Volume Sixteen, Friday 4th November 2022

From Br Steve Hogan fsc

Remembrance Day is celebrated on Friday 11th November (the 11th day of the 11th month), the month dedicated to peace. Remembrance Day was initiated by King George V in 1919 a year after the Armistice was signed by the allies of WWI and Germany and was originally known as Armistice Day. 黑料社区 will stop on Friday 11th November for a short service at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th month, the moment each year in which many nations of the world remember those who gave their lives in war - a day in which we remind students never to forget and in all aspects of life be peace-makers and advocates of peace. Students are encouraged to treat one another with a spirit of genuine respect. Our actions of acceptance, kindness, sharing and forgiveness are ways we can bring forth peace. Our actions follow Jesus鈥� actions of being a light for others.

In November it is common in the UK and across the Commonwealth to wear a poppy, the most popular symbol of Remembrance Day in western and allied countries. However, the poppy does not have the same status and symbolism in many parts of Asia where it is associated in China with the 鈥榦pium wars鈥� resulting in 100 years of humiliation, and colonialism in south-eastern Asia (Indochina). The red poppy was the only flower resilient enough to grow in the previously beautiful landscapes that had been turned into barren and muddy battlefields and symbolises the blood of soldiers who lost their lives. This image is captured in the poem entitled 鈥業n Flanders Fields鈥� by Canadian Doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, shortly after losing his friend in the battle of Ypres.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In this issue, the second to last issue of the Newsletter for 2022, we give recognition to the amazing and incredible achievements of students at 黑料社区. On Friday 28th October, the new College leaders for 2022/23 were inducted in a simple but symbolic ceremony around the Gospel of John and the call to service through the recount of the washing of feet at the last supper.

Keep us in your prayers as you will be in ours. As summer approaches and Advent and the Christmas season, may what is essential, to love and be loved, to build the power within, to touch hearts and transform lives, to inspire each other to aspire to be our best, to be whom God has willed us to be, be our focus and resolution.

As Marcus Aurelius once said, 鈥淏ecause a thing is difficult for you, do not therefore suppose it to be beyond mortal power. On the contrary, if anything is possible and proper for man to do, assume that it must fall within your own capacity鈥�.

Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever.

Br Steve Hogan fsc
Principal

All Saints Day and All Souls Day

We share this reading from Ron Rolheiser OMI, and Oblate priest from San Antonio Texas. In the early Christian church all departed joined the communion of saints. Fr Rolheiser explains:

A Communion with the Saints

For a period of more than a year, I felt their presence inside of me as sure, guiding, and parental. They were still very much my mom and dad, and they were still very much with me. In my case, though, it was not a fully consoling and warm presence. The pain of their loss would occasionally bring me to a type of tears that cannot be described as warm.

Somewhere between the first and second year after their deaths, this changed. There was not one clear moment when this happened, yet gradually and imperceptibly, their presence to me and within me changed.

I felt a shift in presence from one plane to another. I felt their presence change to a deep consolation and their loss no longer hurt as before. I no longer felt a need to pray for them, I felt a need (which I still feel today, many years later) to pray to them.

They were still my parents, but something had changed. I hesitate to use words to describe this which sound vague and pious, but what I felt can only be characterized as follows: They were still my parents—alive, deeply concerned for me, and more present in my life than they could ever be while still in this life.

But now I felt that presence as something higher, more eternal, more universally shared with others, and more tied to God鈥檚 love and presence to me. It became harder to differentiate their presence from the general feeling of divine providence that I sense about my life,

I come from a large family. Basically, all my brothers and sisters had the identical experience. As well, my ministry affords me many privileged occasions wherein people share with me their stories concerning how they continue to feel their relationships with their deceased loved ones. Relationships continue to grow and develop, even after death.

