Term 3, Week 3 2022
Term 3 has already seen students and staff participate in a wide range of learning activities, with incursions, excursions, extra-curricular sports and plenty more. I trust that you will enjoy reading the below summaries of some of these activities that have occurred over the last fortnight.
The College has also been preparing for two important upcoming events; during week 4 we have our Interhouse Athletics carnivals, and on Monday of week 5, the College will celebrate Lumen Day. Further information regarding these events has been sent to families via email.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support over the last few weeks as I stepped into the role of Acting College Principal. I look forward to welcoming Mrs Prendergast back from her long service leave next week.
Mr Peter Sackett
Acting College Principal
E-safety message
As we begin Term Three, the eSafety commissioner has released an important media release for parents. We encourage parents to follow this link for information on supporting positive use of online technology and social media.
College Psychologists
We would like to welcome to our community two new Psychologists who at the commencement of this term have joined the College staff on a full-time basis. Stephanie Boyett and Vanessa Micro will be working closely with our Heads of Year and Deputy Principals to assist in the pastoral care of all our students. At times, Stephanie and Vanessa may sit in on appointments with Yvonne Harvey (Monday) or Janette Connor (Friday) throughout this term.
Whole School Academic Honours Assembly
Last week our Semester 1 Academic Honours award winners were acknowledged at a whole school assembly. Several students were also recognised for their outstanding results in the recent Australian Geography Competition. Well done to all of our award winners.
Poetry in Action - Year 8 English Incursion
In the English Learning Area, our Year 8 students have launched into the semester with a bang by commencing their poetry unit of study. To enhance their learning, the Year 8s were incredibly lucky to participate in an incursion on Friday 29 July, with the national travelling poetry slam group, Poetry in Action. This is the first time that Poetry in Action has visited our College, and both students and teachers alike were completely captivated by the phenomenal performances. The aim of the acts was certainly achieved, where barriers between classic poetry and modern audiences were broken down, and the poetic beauty of words were brought to life. Our Year 8s are to be commended for their outstanding attention and participation.
Australian Geography Competition Results
Last term, Geography students tested their geographical skills and knowledge against 70 000 students from all around Australia. Mrs Pirie, Head of Learning Area for HASS, was very pleased with how our students performed. We had a number of student geographers who performed well, with Jessica Warren in the top 1% in Year 11 across Australia, one student gaining a High Distinction, seven students gaining Distinctions, and a further 17 students gaining credits.
Kai Gibbon, Year 7: High Distinction
Tayla Praed, Year 11: Distinction
Matilda Simon, Year 11 Distinction
Jacob Eddington, Year 10: Distinction
Chloe Friedlos, Year 10: Distinction
Josie McGregor, Year 10: Distinction
Yash Dhadge, Year 7: Distinction
Isil Altinok, Year 7: Distinction
Caitlin Warren, Year 7: Distinction
Geography's Big Week Out Wrap Up
"Getting invited to participate in Geography’s Big Week Out was both a huge surprise and an amazing opportunity and adventure. There, I got meet other Year 11 geography students from across the country and see Darwin and Litchfield National Park. Our task was to complete fieldwork over the course of 3 days of exploration and sight-seeing, and evaluate one of two hypotheses: the sustainability of Litchfield, or the effectiveness of Darwin’s tourist waterfront.
Overall, the experience was awesome! I’ve made lots of new friends and learned new skills in geography mapping and analysis. The highlight for me was seeing the waterfalls and views in Litchfield and making friends with everyone I spent time with over the week. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, to my teachers, and the volunteers at GBWO."
Jessica Warren
Year 11 student
Think Tank Challenge
On Tuesday 2 August, a team of Year 9 students attended Perth College to compete in the Water Corporation Schools Think Tank Challenge. Students competed against other schools to create an innovative solution to the problem of water scarcity in Perth. They used the design thinking process to create a solution to the problem ‘How might we help individuals and communities to save water in their gardens or households. Is there a product, service or an initiative that can be developed?’ and pitched their solution to a board of stakeholders. Their solution was the creation of the HydroRing; a ring that could be screwed onto the end of taps and water outlets to monitor water usage. This ring would communicate to an app how much water was being used by individual households, how close users are to their maximum recommended usage, compare water usage amounts to well-known places, and have a social feature that allows users to compete against friends to see who is conserving the most water. The students were lights of creativity within the community and should be proud of their efforts in extending their leadership and collaborative skills outside the HASS classroom.
