No. 3

ST MARY’S COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

13, March 2015

Michael Pepper

We are over half way through an exciting and positive Term 1. With only three weeks to go until the end of term, the staff and students are busily engaging in their planned curriculums and school activities. Staffing Welcome back to Mr Tim Clear from his well-earned five weeks of Long Service Leave. We hope that you have enjoyed your break and we look forward to continue working with you. On Mr Tim’s return we say farewell and thank you to Ms Emily Connor who replaced Mr Tim in Year 5TJ. Ms Emily filled this position with great energy and enthusiasm, giving the students a wonderful start to their new school year. I also acknowledge the teamwork of the Primary Leadership and Administration Team and all staff who stepped up to fill in the gaps, particularly in the beginning of term. Please keep Mr Ralph Hicks in our prayers. Ralph has been away sick and we wish him a speedy recovery. Thank you to our grounds and maintenance team members who have been doing extra’s in Ralph’s absence. Enhanced ICT and Staff PD The College has recently invested over $200,000 to upgrade the Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for students and teachers. In the past fortnight, staff have been participating in professional learning to support our enhanced ICT available to students in the classrooms. A main focus has been on Google Apps for Education and the use of our iPads and Chrome Books. The potential of Google Apps is teachers and students around the world. A special thanks to our ICT Team and to all staff and who assisted. It is great to see our new ICT devices being supported by quality professional learning events for our teachers. Caritas Fundraising It is very pleasing to see how motivated our students and staff are with their fundraising for Caritas. The teachers have also been helping students to understand the work of Caritas, which will put a reason behind their efforts. The fundraising ideas are full of drive and energy. Up and coming is another monster garage sale on Saturday 28 March and this Saturday 14 March there will be a fashion shop auction at the Primary library. We need as many helpers and donations as possible for the garage sale so that we can top last year’s effort of $13,000 raised during Lent. Keep up the good work everyone! Swimming Carnivals This week it was a very exciting Thursday for our primary students. The Inter-House swimming carnival was held at the Broome Recreational Aquatic Centre for the Years 3-6 students. Congratulations to Ward House for winning the 2015 House Shield with a total of 590 points, closely followed by Barbier House – 541points, Rice House - 513 points and O’Brien House with 454 points. Student participation is to be commended and the leadership by the newly appointed House Captains was very impressive. Many records were broken on the day and a full report acknowledging all age champions and records broken will be included in our next newsletter by Mr Ed. Thank you to Mr Ed and to all the teachers who ran the day so efficiently and made it such fun for all. The community spirit was certainly alive and well on the day, and I thank those parents and grandparents who March NO SCHOOL FOR PRIMARY STUDENTS

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Two way interviews PRIMARY

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KIMBERLEY CLONTARF SHIELD BROOME YR 7-9

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SECONDARY interschool swimming carnival Derby

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PRIMARY interschool carnival

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Giver of all that is good, Change our selfishness into generosity, Help us to love the world you have given us and to work for dignity and peace. AMEN

Secondary Campus Administration 3 Port Drive, Tel: (08) 9194 9500 Fax: (08) 9192 1797 PO Box 100 Broome, WA 6735 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stmarysbroome.wa.edu.au This newsletter is also available on www.stmarysbroome.wa.edu.au

