective on the gifts a Mercy education can offer. We hope to be able to resume face-to-face tours before too long, and meanwhile the online tour gave prospective families a good insight into life at SAC.
Thank you to the many parents who participated in Parent Teacher Interviews via phone in the last fortnight. Parent feedback suggests that parents appreciated the convenience of this mode of interview. Whilst there were some elements of the process that we missed, we have certainly identified that phone conversations have their benefits. The Leadership Team hopes that we can carry forward the best ideas that emerge from changed practices to accommodate physical distancing, and options for phone interviews may well be one of these ideas.
SRC President, Ruby Stefanucci, will attend a Mass at the Cathedral next Monday to welcome the newly appointed Archbishop of Adelaide, Patrick O’Regan. The Mass will be live-streamed from 10.30am and the link can be found on the Archdiocese’s website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaG12a-tCw4&feature=youtu.be We look forward to Archbishop O’Regan’s ministry to the people of Adelaide and the continuing development of the relationship between the College and the Cathedral Parish. Archbishop O’Regan is from a family of four children, growing up in Perthville, near Bathurst, New South Wales. He was ordained a priest of the Bathurst diocese in 1983 and in 2015 was ordained Bishop of Sale, eastern Victoria. We know that Ruby will offer Archbishop O’Regan the warmth of Mercy hospitality on our behalf.
Ms Paddy McEvoyPRINCIPAL
Social Justice From Home
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As a part of their learning in Science and Geography, Year 1 students have been exploring natural and constructed features in the environment. After looking at the work of Andy Goldsworthy, students were inspired to create their own nature artworks using similar techniques. The girls enjoyed exploring the school yard and collecting different materials.
Ms Jess ica Grohs, Ms Nadia Fimian i & Ms Isabella Deluca
Digital TechnologiesCOVID-19 has changed our world in many ways, including changes in teaching methods and lesson delivery. When faced with remote learning, we got creative! Students used Photoshop to design a t-shirt which was then printed.
Students were then asked to edit an individual photo of themselves using Photoshop. Mia jumped out of a phone, Lynelle became a star, Isobel played with dandelions, Alisha walked into the sunset, whilst Lily became an extraterrestrial.
To make the task engaging for all, students were then asked to take three photos of themselves and email images to other class members. Students then used Photoshop to create a class image. Pari suspended students on a long piece of string, Mia placed students on a giant version of Lily and Lynelle, placed everyone in Antarctica!
Ms Joanne VillisDIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES COORDINATOR (R-10)
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Building Robots
Robots are automated machines with a certain amount of computing power. Just like living creatures, robots too have their own ‘organs’. Year 10 Digital Technologies students have recently built Max:Bot robots and will soon begin programming them.
A Max:Bot’s brain (a Micro:bit) is a board which can process received information and send out commands. It has a sensory system which includes a range of sensors which can be programed to sense its surrounding environment and executive system which can send out messages to the outside world through gestures, languages, expressions etc.
However, building them posed many challenges which required students to quickly learn the difference between phillips-head screw drivers, flat-head screw drivers and allen keys!
Ms Joanne Villis DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES COORDINATOR (R-10)
Building Robots: Phillips-head screwdriver, flat-head screwdriver or allen key?
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Business Innovation at SAC!In Stage 2 Business Innovation, students are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and understandings to engage in designing, sustaining, and transforming business in the modern world. In a time when design-driven companies consistently outperform other stock market companies, Business Innovation foregrounds design thinking and assumption-based business planning tools to promote an iterative, human-centred approach to innovation and the transformation of business products, services, and processes.Students ‘learn through doing’ in Business Innovation, using design thinking and assumption-based planning processes to anticipate, find, and solve problems. They learn in an environment in which risk is encouraged, where ideas are built up rather than broken down, and fear of failure is replaced with the opportunity to iterate as initial assumptions about problems, customers, or solutions are refined. Integral to this is the opportunity for students to work collaboratively in uncertain environments to identify problems or customer needs, generate and explore ideas and solutions, and make decisions based on incomplete information.In Business Innovation students engage with complex, dynamic, real-world problems, to identify and design, test, iterate, and communicate viable business solutions. Through design thinking and direct involvement in innovation, students not only develop but also understand and apply their critical and creative thinking skills. The Business Innovation students at St Aloysius College rose to the challenges presented by Covid-19 and Remote Learning.
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Engaging with a range of innovative platforms and software, they continued to participate in their learning and collaborate with their peers and teachers. Happy to be back in the classroom, collaboration continues with students using Design Thinking methodologies to empathise and define customer segments and ideate and prototype their design ideas. Exciting solutions include a resigned Pringles tube, a single multipurpose card, an app to solve teenagers’ phone addiction, and bed linen with inbuilt technology.
