Student Voice and Agency
As part of our strategic plan a key focus is on student voice and agency. This term there is a focus on gaining feedback from students on applying for leadership positions. The college has developed a student survey in conjunction with the students to ask for input on how to engage more students in seeking out leadership positions at the college.
There has also been discussion around student voice and agency and engaging with the Amplify program to gain a better insight into student voice and agency at Penola.
What is Amplify?
"Young people who find their own voice in supportive school environments are more likely to develop a confident voice, a capacity to act in the world, and a willingness to lead others."
We will provide more information on the Amplify program as we move forward.
The Resilience Project Survey
As part of student voice, the school conducted a survey focused on The Resilience Project 2022 implementation during homeroom last week. This information allows the college to gain insight from the student body on the effectiveness of The Resilience Project in 2022 and what changes can be made for this year.
Year 7 Information Evening
Thank you to all the Year 7 students and families that attended the Year 7 Information evening on Tuesday 14 February. I hope families had the opportunity to meet their child’s homeroom teacher and found some useful information around your child’s move to Penola Catholic College.
Swimming Carnival
We had our annual swimming carnival taking place at the Oak Park pool last Friday 17 February. It was a very hot day and so the students spent time swimming in events as well as in the wading pool and water slides.
Congratulations to the students on their positive start to 2023. Many students have settled back in to the routine of school which is pleasing to see.
I extend a special welcome to the students in Years 9 to 12 that have joined us from other schools. I hope you enjoy your time with us, it is wonderful to have you as members of our community. Thank you to our students and staff who have assisted these students and their families in their transition.
College Planner
All students have been provided with the College planner that includes:
I encourage families to ask to see the College planner so you can familiarise yourself with the contents and also support your student to utilise all the planner has to offer. Correct use of the planner for recording school work can help to promote good organisational skills and reduce student stress levels especially during peak busy times of the school year.
Uniform reminders
I appreciate the support of families in helping our students to wear their school uniform correctly and with pride. Some key reminders:
Looking forward to a wonderful 2023,
Ms Erin Bonavia
JJAMM Student leadership Conference – Sydney (College Captains - Siala M & Leah M)
As Penola’s College Captains for 2023, we had the amazing opportunity to travel to Sydney to attend the JJAMM Conference with 22 other Josephite schools. We arrived on 15 February looking forward to 5 days of team building, workshops, prayer and partnerships. First, we stayed at Mary Mackillop place, and on the Friday, we made our trek to Kincumber.
When we arrived, we were fortunate enough to be able to tour around Sydney. We visited the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and had an amazing lunch along the water. We then caught a Ferry down to Manly Beach where we soaked in the warm weather and admired the amazing surroundings.
All of the leaders clicked as soon as we met each other. It was so great to be surrounded by so many strong minded, passionate and determined students who all wanted to help each other work towards a common goal: making change within our world and helping others. We shared initiatives that each of our schools participate in and how each school achieves specific goals. This allowed us to bounce our ideas off of each other and bring them back to our own school. It was an amazing way to strategize and plan goals that can be worked towards in the 2023 year. We were also provided time to work with Mr Knobel to discuss some practical actions and how we might implement our plans at Penola Catholic College.
At Mary Mackillop place, we had the opportunity to tour the different museums in which St Mary Mackillop lived. There were so many artifacts, information and visuals about St Mary and Fr. Julian Tennison-Woods’ life. It was very heartfelt and surreal that we were able to see the places where our patron Saint lived and died. We are both so grateful for this experience.
Sr. Jan led us in many reflection sessions throughout the course of the trip. This helped us really connect with ourselves and mentally note our strengths, weaknesses and what we need to work on to improve ourselves as leaders and even as people. Mary Mackillop and Fr Julian’s life stories were taught to us in order for us to acknowledge what we would like to emulate from them in our own lives, as role models of leadership. We also had the opportunity to purely reflect on what we are grateful for within our lives, and how we should channel the idea of gratitude in everything we do. As a whole JJAMM community, on the Saturday, we celebrated Mass which was arranged by Mr Knobel. It was a beautiful way to connect with one another and a great way to commence winding down our trip.
As leaders we are strong believers in our roles, but we also know how to have fun. We played many games as a group, we planted trees on the Kincumber site, stayed up late talking and had a talent show! To end our last night as JJAMMers, we did some Zumba, Just Dance and a disco party. It was such an great way to end the trip and celebrate the awesome friendships that we had established.
We are both so grateful that we were able to attend this conference. We both got so much out of it. We are extremely excited to bring many new ideas back to our College community and work with our leadership team to implement them so that we can truly make a change. Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity and thank you to Mr Knobel for taking time out of his life to accompany us.
Prayer Services for the victims and families effected by the recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkiye.
