High Notes Vol. 55 Issue #8

From the Principal

Marcellin Champagnat

Dear Parents, Students and Friends

Marist Spirituality

The story of Marist Spirituality is one of passion and compassion, passion for God and compassion for people.
Our beginnings were shaped by the caring relationship between a young country priest and a group of young people, living in a time of great social turmoil. The priest was Marcellin Champagnat and the young men formed the community of La Valla.
Simple uneducated men, they lived with great simplicity and unity. Their day was spent in learning how to write, read and teach, and manual work that sustained them economically. They lived in the midst of people and share their lot.
Water from the Rock 1.1-1.4

Champagnat Week

Next week we will be celebrating Marcellin Champagnat with our Champagnat Mass on Tuesday 4 June, and with more celebrations occuring on the Friday.

Year 12 Retreat

The Year 12 Retreats are done well at Marist. They are often cited as the high point of the students’ experience of being at MCNS. I won’t take away from the experience by detailing the retreat here but to say that our retreat leaders in Mr Munro, Mr Rulewski, and Mr Pat Fitzgerald bring the experience together well.

The current Year 12 students were excellent to work with on the Retreat. Their attitude was very united and very positive. The Retreat marks the beginning of the end of their time at high school. The students valued the time together and the support of their teachers.

Tony Duncan
Principal

From the Assistant Principal

Champagnat Day Celebrations

Champagnat Day Celebrations

The College’s Feast day – Champagnat Day, takes place on the June 6 each year. As it falls on a Thursday this year, we will celebrate with Mass on Tuesday 4 June and have our usual celebrations on Friday 7 June.

During our Friday celebrations, students will be involved in multiple activities including the spelling bee final, trivia contest and be given the opportunity to have some fun on the jumping castles. Whilst all this is taking place, the College will be holding our annual ‘Multicultural Lunch’. This is an opportunity to celebrate and promote an understanding of our diverse Marist community within the College. We will have a Multicultural Lunch from 11:45am – 1:30pm in the O’Mara Plaza and the main quadrangle.

Boys may wear Mufti on this day with a gold coin donation and they will be dismissed earlier at approximately 1:45pm - 2pm depending on the clean-up process.

Any parents and guardians who are able assist with lunch set up from 10:30am are most welcome. Parents assisting on the day must sign in at the front office. Students willing to assist will be placed into their nationality groups and within these groups, boys are encouraged to prepare traditional dishes from their cultural background for sale during the lunch. All parents are invited to share this celebration with us and we encourage your involvement in the preparation and serving of food.

If you do wish to contribute to this lunch, please observe the following guidelines:

All food must be prepared in accordance with health and safety regulations e.g. Washing hands before preparing food, using ‘in-date’ ingredients etc.
Visit foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/foodsafetyandyou/keeping-food-safe/key-tips
Food should preferably be ‘finger food’ e.g. Curry puffs instead of curry and rice.
Do not make enough food for the whole school. Rather, make 20-30 pieces of food as a sample of your culture’s cuisine.
All food is to be brought to the hospitality kitchen either with your son before morning tutor group or before 11am on the day.
Please label all containers with your son’s name, tutor group and nationality group
All food MUST be pre-cooked - there will only be reheating facilities on the day.
All food must be nut free (please avoid bringing seafood).

Any food brought to the lunch is considered a donation and no reimbursement will be given for the purchase of ingredients. Students will be selling the food for no more than $5 for each item and all of these proceeds will be donated to Marist Asia-Pacific Solidarity (MAPS).

For further information or if you are willing to assist please contact Ms McGrath on 9957 5000 or kathleen.mcgrath@syd.catholic.edu.au

Faith Formation

Year 12 Retreat and more

Year 12 Retreat

I recently had the pleasure of accompanying our year 12 students on their annual Retreat, held at the spiritual home of the Marist Brothers in Australia - The Hermitage in Mittagong. The Year 12 Retreat is based on the theme 'A Future full of Hope', (Jer 29:11) and through stepping back from the busyness of life and the pressures of their many commitments back home, our boys had the opportunity to explore their relationships with family, friends and their God.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague teachers who gave of their time to be with the boys on the retreat and to the boys themselves, whose openness to the experience allowed them to get the most from it.

I share with you now a reflection from Chad Rogers and Dorian Duschlbauer on their retreat experience.

I didn't know what to expect from a year 12 retreat, however I went in with an open mind. I am so happy I went in with an open mind, because I was able to get so much out of the retreat and got actually more than expected. I was able to get to know more about myself, my friends and my relationship with God.

