PCC Newsletter Volume 3

27 Apr 2023

From the Principal - Mr Chris Caldow Vol 3

From the Head of Campus Broadmeadows - Ms Erin Bonavia Vol 3

Welcome back to all our students and families, I hope you had a happy Easter and a relaxing holiday period. Welcome to the new students and their families and staff who have joined us this term.

Staying organised
Term 2 is a unique term in that we start semester 2 before the end of term. The term will continue to provide opportunities for Real Life Learning including excursions, Year 10 work experience and Year 9 city experience. Students in Year 10 and 11 will complete end of semester examinations. Students are encouraged to use their student planner to assist them to stay organised with assessment tasks and school activities. Keeping organised and up to date with school and class work can prevent students in feeling overwhelmed. Families can access MyPenola to check their students homework and class work.

Uniform reminders
All students are urged to wear their College uniform with pride. Thank you for your support with the following uniform expectations:

Students are permitted to wear summer or winter uniform any time during the year. With the cooler weather approaching students are encouraged to dress for warmth and consider their winter uniform. Students will be asked to remove non permitted uniform items such as hoodies, long sleeved shirts under their school dress or shirt.
The College blazer is to be worn to and from school in terms 2 and 3. Year 12 students are permitted to wear their Year 12 jacket.
The full College PE uniform is to be worn on PE or dance practical days only.

Students are to please speak to their Year Level Coordinator with a note from their family if they cannot meet the uniform requirements. If the reason is deemed acceptable a uniform pass will be issued.

Good Friday Appeal Melbourne Convention Centre
Congratulation to the 18 Year 12 students spent Good Friday volunteering at the Melbourne Convention Centre. The students ran a digital Photo Booth in partnership with photo booth company “Mr and Mrs Booth” owned by former Penola Catholic College student Brett McKay, bringing joy and many smiles to the faces of many families and members of the public. The students rattled many tins and raised $1400 for the Royal Children’s Hospital. We are extremely proud of their efforts!

ANZAC Day
As a College, we paused on Wednesday April 26 to reflect on the sacrifices made by our service men and women and honour their courage and selflessness in defending our nations values and freedom. Students assisted in creating the assembly. Kindly organised by Mrs Argyropoulos,19 students representing the Year 10 World War II classes attended the 91^st Melbourne Legacy’s annual ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony for Students at the Shrine of Remembrance at the end of term 1 accompanied by Ms Palma and Mr Jacuta. The service allowed students to reflect on the monumental impact that losing 60,000 young Australians between 1914 – 1918 had on our country, in a war that shaped our nation and which, resonates today as we commemorate risk, valour and honour – vowing not to forget.

From the Head of Campus Glenroy - Mr Stuart Harrison Vol 3

Welcome to Term 2 I hope you have managed to have time with family and friends over the Easter break.

College Planners
The Resilience Planners were a new initiative for the college last year. Can I please encourage our parents and care givers to regularly check their child’s planner to ensure they are writing their homework, study, or any due assignments. It also contains some daily mindful activities.

Uniform
While students can wear either their full winter or full summer uniform, it is an expectation that they wear their college blazer to and from school during Term 2 & 3. Students have been asked to wear their blazer to homeroom every morning to ensure this is taking place.

Anzac Day Ceremony
The Glenroy Campus assembled in the gym period 1 on Wednesday for our ANZAC Day service, which was live streamed from the Broadmeadows Campus. Students were reverent and gained further insight around why we celebrate ANZAC Day.

Oval Resurfacing
The resurfacing of the Glenroy Oval halted during the holidays as the company needed to conduct a geotechnical soil report. This has meant that the resurfacing will be extended by an additional two weeks and therefore not be completed (weather permitting) till the end of week 4.

Learning at Penola

Homework and Study Skills
At Penola Catholic College we recognise parents as the first educators of their children. It is vital that we maintain our focus on shared common goals such as improved student learning outcomes. By communicating regularly and supporting each other student learning can be enhanced.

I share with you a resource from Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools.

Catholic schools work with you in educating your child. The partnership between you and the school, especially your child’s teachers, is crucial to ensuring that your child has the best opportunities to enjoy the school experience and learn effectively.

As a parent, you can contribute your own knowledge and skills at all levels to assist your child’s learning, support the school’s goals and promote the principles of Catholic education.

There are many ways in which parents and schools can work together to improve the educational experience and outcomes for their children. You can help your child in many areas of school life, as suggested in the list below.

Parents have a particularly important part to play in the educating community, since it is to them that primary and natural responsibility for their children’s education belongs (Congregation for Catholic Education 1997).

