From the Principal Leader

Diary Dates

Contents

From the Principal Leader

06 March, 2020

Term 1 Issue 3

Wednesday 11 March

PBB Swimming

Carnival

Tuesday 17 March

St Patricks Day Mass

& Celebrations

Wednesday 18 March

Year 7 2021 Open

Night

Monday 23 March

Patrician Cup at PBB

Wednesday 25 March

Year 7 Vaccinations

Principal’s Message

Assistant Principal

Dean of Studies

Resource Centre Update

Religious Education

CSDA Debating Finals

Sports Report

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends, The season of Lent is a Catholic liturgical sea-son consisting of forty days of fasting, prayer and penitence, which commences on Ash Wednesday and concludes at sundown on Holy Thursday. Last week, the College held a most reflective Ash Wednesday Liturgy for students and staff. As Catholics during Lent, we are encouraged to pray, fast, give alms, and seek forgiveness for our sins. Teaching staff will be discussing the meaning of Lent with students at different inter-vals during this term.

Almighty and Everlasting God, You have given the human race

Jesus Christ our Saviour as a model of humility. He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man

And giving His life on the Cross. Help us to bear witness to You

By following His example of suffering And make us worthy to share in His Resurrec-

tion. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Your Son. Amen.

Open Evening – Year 7, 2021 Enrolments The College will be holding an Open Evening (March 18th) for Year 7, 2021. The evening will commence with a presentation to prospec-tive parents and students at 7.00pm, followed by guided tours of the College. All Year 6 stu-dents and parents are most welcome. Debating It was a pleasure to see our Year 9 Debating team in action last Friday evening in the CSDA State Finals. Our boys were great ambassadors of the College and need to be congratulated for being runners up in the final. Thank you to the Year 9 Debating Coach, Ms. Mercieca and the numerous staff members who supported the boys. In particular, I wish to acknowledge Ms. Bicanic for her passion and coordination of the event.

From the Principal Leader

Extended Leave Requests In recent times, there has been an incremental increase in pa-rental requests for student leave. Term dates are always regu-larly published and communicated to families. As such, I kind-ly remind parents and carers to be aware of these dates and aim for family holidays to be taken during the scheduled term breaks. From time to time, it is understood that families have little choice of dates due to work requirements and significant family events. In these cases, the appropriate College docu-mentation will need to be completed and submitted. I thank you for your understanding with this matter. MCS Sport Our MCS Summer sports season concluded last week. Our Cricket and Basketball teams represented the College with pride and determination. We thank them for their efforts. Our College was involved in four Basketball finals last week including - Year 8 Opens, Year 9 Opens, 10 Opens & B Grade. As a College community, we congratulate the Year 9 Opens Basketball team for their win over St. Dominic’s College. We also acknowledge the other Basketball teams for being runners up in their finals. God bless, Frank Chiment PRINCIPAL LEADER

From the Assistant Principal - Pastoral

Term One is fairly flying by and we have now entered Lent, a significant signpost along our spiritual journey towards Easter. Our new cohort of Year 7 students is now well settled and many of them have commented that they now feel extremely comfortable. In recent weeks, major events at Patrician Broth-ers’ Blacktown have included an extremely successful Senior Dance with Nagle College, the State Finals of the Catholic Schools Debating Association, Ash Wednesday liturgies, Year 12 Progress Interviews and our annual Swimming Carnival at Blacktown Aquatic Centre. As always, the participation and enthusiasm of our students, and the support of our parents, were outstanding during each of the events. In coming weeks, we look forward to St Patrick’s Day celebra-tions, Open Night, the start of the respective MCS Soccer and Rugby League seasons, the Patrician Cup Carnival, Year 7 Camps, Year 12 Assessment week , and finally, our Stations of the Cross Liturgy on the final day of Term One. In terms of reminders for students and parents about expecta-tions at our school – in the previous edition of this newsletter we highlighted the importance of daily school attendance and flagged a particular focus on absences on Fridays. Student For-mation Leaders will continue their investigations into students who have excessive or unusual patterns of non-attendance. As we often remind the students, one possible consequence of

