Newsletter Edition 20, December 6

Principal's Message

Dear Emmanuel College Families,
College Leaders 2023
The 2023 Student Leadership Team was invested in front of the assembled college community last week.  We have moved away from appointing deputy captains in a move that recognises the four leaders carry equal responsibilities and work load.  We congratulate the four new College Captains: Emily Mahony, George Stevens, Paige Armistead and Segdae Lucardie who received their new ‘College Captain’ blazers provided by our uniform suppliers Noone Uniforms, from the outgoing 2022 College Captains.  In a further break with tradition, the 80 students invested as 2023 leaders were presented with their leadership badges by the senior leaders of their House group.  It is wonderful to see how, piece by piece, our students are assuming ever more responsibility at these significant occasions.  We thank Ms Leah Kermeen for her great work coordinating the leadership process which successfully identifies such capable young people in our midst, and to college chaplain Fr. Bill Lowry, who led the assembly in prayer and blessed the Captains’ new blazers and the students’ leadership badges.  Fr. Bill prayed the following:
In the lives of Jesus, Catherine McAuley & Edmund Rice, we have examples of true servant leadership. Holy Spirit, work among our new leaders to fill them with gratitude for their education. Encourage them to take advantage of opportunities for learning, leading and serving throughout their lives.  Mentor our 2023 students in their roles as leaders. Bless them with critical minds, grateful hearts and willing hands to be leaders of integrity and compassion to empower our Emmanuel College Community anew next year.
Lord, bless them to know ‘anything is possible with God’.
Loving God, we ask you to bless these blazers and badges.
May they be worn with pride and responsibility.
May they always be a reminder that leadership is not about impressing others, but is grounded in humility and in service to the community.
Bless these new student leaders.
Help them to grow in wisdom and maturity.
May they serve this community with humility, dignity and compassion through all the highs and lows of school life.
We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen.
The Emmanuel Torch
An important moment in the investiture is handing on the Emmanuel Leadership Torch by the outgoing captains to the incoming ones.  The Emmanuel Torch is a symbol of leadership used at important ceremonies and events. Each year it is passed to the new group of leaders symbolizing the importance of leadership in our school and our community.  The Emmanuel Leadership Torch is shaped like a baton so it is easy to pass from one to another.  It reflects light, light being the great Christian symbol of hope and good leaders share light and bring hope to those they lead.  It is strong, encouraging each one of us to be strong and have courage in the face of challenges and adversity, while the glass is fragile, symbolizing the fragility of human relationships and life itself.  The torch is made in three parts and the use of three different materials, glass, wood and resin, represent the Catholic heritage of the trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; our three centres of learning, McAuley, Rice and Goold; the College motto, Sharing Faith, Hope and Love; and the growth of our school, past, present and future.  We wish all the new Emmanuel student leaders well in 2023.
Frozen the Musical
Before the assembly concluded, the 2023 College musical production was announced and if the audience response is anything to go by, it’s going to be a hit!  In 2023, Emmanuel College will mount a production of “Frozen Jnr.”, in the Wyton Theatre, May 22–27.  Auditions will be held February 6, 7 & 8, and rehearsals commence February 20.  If you have any questions, please see Ms. Davies at her office in the STAGE or email mdavies@emmanuel.vic.edu.au
9@RICE Passion Projects
Last week saw the culmination of the inaugural Year 9@RICE year with every student presenting their Passion Project to an audience of family and friends and the Year 8 students who viewed the presentations and gained an insight into what makes a good passion project.  In short, a passion project is one that reflects something of great interest to the individual.  While there were some similarities, no two passion projects were the same, and the number of unique projects was inspiring.  Congratulations to the Year nine staff team led by Josie Monro, Glen Martin and James Laidler and all who supported them.  Developing and commencing a new program takes courage and we expect there to be hurdles; this year was no different.  But seeing the passion projects and listening to the students describe their interests and explain their projects indicates the new course and the different approaches to year nine learning were worthwhile.  I encourage you to view the Emmanuel College Facebook page to view examples of the student’s passion projects.   
Awards Night
There is just one more newsletter to be published this year.  On Tuesday 13 December a final newsletter will recognise those students who received awards at the College Awards Night to be held on Monday 12 December from 7:30pm, and to announce the Year 12 dux and highest scorers with the release of VCE results scheduled the same day.  As the year is concluding I wish to thank Mrs Julie Lynch for her work producing the Newsletter for the past ten years.  Julie is leaving the College at the end of the year and I thank her for her efforts to produce an informative regular newsletter for the College community.  I also acknowledge those staff retiring, concluding their tenure or relocating to ne roles and locations.  The Emmanuel community is a wonderful community shaped and influenced by those who form it. We share our blessings with those who are leaving the College this year and wish them good health and happiness in abundance.
I wish you well this week. May the spirit of Mercy be with you and in all that you do.
God of Hope; be with us during this Season of Advent.
St. Joseph: Pray for us.  May the spirit of Catherine McAuley and
Edmund Rice guide us in all that we do. Amen.

