Dear Parents/Guardians,

Pentecost Sunday

Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, one of the significant feasts in the Church’s liturgical year. Pentecost brings the season of Easter to a close: Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven and we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of the disciples, who will now go out to continue Christ’s work of spreading the good news of God’s love. Of course we celebrate, too, the power of the Holy Spirit in our own lives as we continue the mission of the disciples. May the Spirit be alive in us all, inspiring us in all we are and do.

Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

We made a decision last year that we would attempt to provide more feedback to parents about their child's progress.  As a result, we have spaced the Parent Teacher Student interviews out so that they don't coincide with reports.  This means that parents will receive 4 written reports and have opportunities for interviews 3 times throughout the year and the longest period of time between feedback will be seven weeks.  It has changed the nature of discussions as previously the interviews were largely based or prompted by reports.  Obviously we will review at the end of the year but I have to say that more parents are coming to interviews this year than anytime over the previous two years which I see as particularly positive. 

The next form of feedback will be through the end of semester reports. Years 10-12 reports will be available on the Parent Portal by 5.00pm on Friday June 17.  Years 7-9 reports will be available on the Parent Portal by 5.00pm on Monday June 27.  The next round of Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will take place on Tuesday August 2 from 4.00pm – 8.30pm.

Management of Parent Complaints

Penola Catholic College works in an educational partnership with parents for the benefit of all students. On entering into this partnership, families assume a number of important responsibilities which include: loyalty to the College community, a commitment to the College Mission statement and support of all College policies and expectations.

It is acknowledged that there may be occasions when parents wish to express concerns / make complaints regarding College matters.    Parents are always encouraged to communicate with the relevant College personnel to discuss their concerns.

The College is always available to assist parents through discussion in developing a clearer understanding of College expectations in all areas.

Parents are required to express their concerns in a calm and respectful manner towards all staff who may be involved. On presenting the concern, the family must be able to be identified.   Any anonymous concerns or complaints cannot be satisfactorily investigated as the College would be unable to confirm them as genuine.

In having specific concerns / complaints addressed we recommend that initial contact be made with the relevant College personnel in the order below:

Curriculum Matters                Subject Teacher, Head of Learning, Deputy Principal of Teaching & Learning

Student’s Academic               Subject Teacher, Year Level Co-ordinators, Deputy Principal Head of Campus

Student Wellbeing Matters     Homeroom Teacher, Year Level Co-ordinators, Head of Student Services, Deputy Principal Head of Campus

General Student Behaviour    Homeroom Teacher, Year Level Co-ordinators, Deputy Principal  Head of Campus

Transport Matters                    Transport Co-ordinator, Deputy Principal Head of Campus

College Policies                       Deputy Principal Head of Campus

Staff                                         Deputy Principal Head of Campus

Off Campus Incidents              Deputy Principal Head of Campus

Uniform                                   Homeroom Teacher, Year Level Co-ordinators, Deputy Principal Head of Campus

Financial                                  Business Manager

In all cases where the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved, parents are encouraged to contact the College Principal.

Mother’s Day Breakfast

The Mother’s Day Breakfast was held on Friday 6 May. Our guest speakers for the morning were Sam Mutimer from Thinktank Social and Anthony Koutifides former Carlton footballer. Sam spoke in detail about the positives and negatives associated with social media and some of the things to consider when using social media. Anthony Koutifides spoke about his football career, his struggles after retiring from football and the importance of diet and exercise They both had many great messages for our students and mothers in attendance. My thanks to our Catering Manager, Mr Garry Cottom and other staff who assisted with the preparation and serving of the breakfast and to Mrs Angela Xidias for her overall organisation of the various aspects of the event.

NAPLAN

Last week our students in Years 7 and 9 sat the annual NAPLAN tests in literacy and numeracy. This is a major event organisationally and requires much pre-planning so that the testing process can run smoothly. The student data generated by these tests will assist the College in continuing to improve student learning outcomes in the future and will provide valuable information about the level of improvement in student literacy and numeracy skills in the College.

My thanks to staff involved with this organisation particularly Mr Rob Dullard, Mr Keven Zavadlal, Mr Simon Greatwood, Ms Lucy D’Angelo, and Ms Paula D’Amore.