poor attendance is exclusion from other school events or activi ties such as representative sport, social events and excursions. While this would be regrettable, the students have been given clear warnings about these consequences. Secondly, a reminder that all students are required to use their Student Diary every day. Students should be using their Diary to record details of homework, assignments, messages regard-ing school events and other relevant reminders. Teachers are encouraged to use the Student Diary as a simple way of com-municating positive comments and concerns with parents. While some parents prefer to phone teachers or use email for issues that require an extended discussion, the Student Diary remains the quickest and simplest way for parents to pass on brief comments or questions to teachers and track the overall progress and participation of their sons across all their subjects. If you have concerns about notes or comments made by teach-ers in your son’s diary, please contact the teacher or Leader involved. If your son’s diary is empty, the best person to con-tact would be the relevant Student Formation Leader. Finally, a reminder to parents and family members that we actively discourage parents from driving into the school prem-ises before and after school to drop off their sons – unless your son is unable to walk due to serious injury. Mr Brian Edmonds Assistant Principal

From the Assistant Principal -

Learning Teaching and Innovation

Getting Organised: Assessment Tasks and Learning

Assessment is an integral part of a teaching and learning program. It is through undertaking quality assessment ac-tivities that students, teachers and parents are able to check in on learning progress. Most importantly through as-sessment, students receive feedback about where to go next towards improving in their learning.

Our assessment calendars for the 2020 school year outline the schedule of assessment tasks for each year group. This is a vital tool in supporting students in their learning journey.

Some useful tips for families:

1. Access the relevant Assessment Calendars here:

• Year 7 2020 Assessment Calendar

• Year 8 2020 Assessment Calendar

• Year 9 2020 Assessment Calendar

• Year 10 2020 Assessment Calendar

• Year 11 2020 Assessment Calendar

• Year 12 2020 Assessment Calendar

Print the calendar and place it in a visible location in the home, such as on the fridge.

Take note of the relevant dates on the calendar by working through the calendar with your son. Using a highlighter, note the specific assessment tasks and dates for the specific subjects being studied by your son.

Plan ahead as a family to arrange blocks of time for your son to do study and to work on assessment tasks around any known family, social and sporting commitments. Non-completion of assessment tasks for planned or known events is not a case for Special Consideration.

Contact the school, preferably your son’s Homeroom Teacher or Student Formation Leader, if there is going to be a difficulty in keeping to the scheduled dates. This would only be in extenuating or unforeseen cir-cumstances, such as sudden illness.

Please Note: We do have a process for Special Consideration within our Assessment Policy if in the rare event that your son is sick or a misadventure occurs before or on the day of an assessment task.

Working with your sons to build good organisational habits in balancing study with other commitments is essential in ensuring their success. We look forward to working in partnership with you in this endeavour.

Cathy Molloy Assistant Principal - Learning, Teaching and Innovation

From the Dean of Studies

Curriculum First round of assessments The first round of assessment tasks for 2020 are commencing for Years 7 – 12. Just a reminder to all parents and students about the policy changes around assessment for Years 7 – 11. Non-submission of a task will entail an automatic zero mark for that task unless extenuating circumstances can be proved. In such a case, the student needs to see Ms. Paton for a special considera-tion form. For 2020, there is no change for Year 12. Late submission will incur a loss of 20% per day and a warning letter sent home about non-submission. It is important that all students use their diaries effectively in order to keep on top of their workload. The diary is a very im-portant organizational tool that aids students in preparing for tasks and keeping on top of all homework. Class work is important, and students need to be consistent in completing set tasks as these measure their progression and learning about any topic and help them be better prepared when they are being assessed on a topic. Those students who take short cuts in avoiding homework actually are only disadvantaging themselves. NESA assessment guidelines are very clear. Assessment in Years 7 – 10 is all about learning not better marks. This reinforces the idea that all students can improve and is inclusive of all learners. Assessment allows teachers, students and parents to reflect on the learning journey of their son. Assess-ment also allows students to take responsibility for their own learning. Assessment in Years 11 & 12 requires you as a student to:

• understand what is required of you

• fulfil the school's requirements for your study, which includes genuine participation in class and excellent attendance

• be fair and honest in all aspects of your work

• respect the rights and integrity of your peers and teachers

• make sure your work is your own.

