Week 8 Term 2 2022
From the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff and Students,
We are certainly moving towards the ‘business end’ of the term, with many of our regular activities back on the agenda. Our dedicated staff have been working incredibly hard on things such as: Subject Selection for Year 10, Enrolment Interviews for Year 7 (2023), Parent/Teacher Interview preparation, Years 11 & 12 Semester One Reports, various sporting fixtures – the list goes on.
Our Year 12 students have also been meeting daily over the past week to ensure that our St John’s Day celebrations on the last day of term (Friday, 1 July) set a new benchmark for Woodlawn. Please encourage your sons and daughters to fully immerse themselves in the many co-curricular opportunities that a Woodlawn education offers. Many of the lessons learned outside the formal classroom environment are equally valuable to producing young women and men of competence, conscience and compassion, with an attitude of excellence and service.
Term Dates: Term 2 concludes on Friday, 1 July and Term 3 commences for students on Tuesday, 19 July which will be Day 2 on the College Timetable.
Listed below are the current COVID-19 NSW Health Guidelines for Schools:
- Students and staff who are close contacts and have no symptoms can continue to attend school if they follow the guidelines below:
- They must notify the school and their outside of school hours care (OOSHC) provider if they are intending to return under this provision.
- They should conduct a daily rapid antigen test (RAT) and return a negative result each morning before attending school for 5 school days.
- Secondary school students must wear a mask indoors (except when eating or exercising).
- No student or staff member identified as a close contact will be permitted to participate in overnight excursions, including school camps.
- No apprentices, trainees or students on placement or staff member identified as a close contact will be permitted to attend settings identified as high risk by NSW Health (healthcare, aged care, disability care or correctional facilities).
- Any visitor to a school site who is a close contact is required to advise the school that they are a close contact before they come on site. These visitors should conduct a daily RAT and return a negative result before attending. They must also wear a mask indoors at all times. Schools should consider if the visit can be conducted virtually.
- Packs of 7 RATs are available for all students via the Student Services Office (SSO).
- Last week at Woodlawn, we are aware of at least seven (7) cases of COVID-19 across students in all year levels, 7 - 12.
- Mask wearing is mandatory for staff and high school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 school days. Masks continue to be mandatory on public transport. This applies to students aged 12 years and older when travelling to and from school and during school excursions by public transport or by chartered transport services.
- Students are encouraged to wash their hands regularly with soap and water. Enhanced cleaning measures remain in place at the College.
As this fortnight’s reflection, I include the following thoughts on ‘the art of the possible’ for your perusal:
Possibility…
The Oxford Dictionary defines possibility as a thing that may happen or be true; the fact that something might happen or be true, but is not certain. It is the uncertainty, the ‘may’ and the ‘might’, the element of doubt, the ‘this way’ or ‘that’ and the choices that are presented to us, that have the power to light a fire or to extinguish a spark within each of us. St Catherine of Siena, a doctor of the Church once wrote, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Here was a woman who understood potential and possibility. The potential each of us has when we open ourselves to the power of possibility, given to us by God the Creator.
Imagine a world without possibility: inventors wouldn’t have invented, dreamers wouldn’t have dreamt and artists wouldn’t have created. If Benjamin Franklin didn’t believe in the power of possibility we would not have electricity. If Alexander Fleming didn’t wonder at the possibilities science could offer, we would be without penicillin and if Michelangelo didn’t see possibility in a block of marble, we wouldn’t have the statue of David. Here, we have three famous examples of people who set the world on fire, who dared to imagine that something was possible and proved it to be so.
Jesus dwelt in possibility. He shows us that all things are possible with God. When Jesus challenged the people of his time, he was also challenging us to think beyond the scope of who and what we are, to who and what we can become. He challenges us to think about what might happen or what may happen, when we step into a place of uncertainty and fan the spark into a flame.
(‘The Soul’ – Lismore CSO)
I will be attending the annual Priests/Principals’ Conference next Wednesday to Friday in Coffs Harbour. Thanks, in advance, to Mr Campbell who will deputise for me during this time.
