Newman Diary
Newman Senior Technical College
Telephone: 6580 3800
Fax: 6580 3888
Principal’s Message
Week 2 Calendar
TUE 5 May
• Diocesan Touch Football
WED 6 May
• Yr 11 Parent/Teacher Interviews
Important Dates
•
•
Issue 1 T2 – 1 May 2009
25-29 May – Yr 11 Semester Exams
25-29 May – Yr 12 Retreat
Welcome Back
Welcome everyone to yet another busy Term at the
College. Of course Term 2 brings with it a number of
significant events not the least of which are the Year
12 Retreat and the Year 11 Semester Exams in Week
5. As we commence Term 2 I would encourage all
students and parents to discuss progress towards the
HSC and their related qualifications to ensure that
students in both Year 11 and Year 12 are on track to
reaching their goals.
Student Surveys
Next week every student in every class will be
surveyed regarding the delivery of courses and
curriculum at the College. The intention of this survey
is to clearly identify our areas of strength as well as
identify areas for development in curriculum and its
delivery. This survey forms part of our commitment to
excellence and continued development at the College.
Photos of the Week
College Marketing
I would like to thank all students and staff who
participated in filming and photography shoots over
the past 4-5weeks as we develop a new set of College
Marketing images for use over the next 2 years.
This process culminated with our whole School
Community involved in a photo shoot on the College
oval this morning celebrating our 30 year history (see
photo of the week). You will see some of these images
in the media over the coming months.
Our students forming the Big 30 in this
morning’s photo shoot.
Quote of the Week
Winners are losers who got up and
gave it one more try.
Dennis DeYoung
St Joseph The Worker
Today is St Joseph The Worker’s Feast Day. St Joseph
is the Patron Saint of our College community; he was
an ordinary and humble man who was the husband of
Mary and father of Jesus here on earth. Joseph
protected and cared for Mary and Jesus placing their
needs before his own, he was a carpenter and a
craftsman and was a man of deep faith. For us as a
College community Joseph not only represents the
value and integrity of skilled endeavour but also shows
us how an ordinary person can do extraordinary things.
Adam Spencer
Principal
Campus Manager’s Report
Welcome back staff and students to what promises
to be a very busy term. Of course this term we have
our Year 12 Retreat, Year 11 Semester exams,
reporting and interviews to mention a few things.
Year 12 Reports
Staff have been working on Year 12 reports from
late last term and this valuable form of
communication will be posted to families over the
coming weeks. The report format has been modified
through an extensive review process. As a College
we have aimed to provide for families as many
pieces of information as possible in each report. A
significant addition is the reporting of competency
achievement in VET courses and outcomes in nonVET courses. A letter will be sent with the reports
to explain these changes in full.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
Families of Year 11 students who are not
progressing to a satisfactory standard will be
contacted this week to book a parent/teacher
interview next Wednesday 6 May, 3.30pm 6.00pm. It is hoped that this process will help
students to refocus on their goals and to give them
identified areas for improvement. It is similar to the
way in which an employer may work with an
employee to improve performance. If a family has
concerns and would like to book an interview please
contact the College administration.
Online Parenting Conference
Parents of primary and secondary students, in all
locations, are warmly invited to take part in the third
online conference to be held by Parents Victoria.
The conference will be held non-stop on the internet
from 6am Monday 18 May to midnight Sunday 24
May. No special software is needed, other than an
internet-connected computer and a browser. The
online discussions will be very easy to join in, and
guidelines about how to participate will be
provided. You don’t need to be a member of
Parents Victoria to take part. Join in for all days,
just some days, or even a few hours, depending on
your lifestyle and other commitments.
Register online at no cost.
The Parents Victoria Online Conference 2009
website will open from 6am on Monday 18 May at:
http://www.cybertext.net.au/pv1_09/ but please
register
yourself
online
first
at
http://www.cybertext.net.au/pv09.htm
This Conference should be very worthwhile for
parents who would like some ideas in assisting with
their children’s learning and development.
Stephen Pares
Campus Manager
Coordinating Principal’s
Message
Exciting Changes
Tenders close next week for the next building stage of St
Joseph’s Regional College at Sovereign Hills. This latest stage
includes a Senior Science and classroom block as well as
specialist facilities for Technological and Applied Studies.
These extra facilities will enable St Joseph’s Regional College
to enrol Year 11 in 2010.
In the past all students from both the Regional and St Paul’s
wishing to complete a traditional academic Higher School
Certificate have attended MacKillop Senior College. Similarly
students wishing to complete more technical or employment
related courses in conjunction with their Higher School
Certificate have attended Newman Senior Technical College.
Newman will continue to provide this option for all students in
the future.
Growth in enrolments over recent years has put MacKillop at
capacity with no further room for expansion on that site. The
establishment of another Year 11 and 12 option at the Regional
has been a long term plan designed to cater for expected
growth over the ensuing years and solve the accommodation
problem at MacKillop. From 2010 St Joseph’s Regional College
will offer the same range of courses as MacKillop Senior
College. We are already in the process of preparing a Senior
Handbook which will provide all Year 10 students with details
on courses if choosing this more academic Higher School
Certificate option.