Students must apply themselves to their studies and make a genuine effort in all tasks. In Year 12, if there is a proven incidence of malpractice, this is recorded on the malpractice register.

Students will be given detailed feedback on all tasks. This feedback will identify the areas that need further work and develop-ment and makes clear which outcomes have as yet not been achieved. Students can reflect together will peers, teachers and par-ents about what can be done to learn and improve skills or knowledge or the application of both to a task.

Minimum Standards Reading, Writing and Numeracy

Year 11 and 12 Confirmation of entry forms will signal whether a student can receive his HSC or if he still needs to resit any minimum standards tests. In Year 11, students need to make sure that they are present when there is an opportunity to re-do these tests. Students in Year 12 still have time to resit the tests and pass the minimum standards.

Checking Confirmation Forms

When checking their student entry forms, students need to pay particular attention to their address, email address and mobile phone numbers. NESA communicates to the students through email or text. The RoSA , HSC and minimum standards test re-sults are sent directly to the students.

Students on-line

The confirmation forms will also indicate whether students have joined Students On-line. This is where important information is sent directly to the student, such as their personalised HSC timetable. It is easy to sign up. Students just need to know their student number and it is on their Confirmation Forms.

Students Online for Year 12 is an important and rich study source. It includes past exam papers, syllabus pages, assessment and reporting guidelines, sample exam questions for new courses, glossary of key words with some of the terms commonly used in exam questions, the NESA shop where students can purchase HSC workbooks for a range of courses.

Year 12 – your personalised HSC exam timetable is available from May. Access it by logging into your Students Online account. You can also view the following online:

• Written exam timetable

• Oral exam timetable

• Major projects advice and performance exam timetable

For your calendar:

08

APR 2020 Info night: CSU information night

Charles Sturt University, Sydney campus

08 MAY 2020

Open day: University of New England University of New England, Armidale campus

13

MAY 2020

Info night: Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University, Strathfield campus

19

MAY 2020

Info night: Macquarie University Year 12 information night Macquarie University, North Ryde

20

MAY 2020

Info night: Macquarie University Year 12 information night Macquarie University, North Ryde

01

AUG 2020

Open day: University of Newcastle University of Newcastle, Ourimbah campus

01

AUG 2020

Info day: Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University, Blacktown

15

AUG 2020

Open day: Macquarie University Macquarie University, North Ryde

16

AUG 2020

Open day: Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, Parramatta South campus

22

AUG 2020

Open day: University of Canberra University of Canberra, Bruce ACT

22 AUG 2020

Open day: Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University, Canberra campus

29

AUG 2020

Open day: University of Technology Sydney University of Technology Sydney, City campus

29

AUG 2020

Open day: University of Newcastle University of Newcastle, Callaghan campus

05

SEP 2020

Open day: Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University, North Sydney campus

05

SEP 2020

Open day: University of New South Wales University of New South Wales, Kensington campus

12

SEP 2020

Open day: Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University, Strathfield campus

16

SEP 2020

Info night: CSU information night Charles Sturt University, Sydney campus

19

SEP 2020

Open day: Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, Liverpool City campus

17

DEC 2020

Info day: University of Technology Sydney Options Day University of Technology Sydney, City campus

Ms Danuta Paton Dean of Studies

Resource Centre Update

Changes to the Opening Hours of the Resource Centre.

Beginning in Term 2, we will be making some changes to the

opening times of the Resource Centre. These changes are being

made in line with student need and feedback and we hope that

the changes will be of benefit to students.

From Term 2 the Resource Centre will be open:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8am - 4pm.

Thursday and Friday 8am - 2:50pm

Wednesday afternoon Homework Centre will continue and

operate from 2:50 - 4pm each Wednesday.

The Resource Centre has become increasingly popular for stu-

dents to use before school each day. We love that so many stu-

dents are taking the opportunity to study and prepare for the

day. Before school we request that the Resource Centre be a

place for quiet study, reading and homework.

These changes will allow for students to utilise the Resource

Centre for more meaningful assessment preparation, home-

work and study groups after school on Monday, Tuesday and

Wednesday.