New College Website

We have launched our new College website which has far more functionality than our old website including links from our Facebook page, the ability to post videos and photographs more easily and facilities to make electronic payments online. Please take the time to have a look at our new website which has been developed by our Marketing team of Ms Anita Namrood and Ms Jessica Alvarez.  I would like to publically thank both Anita and Jessica for the countless hours that they have devoted to the development of this new website. The website url remains the same www.penola.vic.edu.au.

Student Photographs

A reminder to all parents  that you need to notify the College if you do not give permission for your son or daughter’s photograph to be published in newsletters or promotional materials.  We would like to begin to place more photographs and videos on our new website and so I take this opportunity to remind you of the student permission form for photographs.  If we have not received your permission form back at the College we have assumed that your consent has been provided.  It is the responsibility of each family to make this decision and notify the College if you decide to exclude your son or daughter from having their photograph published.  In practical terms, this will mean that your son or daughter will need to be excluded from most group shots such as class photographs as these are published in our Year Book each year.

Staff Changes

As many of you would be aware Ms Anisa Shllaku (Year 8 Coordinator and Head of Languages – Glenroy) has commenced maternity leave.  Ms Shllaku and her husband Vini welcomed their son, Erik on Sunday evening. We warmly welcome Ms Joanne Pace who has been appointed to replace Ms Shllaku teaching Italian and Humanities.  Ms Amanda Abboud commenced maternity leave on Monday May 16 and we wish her well.  Ms Carli Saddington has been appointed to replace Ms Abboud and has been teaching for the past five years at Melton Secondary College.  Ms Jennifer Doan commences her maternity leave on Friday May 27 and she will be replaced by Ms Naomi Nolan for the Careers part of her load and her Physical Education classes will be shared by existing staff.  We welcome Ms Nolan to Penola Catholic College and she will continue to work with MacKillop College, Werribee in Careers as well as with us.  I am confident that all will make our new staff welcome.

National Reconciliation Week (next week)

National Reconciliation Week celebrates the rich culture and history of Indigenous Australians. It is the perfect time for all Australians to think about how to help turn around the disadvantage experienced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is also a time where we can reflect about what we are doing to advance the process of reconciliation.

Reconciliation involves achieving an understanding of the facts of Indigenous Australia, including history and its continuing effects, the importance of culture, the contribution of Indigenous people to the Australia that we live in today, and the diverse situations of Indigenous people living in our communities. This understanding is fundamental for respectful engagements and mutual acceptance between people.

The week coincides with two important dates in Indigenous Australia’s recent history. May 27th marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to remove clauses from the Australian Constitution which discriminated against Indigenous Australians. It enabled Indigenous people to be included in the Census, and Federal Parliament the power to make laws in relation to Indigenous people.

June 3rd marks the anniversary of the High Court’s judgment in the 1992 Mabo case. The decision recognised the Native Title rights of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the original inhabitants of the continent and overturned the myth of terra nullius – the belief that the continent was an empty, un-owned land before the arrival of Europeans in 1788.

Prayer for the Journey of Healing

Almighty and loving God, you who created ALL people in your image,

lead us to seek your compassion as we listen to the stories of our past.

You gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.

We place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land, language, lore, culture

and family kinship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced.

We live in faith that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have endured the pain and loss of loved ones,

through the separation of children from their families.

We are sorry and ask Your forgiveness.

Touch the hearts of the broken, homeless and inflicted and heal their spirits.

In your mercy and compassion walk with us as we continue our journey of healing to create a

future that is just and equitable.

Lord, you are our hope. Amen.

Chris Caldow

Principal

From the Deputy Principal: Head of Senior Campus

Ernie Pisani

Last week the College hosted Parent Student Teacher Interviews. It was a perfect opportunity for parents and students to discuss with their teachers issues of progress or concerns that may be relevant to the student. These opportunities are extremely important as the semester comes to a close and the exams for the senior campus students approach. I am hopeful that the news was positive for you and the advice was helpful. If your child has encountered difficulties over the first semester, I encourage you to keep in relative close contact with each of his/her teachers to ensure a successful outcome.