Kind regards,
Peter Morgan
Principal

At the end of the 2022 school year the College says farewell to a number of staff whom we wish well in retirement or the pursuit of new pathways. 

• Farewell to Brian Brown who is retiring after more than 30 years of deep connection to St. Ann’s and Emmanuel Colleges. Always versatile and flexible, Brian taught health and physical education, Math, Religious Education and various sports academies.  He was Deputy Principal responsible for students and their wellbeing and as daily organizer he was the first point of contact for hundreds of staff members.  Students will remember Brian for all the sports teams he coached, his can-do attitude, his firmness and fairness dealing with discipline matters and his respect for each person he came into contact with.
• Leigh McCluskey has worked almost all of his teaching career at CBC and Emmanuel Colleges. Starting at CBC in 1983, Leigh is known and respected by generations of young people, many of whom now count Leigh among their friends.  Teaching Math, Leigh influenced many young people to discover and enjoy Math and to pursue their own careers in fields dependent on their Mathematical knowledge.  We wish Leigh health and happiness to undertake lots of travelling and caravanning in retirement.
• Jean Christie joined the staff of St. Ann’s College in 1989 and witnessed the amalgamation of the two schools that gave rise to Emmanuel College. Initially working in the Library, Jean will be remembered best for her work in marketing and community building.  Jean’s flair for design and creative writing gave rise to the now well-known Emmanuel brand, and multiple elements in the fabric of the College, such as the House logos and merit badge designs, that have Jean’s signature on them.  Most recently, the creation and publication of the 150 year history of the College, “Common Threads: 150 years of stories from St. Ann’s, CBC and Emmanuel College” is Jean’s work.  We wish her well in retirement where she is already finding a range of outlets for extraordinary creative talent.
• Joanne Moloney joined the newly formed Emmanuel College in in the year of its inception, 1991, and is one of the few remaining staff involved in shaping the new school. Joanne taught textiles to generations of students; it was a subject she was passionate about.  Joanne’s love for her students was a cornerstone of her approach and clearly on display with the hugs from her class members at the Year 12 Graduation.  We wish Joanne great happiness in retirement and the joy that comes from being a grandmother with her first two grandchildren due in 2023.
• John O’Sullivan took leave in 2021 and has now resigned to pursue his appointment as Principal of St. Malachy’s Primary School, Edenhope. John joined the College in 2008 and for much of his time was the Director of Enhancing Catholic Identity, a role that saw John wear many hats including leader of Religious Education and Coordinator of Community Service.  Leading by example, John provided multiple opportunities for students to be active and provide service in their local and broader communities and experience the gospel values of Faith, Hope and Love through their Emmanuel education.  We wish John health and happiness in his role as principal.
• Anne Marantelli is transitioning to retirement after a life-time career in Catholic education including 16 years teaching at Emmanuel. Anne taught Humanities, particularly Geography, that gave rise to a deep connection to and knowledge of the local geography.  Anne spent several years in faculty and year level coordination, and facilitated multiple World Challenge expeditions enjoyed by hundreds of Emmanuel students. 
• Amanda McCarten has transitioned to the South West TAFE in Warrnambool where she is heading up the design and delivery of new vocational education courses for secondary students. Amanda started at Emmanuel College in 2008 and was a most versatile and effective teacher of English, Humanities and Japanese, as well as holding leadership roles including Director of the Middle School.  We wish Amanda continued success in her new environment.
• Julie Lynch started at Emmanuel College in 2007 initially as a learning support assistant and later as the assistant to the Director of Marketing. Working two days each week, Julie produced the fortnightly newsletter, coordinated school photos and assisted the organization of the annual College open event among other jobs.  We wish Julie well as she pursues new directions in 2023.
• Since joining the College in 2012, Stacey Baker has been an assistant Year 11 Coordinator, teacher of Religious Education, English and Humanities, and most recently, shared the coordination of Learning Diversity during a period of rapid expansion. Stacey is leaving the College to pursue new ventures in South Australia where we wish her happiness and success.
• Although an Emmanuel staff member for a short period of time, Josie Monro’s achievements are most important. Josie oversaw the design and the implementation of the new 9@RICE approach to year nine learning.  Having worked in year nine programs for much of her teaching career, Josie eagerly accepted the opportunity to design a new program from scratch.  Working extraordinarily hard with fearless determination, Josie has successfully delivered the new program in 2022, and is returning to Melbourne at the end of the year.  We wish her every success and thank her for what she’s delivered.
• Sarah Murfett has taught Religious Education and Humanities in the junior school since 2012 and in 2023 transitions to Our Lady Help of Christians primary school, East Warrnambool. Sarah is an excellent teacher who will be missed by her students and colleagues alike.  Her knowledge of the environmental challenges the world faces saw her incorporate vital, new topics into Year seven RE that invite understanding and respect for our common home, the earth.
• Brendan Donahoo joined the Emmanuel staff in 2014 and has taught Music and helped establish the Year 7 Music Program, while more recently he has helped shape the 9@RICE program. Brendan is pursuing new directions in 2023 that include working in primary schools and for Deakin University.  We wish him well in these new pursuits.
• Joseph Alderuccio joined the College staff as a graduate in 2020 and was quickly forced to establish his teaching credentials during remote learning. The College congratulates Joseph for achieving full VIT Registration this year and wishes him well as he pursues his career in Melbourne in 2023.
• Will King has been a member of staff since 2021 and next year will be studying full time to complete his Phd through Deakin University. Will presented to the whole school assembly during Reconciliation Week and displayed a commanding knowledge of the subject matter that is also the area of his Phd research.  We wish him success with the completion of his study and the publication of his thesis. 
• Sophie Thomas joined the College as a graduate teacher this year teaching Health and PE, Discovery, Movement & Activity. We wish Sophie well as she relocates to the Northern Territory to continue her teaching in a remote, indigenous community.
• Melody Jane filled various replacement positions prior to this year and this year has had her own Math, Discovery and Wisdom classes. We wish her well and hope to see her return in the future.
• Best wishes to Kelly Giblin who provided such a friendly, welcoming presence in the Office during 2022. Best wishes for 2023.
• At the end of the year the following staff will conclude contract work at the College: Daniel McElgunn, Rosina Gannon, Anne Hegarty, Emily Lloyd, Ali Withers, Mary Renehan and Angelina Hales. We thank each one of them for their flexibility and assistance to cover a range of subjects for various lengths of time during 2022.
• We had another wonderful group of Trainees this year who are commended for their assistance to teachers and students. Thank you and farewell to Innes Gagniere, Emma Stacey, Tori Monaghan, Alexandra Baker, Seb Shiells, Will McNeil and Charlotte Meade.  We wish you success in your university studies and future career paths.
• We also express our best wishes to Tamara Hulands and husband Lachie as Tamara commences family leave and waits patiently for the arrival of their baby.
• During 2023, Rebecca Thompson, Fiona McCosh, James Laidler, Conor Devine, Sean Fitzgibbon, Annabelle Morton and Caroline Garner will take leave for between one and two terms. We wish all of them good health and happiness during their period of leave and a safe return.

