Page 1 ‘My Heart. My Home. My Community’ tile mosaic created by over 60 SAC students. Newsletter 2020 Newsletter 2020 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 The Principal Continued on next page... Issue #10 Friday 19 June 2020 INSIDE THIS ISSUE • Whole School Virtual Assembly ..............3 • Digital Technologies ....................................4 • From the Archives..........................................5 • Primary Sport ..................................................7 • Secondary Sport ............................................8 • Year 5 & Year 9 Buddies................................9 • World Environment Day ............................10 • Beanies with Love........................................11 • SA Mathematics Talent Quest.................11 • Postcards for Grandparents Day ..........12 • NCCD Info.......................................................13 If you have passed through the Mitchell Courtyard in the last fortnight, you may have noticed the tiled mural that has been installed above the drinking fountains. This mural was created last year by students working with the English as an Additional Language EAL team. Each student created a tile to reflect the theme ‘My Heart, My Home, My Community’. The beautiful collage of images captures the diverse ways students visualise home and community. The fact that the Fleur de lis represents home to so many students is a wonderful signal of their strong sense of belonging to St Aloysius College. My thanks to Mary Kotsionis who envisaged this artwork, and to Matt Crotti from the Maintenance Team for mounting and installing it in its new home. The promotion of Digital Technologies to students from Reception builds an important link between Science and Mathematics learning that creates authentic problem-finding and problem-solving experiences. Ms Jo Villis ensures that students of all ages have the chance to engage in technology activities that are age-
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‘My Heart. My Home. My Community’ tile mosaic created by over 60 SAC students.
Newsletter 2020Newsletter 2020
empowering bright futures
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
Ms Paddy McEvoyPRINCIPAL
. ST ALOYSIU
S CO
LLEG
E .
18
80 -2020 . CELEBRATIN
G 140 YEARS
From The Principal
Continued on next page...
Issue #10Friday 19 June 2020
INSIDE THIS ISSUE• Whole School Virtual Assembly ..............3
• Digital Technologies ....................................4
• From the Archives..........................................5
• Primary Sport ..................................................7
• Secondary Sport ............................................8
• Year 5 & Year 9 Buddies................................9
• World Environment Day ............................10
• Beanies with Love........................................11
If you have passed through the Mitchell Courtyard in the last fortnight, you may have noticed the tiled mural that has been installed above the drinking fountains. This mural was created last year by students working with the English as an Additional Language EAL team. Each student created a tile to reflect the theme ‘My Heart, My Home, My Community’. The beautiful collage of images captures the diverse ways students visualise home and community. The fact that the Fleur de lis represents home to so many students is a wonderful signal of their strong sense of belonging to St Aloysius College. My thanks to Mary Kotsionis who envisaged this artwork, and to Matt Crotti from the Maintenance Team for mounting and installing it in its new home.
The promotion of Digital Technologies to students from Reception builds an important link between Science and Mathematics learning that creates authentic problem-finding and problem-solving experiences. Ms Jo Villis ensures that students of all ages have the chance to engage in technology activities that are age-
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From The Principal (Continued)
Over 60 Primary and Secondary students shared what community means to them in this tile mosaic displayed in the Mitchell Courtyard
appropriate and inspire creativity. In 2019/2020 SAC entered three teams in the Wonder League Robotics Competition. Using Dash or Cue robotics, teams were challenged to conduct a robot rescue, stop a snack thief, protect a cardboard city, construct a bridge and unlock the Lost Gate – all to discover the Lost Realm and disable a pesky booby trap. Over 8,400 students in 4,500 teams from 91 countries entered, with one SAC team making it through to the invitational round.
Whilst the qualifying team from SAC did not make the top five, they featured in a video highlighting this year’s incredible submissions. You can follow the link below to view the 2019-2020 Wonder League Robotics Competition Announcement Winner, with our SAC students featuring just after the 2-minute mark in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UPeYj2a-9A&feature=emb_logo
Congratulations to Year 8 students Morgan Brooks, Keira Liddicoat, Samantha Hay, Sydney Villis-Chatfield and Milla Lokhorst for representing our school with pride in this global forum.
This week marks the end of Semester 1 for our students, a time when Year 10 and 11 exams and Year 10 Work Experience would usually be happening. Many significant events have not taken place this year and, as a result, students have not had the usual moments to celebrate as a community. One such event is Grandparents Day, when our Reception students have the chance to show their grandparents and special friends around the school. The library staff have collaborated with the Reception teachers to reimagine this event. Students created postcards for their friends and an Australia Post representative visited the school to collect and deliver the postcards. Grandparents and special friends were then able to send in photos of themselves receiving their postcards and the whole experience was brought together in the form of a short video. Head to our SAC Facebook page if you would like to see the final product!