Last Friday, at the Broadmeadows Campus, our Captains of Christian Service for 2023, Sarah S and Georgiana D initiated a lunch-time prayer service, along with the College student leadership team, in recognition of those killed, injured or effected by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkiye. A second service also took place at the Glenroy Campus last Monday. Both services were an opportunity for our students and staff to come together in solidarity and pray for the people affected by this tragedy. It was really moving to listen to the various students offer their prayers of condolence and support, demonstrating their understanding, care and love for others globally.
Family Partnership Meetings
In the coming weeks, we will be hosting our Family Partnership Meetings for Term One. These will take place at the Glenroy Campus on Wednesday 15 March and at the Broadmeadows Campus on Thursday 16 March. There will be a further opportunity for families to meet with teachers of both Campuses on Wednesday 5 April.
These Family Partnership meetings are truly valuable opportunities for teachers to source deeper understanding from each family, of how best to support your child in their learning. No one knows your child better than you and so these meetings will present an opportunity for you to share with the teachers your thoughts. We have developed some questions that might be used as conversation prompts in the Partnership Meetings and which you may wish to give some prior thought to in preparation. We hope that you may find these useful in determining what information might be helpful to teachers to know about your child.
How does your child learn best and do you feel I can support them best?
What do you believe is your child’s learning strengths?
What do you believe are their areas for improvement?
How does your child best respond to feedback?
Are you comfortable in accessing your child’s progress on MyPenola?
How does your child respond when you discuss their learning with them?
What are your child’s interests and commitments outside of school?
What is the best way of contacting you and do you have a preference of time?
Welcome Family Dinner
A final reminder that our Welcome Family Dinner takes place tomorrow evening, Friday 24 February in the ASH at the Broadmeadows Campus. Dinner will be served from 7.00 pm. For families fasting during Lent, there is a vegetarian option and where we have been advised, we have also catered for those with other dietary requirements. It promises to be a great evening and a lovely, informal way in which to meet other families and staff. There will be raffles to win and fun to be had by all, so please feel welcome to attend.
Nominations for 2023 - 2024 Parent Representatives on the Penola Catholic College School Advisory Council are now open. Click here to complete the nomination form.
Completed forms are to be sent to principal@penola.vic.edu.au by Monday 13 March, 2023.
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for Years 7 and 9 students will be held in March this year. The NAPLAN Online test window is between 15 and 27 March.
Students will require headphones and a fully charged laptop to participate effectively.
NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) and numeracy. The results of the tests provide information for students, parents, teachers, and principals and can be used to improve student achievement.
NAPLAN Online delivers numerous benefits including:
All students are expected to participate in the NAPLAN Online tests. Catch up tests will be available for individual students who are absent on test days up to and including 27 March.
Support can be arranged for students with disabilities if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks. Exemptions may be granted to students with significant intellectual disabilities and to students who have been learning English for less than one year. If you would like to discuss further any supports that your child may be eligible for, please do not hesitate to contact either Ms Rebecca Micallef (Year 7 Learning Enhancement Teacher) for Year 7 students at our Glenroy Campus or Ms Libby Corrigan for Year 9 students at our Broadmeadows Campus. Parental consent is required before any support due to disability or exemption is granted. Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers in consultation with the College. If, after consultation, you decide to withdraw your child, you must sign a student withdrawal form. Please contact Ms Micallef (Year 7) or Ms Corrigan (Year 9).
Later in the year you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) and numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. These describe the minimum acceptable standards for students across Australia.
Public demonstration site
Students are invited to use the public demonstration tests to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and related functionalities available in the online NAPLAN assessment.
Some of the key features include a range of question types, onscreen tools, timers, and interactive navigation. Students are encouraged to try all the tests for their year level to practice the complete range of question formats available.
The demonstration tests cover a sample of possible questions and do not reflect the range of literacy and numeracy content, or skills NAPLAN will assess. While it is helpful for students to become familiar and comfortable with the format of the online test, ACARA does not encourage students to study separately for NAPLAN. That is why you will not find answers to the demonstration tests.
Practice Omnibus Test
As it has been several years since students have completed NAPLAN tests they will be supported by completing a practice session so that students can familiarise themselves with the testing platform.
Year 9 Practice Omnibus Test 10 March
Year 7 Practice Omnibus Test 3 March
2023 CSEF Eligibility Dates
For concession cardholders CSEF eligibility will be subject to the parent/legal carer concession card being successfully validated with Centrelink on the first day of either:
Term 1 (30 January 2023) or Term 2 (24 April 2023)
How to submit a CSEF Application in 2023
If you have applied for the CSEF in a previous year, you do not need to complete an application form in 2023. The school will apply for the CSEF on your behalf unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You will ONLY need to submit an application form in 2023 if any of the following changes have occurred:
CSEF Application Form Attachment
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/CSEF_application_form.pdf
CSEF Flyer Attachments: English, Arabic and Vietnamese
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/PAL/csef-financial-assistance-information-parents.docx
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/PAL/csef-flyer-arabic.pdf
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/PAL/csef-flyer-vietnamese.pdf