Finally, we offer our condolences to the Reen family on the death of Gary’s mother, Aileen, whose Requiem Mass was celebrated in Ballina yesterday. May she rest in peace.
Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.
Sincerely
Aaron Beach
Principal
Ministry Matters
The world of mission, ministry and student discipleship has been on overdrive again this last fortnight. There have been many planning meetings and gatherings of weekly groups with an eye to the key events of Street Retreat, Ignite Conference and our ‘Rug Up, Ugg Up’ casual clothes day which took place last Friday.
As per usual, the enthusiasm of our students to participate in these service opportunities within the College, has been amazing. Working with our students toward ministry projects and events is a true and constant reminder of the very selfless and ‘other-focused’ community that we have at Woodlawn.
‘Rug Up, Ugg Up’ Casual Clothes Day
We held our annual Winter Woolies casual clothes day last Friday, 10 June. Raising money and awareness for the Vinnies Winter Appeal, this event always draws great excitement as we are presented with the rare opportunity to wear our warm and snug clothing to school for the day.
The support this year for the event was just as generous as we have come to experience within our Woodlawn family. I am delighted to inform you that the generosity of our College community saw us collect $1182.70 from gold coin donations alone. This will be added to the sum, yet to be counted, raised by our Vinnies group which will hopefully be able to make a difference to the lives of those many people who are sleeping rough in our area this winter.
As usual, we were able to reflect during this day on just how fortunate the majority of our community is to have shelter in these times when the nights are getting colder and colder. We see below some images of the day with students and staff really going the extra mile to participate in this wonderful event.
Street Retreat
Students will leave for this event next Thursday accompanied by Mr Craig Saad. It has been very pleasing to hear our young people talk in preparation for their journey with the poor and marginalised in Brisbane.
We were delighted to be informed this week that we have been able to send another student to this event. Congratulations to Lukas Boonrat on his application and selection to participate.
I know that I’m not alone in wishing our seven students and Mr Saad all the very best. We look forward to hearing of your time upon your return in Week 10.
Ignite Conference 2022
We have now selected our students who will be attending the annual Ignite Conference in Brisbane in September. Again, we were blown away by the level of support and enthusiasm this event was given by our student body.
I will write more about the Ignite Conference closer to the event in September. For now, I offer my gratitude and welcome to Mrs Karen Davies and Mrs Tayla Tickle who will accompany our students to the Conference. I know that our students will benefit greatly from their support and guidance along the way.
As always, if there is anything that we can do to support you and your family in your own faith journey, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We look forward to walking with you as our journey continues throughout the remainder of 2022.
Nick Jones
Leader of School Evangelisation
nick.jones@lism.catholic.edu.au
Student Wellbeing
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Examinations
As our young people in Years 7 - 10 finish their examination block it is important to unpack what has been learnt during this time. Some students will be celebrating successes, others lamenting lost opportunities and still others will be disappointed with results. All of these circumstances provide opportunities for growth. It might be timely to have a discussion with your young person about their examination preparation. Did they utilise the provided study guide for each subject? Did they have all the necessary course notes? Did they write course summaries? Did they answer practice questions? Did they commit content to memory? Did they actually study at all? It is important to identify what techniques worked and what did not. These conversations, along with teacher feedback can support young people to improve on these results in the Semester 2 examinations.
Conflict resolution
(from: https://www.schoolmum.net/parenting/challenges-parenting/helping-your-child-with-friendship-conflict/)
Conflict in friendship groups is something we commonly see at school. Sometimes young people can solve these situations themselves, but at other times they require adult support. What can adults do to help? They can:
Model positive conflict resolution
Many people advocate that parents should not fight in front of children; however, seeing adults constructively deal with conflict is actually an extremely valuable life lesson.
Teach self-awareness
Having insight into our own thoughts, feelings and actions is an important part of positive conflict resolution. When talking about emotions, be sure to name them clearly for your child and talk about emotional triggers. Having this awareness will help them better understand their role in the conflict.