volunteered their time on the day and to staff, parents and students for their support of the event. A special thank you to Ms Tiana Leak who has supported Mr Ed with training the students for the carnival over the past weeks. Whilst the swimming carnival was taking place the Kindergarten to Year 2 students were enjoying a Water Fun Day at school. The junior primary staff ran activities with water balloons, water games, hoses and all sorts of watery fun. Thank you to Ms Keryn and Ms Sarah and the Kindergarten to Year 2 staff and parents who coordinated and ran the fun events. Many thanks also to the canteen staff for the catering and to the maintenance team for assisting with the set up at these events. The Interschool carnival for secondary students will be held in Derby next Friday, 20 March. Much training has been going on in preparation and we wish the St Mary’s College team well as they compete against the other secondary schools in the Kimberley. Thank you to Mr Mark Dellar and staff who have been assisting Mr Mark to prepare our team for the event. Parents and Friends Thank you to the many parents who attended the Parents and Friends meeting last Tuesday. Welcome and thank you for your commitment to the newly elected committee members, Belinda Dwyer (President), Angi Sam (Vice President), Stephanie Cremin (Treasurer) and Holly Snell (Secretary). I recognise the tireless work by the very energetic outgoing committee. My sincere thanks to Rose Mitchell (President), Gina Hailes (Vice President), Natalie Giancono (Treasurer) and Elisa Pernich (Secretary). It is wonderful to witness the dedication and enthusiasm of the committee and I also acknowledge all the parents who supported and helped the committee out over the years. In the News A special mention to one of our 2011 graduates, Miss Pheobie Grainer. Pheobie was recently granted a Mary Mackillop Foundation Indigenous Tertiary Scholarship. After graduating from St Mary’s College, Pheobie worked as a teacher assistant on the primary campus for a year. She is now following her dream of becoming a professionally trained actress at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. We are very proud of Demi Bowd, current Year 5 student who is taking part in the World’s Greatest Shave. On Thursday the school witnessed a very brave and selfless Demi having her head shaved for this very worthy cause. The event raises money for blood cancer research and free services to support people with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders. Many of us have been effected by these diseases in some way or another, and donations of every size count. Congratulations also to Clarissa Churchill who was selected for the Raise the Bar Academy (Athletics Australia and Melbourne University) to attend a prestigious sports initiative held in Melbourne recently. Clarissa who hails from the Warmun Community is also the 2015 St Mary’s College Sports Captain. Recently we received news from Mrs Clare Pigram, long-time employee and parent of St Mary’s College who is now working in Perth. Clare won the award for being the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year’ at the West Coast Institute Awards Ceremony. This award was a testament to the commitment that Clare showed throughout her Certificate III in Education Support course. Congratulations and well done Clare. OLNA Testing Over the past week, secondary students from Year 10 /11 have been completing the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA). From 2016, to achieve a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) students need to demonstrate a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy. Thank you to all students who strived to achieve their personal best in the tests and to the staff who assisted with the administration of the OLNA testing.

WINNERS OF THE PRIMARY SWIMMING CARNIVAL……...WARD HOUSE

FROM HEAD OF PRIMARY

Coby Rhatigan

Caritas Fundraising We have had a variety of events to kick off our Caritas campaign for 2015. A highlight being our Year Six H students putting on a breakfast for us all, our Year Five students have started their Lollies in a Jar competition and the selling of Ice cups has commenced. Next week Year One students will be making a snake out of money and Year Three’s hosting a Compassion Café. There are so many exciting things happening! Lent is a time when we reflect on others and their needs. A special committed student Demi Bowd has taken this opportunity to participate in the World’s Greatest Shave to increase awareness around the needs of others. We are so proud of Demi, her compassion, selfless commitment to educate others. What a brilliant example of a listening heart. We are also super impressed with Mr Tim’s impromptu commitment to having his head shaved too. Such peer pressure! Sacrament of Reconciliation Next week our students celebrate their Sacrament of Reconciliation Retreat and Liturgy. As a parish community we celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent. Our Reconciliation Retreat Day will take place on Friday 20th March starting in the Holy Place on Primary with a pilgrimage to the Cathedral. The Reconciliation Liturgy will be held on Saturday 21 st February at 9:30am at the Cathedral. All families are welcome to celebrate this special time with our students. Thank you to the candidates, their families and the parish sacramental team for all their efforts thus far for the preparations. Please keep these students in your thoughts and prayers during this time. Masses & Liturgies Thank you to the families who were able to join our Year One students at the Cathedral. It was a special way to celebrate the Eucharist together. Thanks to Miss Val for coordinating such a lovely celebration. Next Friday 20th March, our Pre Primary students will be celebrating their first Liturgy in their classroom. Please join us for this special time for our Pre Primary students.