Semester One comes to an end on Friday 3rd June. Semester two will commence on Monday 6th June. Therefore, in the next few weeks, staff will be writing up the Semester One Report which will be available online for parents to access. Parents will be informed in due course of how and when to access Reports. Exams will also be a feature of the next few weeks with a number of exams coming up for Years 10 and 11 students. Year 12 (and some Year 11) students will also undertake the GAT on June 7th.  We wish students well for these exams.

The Pastoral Program is a personal development program which takes place during period 1 on most Fridays. The intention of the program across all year levels is wide and varied. The over-riding purpose is to build resilience in students and enhance skills (including decision making) in areas that currently affect them, or will affect them in future years. It is designed to be an on-going pastoral development program which builds student capacity throughout their years at Penola. As such, it is part of the learning program and therefore, attendance is compulsory.

Best wishes to our Year 9 students who are currently completing their City Experience week and the Year 10 students who undergo their Work Experience program next week.

From the Deputy Principal: Head of Junior Campus

Stuart Harrison

 Bullying or Teasing

Dear Parent/Guardians and students,

Over the past few years both students and parents have expressed concerns that some form of bullying has occurred. In many of the incidences reported, a staff member has investigated the situation and it has been isolated and is really what would be termed teasing.  While teasing is not acceptable either we find that the term bullying is quite often used in reference to these situations. 

I recently read an article by Michael Grose who is an author of 8 books on Parenting Concerns and also has a Parenting Ideas website.  The article was named “Teasing vs Bulling: knowing the difference is vital” which discusses the fear that the term is “being overused at the moment and can be confused with teasing”.  He writes that “teasing refers to annoying, hurtful behaviour that is used to get reaction from someone else.”  While bullying is “selective, uninvited, repetitive oppression of one person or group by another” he elaborates by writing that it “involves three elements – intent to hurt or harm, power imbalance; and repetition over time.” 

The importance in talking about teasing and bullying to students is to help identify the difference. It is important to teach the next generation not to react to teasing but to be resilient and walk away from situations rather than engage.  When the situation is one of bullying there will often be the need for a third party to be involved to resolve the matter.  With social media and electronic messages, bullying goes beyond the school environment and follows adolescents into their home making them feel like they cannot escape.  Bullying needs to be taken seriously but we also need to have a clear understanding about what bullying is and the serious implications involved.

Mother’s Day Breakfast

 On Friday, 6th May, Penola Catholic College hosted its annual Mother’s Day Breakfast. It was a wonderful morning commencing in St Joseph’s Chapel with mass celebrated by Father Tony Cox and then moving into the ASH. Penola staff and some student helpers hosted approximately 380 people for breakfast. It was very uplifting and moving to see so many mothers sharing breakfast with their children and mingling with other parents and staff. The Parents and Friends ran a raffle and once again worked tirelessly to raise funds for the College. Following breakfast, we were fortunate to have as our guest speakers, Samantha Mutimer and Anthony Koutafides. Samantha is an expert in Social Media and is currently a Director of Thinktank, a Social Media and marketing company. She also appears as a Social Media Commentator on various media outlets. Samantha gave the mothers and students present an insight into some of the wonderful possibilities as well as the many challenges that our boys face when using sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat amongst others. The two major lessons presented by Samantha were with regards to digital footprint and the issue of privacy. She explained that once we place something on the internet through a medium such as Facebook it is there forever. Even if we decide to remove an image or text it may still remain available for others to see. The other important point made by Samantha was concerning privacy. She stated that as far as Social Media was concerned privacy was virtually dead even when users have been careful to use privacy settings. These two important lessons provided everyone with a valuable opportunity to reflect on our role as parents in supporting our children as they navigate their way through this significant social aspect of their lives. She also urged everyone to reflect on the use of Social Media to bring greater good to ourselves and to others.

Following Sam’s presentation, the mothers and children were treated to a special appearance by Anthony Koutafides, a former Carlton Football Club great. Anthony spoke of his desire to be either an Olympian or a footballer and that he chased the dream. He urged students that if they have passion or love something, to go out and achieve it. He left us with a quote from one of his mentors, former coach David Parkin, ‘Your pages of youth turn over very quickly, so to stand strong and make right choices’.