One part that really stood out for me was being taken away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney and being able to step back to reflect on important things such as family, school and faith. Stepping away from school for three days really gave me a time to not only relax but gave me just the right time to reset my mentality and reset my thinking moving forward into this next chapter. The retreat also gave me an opportunity to look back at what I have achieved in the last two and half years in Australia and gave me a chance to actually take it in and for that I am grateful. It was a great experience overall and wish that it was a week long and not only three days.

Chad Rogers, Salta 4

Just two weeks ago, I and a cohort of other Year 12 students and teachers arrived at what would become the site of much personal and collective development. at what is undoubtedly a very stressful time in our lives, with the pressures of the approaching HSC and the daunting task of visualising our futures, the retreat was more than just a chance to 'chill' and 'hang out' with friends for a couple of days. It served a much deeper purpose that I truly believe has allowed for the enrichment of all our lives. While I know that whatever I write here will never be able to convey the entirety of the experiences and the effects they had on me, and I'm bound to have left something out, I hope to at least express my sincere gratitude and thankfulness for what I partook in, and the importance of such an experience.

Throughout the whole retreat, a multitude of activities were run, which helped to foster an atmosphere of acceptance that endured throughout the entirety of the retreat and instilled within us, the characteristics of altruism, respect for all, gratefulness and benevolence - all integral to the Marist man. Also, through the liturgies and reflections each night and simply the interactions both I and others had with fellow students and teachers, the indivisible and everlasting nature of the Marist community was demonstrated. Te words of Mr Munro in saying that the names of all those in the Year 12 cohort would for forever remain in the Marist heart, further affirmed this, and sparked within me a feeling of blessedness to be a part of this Marist community. Through partaking in these activities, I truly believe that the values of Marist have been both engrained, and enriched within all of us.

I would like to thank the many teachers and staff, whose charitable nature and dedication allowed for us this unforgettable and very necessary experience to take place.

As for many of us, including myself, the retreat served as a chance to reach across the deep abyss of unfamiliarity and isolation, for the sunlit plateau of belonging and the enduring Marist community. And for that, I will always be grateful.
Dorian Duschlbauer, Kelly 4

Lunch with Archbishop Fisher

With the close of the Year of Youth in 2018, the question on the minds of many of our students and young people must be “What next?”. On Tuesday 21 May, Joshua Willathgamuwa and myself had the honour of attending the Archbishop Fisher’s Eastern Region school luncheon at St Mary’s Cathedral House. This was a huge opportunity for students voices to be heard, and to then start a conversation.

Along with several other students from Catholic schools of the Eastern Region, we embarked on a discussion of fellowship; touching on possible Catholic values and how they have been or will be adapted to a modern context. Over lunch, each student illustrated their own set opinions for the Archbishop, asking possible concerns for some of the perceived outdated concepts of the Bible. One main point of concern, which was brought about numerous times, was the complexities of sexuality and gender choice, and whether or not these personally made decisions are still respected and/ or welcomed. Moreover, we discussed the future of building communities in schools, parishes and universities.

William Gallen
Faith and Solidarity Captain

53rd World Communications Day
In a world where the ubiquitous nature of the internet is more apparent than ever, I commend this article to you from Pope Francis to mark the 53rd World Communications Day. In particular, this paragraph drew my attention and is worth sharing with you here:

If the Net is used as an extension or expectation of such an encounter, then the network concept is not betrayed and remains a resource for communion. If a family uses the Net to be more connected, to then meet at table and look into each other’s eyes, then it is a resource. If a Church community coordinates its activity through the network, and then celebrates the Eucharist together, then it is a resource. If the Net becomes an opportunity to share stories and experiences of beauty or suffering that are physically distant from us, in order to pray together and together seek out the good to rediscover what unites us, then it is a resource.

Immersion Preparations
Our preparations for the three Immersion are in full swing. As Cambodia and India take place at the end of this term, these two groups have been meeting for preparation sessions and will attend their respective Immersion Retreats this weekend. Our Indigenous Immersion takes place later this year and their preparations will intensify in due course.

A key component of our preparations is of course our fundraising efforts, including our Immersion Dinner. In addition to this, we were privileged to be invited to host the 6pm Mass on Sunday night at St Mary’s Church North Sydney. After this Mass, our students sold cakes to raise more funds for our Immersion communities. The support from the Parish community was extraordinary! Mr Rulewski will talk more about this Mass in this edition of High Notes.