Weird stuff, right? No! Not if we believe one of the essential articles of our creed which affirms that we believe in 鈥渢he communion of saints… and continued relationships (life) ever after!鈥�

To read more click here: https://

Curriculum News and Exam Tips

Congratulations to our Year 12, 2022 on completing their HSC exams. The Higher School Certificate exams are academically rigorous and they not only prepare students well for further study, but they enable students to develop self-discipline, resilience, time management and organisational skills. These skills and capabilities are vital for any post-school opportunity. 黑料社区 staff members have enjoyed chatting with Year 12 students before and after exams, and students have largely reported feeling very confident and well-prepared. I personally loved the huge cheer that emanated from our Dance girls as they left the exam centre this afternoon with jubilation. We sincerely wish our Year 12 cohort the very best of luck for the release of ATAR results. HSC results will be released at 6.00am and ATARs at 9.00am on Thursday 15th December. Our wonderful Careers Advisers will be at the Careers Office (DE204) on Thursday 15th December between 9.30am-3.30pm and Friday 16th December from 9.30-2.00pm to support students who may need assistance. Changes to UAC preferences close at midnight on Friday 16th December. You can contact Mrs Seaton on 9634 0386 or Mrs Quattrocchi on 9634 0830.

All VET certificates are available for download in Certificates/eRecord from 5.00pm on Thursday 15th December.

We wish our Year 9 and 10 students all the best as they head into their Yearly Examinations. These exams provide students with the opportunity to develop their study habits before entering into the senior school. Ms Genovese has emailed exam schedules and Year 9 and 10 have both had cohort meetings about how best to prepare for the exams. We suggested removing digital devices as boys are preparing, as once distracted, the brain can take up to 20 minutes to re-focus. The HSC remains a written exam and we strongly encourage our students to focus on developing their ability to write under timed conditions. Below you will find some excellent advice from Enhanced Learning about how to more effectively take notes. Please don't forget Study Boost that is available Monday-Thursday until 5.00pm in Walsh Library.

With exam time approaching it is time to seriously think about making study notes 鈥� especially if you haven鈥檛 been doing them regularly throughout the year. Find out what topics will be tested, make a quick mind map of each topic so you can see an overview of what you need to learn, then start making point form notes about what you need to learn and remember for the exam. You want to make your study notes as soon as possible so you have ample time to learn them and to do lots of practise questions.

Some handy tips for Year 9 and Year 10 exams:

Establish a routine and a timetable and post it on the fridge so all the family can help keep the schedule (including the weekend)
Make study/swat notes 鈥� use a book or folder for each subject; review chapters and or topics making summary notes of content
Learn/memorize essential content captured in summary notes e.g. memorize then make notes of notes
Schedule several subjects a night covering all subjects several times a week and plan to get swat notes complete well in advance leaving time for
leaning/memorizing content and practicing questions
Practice answering actual questions 鈥� go online and google for practice questions, go over past tests, ask the teacher
Practice, practice, practice - do not look at the question and assume you know how to answer it, actually do it.

Top 5 Tips to Improve Your Notes:

Points: Avoid long sentences and condense content into key points.
Tables: Use tables wherever you can to create structure and make the content easier to learn.
Key words: Pull out key words and capitalise them (as shown in this list).
Highlight: Make sure the main content stands out (but don鈥檛 go crazy with colour).
Feedback: Show your notes to teachers, parents and friends so they can suggest ways to improve them.

You can learn more about making great study notes in the SUMMARISING unit of by logging in with these details:

Username: foroakhillonly
Password: 41results

Our new Year 12, 2023 cohort has begun the HSC course with much anticipation. It is very important for our new Year 12 students to get into strong study habits and consistency is key. Students need to summarise/ reflect on syllabus dot points as they learn the material as this will help with retention. Over the summer break, students are encouraged to revisit Term 4 work, as it can easily drift out of short-term memory when there are many competing interests.

Finally, the Christmas holidays are fast approaching and I encourage parents to think about what books might be on your child's holiday reading list. There has been much made in the media recently of declining reading performance in boys aged 15, based on Naplan and PISA scores. Reading helps improve communication, imagination, long-term memory, language acquisition and critical thinking.