Congratulations team for your amazing effort in the 2019/2020 Wonder League Robotics Competition
This Sunday 21 June we celebrate the Feast of St Aloysius Gonzaga, the patron saint of youth. As I said to the students at this week’s virtual assembly, the way they have navigated the COVID-19 crisis together gives us confidence that the world is in safe hands with the youth of today. Happy feast day to everyone in the St Aloysius College community.
On Tuesday we celebrated our very first Whole School Virtual assembly. Assembly’s at St Aloysius College are a highlight each term and play an integral role in providing opportunities for students to lead and share their learning and achievements with others. Today’s assembly was led confidently by members of our Year 12 Executive team.
Following an Acknowledgement of Country and moving Prayer sung by our Reception students, we were inspired by words of thanks and gratitude from our Principal, Ms McEvoy, who acknowledged what has been a very challenging time for many in our community and the ways that we have supported one another.
We celebrated recipients of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards and acknowledged the dedication and commitment of Mr Brown and Ms Butterworth in successfully running the Dukes program for over 20 years now.
We also celebrated two language students who achieved both a Gold and an Emerald Education Perfect award. Congratulations Gabriela and Sydney on your achievement.
Our Primary Justice Leaders shared important information about the Vinnie’s Winter appeal they are organising for Term 3. Finally, we were treated to a very special musical performance by our Primary Choir. The girls performed beautifully as they were led by Ms Deluca and accompanied by Ms Spadavecchia singing ‘Never Seen the Rain’.
Ms Jacqui McilroyDEPUTY PRINICIPAL (PASTORAL CARE)
Turtle Art software allows students to use mathematical reasoning, problem-solving, counting, measurement, geometry, and computer programming to create beautiful images. After completing a range of challenges, students used the software to create a piece of art from scratch, which involved a lot of code for what appeared to be simple designs!
Ms Joanne VillisDIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES COORDINATOR (R-10)
Turtle Art is fun to explore but it is definitely a very hard challenge. Miranda Kennedy
I found the program exciting, but it tested my thinking a lot. Helen Romano
Students’ Reflections
Dot and Dash robots are some of our residential robots at SAC. Through programming them, students obtain skills such as a higher order thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning. A natural, “how does it do that?” response from students leads to imperative critical thinking skills. Students learn to rationalise and reason when learning about and imagining Dot and Dash’s potential. They tap directly into students’ natural curiosity, which is exactly where great ideas are born!
Year 7 Turtle Art Programming
Year 2 Dot and Dash Robots
Eloise and Isabelle bringing their robots to life!
April making code fun! Year 2 Dot and Dash Robots
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Sister Kate Conley RSM OAM ‘Ordained by Circumstance’
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Sr. Kate Conley RSM an old Scholar of St Aloysius College was honoured in this year’s Queen’s Birthday list. We asked
Sr Mary-Anne Duigan RSM, a friend of Sr Kate, to reflect on
Kate’s life as a Sister of Mercy.
Kate’s journey began growing up in Snowtown, SA, as part of a loving family. Kate came to SAC in 1948 as a second year boarder. In her leaving year in 1950, Kate was a prefect as well as Sports Captain and Captain of St Anne’s. She also played competition tennis and captained the school’s A grade basketball team.
As a boarder at St Aloysius College in Adelaide, Kate began to explore the idea of becoming a Sister of Mercy and transferred to the Juniorate at Erindale in her final years of school and during her time at Teachers College. From there, she entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1954.
Kate’s life reflects the ideals of Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, especially the call to minister to women and the poor. Her vibrant, fun loving personality has enabled her to go out to people on the edge of society in love and establish lasting connections of friendship with them. Kate entered the Convent at a time when religious life
was very settled and predictable. The rhythm of life which emphasised the balance between action and contemplation grounded her in the deep spirituality and practical action which have become the hallmarks of her life. As a teacher at St Aloysius College and Parkside and as a teaching Principal in Albert Park, Mount Gambier, Millicent and Elizabeth, Kate was already reaching out to families and especially to struggling mothers. Vatican ll disturbed the routine of religious life as we knew it and Kate was up to the challenge, to search out the places where we were surely called to minister as Sisters of Mercy.