Mr Anthony Munro
Director of Faith Formation

English

Year 7 Excursion - Sydney Jewish Museum

On Wednesday 22 May, the Year 7 cohort went on an excursion to the Sydney Jewish Museum. Located in Darlinghurst, the museum focuses on the hardships of the Jewish population before, during and after World War Two and the Holocaust. This excursion relates to our studies in English, as we are currently studying the unit Cultural Awareness, and with it, the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Whilst on the excursion, we had the pleasure of hearing from two Holocaust survivors, Susan Warhaftig and Ana Deleon. They spoke to us about their experiences of the Holocaust and how it affected themselves and their families. We were also given a guided tour of the museum, where we looked at various artefacts relating to the Holocaust and the Second World War. Lastly, the museum staff generously gave us an interactive lecture on our text, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

As a cohort, we learnt so much after visiting the Sydney Jewish Museum, information that we can take into our studies and beyond the schooling environment.

Matthew Boas and Francesco Ranieri

Year 7

Year 11 Creative Writing

Year 11 Standard English have been exploring multimodal texts this term as a part of their Module A: Contemporary Possibilities study. They have been closely analysing how traditional texts can be transformed and adapted by contemporary forms of communication. Over the past week in their classes they have read and engaged with Nam Le’s short story The Boat and Matt Huynh’s multimodal adaptation. In analysing the two texts the boys were asked to draw inspiration from them to compose a creative piece of their own. Below are two outstanding examples of their work.

The Boat by Ryan Jenkins

I would do anything for some food
and envy those that are full.

The angry sea retaliates,
spitting up onto the boat,
onto me
making me
cold.

As far as I can see is sea,
clouds ready to burst.
Bodies swaying in harmony.
The occasional cough,
breaking the rumble-slap of the surf.

Time ticks past as slow as paint dries.

I would do anything for a bed,
longing for comfort and sleep.

The sun rises for the third time,
warmth starts to spread.

As we get closer to the barren shore line,
we begin to realise
this is not the land of the divine.

The dream of getting off the boat
short lived,
blocked by black boats approaching mine.

I would do anything to be warm,
and envy those that are hot.

For years later,
we still don't have a bed,
and the one difference from this place and there?
There are no men walking around with guns.

I would do anything for a home,
and envy those with a house.

The Boat by Maxwell Partridge

The floor shuddered as another wave smashed against the hull. The storm continued to rage on, the roaring wind and cracks of lightning mask the crying of the boat’s fearful passengers. It groaned as if in agony as another huge wave struck its side, sending bodies across the space, splashing the rest with waste and vomit strewn seawater. It was like this for hours.

For a fleeting moment through the tiny holes in the hull, she could see the vast waves that dwarfed the tiny vessel. Never had she wished more for land, to feel the sweet soil of home again under her bare brown feet. She tried to ignore the yells of the people above, and the gale that sung a single note. Covering her ears she was grateful for the bodies that packed in around her, they kept her warm as she sat in the shallow seawater.

On the horizon was the faint glow of the sun. It was distant, and soon the boat was surrounded once more. Their journey had only just begun.

Candice Rigg
Leader of Learning English

Young Writers Award

Late last term, English students were encouraged to compose and submit either one poem or one short story to the Nan Manefield Young Writers Award. An annual competition, the Nan Manefield Young Writers Award has been running for over thirty years and is overseen by Stanton Library and North Sydney Council. Judged in five categories by a panel of professional writers, winners are awarded prizes totalling over $2,000.00 as well as the opportunity to attend a writing masterclass.

This year, Adam Zreika won the Nan Manefield Young Writers Award for his age group. Submitted amongst hundreds of other compositions, Adam's poem entitled 'Do You Ever?' was described by the judges as "something that jumps into your heart through sheer loveable simplicity and honesty."

Adam's poem is included below as well as pictures of Adam receiving his award from North Sydney Council Major, Jilly Gibson.

Well done Adam!

Do You Ever

Do you ever think about
The lonely sock missing its partner
The stressed computer with open tabs
The thirsty plant crying for water

Do you ever think about
The empty car feeling lethargic
The trolley that gets knocked around daily
The pencil that’s almost extinct

Do you ever think about
The waves that bash themselves against cliffs edge
The sleepless clock that ticks away
The trapped tigers feeling powerless

Do you ever think about
The freezing door knobs on a cold night
The suffocating bookshelf stuffed to the max
The deep scars left on the chopping board

Do you ever think about
The still trees with tilted spines
The mother cat who has lost her babies
The responsibility your shoes have trying to get you places

Do you ever think about
The washing machine having a tantrum because it’s over worked
The shattered screen feeling pain of a broken bone
The doors that welcome you with open arms to be rejected when you turn your back

Do you ever think about
The drops of water that don’t feel valued
The angry vehicles stuck in traffic
The insecure mirror making you unhappy

I CERTAINLY DO!

