From the Principal

Christmas and more

Dear Parents, Students and Friends

You may have picked up through some observation that we as a school were very proud of our Year 12, 2018 students. We saw these boys grow as a year group into really fine young Marist Men. It was a great pleasure to work with them.


These boys have each done their best in their final year. Some of them have lined up work, some apprenticeships and some will be going onto university.


We received their results last week and were very pleased with their efforts. Marist has again seen further improvements over previous years. This trend now extends over six years. This is a testament to the boys’ efforts and to the skill and determination of their teachers.


As we finish 2018 I wish you and your families a happy Christmas and a restful break. In a few weeks I will be looking forward to 2019 and all of the energy and good will that is Marist.


Tony Duncan Principal



From the Assistant Principal

Results and more

At the time I sit to write this article we have had the chance to celebrate, along with Year 12, the eagerly anticipated release of the Higher School Certificate results followed by the ATAR rankings. The boys should be very proud, not only of their efforts in 2018 but throughout the whole of their schooling life. I wish them well in their journey beyond MCNS.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank staff, students and parents for their ongoing support of the Marist community. In a busy year of learning, the staff have worked long and hard together to ensure that the spiritual, academic and wellbeing needs of the boys in the College are catered for. The House Coordinators and Leaders of Learning have continued to place the care of the boys as the highest priority in not only supporting them but all members of the families.

The break is a chance for the boys to relax, connect with friends and spend time with family. In the Christmas Season, as Catholics, we are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us but also of the members in our local community and society in need of support. I would ask that we keep those in our prayers.

A final reminder to all boys returning to the College in 2019 to ensure they have the correct uniform (correct shirt and new tie for boys from Years 7 to 10), presentation, books and equipment to begin the year successfully.

I wish all in the community a safe and restful holiday break.

Rick Grech
Assistant Principal

    Creative and Performing Arts

    Donation

    Ben Challenger has kindly donated a wonderful Ibanez electric guitar after his completion of HSC 2018. Thank you Ben!



    English

    Year 9 English Expo



    Olivier Duchenne reflects on the inaugural YEAR 9 ENGLISH EXPO, held on Monday December 10 in La Valla Hall.

    This event was announced at the start of Term 2, so there was plenty of time to think about what we wanted to create in order to show what we could do in English, without the pressure of it being an assessment. During the next two and a half terms students in Year 9 worked towards crafting and refining a body of work that really showcased where our interests and our talents lay. The variety of works was amazing: from original short stories to critical analysis of Shakespeare speeches to suites of war poetry, La Valla Hall was filled with the creative efforts of all students in Year 9. First place prize was taken out by Cooper Kahui-Chee with Liam Maloney and Oliver Barbarich in second and third places, and many other students receiving acknowledgement awards for their bodies of work. Congratulations to all of Year 9, and thank you to Mr Duncan and the many parents and teachers who attended this event and who said they were very impressed with the standard of the work on display!

    Olivier Duchenne
    Year 9, Montagne 3



    Year 7 and 8 Project Based Learning

    Year 7 and 8 Project Based Learning

    This term, Year 7 and 8 have been working on project based learning in English. Year 7 have been exploring the plight of asylum seekers and refugees whilst Year 8 have been learning about the Indigenous Experience. A wide range of innovative and creative projects were made by the students, all aiming at promoting awareness of the issues faced by these groups and how they could help others better understand the nuances of what asylum seekers and Indigenous Australians have to go through. There was some astounding artistic talent and an impressive depth of understanding from many of our junior students.

