HEAD OF SCHOOL UPDATE Jonathan Brayshaw
Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to thank the many parents and carers of Year 7 students who were able to attend the Year 7 Homeroom Teacher Interviews on Thursday 20 February. Your active participation made the evening a tremendous success. The interviews were intentionally designed to provide an opportunity for parents and carers to share helpful information and valuable insights about their child.
I would like to thank parents and carers for their valuable input as this helps our teaching staff better understand the individual needs of every child, and the strengths and areas of growth for each student. I would also like to thank our Year 7 Homeroom Teachers (Miss Deller, Mrs Oweis, Mr Thomson, Mr Glass, Mr Griffiths and Mr Green) and Mr Hearsey (Year 7 Coordinator) as they continue to provide uncommon care to the Year 7 cohort.
As a College, we believe that the ‘little things’ matter. An example of one of these ‘little things’ is uniform. Uniform matters because it helps create a community of belonging and unity. In Week 5, Mrs Tiarne Tranter (Community & Formation Coordinator) and our Year Coordinators advised students about the correct uniform, with a focus on earrings. As per the Uniform Policy, earrings are not permitted for male students. Female students are permitted to wear one pair of small studs or sleepers in the earlobes, with one in each ear. Additional or large earrings are not permitted. Certain physical activities may require the removal of earrings for safety reasons.
Female students have been informed that direct consequences will apply if they are wearing earrings that do not meet the following criteria:
Sleepers:
Sleeper earrings should be a smaller diameter than a pinky finger
Fully gold or silver material, no colours
Plain, meaning they can slide through the piercing with no decorative features
Small Studs:
Fully gold or silver material, no colours
Small enough size that the entire earlobe is visible around the stud, and the earring does not overhang the earlobe.
We would like to thank students for consistently wearing their uniform well, and acknowledge our parent community for their partnered support of this.
YEAR 12 LEGAL STUDIES LEARNING EXCURSION Tamara Kunz
On Monday 3 March, Year 12 Legal Studies students had the opportunity to be a part of ABC’s live Q+A audience. Q+A is a television discussion program that focuses mostly on politics but covers a range of the big issues about which Australians are thinking, talking and debating. It is driven by interaction: Q+A provides a rare opportunity for Australian citizens to directly question, and hold to account, politicians and key opinion leaders in a national public forum.
The panel for the night included Cheng Lei (journalist and broadcaster), Tim Watts (Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Labour MP), Dave Sharma (Liberal Senator for NSW and former diplomat), Kara Swisher (technology journalist, author and podcaster) and Tom Baldwin (journalist, author and former UK Labour adviser).
As audience members, this was an excellent opportunity for students to be involved in the broader democratic process (particularly as the Federal election approaches), engage in interesting discourse and listen to panel members’ responses on issues facing Australia and the world. Topics covered on the night included the US war on trade, China’s economic and military expansion, the challenges facing the British government, the German elections and their impact on Europe, and global conflict including Ukraine and Russia as well as the Middle East.
Students enjoyed the experience of being part of the live audience and engaging in politics and world affairs in a tangible way. Much fruitful debrief and discussion was had following the event and students are encouraged to continue to be active participants in the democratic process by staying informed on issues impacting their lives and broader society.
YEAR 7 ENGLISH STUDIES EXPLORE NEW TECHNOLOGY Emily Van Bentum
In Year 7 English, students recently had the opportunity to enhance their descriptive writing skills through an immersive experience with the Lumination Lab’s Virtual Reality (VR) technology. The lesson began with students selecting an environment – options included Grey Storm, Blue Deep, White Winter, and Green Meadow. They then crafted a descriptive paragraph based on their imagination and prior knowledge. They were encouraged to focus on sensory details, painting a vivid picture of the landscape through words.
Following this initial writing task, students stepped into the VR environment, where they could fully immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of their chosen landscape. With this firsthand experience, they returned to their writing, revising their paragraphs to include richer, more precise descriptions inspired by what they had seen and felt in the virtual world. The transformation was remarkable; students who had initially written brief descriptions found themselves adding layers of detail, drawing on the movement of the wind, the way light filtered through trees, or the eerie silence of an approaching storm. This combination of technology and writing not only provided a fun approach to learning, but also deepened their understanding of how descriptive language can bring a scene to life.
ZONE SWIMMING CARNIVAL WINS! Melanie Kewley
The Christian Schools Sports Association (CSSA) Met-West Zone Swimming Carnival took place at the Blacktown Aquatic Centre last Friday. Students from Years 3 to 12 who placed 1st or 2nd at our School Swimming Carnival were invited to compete. This was a highly successful event for our Secondary students who showed the College’s ‘Christ Values’ through their courageous competition, humble performances and exemplary behaviour, exhibiting fantastic self control and respect. It was wonderful to see so many students willing to support their peers, achieve their personal best and volunteer as helpers on the day.
Overall, ACC Marsden Park placed third in the Zone, overcoming some of our local rivals. Our four Secondary Relay teams displayed fantastic teamwork and school pride as they swam their best for the College, coming away with some great results: 2nd place for the 12-14 Girls, 12-14 Boys and 15-16 Girls, as well as 1st place for the 17+ Boys. A special congratulations to Edwina B (13 Girls) and Joshua P (17 Boys) who achieved Age Champion. We look forward to seeing how these students go at the CSSA Secondary State Swimming Carnival on 25 March. Thank you to all students who took part in the day.