FROM HEAD OF PRIMARY

Coby Rhatigan

Harmony Day Next week we celebrate Harmony Day. The 21st March is observed on this day throughout Australia. Harmony Day is intended to show cohesion and inclusion in Australia and promote a tolerant and culturally diverse society. The continuing message of Harmony Day is that everyone should belong. It is about community participation, inclusiveness, celebrating diversity respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Students will be completing activities and reflecting on what this day means for us. ATA Study Our ATA’s have commenced study again for this year. We have four staff working towards their Certificate III and seven staff working on their Diploma. You may notice some staffing changes as we share our TA’s & ATA’s around in order to support these study commitments. Parent/Teacher Interviews Next week we will be hosting Parent/Teacher Meetings. A note has gone home asking for parents and caregivers to select suitable times and return it to school. This is an important opportunity for parents and teachers to discuss your child and their strengths and future focuses. Please ensure that you book a time. Thanks Emily & Welcome Back Tim A huge thanks to Emily who has taken on the sharing of the Year 5TJ Classroom with such commitment and passion at the beginning of this year. The students and the Year Five team were extremely lucky to start the term with you! We welcome back Mr Tim from his five weeks Long Service Leave, it is lovely to have him back with us at SMC. Water Fun Day A huge thank you to all our K-2 students who participated so well in our second ever Water Fun Day. Lots of time was spent planning exciting opportunities for students thanks to our committed staff and parents. It was so special to see students playing together to make such fun. A special mention to Keryn and Sarah who coordinated this fun event for our students. Swimming Carnival What a fabulous display of team work and sportsmanship from our year 3-6 students. Mr Ed yet again organised a special day for all our students and families. It was a great to witness such fabulous community spirit. P&F Meeting Thanks to our dedicated P&F team for hosting the first meeting for the year and to the parents that came along to support our P&F. This committee is pivitol in supporting our students and community. We have a new look committee and we welcome them to their new roles. KAMSC Hearing Checks Thanks to the support from Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council, we were able to have some of our Aboriginal students hearing assessed by a visiting specialised team. Our School Nurse will be completing assessments on students in the early years requiring screening and review. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s hearing please liaise with your child’s classroom teacher who can make a referral to our school nurse or take your child to your GP. ICT Professional Learning Day Last Tuesday whilst our students were enjoying an extra long weekend the staff were in the Art Room learning all about GAFE `Google Apps for Education’. We learnt how to share google docs, create online classrooms, learning spaces and blogs, how to set assignments and tasks for students digitally and SO MUCH more. We feel very lucky to have had the Digital Learning Team from the Catholic Education Office come to Broome to facilitate this event for us. This Friday the students will have another long weekend and the staff will once again enter the wonderful world of technology. We will be exploring integration of ICT in the Australian Curriculum and loads more using ipads.

This Friday the students will have another long weekend and the staff will once again enter the wonderful world of technology. We will be exploring integration of ICT in the Australian Curriculum and loads more using IPads. The staff have started a fortnightly breakfast to support one another in the acquisition of their technology skills. It is wonderful to have staff so motivated to learn from one another and share their fabulous ICT skills. Professional Learning Days Parents, we will not be having too many more long weekends. Each school is allocated seven professional learning days and one Catholic Day. You will be pleased to know that we have had four of our allocated days so far. The three left are Monday 20th April, Friday 25th September, Monday 12th October and our Catholic Day on Monday 24 th August. These are such important days for our professional learning and staff engagement. Important Upcoming Dates Staff PLE – ICT – March 13th – No School for Primary students Two Way Parent Interviews – March 17th & 18th Thanks for your support over the last fortnight, it has been a busy couple of weeks yet again, however students have handled all of our changes really well. Project Compassion With thanks to Bronwyn at Bunnings for helping support our endeavours to raise funds for Project Compassion. Bunnings will donate used planting pots and potting soil to help with potting up the Malay Almond Seedlings. Please contact Anastasia on 0448 970 037 if interested in helping with further plant donations for the BIG Garage Sale on the 28th of March. http://www.eattheweeds.com/tropical-almond-sea-almond/ Outdoor Education Over the last two weeks the Year 9/10 Outdoor Education students have been taking part in a fishing program. During our first practical lesson three students caught some impressive fish. Alex Smith caught a Diamond Trevally which he returned to the water after landing the fish. Scartisha Ningella and Kevin Gibson both caught large Golden Travellys. Scartisha got bragging rights as her fish was one centimetre longer than Kevins. Some extra excitement occurred at the end of the lesson as a Giant Groper came and ate the fish that Alex had returned to the water. The class has one more fishing lesson this Friday. Hopefully we catch more fish then!

From The Canteen Don’t forget that Thursday is our famous ‘Curry Day’. A mild chicken curry with green beans, potatoes and coconut cream. Nutritious and delicious!