A Message from Mrs Claire Wrigley

As the year draws to a close I congratulate all students on their fantastic efforts throughout 2022. There have been so many wonderful experiences for our students this year and we look forward to many more next year. 
It was wonderful to see 80 student leaders presented to the school community recently at leaders investiture. We wish these students all the best and look forward to catching up with them on Tuesday December 13 at the student leaders workshop day. I take the opportunity to thank Mrs Leah Keermen for all her wonderful work with student leaders throughout 2022.
In the final week of classes we saw Year 7 students finish up all their assessment tasks, Year 8 students complete exams for the first time, Year 9 students produce and display wonderful personal projects at their expo and Year 10 students consolidate their learning through final exams.  Each year level finished off with a wonderful celebration day with some prayerful reflections and celebration mass followed by some fun activities. Many thanks to all the staff who coordinated, planned and supervised these final days allowing students to have a memorable final day experience.

2023 Step Up Program
On Thursday December 1 all students from Year 7 - 9 participated in a step up program which saw Year 7 students move up into their Year 8 homerooms and participate in some team building activities. Year 8 students went down to Rice campus to hear all about 9@Rice and gather in homerooms and Year 9 students arrived at McAuley campus ready to step up into senior school and participate in house based activities. The program went very well and allowed students to experience a sample of what 2023 will look like for them.

