Newsletter Edition 5, April 4

Principal's Message

Dear Emmanuel College Families,

As Term one comes to an end this week, we are grateful for it being the first term in two years that schools have not had to disperse into remote learning. The end of the term on Friday at 2.30pm will be a celebration indeed!  As this term unfolded and more normal school days resumed, we also experienced the journey through the season of Lent with its regular reminders of the origins of our Christian beliefs.  Yesterday was the final Sunday of Lent prior to Palm Sunday and Easter, and the gospel was one of the most powerful of Jesus’ stories providing insight into the importance we place on the Christian virtue of forgiveness. In the gospel, a woman is brought before Jesus accused of adultery, a crime for which Jewish law imposed the death penalty. The following reflection by Greg Sunter takes us further into the story, both then and now.

“But where is the man with whom the woman was committing adultery? When he is not also brought forward for judgment as any legitimate accusation would demand, Jesus senses the trap being set for him. He realises that those accusing the woman must have somehow been involved in setting her up so that she could be ‘caught committing adultery’. In Jewish law, accessories to a crime were equally guilty and subject to the same penalty.  When Jesus says to the gathering, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned ...,’ he’s letting them know that he’s aware of their part in this crime and what judgment is due them also!  If they persist with their accusation, they’ll also be tried as accessories!  So, they quietly walk away.

Jesus’ words to the woman sum up his message throughout the gospel: ‘Neither do I condemn you, go away, and don’t sin anymore.’ As with others in the gospels, Jesus recognises that the woman has indeed sinned, but he does not condemn her for it. By telling her not to sin any more he is calling her to conversion. He is saying, yes, you’ve made mistakes, but you can do better and I’m challenging you to try.

When the accused woman is brought before Jesus for judgment, he neither looks at the woman nor at the accusers.  He bends down and writes in the dirt.  When the accusers melt away, Jesus (still kneeling on the ground) looks up at the woman to speak to her.  She has probably never been treated with this level of respect in all her life.  With this action, as much as anything else, Jesus restores dignity and honour to the woman.  No longer looked down upon, she can begin a new life.

The words Jesus speaks to the accused woman could as easily be addressed to each of us. We all feel at times that we’ve done the wrong thing – something we don’t deserve to be forgiven for.  However, Jesus says to us, I know you’ve done the wrong thing, and you are already forgiven, but you need to make a commitment to change and not repeat the error.  It is Jesus’ promise not to give up on us – not to forget about us – that we can draw strength from as we try to respond to his challenge to change.”

May your Easter be a blessed time for you and your family, and may the message of God’s forgiveness be one we take to heart and make part of our daily mantra.

Open Night
The annual College Open Night held last Wednesday was a huge success with hundreds of visitors viewing the reimagined Emmanuel College.  Many times in the previous nine years I explained the College structure that we were working to create.  This year that structure is in place with the junior school located in the Goold Centre, Year nine has commenced the exciting new 9@RICE program at the Rice Campus, and Years 10, 11 and 12 are enjoying being part of a senior school based at the McAuley Campus. With the night behind us the focus turns to enrolments for 2023 and I encourage you to ensure applications for 2023 enrolment are submitted by April 29.  If the numbers registered for the Open Night are anything to go by there will be strong demand for the available places. Please share this information with family and friends who may be seeking enrolment. This can be completed online.

Congratulations to Grace Kelly
During the evening of our Open Night, Year 10 student Grace Kelly competed in the National Track & Field finals at Sydney’s Olympic Park.  Congratulations to Grace who gained a silver medal in the Under 17 100 metres final, a silver medal in the Under 17 200 metres final and a bronze medal in the Under 18 4 x 100 metres relay for the Victorian team.  The photo below shows Grace sporting her medals.  We wish Grace continued success as she develops as a very strong runner.

Acting Principal - Michael Wrigley
I will be commencing a period of four weeks leave from today and during this time Deputy Principal Michael Wrigley will be the Emmanuel College Acting Principal. I ask the College community to give Michael its full support during this time.  I will be returning to my role during the week commencing May 2.

In closing this week, I extend our sincere condolences to Jacquie, Tom and Indianna Baulch following the sudden death of their husband and father, Clinton Baulch, last week.  Our school’s morning prayer last Thursday had in mind Clinton, his family and, all families who have experienced death in recent times.

Lord, God of Consolation,
We remember those who have passed away.
For those who passed away quietly, we ask for a joyful passage into your spacious heart.
For those who suffered great pain, we ask for respite and
the comfort of your compassionate embrace.
For those who passed away too soon, in sudden and unexpected ways,
we ask for peace and surrender into your loving care.
Grant all those who have passed away the grace of your eternal light and life.
We offer our prayers for all those within the Emmanuel community who have lost a loved one.
May they who have departed rest in peace, and
May their loved ones forever nurture the love they left behind.

St. Joseph: Pray for us.  May the spirit of Catherine McAuley and
Edmund Rice guide us in all that we do.  Amen.

Mr Peter Morgan
Principal

A Message from Mrs Claire Wrigley

As we draw to the end of Term I congratulate all students on their positive efforts throughout the  term. As well as working well each day in classes we have also seen students involved in house sports days, Year 7 camp, Year 11 retreat days, Year 9 immersion week, Year 10 social, college sporting teams and Open Evening. I congratulate and thank all students who assisted at our Open Evening with over 160 students helping out on the night taking tours and working in spaces around the school. We had some really positive feedback about our students.

End of Term - Finish time/bus travel
Classes period 1-5 run as normal on Friday with an early finish at 2.25pm. Country buses will also run as normal with pick up from school at 2.30pm. Please be aware students will be dropped off to the various bus stops one hour earlier than a usual time on Friday.

Winter uniform 
In Term two students are required to wear winter uniform. The first week in Term two will be a transition week, students can wear summer OR winter uniform, finalsing uniform requirements as they transition to being in winter uniform by Monday May 2. Students are required to wear their blazer to and from school at all times. 

As students in Year 7 & 8 are permitted to wear PE uniform to school they are required to have school logo only garments on. This includes tracksuit pants. Students can choose to wear shorts or tracksuit pants however they must be school logo garments. There are three styles of shorts and two styles of tracksuit pants available for purchase at the uniform shop which caters for all needs. 

The uniform shop will be open at the following times in school holidays.

Wednesday 20 April 10.00am – 2.00pm 
Friday 22 April 10.00am – 2.00pm 
Tuesday 26 April 8.00am – 11.00am 

Fit4life Presentation - April 28 Pat Cronin 
The focus of the Year 9 Fit4life program centres around respectful relationships and personal self care. On Thursday April 28 students will participate in a respectful relationships session and  social violence session led by the Pat Cronin Foundation.  The session looks to empower young people to handle conflict, look after their mates and make wise decisions- so we can end the coward punch together.

Student Absences
Parents are reminded of the procedures for notifying the school of student absences particulary in the case of extended absence for family holidays.  It is important that homeroom/house mentors are notified in advance of any extended absences.

Absence Procedures - Parents and Students.pdf

School drop off & pick up
As a matter of child safety we ask that parents follow our requests in regards to  drop off and pick-up of your children. When collecting your child at the end of the day we ask that parents avoid arriving too early and sitting in cars on site prior to bell time. 

In the Junior School pick up zone (Goold Centre loop) parents are asked not to be in this area before 3.15pm. Parents are also reminded that drop zones in the school are at The Stage car park off Ardlie Street or the Goold centre loop off Botanic Road. 

We please ask that parents not access the circular driveway at McAuley reception before or after school as several students walk through this area on their way to and from school. Parents are also asked to avoid dropping students halfway along the Goold Centre road at the Emmanuel Centre, this causes congestion in the traffic. We ask that parents proceed up the road to the Goold Centre loop.

Thanks for your understanding and support of our request in the safety of all students in our school.

Mrs Claire Wrigley
Assistant Principal Students

Uniform Shop Opening Hours

Parking Around Emmanuel College

We have been contacted by the Local Laws Officer from Warrnambool City Council regarding ongoing illegal parking around Emmanuel College.

Please consider where you park when picking up your child/children at the end of the day.

Barbers Lane, Wentworth Street, Botanic Road and Ardlie Street are all areas of concern to the Council.
Please ensure you are parking in a legal parking zone only and especially avoid bus zones.

Year 9 Immersion Week - Term 1

The 9@RICE program successfully ran our inaugural Immersion Week program beginning on Monday 21 March. Students worked in groups of 3 classes, undertaking different activities designed to match the themes of Resilience, Community and Exploration.

Resilience students completed physical challenges following a build up day which included an inspiring session with Ben Harkin. Students paddled our local waters on the Merri, and navigated their way on foot from Port Fairy, via Killarney, back to Rice Campus. Despite the challenges of hiking on sand, cooking outdoors, and sleeping in tents, we hiked back into the school grounds proud of our achievements.

Community saw students travel to Canberra, visiting important sites such as Parliament House and the War Memorial, as well as places aimed to inspire a range of interests, including the CSIRO, the National Gallery and the Australian Institute of Sport. One evening also saw a powerful presentation from The Big Issue Classroom. Students perhaps most enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together socialising, for many this being the first opportunity to travel away from the southwest for some time.

Exploration students stayed local, immersing themselves in an Indigenous experience of which we are very proud. Uncle Rob Lowe led students on two tours of local areas, sharing stories about his life and many local massacre sites. Students learnt more stories through language sessions with Uncle Locky Eccles and Mel Steffensen, the highlight being a local language rendition of the Hokey Pokey. Following a visit to the Warrnambool Art Gallery, students ended the week sharing stories with artist Sherry Johnstone, creating their own artwork as a reflection of the entire week.

The 9@RICE team worked very hard to make these experiences possible for the first time, and we look forward to our second and third rotations of Immersion Weeks in Terms 2 and 3.

Josie Monro
Director of 9@RICE

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Senior School Fit4life Sessions

After surveying our Senior students, our wellbeing team are offering a series of workshops throughout Term two. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to develop stratergies to assist with navigating their world.

Learning Food Preparation Techniques

In Food Studies this term, Year 7 students have been learning key food preparation techniques that they have been able to apply in the kitchen through practical activities. In this particular practical, students learnt the techniques of “rubbing in” (butter into flour) and “kneading” (dough) to produce scones. Lots of smiles all round as the students enjoyed their scones served with jam and fresh cream.

Emma Askew
Food Technology Assistant

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Why Study Drama?

"Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I will remember.
Involve me and I will understand."

Chinese Proverb

At Emmanuel we are very lucky that the subject of Drama runs from Year 7-12.

The study of Drama is much deeper than putting on a costume and having crazy fun for 50 minutes at a time. Learning through play is powerful.

Dramatic Arts education is an important means of stimulating CREATIVITY IN PROBLEM SOLVING. It can CHALLENGE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS about their world and about themselves. Dramatic exploration can provide students with an outlet for emotions, thoughts, and dreams that they might not otherwise have means to express. A student can, if only for a few moments, BECOME ANOTHER, explore a new role, try out and experiment with various personal choices and solutions to very real problems-problems from their own life, or problems faced by characters in literature or historical figures. (Matt Buchanan)

In a 50 minute drama lesson we cover and develop 21st century employment skills such as:

• creativity
• collaboration
• problem-solving
• critical thinking
• imagination
• communication
• agility
• empathy

“The future of our nation depends on our ability to create-and to be creative. During the coming decades our most important national resources will be human resources. If our nation is to continue to meet the challenges of the future, today's schools need to develop creative leaders.” From Performing together: The Arts and Education.

So why study Drama?

Student Voice
It’s fun
I get to express myself
I nearly cried when Olivia performed her script. I could understand what her character felt.
It’s good to do a subject in VCE you love. I don’t want to be an actor but l want to do a subject l really enjoy to get a good mark to help my ATAR. It’s nice having time away from a formal classroom.
I can talk to people better now
My classmates listen to my ideas
I didn’t think l would ever be very good at performing in front of people, but l can.
My group compromises if we don’t agree about ideas. Its much better than having a go at each other and someone always getting their way.
Because it’s cool

The Performing Arts department agrees… our job is pretty cool.

Megan Davies
Head of Performing Arts

CBC Catch Up

This is an event for all the Dads, Grandads and Uncles that are past students of CBC Warrnambool!

This year our College celebrates 150 years of Catholic education at the site. As part of this celebration we are pleased to welcome past CBC Deputy Principal, Mr Paul Tobias as our guest speaker. Since moving on from Warrnambool Mr Tobias has built an outstanding reputation as an educator, a leader, and an advocate. Join us Monday evening May 2 to learn how his contribution to Catholic education continues today.

RSVP to Emmanuel College 03 5560 0888 or alumni@emmanuel.vic.edu.au

Candice Hampstead
Alumni Coordinator

Library News

Deakin University/QUT Teen Reading Survey

In Term 2 during May, two English classes from each year level will take part in a research project on Teen Reading.  The students will complete an online survey (it will take about 20 minutes).  Some of the English and Library staff from Emmanuel will also be interviewed about teen reading.

During Term 2 we will provide more information.  The families of the students participating will receive information and a consent form.

We are pleased to be a part of this project, helping us to learn more about teen reading habits and how we can assist our students to improve their reading skills.

Here are some more details on the project:

Full Project Title: Discovering a ‘Good Read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens in a digital age

Researchers: Associate Professor Leonie Rutherford (Principal Investigator, Deakin University); Professor Michael Dezuanni (Queensland University of Technology); Professors Katya Johanson and Andrew Singleton (Deakin University).

General Outline of the Project:
Our research investigates young Australians’ leisure reading tastes and practices, and who or what influences their choices. We are surveying secondary school-aged Australians to know more about how teens make decisions regarding the books they read. We would like to improve knowledge in the community and professional organisations about young people’s reading. We want to inform librarians, teachers and publishers to help them improve their services to teenagers. This research is funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council (Project LP180100258).

Participant Involvement: 
We have selected this school to participate in our study and the Principal has also given permission for us to administer the survey.

CBCA Short Lists

The Children’s Book Council of Australia this week announced the books that have been chosen by CBCA Judges to be the best six books in each category.  Many people look to this list to find the best books to read or to help purchase or borrow books for family.  There are picture books (sometimes these contain themes more suited for older children), early childhood books, information books, older readers and younger readers books.

The Shortlist can be viewed here

Critiques by the Judges

Announcement of the Shortlist on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tglRBH6vbGQ

Books Printed With Dyslexic Friendly Font
The Library has recently purchased a number of books written in dyslexic friendly font.  Many students find these books easy to read with the heavier-based letters.  Some of the books listed below are the set texts for English but many are for leisure reading for any students.  For more information about the dyslexic friendly font books visit the Read How You Want website

We have these books from the publishing company Read How You Want ready for borrowing:

The 143 Storey Treehouse Book 11 by Andy Griffiths.
200 minutes of Mystery Book 5 by Jack Heath.
After Book 4 by Morris Gleitzman.
Blueback by Tim Winton.
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina.
Everything We Keep by Di Walker.
Flying Ninja Book 2 by Anh Do.
Fog a Dox by Bruce Pascoe.
From Nerd to Ninja Book 1 by Anh Do.
I’ll keep you close by Jacka Verstegen.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.|
Just a dog by Michael Gerard Bauaer.
The Magic of Magnolia Moon Book 2 by Edwina Wyatt.
Maybe Book 6 by Morris Gleitzman.
Michaela Mason’s big list of Camp worries Book 2 by Alexa Moses.
The Mysterious affair at Styles by AgathaChristie.
Night ride into danger by Jackie French.
Now Book 3 by Morris Gleitzman.|
Once Book 1 by Morris Gleitzman.
Penguin Bloom by Chris Kunz.
Pennies for Hitler Book 2 by Jackie French.
Sister Heart by Sally Morgan.
The song of Lewis Carmichael by Sofie Laguna.
Soon Book 5 by Morris Gleitzman.
Then Book 2 by Morris Gleitzman.
Wandi by Favel Parrett.

Open Evening
The Library was visited by many people doing a tour of the College for Open Evening last Wednesday.  The Languages Faculty, Chess Club and Student Book Club students helped to bring the Library to life with their activities.

Margaret Sinnott
Library Coordinator

Community News

Community News - Wannon Water

In partnership with Southern Rural Water, we're excited to announce our World Water Day Competition for 2022. The theme for this year is Groundwater – Making the Invisible, Visible and we want you to find out all the interesting facts about groundwater in our region, then tell us what you’ve discovered.

Prizes
There are great prizes to be won for students and schools.  Prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories:

• Foundation - Year 2: two x $250 Gift Vouchers
• Years 2 - 4: two x $250 Gift Vouchers
• Years 5 - 6: two x $250 Gift Vouchers
• Years 7 - 9: two x $250 Gift Vouchers
• Years 10 - 12: two x $250 Gift Vouchers
• School prizes: All entrants will automatically be entered into a random prize draw for their school to win one of two Bunnings $250 gift vouchers.

Entries are now open and close 13 May 2022.

Find out more info and enter here

Wannon Water

Upcoming Events

Tuesday April 5
PST Conferences
WD Athletics

Wednesday April 6
1.30pm Year 9 NAPLAN Practice
3.45pm Senior Boys Football Training

Thursday April 7
8.50am Easter Liturgy
9am Year 9 AFL Academy

Friday May 8
F1 Experience - Yr 8 & 10 Systems Classes
2.25pm Term One ends

Monday April 25
ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Tuesday April 26
Term 2 Begins
Week 1A

Wednesday April 27
4.30pm WD Senior Football Boys & Girls
6.00pm PST Conference Bookings Close

Thursday April 28
State Swimming Finals
9.00am Year 9 Pat Cronin Foundation Presentation
1.35pm Year 7 Letter Writing Session
4.00pm PST Conferences

Friday April 29
Year 7 2023 Applications Close
9.00am School House Cross Country

Monday May 2
Week 2B
Winter Uniform Change
Year 12 Retreat
5.30pm CBC Catch Up

Tuesday May 3
Year 12 Retreat
WD Junior Winter Sports

Wednesday May 4
Year 12 Retreat
VCE Drama VCAA Playlist Trip
12pm Senior Boys Premier League Football

Thursday May 5
Edmund Rice Day
May Races - Student Free Day

Friday May 6
Staff PD Day
Student Free Day