As you would appreciate, an event like this requires a lot of organisation and helpers. A big thank you to all the maintenance staff, the student helpers, Mr Garry Cottom and the many staff, both teaching and non-teaching, who were on deck at 7.00am to begin cooking. It was a great success and we look forward to seeing mothers and grandmothers again next year and the fathers and grandfathers at the Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday 2nd September.

Mrs Angela Xidias

Student Co-ordinator

LANGUAGES TOUR OF ITALY 2016

 On Tuesday 22nd March, 28 students and 3 teachers departed for what would become a trip of a lifetime to Italy. After surviving the gruelling flights to Dubai and then to Italy we had finally made it to the ancient city of Rome. We were in absolute awe at the ancient ruins, churches and buildings mixed in with the modern architecture.

We had the privilege to be able to spend Easter Sunday in the presence of Pope Francis as he delivered his Easter mass to the thousands of people at the Vatican and the millions watching on TV worldwide. It was a once in a lifetime experience that no one could possibly forget. Everything else about Rome was amazing as well from the Colosseum, to the countless beautiful churches, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and of course the stunning Vatican City.

After departing Rome we visited Sorrento, Pompeii, Assisi and Positano on our way to Florence. We saw the amazing views of the beaches in Sorrento and Positano, visited the ruins of Pompeii learning more about the city and walked through the streets of the beautiful Assisi taking in the views it had to offer. We then arrived in Florence, the wondrous city that we had only ever heard about and seen in pictures, nothing could prepare you for the real thing. The art was everywhere you looked and the ancient buildings were the highlight of every street. Climbing Il Duomo di Firenze was a tough but rewarding climb, slowly ascending through the narrow and steep hallways to see the amazing view at the top of the picturesque city was absolutely breathtaking!

From Florence we left for Pisa but all our minds were on what was going to be the highlight of the trip, HOMESTAY. We saw what had to be the most photographed building in Italy, the Leaning Tower and in typical fashion, we made the ascent to the top. 300 steps later we were standing over Pisa, another beautiful ancient Italian city. But now there was no more waiting, we were back on the road to Istituto Versari-Macrelli in Cesena to meet out Italian host brother or sister. After the initial worry of it all, everyone settled in well and we had what was in my opinion one of the best weeks of our lives immersed in Italian culture, living like an Italian teenager and we all formed unbreakable bonds with our Italian families. Plenty of tears were shed as we left on that bus to Venice.

Our final leg in Venice was one of amazing weather including rain, rain and more rain but between the rain we managed to take a trip on the esteemed Gondola’s which rounded off our Italy to do list.

We began our return home the morning of the 10th of April leaving from Marco Polo airport Venice flying to Dubai, then to Kuala Lumpur and finally back home to Melbourne. We spent the trip home in excitement to finally be back home and to see our families again. Even though we all missed home I think everyone can agree that it was a trip of a lifetime that brought us all closer as a group and that we would all do it again if we had a chance. 

Joshua Perri - Yr 11

SPORT REPORT

Senior Sport Round 2

Senior Football

In windy conditions captain for the day Marcus Perrusio won the toss and decided to kick with the strong breeze. In terms of the scoreboard, it was a slow start for Penola with MacKillop asserting themselves early and managing to open up a two goal lead at the first break. While trailing on the scoreboard the boys endeavour could not be questioned. The tackling pressure from Penola was terrific with Reece Desira and Peter Dispenziri leading the way while Michael Dalrymple was dominating the midfield amassing early possessions and using the ball with precision in difficult conditions. Jedd Taylor was looking dangerous up forward and managed an early goal.

The second quarter saw  MacKillop come out of the blocks quickly with our defenders having their hands full containing repeat entries into the forward line. Daniel Bof was working tirelessly against a handy opponent at Full Back while Anthony Cavallaro also worked hard across Half Back. Penola went into the main break 5 goals down. It was a reasonably even affair in the third quarter with Michael Dalrymple continuing an excellent game and driving Penola forward through the midfield while Matthew Bernado, Matthew Borg and Anthony Tirrizzi all kept up the immense tackling pressure. Unfortunately Penola didn’t manage to capitalise on the breeze only managing two majors for the quarter.