Mission Australia & Be You Survey results
Over the past four years our senior students have completed annually the Mission Australia survey. This year senior students were invited to participate in the survey  in term 3. Whilst we are yet to receive our individual school results below is a snapshot of highlights of the survey nationally.
This year, 18,800 young people participated in the 21st annual Youth Survey between April and August 2022. The Youth Survey Report 2022 provides a rich insight into young people’s challenges, concerns, experiences and barriers to achieving their goals.
The report has revealed financial concerns and housing instability affected many young people and their families. The environment (51.0%), equity and discrimination (35.9%) and mental health (33.9%) topped the issues young people aged 15 to 19 want Australia to address in 2022.
Mission Australia’s CEO Sharon Callister said: “As we consider this year’s findings, we must bear in mind the impacts that the pandemic, recent natural disasters and financial pressures have on young people’s lives and perspectives.”
“If Australia builds enough new social and affordable homes and adequately increases income supports like JobSeeker and Youth Allowance, this would go a long way to help families and their children to afford life’s essentials and a safe and secure home,” said Ms Callister.
Not only was the environment one of the most important issues in Australia according to half (51.0%) of young respondents – soaring from 38.0% in 2021 and 29.8% in 2020, one-quarter (25.5%) were also personally extremely or very concerned about climate change.
Ms Callister said: “The looming threat of climate change and the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters is clearly hurting Australia’s young people. They want more action.”
More than one-third of young people said equity and discrimination (35.9%) was an important national issue, and just over one-quarter (27.1%) of those surveyed were unfairly treated in the past year, mostly due to their gender, race/cultural background or mental health.
“Clearly young people are enduring and seeing gender, racial and mental health related discrimination around them, and this must be addressed,” said Ms Callister.
One-third (33.9%) of young people felt mental health is an important national issue. Almost three in 10 (28.8%) young people indicated high psychological distress and almost one-quarter (23.5%) felt lonely all or most of the time.
“Australia must do more to increase young people’s access to mental health services and improve mental health screening and supports provided through schools and workplaces,” urged Ms Callister.
For the first time the Youth Survey report reported on young people’s solutions to the issues they face. Young people voiced the importance of asking friends, family and health professionals for support, the need for learning strategies to reduce stress and more emphasis on mental health and wellbeing at school.
Young people have the answers. We must listen, ensure young people are included in decision-making processes, and act now so they can access the opportunities and supports they need to thrive.”
See the link below for a great summary of results.
Youth Survey Dec 2022 Summary Booklet.pdf
This year is the first year we have completed the BeYou survey for students and staff and we will look to include parents from next year. The results were really positive and very interesting in terms of where we see ourselves from a wellbeing perspective. Some of the really positive data for is included below – this allows us to see where we’re doing well and really look to leverage and build on that in 2023…
Student Overall Results:

Students and their learning resilience.  Only 5% don't feel like they know some actions they can take: 

Students agree good mental health and wellbeing is important for learning. 

School Uniform 
Please use the summer holidays to check uniforms before returning for 2023. Many students grow and upon return shorts may be a little small and dresses short.  We also remind parents of students in Year 12 in 2023 that students must hold onto their blazer as they are still required to wear their blazer to and from school over their Year 12 hoody top. Please see the flyer with Noone uniform shop holiday opening times.

Library News

Blueback Novels
With the introduction of a new novel for Year 7 English in 2023, Blueback by Tim Winton is no longer on the booklist for next year. The College is looking to purchase (in very good condition) approximately 25 copies of Blueback to make up a class set for English Faculty use.
Once the book is finished with for this year, if you would like to send it to the Library (with student name and homeroom) we may look at purchasing the novel. The new cost of purchasing the book is $17.99. We are looking to pay $9 for each copy. The amount paid will be put against your school fees.  The edition of the book we are looking to purchase is one with the ISBN (barcode on back of book) 9780143304333.  At time of publishing the newsletter  we need approximately 5 more copies.
If you have any questions, please call the Library on 5560 0812.
You may also like to make a note that Blueback has been made in to a movie.  It will be in cinemas on New Years Day in 2023.  See the movie trailer here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv3-jMEpM44

Reading Over The Holidays
Students may like to take the opportunity to have a read over the holidays.  Emmanuel College subscribes to three different digital reading platforms: Sora, Wheelers and Bolinda Borrowbox.  Some of the English texts are available on these platforms as ebooks or audio books.  The log in is the student user name and then computer password.  To find the link to log in to these sites, please visit the Library home page found on SIMON or visit:
https://soraapp.com/library/emmanuelau
https://emmanuel.wheelers.co
https://emmanuelvic.borrowbox.com
Students can also visit the new Warrnambool Library and Learning Centre at 8 Kepler Street, Warrnambool and borrow books from their collection.  Parent permission for a borrowing card is required for younger students.