In 1978, Kate began work as an Industrial Chaplain, at Central Linen. Then in the mid 1980s, she also began as chaplain at the Women’s Prison. She found that one source of joy for her lay in the ecumenical prayer rituals, she conducted regularly in a way which tapped into the events within the women’s lives, their joys and their sorrows. It was in these services, celebrating deaths and births and other big events in the lives of the women, that Kate said she felt “ordained by circumstance”.
Kate was a mover and shaker, not just happy with going along with the status quo, but always looking for ways to improve the lives of the women. She worked with others in the establishment of Taryn House, a half-way house for
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Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
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Sister Kate Conley RSM OAM - ‘Ordained by Circumstance’...continued
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women leaving prison. She provided accommodation in a small unit at the back of her house for women who needed a break or a roof over their heads for a while or for family members visiting prisoners from the country. She travelled around Australia and overseas, researching ideas to improve the lives of the women she worked with. She promoted the concept and application of Restorative Justice as a way to bring the victims of crime to engage with the perpetrators. She worked with other Chaplains and the staff at the Women’s Prison and through the friendships with many of these was able to encourage changes. Through her friendships with the women prisoners and their children and families, Kate was able to support them in their highs and lows. And her support is ongoing.
She was involved in forming groups where women could support each other – like a Catholic Single Parents group at Henley Beach in 1978. In 1988, she served as Chairperson of the Board of Catherine House, a shelter and safe place for women in need and remained as Board member for many years. In 1990, she helped organise Home Retreats through Sophia Women’s Spirituality Centre. Her Retreat work has continued with many different groups, including staff of our Mercy Schools.
When she had a chance to take a ‘sabbatical’ in 1995, she chose to spend the time in a shepherd’s hut in the Barossa Valley, a time when she could be truly contemplative in her little hermitage – focusing on her painting and poetry and immersing herself in nature. It was a time to nourish her soul and prepare her to go back to her work.
More recently, Kate has spent time at the Refugee Centre at Curtin and supports other Sisters in ministering to refugees and asylum seekers in our community
Kate is a story-teller, a good friend to many, a community builder – both among the Sisters and among those she worked with. She is a leader, a formator, a connector, an artist, a poet, a contemplative, an activist, a lover of life.
We are so happy that she and her work have been recognised through the awarding of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Sr Mary-Anne Duigan RSM
Sr Kate Conley RSM OAM
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
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Primary Sport
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Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
Nominations are now open for Term 3 Come ‘n’ Try. Please nominate your daughter before the cut-off date.
Nominations close Tuesday Week 10, Term 2
Commencement of training for all Primary netball, lacrosse and basketball players started last week. It has certainly been a long break. It was great to see the motivation, teamwork and smiles on the girls’ faces. Trainings will continue for the next couple of weeks.
At this stage, there is no start date set for the commencement of games for netball and basketball in Term 3. Lacrosse is likely to start back on Saturday 25 July. We will continue to train and make sure teams are ready for when competitions return. It is important for students to continue to check notices and their emails regularly to keep up-to-date.
SAPSASA sport is slowly returning, it is important that students keep reading the student notices for any SAPSASA sport sign-up notifications.
Come ‘n’ Try started back in Week 7. On Tuesday, Reception students started fundamental kicking skills and Wednesday the Year 1s practised their hitting skills. There was certainly lots of talent on show with lots of noise and laughter.
Sport Year Level Offered Day Played Cost Venue
TERM 3Come ‘n’ Try
Lacrosse Year 2 & 3 Tuesday afternoons28 July - 18 August
$30No Payment
Required*
SAC GymnasiumWeeks 2- 5
Come ‘n’ TryGymnastics
Reception * Tuesday afternoons25 August - 1 Sept
$40No Payment
Required*
SAC GymnasiumWeeks 6-9
Come ‘n’ TryMini Tennis Year 1
Wednesday afternoons
29 July - 19 August
$30No Payment
Required*
SAC GymnasiumWeeks 2-5
* Mid-year enrolling Reception students are unable to participate in the Come ‘n’ Try Program in Term 3. Mid-year Reception students will have the opportunity to enrol in the Reception Come ‘n’ Try Program in Term 4.
* St Aloysius College will be covering the cost this term, due to the uncertainty of programs being completed.
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
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Secondary Sport
empowering bright futures
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
Let the games begin
Secondary sport trainings have been off to a flying start over the last fortnight, with all teams back at training. The U13 Lacrosse girls endured some frosty mornings out at the SAC Parklands, while the badminton and netball players over at the SAC gym met their new coaches and brushed up on their skills. We have had great numbers in AFLW this year, with three teams across Years 7-12. Old scholar Evelyn Jackson, is back and leading our dance sessions, teaching the girls some beautiful contemporary routines. Its great to see the girls enjoying sport and physical activity in so many diverse ways.