Teach self-regulation
Knowing what you feel is one thing, but being able to control it is another! Learning how to manage one’s own feelings before dealing with someone else’s is an extremely important part of dealing with conflict in a positive way. Big emotions often cloud judgement and can make small conflicts blow out of proportion.
Encourage kindness and empathy
There are always two sides to a story and children should learn from an early age that what they think/feel/believe is not the same as everyone else. By being able to put themselves in the other party’s shoes your child will be better able to negotiate a mutually acceptable outcome. Using a gentle, kind approach to conflict resolution rather than an aggressive one is also more likely to yield better outcomes.
Continue to work on communication skills
People who are skilled at conflict resolution use a number of strategies in their communication style, including:
- Being open and honest when conflict or an issue arises;
- Using “I statements” to get their own views and feelings across;
- Active listening – a very important part of understanding everyone’s point of view in a conflict;
- Not resorting to emotive or derogatory language (such as name calling, during conflict resolution).
Develop problem-solving skills
Teach your child how to identify the problem, come up with different solutions and negotiate with peers. Kids can tend to be very black and white so building lateral thinking skills can really help problem-solving ability. Get them to consider likely consequences, as well as all possible outcomes.
Talk about being fair and how compromise works
In an ideal world, every conflict situation would end in win-win but that is not always the case. Often someone needs to be more flexible about their wants or needs in order to come to a resolution. This isn’t about teaching your child to be a pushover – rather teaching them how to be flexible in order to achieve a positive outcome for everyone.
Uniform
As mentioned in last fortnight's Newsletter, students are now to wear blazers to and from school (except on Wednesday).. We appreciate your support in checking that your young person is wearing theirs as they leave for school each day.
If you have any questions or concerns about your young person's wellbeing please contact me at fiona.fennamore@lism.catholic.edu or 66262627.
Regards,
Fiona Fennamore
Leader of Student Welfare
fiona.fennamore@lism.catholic.edu.au
NSW School Vaccination Program
Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program.
In 2022 the following vaccines will be offered:
YEAR | VACCINE – Friday, June 24 | NUMBER OF DOSES |
Year 10 | Meningococcal ACWY vaccine | Single dose |
Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement have been sent home to parents/guardians. To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians are advised to:
- read all the information provided;
- complete the consent form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive;
- return the completed consent form to their child’s school;
- ensure their child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic.
Please note that, to improve vaccination completion, students will be opportunistically offered any missed doses during Year 7 and catch up into Year 8 (for HPV and dTpa vaccination) and during Year 10 and catch up into Year 11 (for Meningococcal ACWY vaccination) or consent signed in 2022.
Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by writing to the College Principal or phoning the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/ Pages/withdraw_consent.aspx.
A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic either as a physical card or a text message sent to the mobile number recorded on the consent form. Details about vaccinations given at school will also be uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) to support complete vaccination histories.
Uniform Shop
The St John's College Woodlawn Uniform Shop is proudly managed by P&C Uniforms.
To ensure you have an easy and pleasant experience while ordering uniforms, we encourage you to order online ahead of time for easy click-and-collect in store.
Opening Hours: Monday 8.00am - 9.30am & Wednesday 11.00am - 2.00pm
Where: Colin Centre
Order Online: www.sjcwuniformshop.com.au
Book a fitting: www.sjcwuniformshop.com.au/bts-appointments
Second Hand Uniform Shop
When: 1st Wednesday of every month
Where: Colin Centre
Time: 8am - 2pm
Canteen News
The cash free way to pay! - REGISTER NOW
Paying for lunches is now safer and hassle free. With cashless cards there's no need for students to bring cash to school.
The College has Flexischools to allow students to pay at the Canteen using their existing student ID card. Paying for lunches and items at recess or lunch is now safer and hassle free. With cashless cards there's no need for students to bring cash to school. Parents can set daily spending limits and view transactions online. Parents can also top-up funds at anytime.
The Canteen has introduced a Fast-Track line for students who have pre-ordered to collect their lunches, making it much easier and quicker for students.
We encourage all students to register. This will allow for those days when your student may have forgotten their homemade lunches.
Please follow the link below to register now: