Newsletter Edition 13, August 16

Principal's Message

Dear Emmanuel College Families,

Congratulations to the staff and students involved in staging “Emmanuel Unmasked” in the Wyton Theatre recently.  The performing arts have been impacted by the pandemic as much, if not more, than any field in the last couple of years, and so it was wonderful to see staff, students and volunteers working together to showcase performances of music, dance and drama.  The Show’s Director and our Head of Performing Arts, Ms. Megan Davies, commented in the program:

“The ‘Emmanuel Unmasked’ Variety Show is a much-needed performance opportunity to share the gifts and talents of our students.  It has been inspiring to see so many young performers take on the challenge and commitment of rehearsals in lunchtimes and after school to produce a show that expresses their love of acting, dancing and creating music.”

Well done to all of you and to our very capable performing arts staff, voice choir coach, stage manager, IT and AV staff who provided an immense amount of technical and behind the scenes support. 

Inspiring Alumni - Inala Cooper
Emmanuel College alumni, Inala Cooper, was inducted into the Inspiring Alumni in February.  She recently published her first book, Marrul: Aboriginal Identity and the fight for rights, published by Monash University Press as part of the university’s “In the National Interest” series.  I extend my congratulations to Inala who tells an engaging story in an easy-to-read style.  It is insightful and relevant as the discussion about an indigenous voice in the Australian parliament, inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, gains momentum.  Inala writes extensively about reconciliation stating: “reconciliation is not a destination but an on-going process.  For justice to be achieved, there must be the sharing of wealth and power, truth telling, and recognition of sovereignty. … It is not we who need to do the reconciling.  The settlers, the colonisers, the invaders, the British, the White Australians: it is they who must listen to us, learn from us, and work with us.”  Respected Jesuit priest, Fr. Frank Brennan, recently spoke at a conference of Catholic school principals where he prompted Catholic schools to be champions of the call for an indigenous voice in parliament, stating his view that it is overdue.  I hope to see more discussion of this topic among Emmanuel staff and students as we face the prospect of a referendum on this question in the coming years.  Many Emmanuel students will be of voting age when the referendum is held and I hope they will be knowledgeable and able to cast an informed vote when the time comes.  Inala’s book which is based on her own experiences and those of her family is an ideal place to begin the process of preparing ourselves for that next referendum.

United Together: Building Best Practices
When this newsletter is released, Emmanuel staff will be participating in a professional learning day with the title United Together: Building Best Practices.  The College is currently undertaking a strategic planning process that will generate the school’s next strategic plan and today’s seminar focuses on key areas to be included in the next strategic plan.  Assistant Principal Justin Houlihan who is coordinating the day and speaking to staff on the subject, ‘Education at Emmanuel; Planning for the Future’.  Director of Learning and Teaching, Simone Rolfe, will also launch the new Emmanuel College Academic Handbook, and work with staff to increase understanding of metacognition, that is our awareness and understanding of our own thought processes and therefore learning.  Finally, Catherine Ryan is conducting a workshop for our teachers on learning to love literacy and understanding the barriers students face in the classroom in relation to decoding and comprehension.  In the afternoon, a series of meetings will focus on curriculum improvements, new study designs for VCE studies being introduced in 2023, and training in the applications Math Pathways and Education Perfect, that we use at Emmanuel.  My sincere thanks to Justin, Simone and Catherine for planning and running this day for Emmanuel staff members.

Seeds of Justice
Congratulations to staff member Jacinta Skilbeck who is playing a lead role in planning the regional Seeds of Justice event for students from Victorian Mercy schools.  The theme of this year’s event is: “People of Mercy hear the cry of the poor”.  One of the two keynote guests is Emmanuel College Inspiring Alumni Anthony Leddin who explains: “By 2050, the world’s population is going to reach around 10 billion people. We have to increase our food production from current levels by another 70% on top of what we already produce”. Raised on a farm in Yambuk, Anthony has an agricultural science degree and he moves between life as an agronomist in Australia, and volunteering as a plant breeding expert in developing countries. This work began with a UN project in India which led to a project called Plant Breeders Without Borders, based on Doctors Without Borders, where plant experts volunteer alongside local groups and farmers. They work to boost crop yield, by working with familiar plants, or by exploring different ones. This global tree of life has been growing steadily for 20 years and changing communities.  Anthony has worked around the world, including Ethiopia, Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia and East Timor, and on seed collection in Israel, Turkey and Spain. Food security, as Anthony explains, not only prevents famine, but civil unrest, war and people being forced to become refugees.  How fortunate are our students to have access to a speaker with the international reputation of Anthony and alumni of their own school.

Frayne Speech Festival
Finally, we look forward to welcoming staff and students from regional and metropolitan Mercy schools to Emmanuel on Friday 26 August for the Frayne Speech Festival which we are hosting this year.  Representatives of eight Mercy schools are descending on Emmanuel to challenge each other in debating, public speaking and voice choir.  It’s been nearly three years since the last festival where Emmanuel College won the voice choir section, and our students, not to mention their coach, Brigid Foard, are hungry to defend the title.  This is the first time the College has hosted the Frayne Festival since becoming a full member of the Mercy Education network and we look forward to sharing hospitality with our guests and building camaraderie among students from like schools with different backgrounds.

I wish you well this week. May the spirit of Mercy be with you and in all that you do.

“Let us take one day in hands at a time.
Resolve to do good today and better tomorrow.” (Catherine McAuley)
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

Fit4Life Parent Series - Save the date

Sept 6 : - Anxiety: Friend or Foe? Dr Jodie Fleming 
We have a wonderful opportunity for parents to attend a presentation from Dr Jodie Fleming - College Psychologist on how to assist your teenager with anxiety. Jodie will share with parents an understanding of anxiety and how to help your child embrace this very human emotion with strategies to assist with management of this emotion.

Oct 6 : “Cyber safety” - growing up online - Susan McLean
“A must see presentation for all parents of children who have a mobile phone or computer”. An informative & entertaining session for Parents and carers is delivered with Susan’s famous ‘no-nonsense‘ approach and  will cover the positive benefits of technology, as well as what parents need to be aware of.

Year 7 Time & Space - Mother/Female mentor and child evening
A very successful evening was held on Monday August 1 with a large number of mothers/female mentors joining their child for a special evening about transition and sharing time with one another. Participants heard from a panel of students and a current parent sharing their perspective of transition into secondary school. Time was also spent in small groups sharing experiences with transition and the evening concluded with a wonderful ceremony of mothers/mentors and children sharing a special item with one another. Thanks to all the students, parents and staff who assisted with leading small groups and for supporting the evening.

Uniform expectations - nose piercing 

As a result of COVID and students being required to wear masks previously at school we have seen an increase in nose piercing. We ask for parents' support in regards to this uniform expectation. Students are asked to refrain from getting nose piercing whilst they  attend Emmanuel College.

As per our guidelines  - ‘Body piercing, other than in the ear, (eg nose piercing) is unacceptable. Please note should a student have a nose piercing it is either removed during the school day, covered or a clear retainer is worn’. Failure to observe the jewellery expectations will result in the excess jewellery being confiscated until the end of term.

Below is a local supplier of clear retainers and online options.

Warrnambool -  Piercing & Hair by Georgia – clear retainer available for $12

Website for purchasing clear retainers

Mrs Claire Wrigley
Assistant Principal - Students

Common Threads Book Launch

The College is launching its 150 year history named: “Common Threads: 150 years of stories from St. Ann’s, CBC and Emmanuel College” on August 25.  The book is available to purchase and I think you will feel proud to own a copy and enjoy the anecdotes, stories, photos and quotes representing 150 years of proud history. Books may be pre-ordered now at this link:

Join us in celebrating 150 years of Common Threads, a timeline of photos, stories and quotes from our community through the decades.
Listen to guest speaker reflections and Principal Peter Morgan.
Light refreshments and drinks will be provided.

Emmanuel Unmasked

The ‘Emmanuel Unmasked' Variety Show, was a much needed performance opportunity to share the gifts and talents of our students. It has been inspiring to see so many young performers take on the challenge and commitment of rehearsals in lunchtimes, holidays and after school to produce a show which expressed their love of acting, dancing and music.

The show’s play-on-word title, refers to the time where as a community we could not perform in front of an audience due to covid restrictions but now we were able to ‘unmask’ the talent of our young people. As a fun audience participation section, in each show we had a ‘fully costumed singer’ in parody of the show ‘Masked Singer’ on TV. Dave from ‘All Seasons Nursery’ and our principal Peter Morgan were brave and performed in a Guess Who segment.

We engaged the talent of Aidan Nicolson from ‘Dirty Angel Comedy Warrnambool’ to host our variety show as we had an eclectic mix of music, drama, dancing and voice acts to share, and Aidan’s comedic interludes between performances tied it all together.

I would like to thank the parents and guardians of the performers, all college staff for their support of this venture, especially the IT Staff; Peter Sassmannshausen, Tom Ward, Logan Kelly, Sam Phayer and Performing Arts staff; Ian Leonard, Maria Carras-Kerr, Brigid Foard, Sally Dymke, Erin Toulmin, Dean Mulholland, Adam Burgess-Metal, Airlie Tait and Brendan Donahoo, who promote The Arts with passion, skill and enthusiasm.

Ms Megan Davies
Head of Performing Arts

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Year 7 Science

Year 7 Science Classes are learning about forces. 7A were investigating the effect of spreading the load in their Forces unit. The aim was to see how many students could be supported on the table without popping the balloons. They were given six balloons per attempt and each group had three attempts.

Students worked collaboratively to place their balloons and had to take into consideration additional factors, such as the size of the balloons and the order of students stepping onto the table.

Group One was the winning team. They managed to support ten students with only six balloons!

Ms Kristin Ballinger
Teacher

Pancake Breakfast for McAuley House

On Thursday August 4 the McAuley House Leaders organised a Green House pancake breakfast! During the extended homeroom each house ran a different activity for their house to be a part of, in aim to tighten our inter year level relationships, embrace the new homeroom system and bring McAuley closer together as a group. The leaders organised the morning and came up with some ideas for our peers. This week the McAuley House Leaders chose to do a Green House Pancake Breakfast for our chosen activity. The green pancakes were a treat and well enjoyed by the Green House members! GO GREEN TEAM!

Lucy El Hage
McAuley Leader/School Captain

Accounting Excursion

Last Monday Year 11 & 12 VCE Accounting students, accompanied by their teacher Mr Joseph Alderuccio, visited McLaren Hunt Financial Group in Warrnambool.

There were six speakers from McLaren Hunt ranging from trainee accountant to partner level who discussed the wide breadth of areas of Accounting, including Taxation, Business Services, Auditing, Agribusiness and Financial Planning.  Students were able to get a better understanding of the Accounting industry and learn what a typical week looks like for an accountant.

They also discussed and explained their career pathways from high school into university and then on to their Accounting careers.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon Accounting lessons to a have an in-depth and real world understanding of Accounting.

Mr Joseph Alderuccio
Teacher

Sports Update

Greater Western Region Basketball Finals

On Friday the 5th of August the Intermediate Girls and Senior Boys Basketball teams competed in the Region Basketball Championships held in Ballarat.

The Emmanuel College Girls Intermediate Basketball are now the School Sport Victoria, Greater Western Victoria Region Champions. After two convincing wins in the round robin against Monivae College, 50–22 and St Brigid's College, 50–25 the team then had a battle on their hands in the final against Ballarat High School. The lead changed a number of times early in the first half but a strong defence and some great shooting saw Emmanuel College win 42-37.

Congratulations to all players – Eve Covey, Charlotte Lenehan, Olivia Lenehan, Cigijwok Lual, Molly McLaren, Matilda Sewell, Olivia Wolter and Lila Wilkinson.

Mrs Colleen Pope

Our Senior Boys competition in the initial rounds provided the group with some challenges against an athletic Portland Secondary College and an aggressive Ballarat High School. The boys defensive mindset with an ability to transition into their offense with speed allowed them to win both games to progress to the finals.

The grand final was scheduled against Mercy College. The Emmanuel group had a blistering start with a 20-2 lead early and managed to extend the lead throughout the game. Congratulations to the team who now progress to the state Finals later in the term.

The team consisted of Luke Kenna, Mitchell Wollermann, Luamon Lual, Jaylen Brown, Connor Bryne, Rupert Morley , Ollie Smith, Harry Keast, Harry McGorm and Sam Barker. Thanks also to Nick Unwin for being our team referee for the day.