Mrs Marie Lane & Mrs Stephanie Hunt

Resource Centre Leaders

Ash Wednesday and Lenten Appeal

We came together on Ash Wednesday as a College communi-

ty. This was a reverent liturgy that was led by students and

Student Formation Leaders. We were marked by ashes from

our school student leaders. Thank you to everyone that made

this a fantastic liturgy.

Our Lenten Appeal started with Shrove Tuesday. We raised

over $600 for Project Compassion. This money will be used by

Caritas to help some of the poorest communities in the region.

We also raised over $300 on our first Friday Lenten collect.

This was a fantastic effort from the boys. A reminder that each

Friday during lent we will be collecting money for Caritas Pro-

ject Compassion.

Lenten Program

Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the cele-

brations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, we are

mirroring Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert

for 40 days.

Our lenten program group will started last Friday and will con-

tinue throughout Lent during lunch on Wednesdays and Fri-

days. The program includes prayer, Gospel readings, reflec-

tions and discussions. All staff and students will be welcome to

attend the program.

Mr Victor Hunt

Dean of Religious Education and Mission

CSDA Debating State Finals

On Friday 28th February the College hosted 9 different schools

from both Metropolitan Sydney and NSW regional area in the

Catholic Schools Debating Association 2019 State Finals. The

finals were held at the start of this year due to many regional

schools being affected by the bushfires at the end of last year.

The CSDA finals are made up of Sydney schools who won the

Metropolitan competitions in August last year. As you may

remember, our Year 9 team went through last year’s debating

competition undefeated and this qualified them automatically

for the State Finals. The regional schools came from different

parts of NSW. These schools debated during the day on Friday

in an elimination competition in order to qualify for the State

Finals.

Our boys debated against St Mary’s Gateshead, a school from

Newcastle. Both teams presented clear and strong arguments

and spoke exceptionally well, however, our boys were narrow-

ly defeated in a split decision. To get to this stage of any com-

petition is a phenomenal achievement and the boys should be

congratulated on how they presented themselves and the Col-

lege.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers

who assisted on the night, particularly Mrs Pieters and Mrs

Erenavula who provided the catering. Thanks also to the many

teachers and students who came to watch and support the boys.

On the night, we had a number of boys volunteer to be ushers,

help serve food as well as acting as timekeepers and chair per-

sons for debates. Many of our guests came up to me at the end

of the night to compliment and congratulate the boys - how

they presented themselves and the College. The most common

words used were ‘that they were a credit to your school.” As a

debating co-ordinator, a teacher and a member of the Patrician

Brothers community, this made me feel immensely proud and

showcased the best of our College.

This Friday marks the beginning of the CSDA Public Speaking

Competition. We have 10 boys representing the College in the

first round being held at St Andrews College. We wish these

boys well in this competition.

The CSDA Debating Competition will start at the beginning of

Term 2 with try outs to be held later this term.

Ms Zorica Bicanic

Public Speaking and Debating Co-ordinator

MCS Basketball

Congratulations to our 4 Basketball teams who made the Grand Finals in their respective MCS competitions. Whilst the Year 8

Opens team is to be congratulated on being minor premiers of their competition, our Year 9 Opens, Year 10 Opens and B Grade

teams all qualified as well after placing in the top two of their competitions, with all 4 teams winning their Semi Finals in Week

4. While we went down in 3 of the 4 games, the determination and resilience the boys played with was outstanding. The gra-

ciousness in defeat they displayed was a revelation of their true character, and will remain a proud moment for our College.

Mr Dominic Williams and the Year 9 Opens team were crowned MCS Champions after defeating St Dominics in their Grand

Final. With this win, the Year 9 Opens team became the first in College history to win both the MCS Title and NSWCCC Title

in the same sporting season. Well done to all Basketball and Cricket players and coaches for a great season.

NSWCCC

Congratulations to Lachlan Bolarski who has once again been selected in the NSWCCC Softball side that will compete at the

NSW All Schools Championships later this month. This is an outstanding achievement.

Mr Noah Meares

MCS Sport Leader