YEAR 7 CAMP On the Monday of week 4, the Year 7s excitedly piled on a bus to begin their three day journey of fun and friendship. This year’s induction camp was again at the wonderful Broome Camp School. Over the course of the camp, the students experienced a variety of activities which challenged them individually and in groups, tested their teamwork and facilitated the students’ discovery of their leadership skills. Importantly, too, it provided many opportunities for the students to mix and get to know each other, or strengthen existing bonds. Many of the activities provided an array of mental and physical challenges, while others such as the visit to the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park and the presentation by the Kimberley Wildlife Carers gave an upclose and very informative look at some of our fascinating fauna. The “SMC Whose Got Talent” show on the final night, saw the emergence of many budding stars. I would like to thank the staff from the Broome Camp School for their hospitality and support and to all of the staff from St Mary’s who gave up their time to assist in running the camp program and for their care of our students.

STUDENT CAMP HIGHLIGHTS……… My highlight on camp was the croc park because we got to see the cute dingoes and the bats. By Sumiyah My camp highlight was when I got to hang out and play a lot of games with my friends and got to know some new kids at our school. By Corrina The highlight of camp was playing basketball during free time with Jahrome, Rocky and Patrick. By PJ The best thing about camp was playing water polo. It was also fun at the Crocodile Park and I also enjoyed ping pong. By George My camp highlight was playing basketball with my friends during free time and playing ping pong. By Jahrome I enjoyed the “St. Marys Has Got Talent” and also enjoyed all the activities with the other Year 7’s. By Jahndi My favourite activity on camp was playing water polo, it was kind of like soccer but in the water and using hands not feet. By Patrick At camp we stayed up during the night telling stories because we did not want to go to sleep! By Teresa

From the Sports desk............. HOUSE SWIMMING CARNIVAL Congratulations to WARD house and all competitors on a wonderful day at the BRAC. It was great to see so many students in the water over the course of the carnival. The HOUSE spirit was alive and well with all teams working extremely hard to gain a place on the coveted swimming shield. Ward was successful in holding out a fast finishing O’Brien to take line honours by only 7 points. Many thanks to all staff for making sure the event went so smoothly and a special mention to the HPE staff for their expertise. It was particularly exciting to see swimming alive and well at St Mary’s College. Individual champions ( Big round of applause) were as follows: CHAMPION

RUNNER-UP

U/13 GIRL - LAUREN CHRISTIE

U/13 GIRL – HOLLY NEWTON

U/13 BOY - DANIEL RALPH

U/13 BOY – JOHN QUILISADIO

U/14 GIRL - BREANNA SCOTT

U/14 GIRL – ANGEL DALE

U/14 BOY - AIDEN DANN

U/14 BOY – JACOB COUSEMACKER

U/15 GIR – CHARLIESHA MUNG

U/15 GIRL – ANNA HOLMES

U/15 BOY – MAX HEALEY

U/15 BOY – WYLIE SCOTT

U/16 GIRL – ABIER HAMAGUCHI

U/16 GIRL – DAKOTA LEAK

U/16 BOY – DION PARRIMAN

U/16 BOY – TAJ JAMIESON

OPEN GIRL – GERAIYAH WIGGAN

OPEN GIRL – ELIZABETH OFFER

OPEN BOY – AYDEN IERACI

OPEN BOY – NAVIN LATCHMAN

Records set on the day ( Another big round of applause) were as follows: M U/21 50M FSTYLE , AYDEN IERACI, 29.20s