Ms Clare CollierBUSINESS INNOVATION TEACHER
Year 11 Chemistry
Zainab investigating how much water crystals hold
Students in Year 11 Chemistry used strong heating of crystals in a crucible to drive off ‘waters of hydration’. Using their mass, they were able to calculate the mystery formula! STEM problem-solving in the lab.
Ms Sandra EustaceYEAR 11 CHEMISTRY TEACHER
SAVE TIME AND MONEY
WITH FLEXISCHOOLS!https://www.flexischools.
com.au/All school Lunch orders to be
ordered online ONLY. Please make sure your order is
made before 9:15am everyday.
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
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From the Archives: Centenary of SACOur 140 Years celebrations have been impacted upon by the current pandemic. This was not the case on 23 August 1980, when the centenary Gala Day took place. Although there was a centenary mass, a centenary ball and sports day, the Gala Day was undoubtedly the highlight of the celebrations. I quote from the invitation offered to the school community: “We are having a Gala Day - apple bobbing, a shoe shine stall, a gym display, a production of ‘Oliver’ at 3:30pm, an Old Scholars meeting at 3:00pm, popcorn, hot dogs, street theatre, a fashion parade across a hundred years, a wind sextet, a Sri Lankan tea stall, the occasional haunted house, Greek food, Italian food, home-made pasties, guided tours of interesting places - complete with tour book, a centipederie (made out of 100 cartons painted and animated by small primary school legs and feet) and historical recollections in art form and drama and many other activities.”
The Gala Day was a great success with about 2000 people visiting to sample a magnificent array of food and to be entertained by a range of interesting activities. Many contributed to the great day, but the principal, Sr Mary Densley said that “the day really belonged to the students who put so much effort into providing entertainment for the day and who contributed so much to the atmosphere on the day through their enthusiasm and energy”.
Mr Neville StapletonARCHIVIST
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Gala Day celebrations 1980
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National Careers Week at SAC
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National Careers Week recognises the importance of career development and careers in the lives of Australians. Our students at St Aloysius College have already started their journey of learning that will lead them to their adult lives beyond school and to the world of higher study and work. Over their time at SAC, students will conceptualise a variety of careers and explore careers that might be a good fit for them in the future. They will be challenged and nurtured to develop their employability skills through their daily lives at school and by their involvement in the array of activities offered to students.
We celebrate National Careers Week because career development is an important facet of each students’ education at SAC. The careers our students forge will be fundamentally important to their sense of purpose in the world and ultimately their wellbeing. The recently released After the ATAR III Report revealed that more than half of the students surveyed expressed their greatest worry now is trying to work out what to do in their future. Providing students with career-related learning and career experiences to anchor their career development allows them to grow more confident about their ability to make good career decisions. This in turn reduces their anxiety associated with making decisions about study and work beyond school. Connecting students to meaningful and purposeful post-school study or employment builds resilience.
Parents have a significant role in encouraging their children to explore how their skills and interests might be a good fit for future careers. Having open conversations about work with children of all ages helps them to develop a more realistic view of the world of work. Conversations about how parents made their career choices, the influences on their career decisions and what unexpected events altered the course of their career plans are interesting conversations that students
enjoy having with their parents and caregivers. Even if students do not express that sentiment to their parents, I frequently have students tell me that a conversation with their parent about work was insightful and usually reassuring. Students need to know that is okay to not have everything figured out perfectly in Year 12.For our Year 12 students, this year is about successfully completing the SACE and making the best choices about their post-school life that they can at this point in time. It will be just one of the many career decisions students make in their life, so it really is important that they believe they are capable of making informed decisions about their future career (also called career-efficacy).
The ability to adapt to changing situations (as COVID-19 has demanded of people) and be resilient are two very important employability skills that are developed continuously, starting early in life. The St Aloysius College Careers & VET website has resources for SAC parents to assist in supporting their daughters to explore future careers. Information for parents is also provided by the Career and Industry Council of Australia (CICA) as part of National Careers Week. The earlier you can begin age appropriate conversations about work with your children the better for them.
Ms Louise MurphyCAREERS COUNSELLOR
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empowering bright futures
Reference: Shipley, B & Walker, I, (2020). ‘After the ATAR III: The Role of Passion and Purpose in Connecting Youth to Meaningful Education and Employment’, Year13, Australia.
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
AN INITIATIVE OF:
@CAREERSWEEKAUCAREERSWEEK.COM.AU
Parents as Career Supporters
Parents and carers play an important role in helping their children to make career choices. They are the greatest influence on their children’s career choice. Making career choices may be challenging. The “world of work” is complex and careful investigation is needed so that careers can be properly planned.
The workplace children will enter may be very different from when their
parents started working.