Rhys Williams
English Teacher

Newman Program

Newman Selective Gifted Education Program

Newman Selective Gifted Education Program Parent Meetings

To support strong home school partnerships, a meeting was arranged for Year 8 students and parents on Tuesday 14 May and for Year 9 students and parents on Tuesday 21 May. The meetings provided information and support for the students in the Newman Selective Gifted Education Program in recognising their gifts and talents using Gagne’s definition of giftedness and talent and also through his Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent.

It is an important time for Year 8 and 9 students to recognise their strengths to empower their self efficacy and their self realisation.

The Meetings provided information on:

Francoys Gagne’s definition of giftedness and talent.
Francoys Gagne’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent as a guide to help parents/guardians understand and enhance your son’s gifts and talents.
Analysing their son’s ability and achievement data to recognise areas of strength and/or underachievement.
Supporting their son’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Strategies to help their son turn his gifts into talents.
Goal setting, mentorship and fostering a growth mindset.
Effective study and organisational skills.
Differentiated Assessment Tasks and Reporting to Parents.
Teacher professional development at MCNS - GEO 1 & 2.
The Newman Selective Gifted Education Program annual Symposium on Wednesday 6 November.

From these meetings, parents and students are now able to interpret and analyse their son’s data to identify growth, areas of strength, and potential underachievement. They now have the strategies in place to help support their son to achieve his potential and also to support his social and emotional well being. The College and classroom teachers also have a pivotal role in nurturing, challenging and engaging each student’s potential ability. Through professional development in a collaborative learning community, our gifted and talented students and all students will benefit and be engaged and challenged in their learning.

Carolyn O’Brien
Director of Diverse Learning
Newman Selective Gifted Education Facilitator

Solidarity

Immersion Youth Mass

Last Sunday our Immersion students and staff joined with the youth of St Mary's North Sydney at their weekly 6pm Youth Mass. Our boys were actively involved in the mass; writing prayers; singing with the choir and reading scripture. They also spoke to the congregation about the communities our Immersion program supports in India, Cambodia and Far North Queensland.

After mass we sold cakes and other treats that the Immersion families had baked and donated. Thanks to their generosity and the generosity of the St Mary's Parish, $1798.00 was raised. This money will be added to the money raised at our Fundraising Dinner last term and will go directly to supporting the communities we visit.

Thanks must go to the Parish staff and community for allowing our students to the opportunity to be involved and to all those who supported the initiative.

Gabriel Rulewski
Solidarity and Youth Ministry

Careers

Careers Term 2, Week 5

Year 12 Careers Information Sessions

The following tertiary institutions will be presenting at the College on Thursday afternoon

Week 6 - 6 June Macquarie University
MQ will be launching their new Leaders and Achievers Scheme . This short information overview is available to both Year 11 and 12. Following this general presentation, Year 12 will be able to book in a personalised interview with MQ to assist in the application process or to discuss course options. A booking sheet will be shared with Year 12 closer to the date.

Week 8 - 20 June Notre Dame University
Notre Dame University offers school leavers some very exciting course and entry options. Of particular merit is that entry is not just via the ATAR. Students apply directly to Notre Dame and they have a wholistic selection process.

Closing dates for applications
ANU Direct entry applications closing date Friday 31 May
UTS B Accounting Cooperative Scholarships Round 1 applications close Friday 7 June.
Professional Cadetships ETCAD (Information Technology) cadetships applications close Friday 21 June.

Nicola Brown
Careers Advisor

School Notices

Uniform Shop

Sizes in both track tops and pants will hopefully be available this week.
Caps are now in stock, students who had an outstanding order should have collected the cap from the office last Friday.

June Mitchell
Uniform Shop

Community Notices

Advertised Position

Jesuit Mission – Employment Opportunity with Flexible Hours

Due to an internal promotion, Jesuit Mission wishes to appoint a personable, self-motivated and highly organised Administration Assistant to join its small team in North Sydney. Please visit Jesuit Mission to view the Position Description or contact Susan Vaz on (02) 8918 4109 for more information. Applications close 3 June 2019.

Other

Class of 2017

Ethan Bick graduated from Marist College North Shore in 2017. Ethan has just completed his basic training at Kapooka Barracks in Wagga and is now a Private in the Australian Army. Ethan has been moved to Singleton NSW for further artillery training.

Ethan has matured into a fine young man and is very happy. Military life seems to suit him.

Thank you for all the years of guidance and mentoring. It paid off!