Mrs Melissa McMahon
Assistant Principal Curriculum

What is Accelerated Mathematics?

Each year, students are invited to attend 黑料社区's Accelerated Mathematics class. These students accelerate through the Preliminary and HSC courses and sit the HSC Mathematics Extension 1 examination in Year 11. There are many benefits to accelerated courses, even though the workload can be heavy, this allows students to focus their efforts in Year 11 and frees them up for their remaining HSC units during Year 12. This also allows students to understand the expectations and rigours of the HSC, and commonly achieve a high mark and band. Below is a reflection of two of our Accelerated Mathematics students - Jed McDonald-Singh and Annalise Brinsden-Chin (College Captains):

After three long years, the 2022 Accelerated Mathematics class is pleased to say we have completed our Maths HSC course.

When becoming accelerated in Year 9, the class quickly learned just how tough the workload is. Year 9 was a gruesome year, seeing us study both the Year 9 and 10 Core and 5.3 courses, with four assessment tasks each term. Yes, 16 Maths tests in just one year. As you can guess, it was a stressful time for us, but Mrs Wade assisted us so much in managing the load and getting through. The pandemic also brought much more stress, but the boys worked hard and managed to make it through the Year 9 and 10 courses.

Then came Year 11. A new teacher was appointed to our class, Ms Stokes, and little did we know just how vital she would be in us getting through the course. Studying Preliminary Advanced and Extension I Mathematics in Year 10 was extremely intimidating at first, but eventually, it became a normal part of our lives. During our seven periods a week, Ms Stokes nurtured us and turned Maths, a subject once thought to be extremely boring, into the most enjoyable subject. We all looked forward to those periods, especially the doubles, and the one day that we didn鈥檛 have Maths was genuinely not a good day for us. By turning Maths into something fun for us, Ms Stokes seemed to make us forget about most of the stress, allowing us just to focus on learning the content and having a good time.

The 2021 year did have its obstacles, however, the COVID pandemic made Term 3 especially a struggle, and we really wouldn鈥檛 have been able to keep up if it wasn't for Ms Stokes. Miss held many Microsoft Teams meetings before our preliminary exams, even on the weekend before. The effort that she put in allowed the class to actually thrive through COVID, and overall achieve great results for Year 11. The end of the preliminary course brought the introduction of a new student to the class, Annalise.

Jed McDonald-Singh, Year 12

Before moving to 黑料社区 in Year 11 and joining the Accelerated Mathematics class for Year 12, I definitely had doubts. Especially considering the class had been together for two years and I would be the only girl. However, when I joined the class for the first Year 12 exam at the end of 2022, I quickly realised how welcoming the boys were. For myself, the initial few weeks were extremely hard as there were definite gaps in my knowledge of the course. However, Ms Stokes helped me in many aspects: improving my marks and resparking my passion for Maths. After meeting with her before school and during lunch, my Advanced Mathematics marks went from 63% to 89% in just one term. The spirit of the class is one of the biggest differences between my previous school and 黑料社区. Despite the heavy workload, the class was always buzzing with excitement. This spirit is what helped the class to have a collective passion for learning and kept us motivated throughout our HSC journey.

Now, after completing the HSC course, we are reaping the benefits of our hard work through both having 8-10 study periods a week, enjoying the unique bond between our class and, most importantly, with Ms Stokes.

Annalise Brinsden-Chin, Year 12

The Crucible 2022 @ 黑料社区

And That鈥檚 a Wrap! The production of The Crucible closed last Tuesday night 25th October with a sell-out audience. The audience cheered and applauded the cast who performed Arthur Miller鈥檚 play with intense conviction, bringing this classic play to life with stylised aesthetics of vintage light globes and silhouettes that added to the supernatural elements and dramatic tension of the play鈥檚 theatrical devices.

Arthur Miller鈥檚 play reflects on the Salem witch trials as an allegory for McCarthy-era, The Red Scare hysteria. The world renowned classic connects to modern day concepts with its foundations heavily influenced by the Ten Commandments and verses from the book of James 3:5 & 3:6.