Training, Absences & Uniform
A reminder that if your daughter cannot make a scheduled training for any reason, please send a text to the sport mobile (0447 937 709) or email me directly. Attendance so far has been good, so let’s keep it up. As outlined in the secondary sport handbook, students should be wearing correct PE uniform on the day of their training and bring any necessary equipment.
Knockout SportDuring Week 7, information regarding upcoming knockout sport was released through the student bulletin. Trials for Open Knockout Volleyball, Open Knockout Netball and Year 8/9 Knockout Netball will be held during weeks 9 & 10. Sign-up sheets and information forms have been placed in the gym. Students are asked to read this information carefully and, if they excel in that particular sport, nominate to participate in trials. Trial information and a permission form can also be found on SEQTA under the Knockout Sport Portal. Students must bring this signed permission form to trials in order to take part.
Any students selected in these teams must be committed to all trainings and games with an expectation to adhere to the Secondary Sport Knockout Policies outlined in the Secondary Sport Handbook. Competition and training dates are TBA. I look forward to celebrating the sporting talent we have here at SAC and wish all of the girls the best of luck in trials.
On Friday, Week 6, some Year 9 classes had the pleasure of buddying up with the Year 5 students. During this lesson the students were asked to get to know each other and create a paper chain of things they had in common. The aim of this activity is for the Year 5 and 9 students to form a bond and friendship as they share a common area within the school grounds.
Spending time with the Year 5’s for a lesson on Friday was really fun. Not only did I get to meet new people and meet the people that I pass in the hall everyday, but I got a glimpse and a reminder of what it was like when I was in year 5 and what has changed and what has stayed the same. I enjoyed getting to know my buddy and knowing what we have in common and what she was like. I enjoyed getting together later with everyone else in my class and in 5JA, and making a huge paper chain and connecting it with everyone else’s to show what we have in common and that we are connected. Rita CaprioliWe had time to get to know the Year 5 students, share interests and talk about our different experiences at SAC. Together, we wrote our similarities on strips of paper, decorated them and connected them to a giant paper chain! We had so much fun and talked about our favourite subjects, music artists, and weekend activities. I have not only created a friendship with my buddy, but I have gotten to know lots of other Year 5’s that share the corridor with the Year 9’s! Maisha Khan
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
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World Environment Day
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Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
Friday 5 June was World Environment Day. This year’s theme was: ‘Time For Nature’. Year 3-4 SRCs reflected on the ways in which planet Earth has been able to heal during the time of COVID-19. Whilst many people around the world have been very sick and dying, Mother Earth has breathed easy with less air and water pollution. The SRCs put together a movie of the changes in the environment for everyone to watch. We also collected lots of natural materials and encouraged classes to make time for nature. Some classes went outside to enjoy the winter sunshine and made clocks out of the natural materials and paused to think about ways that we can take care of God’s creation.
Ms Nicole PriestYEAR 4 TEACHER
The Earth is our only planet with organic life. If we destroy it where would we live? What would we eat? How will we survive? God created it for us. In exchange God asked us to keep it safe and clean. Is it clean? No. Our world is dirty, polluted and filthy. The air is thick and smoky. Slowly but surely our world is dying. We want to save it. We will do everything in our power to save it. However, we cannot do this alone. We need your help. You can use containers, use public transport, plant trees and flowers, walk when you can, don’t waste water and take care of wildlife. This way we will save the world together. Sana Ghafoori, Mya Tran & Divreet Dhillon 4NP
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South Australian Mathematics Talent Quest
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Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
‘Beanies with Love’
Keeping you warm this winter!
Ms Sarah Anderson gathered interested Year 7 students to prepare for the South Australian Mathematics Talent Quest. This is an open-ended mathematical investigation with a chosen topic to investigate an original concept. The group meets at lunchtime on Wednesdays to collaborate and encourage one another.
Monday lunchtimes is a great chance for Year 7-9 students to meet over a sandwich and a chat to knit and crochet ‘Beanies with Love. So far, our SAC community has knitted over twenty beanies to donate to Catherine House and the Vinnie’s Women’s Crisis Centre. A big thank you must go to Ms McEvoy’s sister Aine, for her generous donation of thirty pairs of golden needles and thirty balls of wool from the Needle Nook, Highgate. These will certainly be well used in the weeks to come. All hand knitted beanies can be placed in a sealed clear plastic bag and left at the front office for collection. For further details email Ms Wendy Heuzenroeder on: [email protected]
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empowering bright futures
Postcards for Grandparents DayTraditionally, we invite the Grandparents of our Reception students to come and visit their grandchildren at St Aloysius College each year, at this time. We take them on a tour of the school, play games, read stories and enjoy some special time together.