Dare to Be - Engaged

This is the third edition of “The Language of our Principles”. This week we will look at the concept of Dare To Be: Engaged.

The concept of being ‘engaged’ should be synonymous with learning. At Marist though, it goes beyond wanting our learners to achieve success holistically; academic, spiritual, extra curricular, social, emotional and personal

Using engagement in learning is important to teachers and your son as being engaged reflects:

Meaningful Involvement - learning with/for a purpose. E.g. using our lessons to achieve a goal that is applicable to real world situations/contexts
Perseverance/resilience - encourage students to engage with peers, family. Courage and determination to realise a goal.
Learning Ethos - a consistent approach across all KLAs to ensure that teaching and learning is highly valued and that boredom is part of the day at North Shore.

So, at school, your son might hear his teachers say:

What did you learn this lesson?
How would you teach this to someone else?
Do you feel like you’ve been attentive today?
Can you relate to this?
What have you found interesting about this topic?
Explain to me what you have learnt this lesson
Complete this Exit Pass to show your learning
How could this be applied to daily living?
What was of interest to you in this lesson?
What makes you say that?
What questions do you have about your learning today?
How did what you've learnt here help you to understand our learning goal ?
What can you go home and do tonight that will help you do well/better (at an assessment task)?
Did you enjoy learning today? Why? What did you enjoy?
Did the lesson feel long?

I encourage you to use this kind of language with your son at home and see if he draws the link to school. After all being engaged in learning at school or conversations at home look very similar. I wonder if he will say “Mrs so and so says that too!” or “You sound like one of my teachers!” I hope that this is the case.

Peace
Mark Heiss
Director of Teaching and Learning

Bill Turner Cup

Bill Turner Cup Report Round 1 Sydney North Division

Following a dominant 2-1 victory over St Ignatius College, Riverview in round one, Marist College were drawn to play Killarney Heights High School in round two of the competition.

It was a sunny afternoon on Tuesday 21 May at Cammeray Oval. Spirits were high and Marist went into the game with a great deal of confidence that they could win the fixture. This confidence was reflected in their performance in the first 20 minutes of the game. Marist played a high tempo brand of football controlling much of the play, but only having one goal to show for their dominance. This was a nicely taken finish by Lachy Lal.

Despite Marist’s dominance, Killarney still looked threatening especially from their transitional play with hard working midfielders and quick strikers. Killarney were successful in equalising five minutes before half time with a nicely worked goal. It looked as though it would be level at half time until Lachy Lal scored a well taken free kick from 25 yards out.

The second half was an end to end game of football. Both teams had opportunities to score, but it was Roman Kalaf who scored a brilliant goal to put Marist in a commanding position. However, Killarney were not to go down without a fight. They pressed for their second goal and scored a scrappy goal to make the score 3-2. With ten minutes to play, Marist managed to prevail and as a result, progress to the next round.

Marist will meet Balgowlah Boys High School in round three of the Sydney North division of the Bill Turner Cup.

Congratulations to Sam Donnell who received man of the match honours in this game. As always, a big thank you to our Principal Tony Duncan and all the parents and siblings who were there to support the team.

Team:
Jack Obern
Sam Donnell
Massimo Vescio (vc)
Ryan Devine (c)
Tom Hines
Seisa Melbourne
Jackson Collins
Luca Gwozdecky
Archie Bibb
Lachy Lal
Jack Coombs
Roman Kalaf
Isaac Altham
Jack Jenkins
Jack Bowyer
Ollie MacDonagh

Matthew Fitzgerald
Bill Turner Coach

Click here to view album

Student Performances

Ryan Perrott, Year 9 Chanel 2, is a member of Point Break Drama Dee Why and has been a cast member of their production of MacBeth from Wednesday to Saturday last week. Ryan was required to learn a lot of lines and did so brilliantly.

Congratulations Ryan!

National Simultaneous Storytime

There were maracas, alpacas, and Kindergarten from St Mary’s …….. Oh, it must be National Simultaneous Storytime!!

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 19th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book.

This year, NSS took place on Wednesday 22 May at 11:00 am. Kindergarten from St Mary’s came to our place and joined the Year 8 Newman Selective Gifted Education Program students in sharing Alpacas with Maracas, written and illustrated by Matt Cosgrove.

We had a great time. Our students helped Kinder to colour in bookmarks, write a comment on parts of the story that they liked and together they read other picture book stories. Our students were wonderful, I am not sure who had more fun, them or the little ones!

This was our first time holding this event, however, I am already looking forward to next year!

Tracey Dunne
Literacy Coordinator