Bookmarks For India
Many students have been making bookmarks to send to a school in India as part of International School Library Month.  Mrs Hetherington’s Year 7 English class are featured helping make some of the bookmarks in the last week of Term 4.  Thanks to all these students who have been involved in the project.  The school is Adani Vidya Mandir in Ahmedabad, India.  Ahmedabad's population of 8,253,000 (per the 2021 population census) makes it the fifth-most populous city in India.  To learn more about the school please visit:  https://www.adanividyamandir.org/ahmedabad

Buying Second Hand Books
Emmanuel College has paid a subscription to the Sustainable School Shop which means that you can trade College booklist items and uniforms.
The new service is very accessible, it preferences our school first and then provides access to buy and sell items with families attending other schools. Many schools use this service. Access to second-hand textbooks, uniforms, calculators, stationery, musical equipment, etc is available all year.
Emmanuel College booklists have been uploaded to the site to so that you know the items you are looking to purchase are the exact matching ones for the booklist. You are able to check the editions of the textbooks to make sure that they match.
There has been a new feature placed on the Sustainable School site. Sustainable School Shop has a new feature called the Second-hand Textbook Stocktake, it's a summary of second-hand texts that are for sale on our website in relation to each book on the school's booklist for all year levels (updated once daily).The URL below is to our school's second-hand textbook stocktake summary. Our school's Second-hand Textbook Stocktake URL link:

https://www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au/booklist/emmanuel-college-warrnambool

Marg Sinnott,
Library Coordinator

Australian Army Band Workshop

Last week, members of the Step-Up Band, Senior Concert Band and our Contemporary bands participated in a music workshop at Brauer College with the Australian Army Band, Melbourne.
Captain Sheree Johanson, Second in Command and Music Director, discussed the different opportunities of employment in the Army including the Army Band. The group were broken into two groups where our concert band members workshopped with Captain Johanson and the Army band  where they played a range of music together such as Highlights from Aladdin, and the film Coco. The contemporary band members workshopped with the Army rock band and afterwards they played a concert for us and got us all dancing in the aisles!
Megan Davies,
Head of Performing Arts

School Fees Raffle

Work has commenced on the Junior School Challenger Course which will be a great addition to the Goold Campus.  Raffle tickets to fund this exciting project are still available.  Winner will be announced on Monday December 12th at School Awards night.  See the flyer below.  
https://rafflelink.com.au/emm-coll-fee-raff

Young Alumni Acheivers

Nominations are now open for Young Alumni Achievers in 2023.
This award acknowledges the achievements of our more recent alumni who are achieving highly in the early stages of their careers and through their passion are making significant contributions to their communities.  The award is presented at our biennial event, the Evening of Inspiration.
In 2021 Young Alumni Achiever Awards were presented to Garry Roberts & Tom O’Connor, Meleita Crimmin (Finnigan), Daniel O’Keefe, James Kol, Dylan Lesock and Stephanie Thiberge (Reid).  Their energy and hard work in a wide variety of fields are wonderful examples for Emmanuel College students past and present.  Read more about each of these incredible alumni at: https://www.emmanuel.vic.edu.au/alumni/inspire#YoungAlumniAchievers

Nominations can come from any source.  Help us to uncover the amazing work of past students under the age of 35 to inspire our College community, by nominating them to be Young Alumni Achievers.  To be considered, nominations must be submitted before Friday 27th January 2023.  Selection criteria and nomination forms can be found at: https://www.emmanuel.vic.edu.au/alumni/young-alumni-achiever-nomination

Candice Hampstead,
Alumni Coordinator

Uniform Shop School Holiday Hours

Bandari Project

Catholic School Parents Victoria

Warrnambool Library Big Summer Read

A safety message from the Australian Federal Police

To report online child sexual exploitation: accce.gov.au
For more information about sextortion: accce.gov.au/sextortionhelp
To access resources: thinkuknow.org.au
For more advice, email: online-child-safety@afp.gov.au    
Thank you in advance for your support in helping to keep young people safer online.

Upcoming Events

Monday December 12 
VCE Results
Awards Night 

Tuesday December 13 
Orientation Day 
Office Closes 
2023 Leadership Planning Day
Reports released to families at 5pm

Thursday  January 19 2023
Office re-opens

Thursday January 26
Public Holiday - Office closed 

Tuesday January 31
All students commence