Due to the challenging circumstances of COVID-19 this year, we created a new way to bring this event to our families.
Ms Pamela Edwards (Teacher Librarian) and the Reception students read a story called ‘Dear Grandpa’ written by Kate Simpson, which is about a boy and a grandfather writing letters to each other. Using the book as inspiration, the Reception students wrote and illustrated a postcard to go to their grandparents during their library lesson. Parents gave us address details for grandparents to send the postcards to, some within and some outside of Australia. Students participated in putting their postcard into an envelope addressed to their grandparent. They learnt about the journey a postcard will take to reach their grandparent and about the service role in the community of Australia Post employees.
At 9am on Friday 12 June, an Australia Post employee visited SAC. He met each individual Reception student who said hello and placed their envelope into his mail bag. We waved goodbye to the postman who took our envelopes away to be processed at the Post Office and begin their journey to reach their grandparents. The postcards will be travelling everywhere, from Aberfoyle Park to Wynn Vale, from Sydney to Perth, from the Philippines to India and from the United Kingdom to the USA.
We have asked if grandparents might like to take a photo of themselves with the postcard when they arrive so that we can see the completion of the postcard’s journey.
MsAmy Manser (Library Assistant) has created a film of the ‘Postcards for Grandparents Day’ event. Families will be able to share this film with their grandparents to see the full process of this journey via link from their teacher. It has been a great team effort and a process full of the joy and love of family and community and in 2020, ‘Grandparents Day’ truly became a global event for SAC.
Ms Pamela EdwardsTEACHER LIBRARIAN
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empowering bright futures
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
Dear Parents, Guardians and Carer,
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
• year of schooling• category of disability: physical, cognitive,
sensory or social/emotional• level of adjustment provided: support provided
within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
This information assists schools to:
• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.
The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.
Ms Paddy McEvoyPRINCIPAL
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data
School Tour Tuesday 23 June 2020, 10am
. ST
ALO
YSIU
S C
OLLEGE . 1880 - 2020 . C
ELEBRATING 140 YEARS
Educating girls in the heart of the City of Adelaide | ELC - Year 12
www.sac.sa.edu.au
8217 3200
A Ministry of Mercy Education Ltd
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Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)
If you would like your daughter to attend Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) we ask that you make a booking via email [email protected] or telephone 8217 3200 from 8:15am to 2:00pm or 8217 3254 from 2:00pm.
Similarly, if you would like to cancel a casual or permanent booking, please contact the school via email or telephone. Advance bookings and cancellations can be made at any time. Please note that parents intending to use the OSHC Service for the first time, are required to complete an OSHC Enrolment Form, which is available from the SAC Office or OSHC Centre.
Ms Jacqui McilroyDEPUTY PRINCIPAL (PASTORAL CARE)
SAC UNIFORM SHOP
Tuesday 8:15am-11:30amWednesday 1pm-4pm
Thursday 8:15am-11:30am
July School Holiday TradingThursday 16 July & Friday 17 July
8:30am-4:30pmTo book your appointment please contact us via email [email protected] or by phone 8217 3267You can also visit our new
Service . Compassion . Hospitality . Justice . Respect
Scented WondersPurple Ribbon Fundraiser for Pancreatic Cancer
Please help Stephanie Pinna’s Mother Maria, with a fundraiser to help raise awareness and as much money as possible for research into Pancreatic Cancer. After losing her beautiful mother-in-law in 2018, her hope is to rally together the support of our community to help one day find a cure and save others from having to go through what she has. The cost of the candle is $25 and $10 from the sale of each candle will be donated to Pancare.
Let’s light a candle in remembrance of loved ones lost and for those braving the battle.
To place your order and for further information in relation to this fundraiser please click on the link below https://www.trybooking.com/BJTPZ
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.
In her own time, Emma uses free digital painting software called FireAlpaca and her device’s pen to create these stunning works of art. Emma says, “I like drawing and digital art because you can take figments of your imagination and make them a reality. Any colour, any emotion, it can all be conveyed through art. You can express whatever you like in a unique way. I am constantly inspired by countless creators and animators who continue to create and express their ideas and thoughts”. What inspirational digital drawings Emma!
Ms Joanne VillisDIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES COORDINATOR (R-10)