What you can do to help your child at school
Faith development Attend school and parish liturgies and Masses, sacramental education and faith development evenings.
Participate in and discuss religious education learning activities and social justice initiatives.
Encourage respectful conversations about faith, beliefs and values.
Build a partnership with the school and teachers to support your child’s faith and learning.
Learning Encourage your child to take increasing responsibility for their learning and organisational skills.
Talk to your child about their learning and progress, using the language you know best. In conversations with your child, encourage respectful listening and sharing of opinions, beliefs and feelings.
Establish regular contact with your child’s teachers to discuss their learning and progress, and share knowledge of your child and how they are experiencing their learning.
Encourage reading by setting an example – reading yourself.
Read texts (e.g. novels, plays) set by your child’s teachers.
Discuss your child’s response to the texts and ask to see work they complete on these texts.
Regularly review your child’s learning program, assessment requirements and assessment reports where these are available online via the school’s intranet.
Wellbeing Encourage a balanced diet, sufficient sleep and regular physical activity.
Encourage positive attitudes, values and behaviours such as courtesy, confidence, persistence and ‘doing your best’.
Celebrate your child’s efforts, resilience and successes.
Help your child balance the amount of time spent on school work and in recreational pursuits.
Encourage self-management, independence and resilience. Talk to your child’s teacher about how you can support the school’s focus on these important life skills.
Encourage help-seeking behaviours in your child.
School activities Encourage your child to participate in the school’s co-curricular program.
Attend school events and co-curricular programs in which your child is involved.
Become involved in school community activities through the school board, parent groups and parent education programs.

In order to support students with their homework and study skills Penola will provide tutors to work with groups of students in the ERC at each campus on selected afternoons from 3.00pm to 4.00pm. Tutors will focus on developing literacy, numeracy and study skills. These Student Learning Hub sessions will be offered at the Glenroy Campus on Tuesday afternoons and the Broadmeadows Campus one day per week (day TBC) Is your child interested? Please complete the expression of interest form.

College Awards
In a distinctly Josephite educational setting, our awards recognition program honours students for a variety of academic, co-curricular, sporting, cultural and community accomplishments. Giving students rewards for their efforts suggests that their hard work is appreciated. This is a powerful tool and can encourage students to feel better about the work they complete, as well as themselves. This promotes feelings of pride and belonging.

The current Penola Catholic College awards are well established and have been in place for several years. We may also want to create new awards that provide students recognition for other accomplishments.

In an effort to ensure our awards program continues to be a meaningful recognition program for Penola students. I ask that you consider the potential for new awards.

By customising our student award program, we can refine the system that rewards the behaviours and attitudes we wish to foster in our unique setting. Recognising attributes such as good attitudes, honest work ethics, determination, helpfulness, and a love of learning helps build a sense of community and an environment conducive to learning.

Please complete the feedback form by Friday May 12.

Performing Arts

Performing Arts Events
The month of May is performance season for our Performing Arts students. Since the start of the year our Music, Dance and Drama students have been enthusiastically preparing for our upcoming concerts.

Our May Performance Season includes:

VCE Music Night - Tuesday 16 May
Year 11 VCE Theatre Studies Night – Wednesday 17 May
Performing Arts Camp - Friday 19 May to Sunday 21 May
VCE Dance Night – Tuesday 23 May
Year 10 Theatre Studies Performance - Thursday 25 May
Year 7 Music Night – Tuesday 30 May

Please see our Performing Arts posters in this Newsletter for further details about our upcoming concerts.

College Production – Legally Blonde Jr
We are very excited to announce that this year’s production is Legally Blonde Jr! Auditions took place in early February and students and staff have been rehearsing weekly ever since. Our show is looking amazing, and our enthusiastic junior and senior production students cannot wait to present this show to our college community early Term 3.

Our Legally Blonde Jr performance dates are:

Friday 21 July - Opening Night
Saturday 22 July - Matinee
Saturday 22 July - Closing Night

Tickets will be on sale very soon! Information on how to purchase tickets will be available in our next College Newsletter. Please see our Legally Blonde Jr poster in this newsletter for further details about the show!

We look forward to seeing you at our performances!

Mrs Ramona Arney
Head of Performing Arts/Instrumental Music Coordinator

St Vincent de Paul Easter Egg Collection

On behalf of the College, we would like to thank the students, families and staff who generously donated eggs, activity books and craft making material to the St. Vinnie De Pauls Easter Egg drive. This year our Year 12’s not only donated easter eggs, they also kindly donated gold coins that went towards purchasing a range of Easter gifts for children in our community.

Library

Sustainability

My name is Amy and I am the captain of sustainability for this year at Penola.

Throughout the year I endeavour to engage students, staff and the community to learn about and protect our environment. As a community, I want to create a sustainable school environment where everybody tries their best to look after our environment and contribute to a sustainable future in their own homes.

One of the ways I am planning on doing that is through including a monthly sustainability section in the newsletter. This will allow me a platform to share links, sustainability updates, and easy ways you can become greener at home.

Earth Day was just last week and in honor of that I would like to share some of the easiest ways you can help create a greener future.

Reduce plastic waste in your kitchen. This can be done by making easy swaps such as swapping plastic sponges to eco-friendly sponges made out of loofah or biodegradable products or swapping plastic zip lock bags to silicone storage bags.
Calculate your carbon footprint. Allowing yourself to see what your household does well and what you need to improve on can help create a better action plan for how to create a sustainable home.

Although starting a home compost might sound like a lot of effort, it is surprisingly simple. There are so many composting methods you could use based on the amount of space you have in your home. Check out this link to find all the information you will need regarding composting for beginners.

If you would like to discover further ways to look after the environment and reduce your footprint, I highly recommend you visit your local councils’ websites. They offer lots of information on local initiatives and ways you can become more sustainable in your community.

Hume Council

Moreland