Dear Parents, Students and Friends

We have begun this year with the great energy coming from our outstanding HSC results of 2017. Our 2016 HSC cohort had such brilliant results and we were proud to announce that our 2017 Year 12 cohort excelled even further. We have very high expectations for all students.

The swimming carnival on Monday was another excellent event for the College. Our swimmers showed some great swimming ability. House competition lives on at Marist. It is an iconic location to have the carnival under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.



I have been asking the students what are they Daring To Be this year. I have been very interested to hear their thoughts:
Second in PDHPE because Tom is first
Clever
Good at Maths
A good writer
The best I can be
Myself
Inquisitive

Dare To Be is our College’s Vision for Learning. From this vision we will be working with staff and students to create our MCNS Learning Framework or school wide pedagogy.

Our College Mission Statement 

I have been drawn over the last few months to looking at how are we doing with the area of Wellbeing. This area contains the word resilience? I am concerned that our young men need to become resilient. The staff insisted that this word was present in the Mission Statement. How do we build resilience?

It is ok to fail? In fact is it good or bad to fail? This Herald Article speaks about the importance of failure in our lives. I am sometimes working with families where something has gone wrong. How do we respond when something in life goes wrong? Do we throw the towel in? Do we blame everyone? Yes, I can hear a whole set of cries asking but why does it go wrong? We do need to work hard to do and to be our best. How can we use difficulty, conflict, disappointment to our advantage? It should not happen but what can we learn from a problem that allows us to build more resilient young men? I am asking a lot of questions. I think that life can and most probably will throw each of us a few difficulties. We all need to be ready for these tough days and use them to build our capacity to take on further tough days of the future.

So after all of my philosophical pondering, a prayer for the beginning of the year:

Lord Jesus,
at this time
we can look back to the old year,
and look forward to the new.
We give thanks
for the blessings of the past year,
and we place into your hands
the mistakes we have made.
As you are ‘the Light of the world’,
take away the darkness in our lives.
As you are ‘the Way’,
lead us in the year ahead.
As you are ‘the gate of the sheepfold’,
protect us from danger.
We entrust the past to your mercy, Lord,
the present to your love,
and the future to you providence.
Amen.

Nicholas Hutchinson FSC

Tony Duncan
Headmaster

Rick Grech
Deputy Headmaster

Gabriel Rulewski
Solidarity & Youth Ministry Coordinator

Parents and students who wish to continue in the Music Tuition Program in 2018 are to complete an enrolment form and return to Ms Carolyn O’Brien. Forms were provided to all Music Tuition students towards the end of 2017, however if you wish for another copy please contact Carolyn O’Brien: carolyn.obrien@syd.catholic.edu.au

There are many openings for instruments in 2018 so I wish to invite new students to the program. Year 7 students will commence their lessons in Week 4 after their Camp to ensure a smooth transition into high school. They will receive their first timetable in Week 3 after their return from Camp.

The Music Tutors are highly professional and organise a structured program in the mentorship of their students. A Tuition Booklet is issued to each student and alike the College Diary, it is a means of communicating rehearsal times and a home practice routine.

The tutors at MCNS for 2018: Sam Pellegrino – Guitar, Mark Roulston – Guitar and Bass Guitar, Fiona Keating – Piano/Keyboard, Dave Smith – Drums/Percussion, Penny Coucill, Alan Paardekooper – Woodwind, Ben Swatton – Lower Brass and Trumpet, Alison Flett – Vocal and Tony Gardner – Improvisation, Woodwind and Piano. The tutors are encouraged to communicate with parents on the curriculum, each student’s progress and to establish goals such as the AMEB Exam, eisteddfods and involvement in the College’s Band and Ensemble Program.