In the last quarter Penola were facing a huge challenge, four goals down and kicking into the breeze. Needing to hit the scoreboard,  Michael Dalrymple was moved forward while Jedd Taylor was playing loose across half back and Daniel Bof shifted to the ruck. The changes seemed to have an impact with the midfield dominating centre clearances. After suffering an early injury Jarrod Jones bobbed up for an important goal and Reece Desira also managed to add another to his tally. The move to push Michael forward started to pay off, kicking three goals in the space of eight minutes to put Penola only a goal down with two minutes to go. Unfortunately Penola left their run too late and went down gallantly by 6 points at the final siren.

A terrific, well-disciplined effort from all players. We look forward to the next big challenge with Salesian College on Tuesday.

Score     Penola      8.06.54                    MacKillop 8.12.60

Best- Dalrymple, Bof, Perrusio, Desira, Dispenziri, Taylor.

Goals- Dalrymple 3, Taylor 2, Desira 2, Jones 1

Mr Luke Reynolds & Mr Ashley Mills

Senior Netball

Result: Penola 34 def Kolbe 23

After a strong start in the goal area, the team played a fairly steady contest to be up 8 goals to 1 at the first break. Instructions were given to look at all options before passing and reduce errors and turnovers in the centre third. The third quarter saw a significant increase in goal scoring, but Kolbe also maintained their pace and fought back each time. Fast attack and capitalising on positional mistakes in the final quarter allowed the Penola team to maintain the score difference and finish with a great result. All team members worked hard throughout including Amy Godfrey in Centre, Matilda Ryan in Goals and Ally O’Kearney and Carisma Robinson in defence. Well done also to Chloe Taylor, Sarah Dawson, Alex Gilpin and Ruby La Mancusa.

Ms Vanessa Carew

Senior Sports Round 3

Senior Boys Football Round 3 - Penola Catholic College vs Salesian – match report:

Penola capture amazing win over SACCSS football powerhouse!

In an amazing show of resilience, the Penola Catholic College Senior Boys Football team secured a remarkable 13 point win over reigning SACCSS premiers Salesian with just 17 men on a windswept Northern Oval at the Broadmeadows Campus. With our numbers decimated by a mixture of injuries and an important Maths Methods SAC several players couldn’t miss, we started the game 1 player short and when we trailed by 3 goals at the 1st change, things were looking quite grim. Alas it was from this point forward that our boys dominated the contested footy, with Reece Desira, Michael Dalrymple and Matt Bennardo leading the way with outstanding effort and bravery and simply imposing their will on the game. Trailing by 2 goals at 3-quarter time, the towering figure of Ovie Magbegor, having dominated in the ruck for the first 3 stanzas, went to full forward whilst Daniel Bof took the ruck duties and so it proved to be a pivotal moment in the game; of our 5 goal final term, Ovie pulled down 3 strong contested marks and kicked 3 goals to lead us to a memorable win.

Best players on the day included the always ferocious Desira who impressed all with his attack on the ball, Dalrymple with his class and competitiveness, Ovie forward and in the ruck, the always reliable Bof, Jed Taylor across half forward, Matty Bennardo hunting the ball at ground level, the athletic and tough Pete Dispenzeri at both ends of the ground, Tommy Ruberto who demonstrated craftiness and courage, and Johnny Iapichello who showed great speed and aggression as a key defender all game long.

Undoubtedly the day’s most courageous act occurred in the 3rd quarter and belonged to defender Robert Stella who backed back with the flight of the ball and wore the full brunt of the oncoming pack, leaving his ribs battered and Rob gasping for air, his day seemingly done. However after a few minutes to regather his composure, he marched back onto the field and applied himself to his task with single-mindedness and determination for the remainder of the day, a reflection of the mindset of Rob and the entire team on the day.

Our next game sees us take on rivals St. Monica’s College Epping on the 26th of May away from the friendly confines of home for the first time in 2016.