    Ms Amanda Lee
    Assistant English Leader of Learning



    For our Indigenous PBL task, we created various posters of Wiradjuri language with words that are commonly used. We designed a powerpoint presentation to convey facts about the Wiradjuri tribe and we showed a fact sheet to the judges. We also created a kahoot based on the words of the Wiradjuri tribe and some artwork.
    Marcus Papallo, Montagne 2, Year 8



    I collaborated with my friends to understand the refugee experience and how refugees benefit Australia. We made a website which included a poem based on how the refugees struggle to get to Australia. They face many deaths, pirate raids and food supply struggles. We also created a video to show how the refugees can change Australia to make it a multicultural place, but most of them get sent back despite their talents. We learnt that the way these poor people get treated needs to change, and we are the ones who can create the change.
    Andrew Johnston, Montagne 2, Year 7

    Co-Curricular

    Chess Competition

    On Wednesday 5 December, a contingent of boys with an avid interest in chess, travelled to Holy Cross College Ryde to participate in the 2018 School Chess competition. After a bumpy ride in the school minibus, driven by Mr Collins who was generous enough to give up his day to help out, we arrived. Upon our arrival we noted that there were many teams from schools such as De La Salle Ashfield and Holy Cross College and so the games began.



    As the day drew to a close, there were some very impressive, stand-out performances from our teams and future Grandmasters. Our senior team, which comprised of Dylan Odenthal, Jack Brazier-Garrett and myself, came third in the cutthroat senior division. Topping this was our intermediate team who came first out of a vast and competitive intermediate division. This consisted of: Rowan Cargill, Yutaro Yamada and Arvend Karunagaran. They all performed outstandingly and displayed their class and skill across all games. Yet the most notable individual performance of the day came from Arvend Karunagaran who astonished everyone when he won all 6 out of the 6 games he played.



    On behalf of MCNS and the boys who participated in the competition, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to Holy Cross for being excellent and generous hosts.

    Dorian Duschlbauer
    Year 11, Kelly 4

    Mathematics

    Mathematics Textbooks 2019 Year 7-10

    Next year students in Year 7 - 10 will continue to use the Cambridge Maths textbook series. However, please note that Cambridge is releasing the new (second) edition of these textbooks which is the edition that has been included on the Campion booklist. Please ensure that you purchase this textbook for your son as the electronic code will give students access to the textbook as well as the online electronic platform which teachers use with their classes called HOTmaths. It is essential that all students have the new edition of these textbooks for Mathematics next year.

    Please contact me at the College via email on amanda.conde@syd.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions regarding Mathematics in 2019.

    Amanda Conde
    Mathematics Leader of Learning

      Solidarity

      Vinnies hampers

      A big thank you to the Marist College Community for your support of the Vinnies Christmas Hamper Appeal and Catholic Care's 'Gift of Goodness' Campaign. Thanks to your generosity and support we were able to donate more than forty hampers to the local Conference who will be visiting local families and individuals in the area who are struggling financially over Christmas. Your support is never taken for granted and deeply appreciated.

      Gabriel Rulewski
      Solidarity and Youth Ministry Coordinator

      Other

      Years 7 to 11 2018 Awards

      Please click on the year below to view the Academic and Commitment Awards for Semester 2, 2018.

      Year 7
      Year 8
      Year 9
      Year 10
      Year 11

        Creativity


        Creativity….‘the act of banging your head on the desk until something interesting pops out’


        In Term 3 we had many students participate in the the ‘Write a Book in a Day’ challenge, which entails twelve hours of continuous collaborative writing from 8am until 8pm with the end result being an imaginative piece of writing being published and sent in for judging.


        The enthusiasm and hard work shown on that day has paid off and we have had one of the published stories chosen by the State Library of NSW for display and workshop activity purposes.


        I would like to now acknowledge and congratulate Tim Street, Jamie Lowe, Nick Edwards, Andrew Lai, Noah Saunders and Jayden Chan for their creativity. So if you have the chance to visit the State Library over these holidays please look out the short story,  ‘Winner for Life’.


        HSC Results


        CENET Email Passwords During the Holidays

        Students are reminded to change their CENET Passwords now to avoid losing access to email during the school holidays and on return to the college for the 2018-2019 summer holidays. Parents and students should also keep this in mind as IT support at this time is limited. To change your CENET password go to http://userapp.cenet.catholic.edu.au. Students are also reminded to keep their secret questions up to date and change any questions they might be doubtful with. Passwords cannot be recycled and must be unique.

        IT Department