M U/13 25M BACK , DANIEL RALPH , 19.32s

F U/13 50M BST , LAUREN CHRISTIE , 46.36s

M U/21 25M BACK , AYDENIERACI , 15.52s

M U/13 50M BST , DANIEL RALPH , 46.90s

M U/13 25M BFLY , DANIEL RALPH , 17.49s

M U/13 50M BACK , DANIEL RALPH , 41.62s

M U/15 25M BFLY , MAX HEALEY , 16.94s

M U/13 50M FSTYLE , DANIEL RALPH , 31.60s

M U/16 25M BFLY , DION PARRIMAN , 20.76s

M U/21 50M BACK , AYDEN IERACI , 33.16s

M U/21 200M INDM , AYDEN IERACI , 1:18.26s

M U/13 25M FSTYLE, DANIEL RALPH , 14.99s

U/15 4X25M RELAY , OBRIEN , 1:15.72s

M U/14 25M FSTYLE, AIDEN DANN , 17.10s

U/14 4X25M RELAY , OBRIEN , 1:31.18s

M U/13 25M BST , DANIEL RALPH , 21.31s

U/15 4X25M MEDRELAY , OBRIEN , 1:33.24s

COMING EVENTS INTERSCHOOLSWIMMING CARNIVAL: DERBY 20TH MARCH. Approximately 50 students will head up to Derby to contest the annual carnival against BROOME SHS and DERBY DHS. This will be a big day for the students with a 7am leave and 4pm return. Smarter than Smoking Girls AFL carnival in Derby on 25th March. We are already training and hoping to retain our status of champion school after last year’s victory. Puertollano Cup boys cricket at St Mary’s Oval on 25th March. Mr Braden is training and getting his team ready to challenge Broome SHS for this prestigious Cup. Kimberley Cup training will be starting in the very near future. More information to follow. Teams will be honing their skills in AFL, Volleyball, Netball, Basketball, Soccer and Touch.

PARENTS AND FRIENDS The first P and F meeting for the year was held on Tuesday night in the Primary staffroom. It looked fantastic. Even more exciting was the number of parents who attended the meeting. We had in excess of twenty people. It was great to see new faces and meet new parents to our college. It was really heart warming to see so many take an interest in the P and F. One of the items that was addressed was the potting of seedlings from the Malay Almond tree. If anyone has any pots or potting mix they are happy to donate could you please leave them just outside the shed on the primary campus. If anyone would like to help dig some of the seedlings up please contact Staci or leave your name at the front office of primary. Our next meeting on the 28th of April is when we allocate the funds raised to resources for the school. Parents are also welcome to put in a submission. Forms are available from the P and F in tray in the primary office and submissions need to be by the end of the term. Lastly, I am very excited to announce the new executive committee of the P and F. President: Belinda Dwyer Vice President: Angi Sam Treasurer: Stephanie Cremin Secretary: Holly Snell I am so grateful to each of these people for stepping into these positions. I have no doubt that they will see this as a wonderful opportunity and will find their roles very rewarding.

BSLSC BROOME SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB REGISTRATION DAY Sunday 29th March 2015 3.00 – 5.00pm Where: Surf Club Cable Beach New members welcome to come and find out more about joining our club. From Active Seniors, Nippers, Cadets & Social Free Sausage Sizzle & Clothing Sale Members bar will be open from 5pm

EFTPOS & cash accept

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Elisa Pernich for her work as the secretary and Gina Hailes for her role as the vice president. A special thank you to Natalie Giancono for her tireless work as the treasurer. She has always gone above and beyond in her role and I could not have done my job without her. Thank you to Lynette Chidlow for her support in my role and the advice and support she has always provided me. I have gained many friendships by being part of the P and F and wish the same for the new executive. Thanks also to my husband Aidan and children who have supported me in all my endeavours. Thank you to the parent, staff and student body for your support over the past three years and I encourage you all to support the new executive in all of their efforts. Kind regards Rose Mitchell

Broome Academy of Music is now offering EXTRA lessons in 2015 for both CHILDREN and ADULTS. Currently there are lessons available for: PIANO, DRUMS, GUITAR & VOICE. For enquiries, please email: [email protected] or visit our website: www.broomeacademyofmusic.com

Access to Fortnightly newsletter online - http://www.stmarysbroome.wa.edu.au/home/newsletter/

Easter Reflection We extend an invitation to all the community for a gathering of prayer, reflection and peace at our annual Easter reflection on Monday 23 March at the Holy Place. Our talented performing arts students will present a powerful yet beautiful and moving recital of the Easter story. The Holy Place is a perfect setting and provides us with the space to reflect on the presence of God in our lives and in the world, particularly at Easter time. Please encourage as many family members and friends to attend. We are asking that everyone be seated by 5:30 pm. Chairs will be provided, but you are welcome to bring a rug if you prefer to sit on the lawn.

Access to Fortnightly newsletter online - http://www.stmarysbroome.wa.edu.au/home/newsletter/