Mr Shane Smith

Intermediate Girls GWR and State Quarter Finals Football

After winning the GWR Girls Football Finals on the 26th of May, our Intermediate Girls headed to Ballarat on Tuesday the 9th of August for the State Quarter Finals. Matching up against Strathmore Secondary College our side competed well but ultimately fell short by around 8 goals. Best Players included Grace Schrama, Marni Beks, Olivia Wolter, Cigijwok Lual and Abbey Titmus. Congratulations to the side on qualifying for such a high level.

Mr Alastair Templeton
Sports Coordinator

Tree planting along the Merri River

On Wednesday August 3 students from Year 11 Maguire House undertook tree and native grass planting along the Merri River in Warrnambool.

This is a practical activity that relates to environmental ethics that students explore in VCE Religion & Society. Students also learn about Catholic Social Teaching, in this particular instance we are looking at Caring For Our Common Home.

Chris Wilson from the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority was on site assisting to facilitate the tree planting activity. Chris educated students on the importance of caring for the environment, issues with environmental degradation and climate change. Chriss discussed the health of the Merri River in Warrnambool and the progress of efforts to improve the health of the river as well as the aquatic life that's been able to slowly start returning.

Students enjoyed the change to the classroom setting of learning VCE Religion & Society for the outdoors and were keen to get involved in a community activity that’s directed at correcting environmental degradation along the Merri River.

Mr Joseph Alderuccio
VCE Religion & Society teacher and Environment & Sustainability Coordinator

Library News

Check Out Our Favourite Books
When students visit the Library they can browse some Library cards to help them if they are finding it difficult to choose a book.  The books listed on the cards are all ‘good ones’ or ‘winners’, that means other students have found them to be good books to read.

Library and Information Week Winners
The winners for the Library and Information Week Competitions are:

Guess the number of writing implements in the jar: Sophie Wrigley

Wordsearch Winners: Diana Fernandez, Rebecca Down, Paige Armistead, Angus Griffiths, Amber Dowd, Lucy El-Hage, Sophie Wrigley

Bingo Winners: Tess Madden, Xander McLean, Caleb Tonkin, Nina Fitzsimmons, Kaitlyn Brown

Limerick Winners: Milla Walker, Grace Morgan

Writing Challenges: Watermelons - Longest list - Angus Griffiths, Special Mention - Jace Nepean and Will Gleisner, Most Creative - Belle Plozza and Saskia Warren

Writing Challenges: Oceans - Jasmine Phillips

Thanks to everyone for participating.

Book Week
Emmanuel College will celebrate Book Week, 20-26 August.

Each year since 1945 the CBCA has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.

We will have competitions and activities in the Library all through that week. Keep an eye on Daily Messages for what is happening.

Watch out on August 19 to see which books from the CBCA shortlist have been given awards. Announcement of winners at 12 noon. You will see information about the winners in the media such as newspapers and TV and of course, online.

Students in Year 8 have been looking at two categories: Early Childhood and Picture Books and voting for the ones that they think should be given the Awards this year. Click here to see which books have won the CBCA Awards in previous years. You may like to look up which books won when you were in primary school.

Current Year 12s may remember celebrating Book Week at primary school. In 2016 the theme was Australia: Story Country. In 2015 (when Year 12s were in Year 5) the Book Week theme was Books Light Up Our World.

During Book Week this year, there has been a day set aside in Australia to celebrate school libraries - it is the first Australian School Library Day being held on Wednesday 24 August.

CBCA Shadow Judging Project
Students in the Student Book Club have been reading books on the CBCA Shortlist category for Younger Readers.  We have now submitted our vote for which book we think should win and we now wait until this Friday to find out which book the official judges have chosen as the winner.  As part of being involved in this project, the students in the Book Club had a session with one of the Picture book shortlist authors, Katrina Nannestad, in a Zoom session.  The students learnt more about the influences Katrina has used to write her books.  The Library provided toasted sandwiches for the author talk.

Year 8s Voting For the Best Early Childhood and Picture Books
Some of the Year 8 classes have been visiting the Library and reading in small groups books from the Early Childhood and Picture Book categories of the CBCA Shortlists.  They read the books, discussed each one and then gave each one a score out of 5 for such features as text, pictures, readability and message.  We will wait to see which of these books is chosen by the official judges this week when the Book Awards are announced.