The senior production directed by Mr Flanagan Academic Head of Drama maintained the play鈥檚 original context and dialogue which was superbly delivered by the cast creating an calamitous atmosphere of lies, betrayal and vengeance, depicting Salem's darkest moments.

The cast opened with an urgent pace of intensity, having the audience question Abigail鈥檚 intentions early within the plot. The second act reshapes, with a steady pace followed by fueled tension between John Proctor (Ethan Ryan) and his wife, Elizabeth (Rufaro Mandigora), brilliantly delivering the dilemmas that provided the audience context to judge their relationship, in particular John鈥檚 infidelity, stirs a heightened emotional drive which leads into a hysterical courtroom drama.

Tension builds as the audience witnesses Mary Warren鈥檚 anxiety, brilliantly played by Angelina Koulouris who engages the audience in panting fear. Abigail Williams, excellently played by Ruby Cook stuns the audience with a shattering scream evoking a chilling command on the group of girls who in chorus unison display the idea of being controlled by Mary Warren鈥檚 spirit. We witness a superb performance by Taylor Egan playing Deputy Governor Danforth with impeccable dialogue and ability to maintain the tension in delivering the law with an urgency to solve Salem鈥檚 problems, completely had the audience drawn to his authority.

The soundscapes and music highlighted specific moments in the play which beautifully supported the actors in delivering the defined nuances in their acting, reinforcing the emotionally driven conviction for the audience to empathise with. The lighting design glooms over an everlasting darkness which symbolises a cursed community, representing the non-existence of any light at the end of the tunnel. Finally closing with a solemn moment of Elizabeth under a single flickering golden vintage globe. The clever use of Taylor Swift鈥檚 pop songs 鈥楲ook what you made me do鈥� and 鈥楤ad Blood鈥� within the cast bows resonated with the issues presented within The Crucible, having the extreme tension dramatically lift to a roar or cheers, excited applause and standing ovation.

Ultimately, it is the amazing work of the dedicated director, professionalism of a talented cast and the stylised aesthetics that are significantly memorable within this production.

Mr Warren Flanagan
Academic Head of Drama

Canteen Roster Term 4 Weeks 5 and 6

Term 4	Week 5
Monday 7 November	Getrude Madziwa, Pennie Looker, Peter Jones, Alexia Powney, Felicity Power
Tuesday 8 November	Sonia Tsakos, Sharon Lew, Michelle Scarsbrook, Belinda Ryan, Denise Green, Kylie Christie, Christy Palmason
Wednesday 9 November	Belinda Muscat, Layla Chehade, Kim Hanlon, Tina Sveronis, Sabina Belli, Spring Zeng, Nicole Love
Thursday 10 November	Marga Gunasekera, Amanda Fradd, Simone Dahlen, Jodie Barnao, Vivienne John, Liz Kalal, Bridget Rowe-Sykes
Friday 11 November	Elizabeth Johnston, Dominique Green, Belinda Short, Vicki Korb, Rachaelle Tyrrell, Di Lawson

Term 4	Week 6
Monday 14 November	Kelly D'Aquino, Linda Sammut, Roopal Patel, Wei Hua, Janice Love, Stacy Daly, Rachel Brook
Tuesday 15 November	Michelle McEnearney, Vicki Bale, Vanessa Zalloua, Alison Vaz
Wednesday 16 November	Felicity Power, Natalie Procter, Melissa Treak, Tracy Johns, Ambar Rashid, Erna Roberson
Thursday 17 November	Juliet Ranieri, Lynn Gillett, Yue Lin Trofa, Gina Moutzouris, Lynette Kaddis, Marie Boumelhem, Jacinda Corbin
Friday 18 November	Jenny Lawrie, Janet Joseph, Rosa Puglisi, Vanessa Talty, Cathryn Crowle, Lara Foran, Nicki Benning

黑料社区