Some strategies to help your teenagers with their career choices:
Remain positive
No matter how complex and confusing the changes in employment and
training may seem, the majority of school leavers now have access to
a number of education and vocational pathway opportunities.
Try to avoid the “What are you going to do/be when you leave school?”
Type questions. These questions are often very confronting. Instead
take the opportunity to talk about career options whenever possible, for
example when a news item appears on a current affairs program or when
a University/TAFE Open Day is approaching.
Encourage your child to develop a positive self-esteem
Focus on their achievements – but not just at school. Acknowledge their
efforts in all their activities – keeping their room tidy, participating in
sport, community activities, setting goals and achieving them.
Show them you believe in them!
Allow for a change in direction
It is very unusual for a student to choose a career at a very early age and
never waiver in their choice. Be prepared for changes in direction and
encourage your teenager to continue to explore a variety of options.
Encourage them to learn from their mistakes
Even if you feel uncertain about their choice, remain positive as they make
their first steps towards their career. It isn’t the end of the world if they
choose the wrong work experience or subject. Discovering that a previous career interest is not for them is a positive step in the decision making process as it gives them the time to re-assess their interests and to broaden their options.
Encourage them to find an industry contact
When a teenager begins to express an interest in a particular career, if it is possible, help them to establish links with someone in that field. This person can then provide a direct, first hand information link with that particular occupation or industry.
Networking
Students should be actively encouraged to develop an information network themselves. This network could well be friends, neighbours, part-time work employers, work experience employers and your family’s builder/car repairer/plumber/accountant (depending on their career interests) and other contacts made by the student. The network serves two purposes – it allows students to gain realistic insights into their chosen career and it broadens their chances of finding jobs as a large number of vacancies are only advertised by word-of-mouth.
Share your experiences
Talk to your teenagers about your own experiences of work and study and your reasons for making particular career decisions. Discuss the problems you have faced and how you dealt with them. Speak openly of the positive and negative aspects of the jobs you have done.
For Holly Saberton and I (Social Justice Coordinators), the Justice and Mercy (JAM) group has been our number one concern since distancing restrictions began in Term 1. This made meeting 20-80 students each week to focus on social and environmental justice issues quite a challenge. Holly and I focused on creating a resource for the St Aloysius College community to be able to engage in justice-related activities, challenges and projects from the comfort of their own homes whilst in isolation.
One of the most important parts to engaging in social justice from home was that students documented their experiences and reflections using audio recordings. The JAM group will be working with James Meston from Arch D Radio to create a podcast based on the adaptation of justice to our home environments.
Lots of students shared their experiences and explained a little of what justice looked like from their own living spaces. It was evident that many students were particularly aware of the elderly and took steps to ensure their own grandparents were more connected during the isolation period. Some students learnt new skills, such as knitting
LINK: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/explainer/what-national-reconciliation-week More info here: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/what-is-reconciliation/
to create pieces for donation or for extended family. Lucy is pictured knitting a scarf for her grandma.
Two students, Milla and Adele, created a sustainability website as a unique medium for entry into the ATOM Groundswell competition. This involved lots of engagement with resources for environmental justice.
Another student, Tegan, donated her hair for a sustainable cause. She wrote, “Isolation and being at home actually turned out to be a good opportunity for me to grow my hair out that little bit more before I donated it to Sustainable Salons who help a variety of organisations in making real hair wigs for people in need. It’s a cause which is especially close to my heart, as my grandma and two close family friends are breast cancer survivors. It was fantastic to feel part of a cause whilst we’re limited in our school JAM capacity”.
Ms Clare PetersonSTUDENT SOCIAL JUSTICE COORDINATOR
We continue to take measures to ensure the safety of students and staff in our community, and part of this is ensuring parents and caregivers are aware of our procedures should the school receive notice of a confirmed COVID-19 case in our community.
In the event of a school closure we will immediately communicate via text message and email parents and caregivers with a specific dismissal time for that day. It is essential that your contact details are up to date in our system. Please contact the Front Office if you need to update your details.
Primary students will remain in their home classes and parents will collect them from the courtyards. No OSHC services will be available in the event of a closure.
Secondary students will be dismissed at the specified time. Please have a conversation with your child about the arrangements for getting home from school if this situation was to occur.
Parents and caregivers will receive communication from the College regarding timeframes following SA Health advice and protocols and a return date to classroom learning. If the school is closed during a weekday, teachers will provide the learning materials for the day via SEQTA/SharePoint and Microsoft Teams.
Mr Nick TattoliDEPUTY PRINCIPAL (ADMINISTRATION)
School Tour Tuesday 23 June 2020, 10am
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ST A
LOYS
IUS
COLLE
GE . 1880 - 2020 . CELEBRATING 140 YEARS
Educating girls in the heart of the City of Adelaide | ELC - Year 12
www.sac.sa.edu.au
8217 3200
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