Year 8 Picture Book Presentation Afternoon
Year 8 students and their families will gather in the College Library on Monday September 5, 5.00-6.30pm to view the picture books created in English classes.  Presentations will be made for the winning picture books.  More details to follow.

Mrs Margaret Sinnott
Library Coodrniator

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Career News

Youth Allowance
Youth Allowance is a topic that is sometimes misunderstood or can create a range of questions that many parents and students are unsure where to find the answer.

On Thursday September 8^th, Jon Peglar from Sinclair & Wilson will be presenting in “The Stage” from 7.00pm. Jon will cover a number of areas including what is Dependant and Independent Youth Allowance. This is a must attend event for those that are unsure about what is available to them and how to apply. Please mark this in your calendar.

VTAC & Traineeship Support
Following on from the presentation regarding VTAC, the following dates have been set aside for any students that may have further questions regarding account application, SEAS or Scholarships. Tuesday August 23^rd & 24^th from 3.30pm – 4.30pm, there will be several teachers in attendance to assist any enquiries.

The Traineeship Booklet is due for release on August 22^nd, so this time this will also include the process needed to apply for Gap Year Traineeships. The sessions will be in the Reading Room located in the Library

Newman College Visit
Newman College is a co-educational residential College affiliated with the University of Melbourne. The College primarily accepts students studying at the University of Melbourne, but also has limited places for those studying at RMIT, ACU and Monash (Pharmacy).

On Thursday August 18^th, at 1.00pm, Victoria from the College will be paying a visit to speak about life at Newman, along with information on exclusive scholarships and bursaries for students from Catholic schools and updates on recent changes.

The session will be held in the Reading Room (Library)

St Mary’s College Visit
Darcy McCormack, Principal of St Mary’s Student Accommodation will be presenting on Tuesday August 23^rd at 1.00pm. This will be a great opportunity to hear what they can offer in terms of accommodation, scholarships and much more, whilst giving an overall picture of what life is like at St Marys. Although affiliated with the University of Melbourne it is recommended for anyone considering a residential option in Melbourne to attend.

The presentation will be in the reading room located in the library.

Career News
The careers website is a wealth of information available to students and parents ranging from newsletters, career topics, senior school options and post-secondary information. We encourage everyone to take the time to explore what is available. Just recently we added the current Careers Newsletter and VCE Survival kit which explains the finer details on the VTAC application process along with important dates, an explanation on SEAS and preferences hints. To find out more please visit the website

Mr David Gladman
Student Pathways & Careers Leader

Building Courage and Resilience

Volunteer Expo

Would you like to volunteer at the RSPCA?

The Warrnambool RSPCA has recently resumed Volunteer training inductions after having to halt during Covid-19 lockdowns. As a result of this we have many volunteer shifts available.

To volunteer you must be at least 15 years old and complete the online application and training that can be found on the RSPCA VIC website. We have shifts available Monday-Sunday for any students who have a passion for caring for animals or who are interested in pursuing a career in animal related fields. All volunteer hours are recorded and can be used to meet volunteer requirements in animal study courses that require them.

Any interested students can apply online or email ecrichton@rspcavic.org.au.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday August 17
9.00am Year 8 - Everyday Resilience Presentation
11.15am Year 7 - Everyday Resilience Presentation
1.50pm Year 12 Complete Works performance of 7 Stages of Grieving and The Longest Memory

Thursday August 18
9.00am Whole School Assembly
4.00pm Year 10-12 PST Conferences

Friday August 19
Regional Junior Soccer
VCAL Budj Bim Excursion

Monday August 22
Week 7A
Year 10 Camp/Careers - Egan House
Book Week

Tuesday August 23
Year 10 Camp/Careers - Egan House
Book Week

Wednesday August 24
Year 10 Camp/Careers - Egan and Maquire House
Year 10 Rice & McAuley Independent Learning Day
Book Week

Thursday August 25
Year 10 Camp/Careers - Maguire House
Book Week
Noorat Clay Target Shooting Comp
5.00pm Book Launch 150th Year - 'Common Threads'

Friday August 26
Year 10 Camp/Careers - Maguire House
Book Week
Frayne Festival - Emmanuel College

Monday August 29
Week 8B
Year 10 Camp/Careers -Rice House
Year 9 Immersion Week 3

Tuesday August 30
Year 10 Camp/Careers - Rice House
Year 9 Immersion Week 3