Students involved in the Tuition Program are reminded to be responsible for recording the time and day of their tuition lesson from the email (College Gmail) sent each Friday before the week of their lesson or from the Music Tuition Notice Board in their College Diary and remember to be punctual to their lesson. Year 7 Music Tuition parents will also receive the weekly timetable via email to assist in the organisation of their son. If a parent with a son in other years wishes to receive the timetable each week via email please contact Carolyn O’Brien to arrange. If a student is absent from school on the day of his tuition lesson, please contact the music tutor and the College as early as possible. Tutors cannot contact the students to remind them of their scheduled tuition lesson whilst in class, so it is important that all students record their day and time in their College Diary and use an effective strategy to remember their lesson time.

A majority of the students are removed from class time and as a result need to communicate with their teacher about the work to be completed and homework obligations, and finally, to reap the most from their lesson, appropriate instrumental performance practice is required. Students should be reminded that class tests, assessment tasks and excursions or incursions take priority, thus they need to communicate early with their tutor and Carolyn O’Brien of any alterations that need to be made to the time and day.

The students can store their instruments in the Music Instrument Store Room near Music Room 2.

• As a catalyst for academic excellence through engaging and catering for students who are identified as potentially gifted and talented.
• To foster a lifelong love of learning and enabling the students to achieve their academic potential through independent and collaborative learning experiences, creative and critical thinking, problem solving, through a culture of inquiry and curiosity, adaptive learning, connecting to world through authentic learning experiences and academic rigor.
• To support the wellbeing and self efficacy of each student through creating an educational environment where they academically supported and challenged. 
• Teacher professional development where we build the capacity of teachers for the benefit of the students. The 2017 Newman teachers successfully completed the GEO 1 Gifted Education Course through Sydney Catholic Schools. New teachers to the Newman Program will be participating in the GEO 1 Course later this term. The GEO 1 Course informes teachers about the characteristics of gifted and talented students and identification measures. Teachers who completed the GEO 1 Course in 2017 will participate in the GEO 2 Course where they will learn about gifted pedagogy to take into their classrooms. The main focus will be learning about differentiation for gifted and talented students and educational models for project/problem based learning for their enrichment activity this year.
• Through the Newman Selective Gifted Education Program all students at the College will benefit as the Newman teachers’ professional learnings will be shared with the teaching staff through professional conversations and mentorship, meetings and Staff Development Days. Teachers will impart their deeper understanding of gifted teaching and learning strategies into their other classes across year groups and subject areas.

Last year there was a gradual move to a reduction in the number of academic assemblies held at the College. This was in response to a decrease in the number of assessment tasks being carried out in a number of courses and how this was then determining the students being recognised. For example, in some cases, courses had not completed a task or completed only one task before the Semester One Academic Awards were being distributed - so in effect, students were not necessarily "first in course” but were first in a task. With further reductions and changes to the number of assessment tasks being mandated by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) being implemented this year, First in Course will be recognised at the end of the year in what was previously referred to as the Semester Two Academic Awards. These will now be whole year awards. Dux for Years 7 to 11 is determined by the number of first in course and is also recognised at the end of year assemblies. Year 12 Dux is determined by the ATAR and is awarded at the HSC High Achievers Assembly, however, the Professor Canalese Award recognises the Year 12 student who receives the most number of first in course placements at the Year 12 Graduation. Parents, family and friends are invited to these important assemblies which occur during school time. It was disappointing that so many students in Years 7 - 9 chose not to attend school in the last days of Term 4, 2017 and missed out on being recognised by the community. Let’s hope that students remember that there are many important days at the end of this year. Commitment (Effort) Awards will still be distributed at the end of both semesters. The Year 7 Student who is awarded the most number of commitment awards during the year will receive the Study Cup at the end of 2018. Do not hesitate to contact me at the College if you are unclear about anything mentioned here.

Congratulations to all of our 2017 HSC High Achievers.  The results were the best we’ve seen for such a large variety of students in many years and reflect the continued growth and improvement at the College. Mr Duncan formally acknowledged the students in a special edition of High Notes at the end of 2017, however, the school community will acknowledge the HSC High Achievers at a special assembly on Wednesday 7 February 2018. Outside of the students who are being acknowledged for their academic performance, many “good news” stories are also filtering in to the College about this particular cohort securing apprenticeships and joining the workforce.