Penola Catholic College       9.       10.          64

Salesian                                7.         9.          51

Best players PCC: Desira, Dalrymple Magbegor, Dalrymple, Bof, Taylor, Bennardo, Dispenzeri, Ruberto, Iapichello

Goal kickers PCC: 3 Magbegor, 2 Taylor, 2 Borg, 1 Dispenzeri, 1 Ruberto

Mr Ashley Mills and Mr Luke Reynolds

RUGBY TOURNAMENTS 2016

An enjoyable day was had by all as the Year 9 Rugby League Boys represented Penola Catholic College at the National Rugby League’s nines schoolboy tournament.

The boys played very well, and considering this was the first time many of the students were playing the sport, their performances were very impressive. The boys played three games in all, and the improvement they displayed between their last and first performance was outstanding. Whilst the boys toiled hard in the first match, they were outclassed five tries to nil. However, having gained confidence from their first match, they scored two tries in their second match which was a 4 tries to 2 defeat. The team also scored two tries in their final match. There is no doubt this team contains a lot of potential and with further experience will transform into a great rugby league side.

Also admirable was the respect our players showed to the opposition teams, and as a school we can be proud of the boys. A special thanks to Mr Dickinson for organising the day and the boys are looking forward to the next tournament.

Mr Philip Whittaker

ARTS TOUR

 The 22nd of March 2016 was a much anticipated and exciting date for six of our Visual Arts students, Mr Harrison and I. We were setting off on our 17-day study tour of Italy. What an amazing and most enriching time we had! Almost a year in the making, the tour saw us travel to Rome, Florence and Venice, immersing ourselves in many aspects of Italian Art and culture.

As we spent time in each of these glorious cities we visited some of the most famous art galleries and museums in the world. Our students completed a Still Life painting workshop in the magical city of Florence and saw some of the history’s most important artworks such as Michelangelo’s statue of David (1501-04) and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (1484-1486). I am sure that the students were as moved as I was to be surrounded by so much artistic beauty.

The tour was not only an inspiring, educational experience for these students, but it also provided them with new life long skills in travelling and being independent.

I would like to thank everyone who helped in the organisation of this trip and special thanks must go to the students themselves for being exemplary representatives of the College. Thank you for all the laughs and fun filled memories.

Miss Francesca Pascalis

Head of Visual Arts

Best three weeks of my life! Words can’t describe the amount of fun myself and five other Penola students had on our marvellous trip to Italy. Over our 17 day trip our first stop was Rome where the Art tour visited some of the world’s most amazing features including the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain as well as visiting a 150 flavoured gelato store. Nothing beats chocolate!

We spent Easter Sunday at the Vatican, where we experienced our first ever Easter Sunday mass with the Pope. After spending a week in Rome we then travelled to the medieval town of Orvieto where we visited Duomo Di Orvieto and visualised the amazing views of the green Umbrian mountains. Arezzo was our next stop where we visited the fresco artwork in Basilica of San Francesco and enjoyed a traditional thick Italian hot chocolate YUM! Florence was our next city where we visited Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi gallery, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Maria del Carmine, Church of Santa Croce where we visualized some of the most beautiful artworks known as well as the historic Italian architecture.

Last but not least, we took the speed train to Venice where we visited Piazza di San Marco, I’ve never seen so many pigeons in the one place in my whole life! The group and I also experienced our first ever Gondola ride, capturing Venice from a beautiful perspective.

Adrienne Barrett  11C

Donations of Clothing & School Items to Families in Fiji

After recently visiting Fiji I saw firsthand the devastation caused by cyclone Winston. During our visit they were also subjected to cyclone Zena.  I was lucky enough to meet some of the people living in the villages. A man from one village in particular stood out as he was building a platform from left over timber found after the cyclone to keep his tent (that was now his home) from the rain and rising water.  As he greeted us and explained what occurred his eyes started tearing as did my husbands and I. The man did not ask for any money or assistance but was in desperate need of help. After 9 cyclones the strain was obvious in his face. Within the same village the school was also destroyed which was also being run out of a tent.  Their main source of income being coconuts was destroyed.

I am returning to Fiji at my own cost to take needed clothing and school items to the village.  If anyone has any clothing that they are no longer using and would like to donate please contact me or leave at the school office.

Regards

Dana Gwynne

0406 838 888