This is a change that we have been preparing for over recent
years. We have been employing new staff who have had
recent HSC experience and many existing staff have been
taking HSC classes at MacKillop. This year there are nine
teachers based at the Regional who have Year 12 classes at
MacKillop, including Damian Bennie (Physics), Joanne
Middleton (Biology), Jason Warneken (Modern History), Heidi
Flanagan and Anne Twomey (English) Ian Lutton (Economics)
and Nora Swain, Sonia West and Phil Shelley (Studies of
Religion). As there will be a redistribution of some 90 students
from MacKillop to the Regional, a number of MacKillop based
teachers will also relocate to the Regional in 2010.
An important part of our plan is to operate these two senior
cohorts with a high degree of cooperation and coordination so
that students can maximise their choice of subjects and have
every opportunity to achieve their personal best in the Higher
School Certificate. We look forward to providing Year 10
students and parents with more details at Information Nights
planned for early August. Dates and times will be confirmed
later in the Term.
ANZAC Day Thank You
On behalf of the whole of St Agnes’ Parish Secondary Schools’
community I would like to thank all students and staff who
represented our four schools in the march and at the
commemorative service on ANZAC Day.
Special thanks go to our Drum Band who did an outstanding job
again. The Drum Band was made up of Daniel Abend,
Benjamin MacPherson and Thomas King from St. Paul’s and
Laura Small, Deaglan Fahey and Mark Glover from the
Regional. The students were trained by Mark Spence and
assisted by Sharon Green. I would also like to especially thank
Ian Lutton who organised the students and staff who marched.
Jim O’Brien - Coordinating Principal
St Agnes’ Parish Secondary Schools
Student Services Report
Touch Football
Next Tuesday students from Newman Senior Technical
College will be participating in the Lismore Diocesan
Touch Football competition to be played at Stuart’s
Park, Port Macquarie. The College will be entering a
boys and girls side in the senior division of the
competition. The boy’s side faces a huge challenge
trying to replicate the feat of last year’s side who went
through the competition undefeated.
ANZAC Day
A huge thankyou goes out to the College’s Student
Representative Council body who gave up their time on
Saturday 25th April to commemorate ANZAC Day in the
March and Wreath laying ceremony.
Curriculum News
Year 11 Preliminary Examinations
The Year 11 Semester One Preliminary Examinations
will be conducted in Week 5 (25 to 29 May). A
timetable for these exams will be published in next
week’s diary and it is vital that all students have a copy
at home to which they can refer.
I will be discussing the expectations of the exams with
the Year 11 students next week and I will publish these
in coming diaries. It is important that families are aware
of the importance of the exams and that they must be the
priority for all students during the exam time and in lead
up to the exams. As such students should begin thorough
exam preparation over the next few weeks so as to
achieve the best results they possibly can.
Good luck and best wishes.
Mark Nunan
Director of Studies
Congratulations
Cycling Success
Congratulations to Year 11 student Catherine Hawes
who travelled to Bathurst’s Mount Panorama during the
holidays to compete for the Port Macquarie Cycle Club.
Our students at the ANZAC Day March
Police Announcement
I would like to encourage parents and students to read
the correspondence inserted in this newsletter from Port
Macquarie Police. The letter addresses the problems
around adolescent anti-social behaviour in the Shelley
Beach and Bonny Hills areas on Friday and Saturday
nights.
Catherine finished second in the Under 17 Women’s
4km hill climb time trial up Mount Panorama, which put
her second in NSW. In the afternoon criterium she was
pipped on the line for fourth position.
Andrew Marsh
Student Services Manager
So You Think You Can Dance!
Join the Dance Craze
The newest thing to hit the College is Dance. A Year
11 dance group has been formed and will meet
every
Thursday
between
1.00pm and 1.30pmin the hall.
So if you have an interest in
Hip Hop or other forms of
modern dance come along and
join the Newman Dance Group.
Catherine in the Hill Climb at Bathurst’s
Mount Panaroma
For Sale
Be quick to purchase you
own copy of the Tastings of
the Hastings Cookbook!
These are available from the
front office for only $10
each.
Careers Expo 2009
HSC and Year 10 students
don’t miss the education and
careers event of the year!
The Sydney Morning Herald
2009 HSC and Careers
Expo. Exhibitors with HSC resources, Tertiary course
and career information plus 70 seminars including 50
on HSC subjects.
15-17 May 2009 10am to 5pm
The Pavilion Randwick Racecourse
$10 entry fee is valid for all 3 days and includes a
copy of The Sydney Morning Herald and all
seminars.
Ample free parking
heraldeducation.com.au
Religious Education News
Project Compassion
The wonderful efforts on all campuses have seen
thousands of dollars raised for Caritas. Teachers and
students organised activities, raffles, cake stalls, Battle
of the Bands, guessing competitions and Easter egg
raffles to name a few.
Thank you to
contributions.
everyone
for
their
support
and
Year of St Paul June 2008 – June 2009
Pope Benedict XVI announced and officially opened the
Year of St Paul in June 2008. This year commemorates
the 2000th anniversary of the birth of this great apostle
and missionary.
This Year of St Paul is an opportunity to reflect more
deeply on the message this great saint has left to the
church through his writings and efforts to spread the
faith.
Learn more about St Paul – Tuesday 5 May at 7.00pm
at St Agnes Church.
Come and join us for a
presentation on St Paul and a cup of tea afterwards.
Nora Swain
Religious Education Coordinator
St Agnes’ Parish Secondary Schools