FlexiTrack Murdoch Excursion
Earlier this week, the Year 12 FlexiTrack High class visited the Murdoch University campus. FlexiTrack is a one-year university preparation course that, upon completion, allows them direct entry to most courses at Murdoch. The day was a chance to learn about life at university, navigate the campus and even get a “taster” of certain courses they may be interested in. The students had the following to say:
"The Murdoch Taster Day was a pleasant experience. I felt very welcome into the Murdoch community, and it comforted me with my future in transitioning to university. My favorite part of Taster Day was the Criminology rotation where I got to solve a case about spotting liars and finding out the real perpetrator amongst multiple suspects as to who had planted a bomb at a school." - Axl Gabrillo
"The FlexiTrack Murdoch Taster Day was a fabulous day. It was full of great opportunities and amazing new people. My favourite activity that I did for the day was the Psychology taster seminar. I learnt many new skills and concepts during that seminar. Overall, it was a warm welcoming to a wonderful university." - Justin Longun
"Murdoch has a large campus and is quite scenic as well, so there was a lot to see and do. The student hub, open areas and classrooms also had a nice feel to them. I especially enjoyed the activities we got to do that day, particularly the game art and design activity, where we got to draw and design a character of our choosing. Overall, it was a great experience and I felt very welcome." - Mali Morgan
E-sports Competition
Mr Baker recently launched our inaugural E-Sports competition, with the first round being NBA 2K22. As seen in this video, the first round was a huge success with hundreds of students coming along to watch and cheer on their fellow students. This competition will continue to run each week with various e-sports being played throughout the term.
Year 12 Financial Literacy Presentation
During seminar period this week, Accountant and Financial Advisor, Grace Mugabe from Financially Empowered spoke with our Year 12 students about the important life skills in financial literacy. In her discussion, she touched upon: how to budget, how to analyse payslips, what is superannuation, the after effects of credit cards and after pay and many other important life lessons on finance. In the coming weeks, the Year 12s will use this knowledge as they work through a booklet in which they will develop a budget plan for their future.
Year 8/9 Girls AFL
Our Year 8/9 Girls AFL team had their first game for the year last week, with the season opener being played in very wet conditions! Despite the unfavourable weather and many of the girls having never played AFL before, the team came together beautifully and were a competitive side against Yule Brook College. The girls then played Southern River College this week, where their Coach, Mr Davies noted a big improvement in their skills from the previous week and a fantastic attitude from the entire team with smiles all around. The girls have a bye next week and will then take on Belmont in week 5. Good luck, girls!
SLT Spotlight Series
You may have seen on our website or social media channels that we recently launched our Student Leadership Team (SLT) Spotlight series, which looks at different members of our 2022 SLT each week. So far this term we have featured our Head Boy, Hudson Wheeler, College Prefect, Analise Squillace, and most recently one of our Campbell House Captains, Alex Lim. This series is available to view on our website.
Paige Linton selected for ACC Girls All Star AFL team
Congratulations to Year 10 Tangney House student, Paige Linton who has been selected for the ACC Girls All Star AFL Team. This is a huge achievement with only 23 players selected across all Associated and Catholic Colleges in WA. Well done, Paige!
Past student Georgia Inglis competing in Commonwealth Games
Class of 2011 graduate, Georgia Inglis is currently representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England where she is a member of the 3 on 3 Para-Sport Wheelchair Basketball Women’s team. Georgia is an accomplished athlete, having represented Australia in a number of national and international competitions. We wish Georgia the best of luck for the remainder of the Commonwealth Games.
Ms Butler Retiring
After working at Lumen Christi College for 14 years, our wonderful Receptionist, Ms Patricia Butler is retiring this week. Ms Butler has been a warm and welcoming face to all families and visitors who enter our Administration building, as well as a helpful ear to all who have phoned the College. We are sad to say goodbye to Ms Butler, but we thank her for her many years of service and wish her the very best as she takes on the exciting new role of ‘Nanny’ to her soon-to-arrive grandchild.
Axl meets former student James Laput
Year 12 student, Axl Gabrillo recently visited the Philippines, where he had the opportunity to meet former Lumen Christi College student, James Laput, who is also the sibling of current Head Girl, Shevana Pado.
“I had a holiday in the Philippines where I had the chance to meet with an ex-lumen student, James Laput who is now a professional basketball player in the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association). I reached out to him and had the opportunity to come to his game where he had provided tickets for my family, and on top of that, he gave me a signed jersey, bag and other team accessories.”