From the Principal

Congratulations and more

Dear Parents, Students and Friends

Fr Phil Linder from Sacred Heart Mosman

We recently celebrated the Golden Jubilee, fifty years, of Fr Phil Linder to the priesthood. Fr Phil was the parish priest of Liverpool for about 24 years and in recent years he has been the parish priest of the Parishes of Sydney Harbour North.

During the Mass of Celebration we saw a photo display of Fr Phil’s life. Fr Phil was a student of Marist Brothers Mosman which later merged with Marist Brothers North Sydney to become Marist College North Shore. During this time Fr Phil was very prominent in athletics (some of his records still stand today) and rugby league. He has been a lifetime supporter of the North Sydney Bears, which is a pretty difficult team to support currently in first grade.

Throughout his ministry as a priest Fr Phil has dedicated himself to the support of his parishioners and he has a reputation for doing a significant number of baptisms, weddings and funerals. Fr Phil referred to the importance for him in being present for his parishioners, during the happy times and then being able to try to comfort them in their time of loss.

I was really struck by the generosity and dedication of Fr Phil to his vocation as a priest. His understanding of being a priest is very much centred on the importance of service and servant leadership and the Eucharist. It was this form of humble service that Jesus displayed to his disciples.



Joshua Hills, Aiden Brennan, Will Schreiber, Will James, Dion Foresto, Rowan Cargill, Cooper Kahui-Chee and Christopher Ha also attended the celebration of Fr Phil, these students attended Sacred Heart Mosman as youngsters and were honoured to be asked to attend this special Mass.

Last night we celebrated the major works completed by the HSC Visual Arts, Design and Technology and Industrial Technology Timber students. Completing a major work for the HSC is an enormous task and both the student and teachers should be extremely proud. The works showed great talent and skill.

I was very impressed with the Drama performances. The HSC students were extremely entertaining but also carrying a message for our students and society. The music of the band, the Year 12s and the College Band was also outstanding under the direction of Mr Rod Herbert.

Walkathon

Our 2019 Walkathon will be held on Thursday 26 September, the second last day of Term 3. This year we are raising money to support the construction of a Marist High School in Timor Leste. Br Peter Corr, our previous principal, is currently at work finalising the planning for this project. I have requested that each student brings in $30 in the fortnight before the Walkathon to support this important work. The collecting of this money will begin next week (Week 8).
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From the Assistant Principal

Mobile Phone Update

Update on Mobile Phone Policy Implementation

We live in just about the most distracted time in history. The internet and social media represent significant changes for our lives both now and into the future. No matter what you believe about our society today, we can all agree that we have a lot coming at us these days.

For most of human history this has not been the case. Our brains once had a downtime. A considerable amount of research now makes the case that silence, solitude and even boredom can be extremely important for wellbeing and creativity. Our brains do not perform at their best when they are endlessly stimulated and over-stimulated. We need to regularly disconnect if we want to bring our best to life.

And so… we have our begun our journey of implementing our Mobile Phone Policy here at Marist over the last two weeks. I say journey because for many students that is what this is, a journey to finding stillness and calm in their lives. For many young men the ban has been a relief, they have felt a weight lifted as they no longer have to be careful about making a funny face and someone filming it. For others it allows them to concentrate on their school work and not worry about their device buzzing in their pocket.

Solitude and silence are crucial skills for our young men to develop. It’s not just for creative people but for all of us. Our brains need a break – a break from noise, from people, from too much of everything. No matter how much we may like the company of others or how much we may dislike boredom, we need to make time for solitude and silence.

The Christian tradition has also been the story of vast numbers of men and women who stepped away from the busyness and business of the world to encounter the presence of God. It seems that moments of silence, stillness and solitude are a doorway into encountering the divine. There is a great story in the Old Testament about the prophet Elijah who ended up encountering God not in the noise and chaos but rather in the stillness:

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by”.

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”.

The story of Elijah amplifies the point that God waits for you when you can find the time for stillness and silence.

I applaud all our young men as they venture upon their journey, they are doing well with this policy and it is most certainly reaping benefits. Our playgrounds at lunch time are now awash with boys playing with each other, they no longer sit down; the park option is bustling and the noise as they talk to one another has certainly risen.
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    Faith Formation

    Years & and 8 Evangelisation Day



    On Tuesday 27 August, Sydney Catholic Schools hosted an Diocesan wide event for students in Years 7 and 8. The purpose of the event was to explore aspects of the Catholic faith and help students to engage with the wider church. Mrs Dunne and 16 students from the College travelled to De La Salle Ashfield and joined hundreds of other students to hear from an American guest speaker Deacon Harold Burke Sivers and a young musician Josh Angrisano. Both speakers challenged the students to be people who live out the Gospel Values.

    Sam McLachlan, Montagne 6 commented that "It was fun and an exciting way to hear about the Catholic faith. My favourite part was listening to Josh because he made things relevant to me."

    Gabriel Rulewski
    Solidarity and Youth Ministry Coordinator

    Social Justice



    Making it Real - Genuine Human Encounter in our Digital World

    On Tuesday, the Social Justice Statement for 2019-2020 was launched at Mary Mackillop Place by the Australian Catholic Bishop's Conference. Liam, Oliver, Tommy, Shivarn and Luke attended the event which focalised on good communication and interaction, both online and in real life. The speeches were presented by Bishop Vincent Long, Ms Beth Doherty, Dr Margaret Van Heekeren and Mr John Ferguson. This was followed by a question and answer session where audience members discussed topics such as the need for social media platforms to be regulated and how excessive use of technology can stunt genuine human connection.



    Increasingly, in our 21st century world, we encounter our neighbours online. The panel members invited us to reflect on our online interactions and whether the current communication systems contribute to the betterment of the human person; that is, does it make people more spiritually mature, more aware of the dignity of their humanity, more responsible.

    We would like to thank Mr Munro and Mr Rulewski for organising the event.

    Ms Amanda Lee

    Creative and Performing Arts

    Shaun Gladwell Excursion to the MCA

    On Friday 30 August students in Year 9 and 10 photography and Digital Media (PDM) attended an excursion to the Museum of Contemporary Art to view an exhibition by contemporary Australian video/installation/performance artist Shaun Gladwell. Shaun Gladwell: Pacific Undertow is the largest survey exhibition to date of the work of Shaun Gladwell, best known for his videos representing the body in motion.

    Students were able to see the renowned video Storm Sequence, 2000, through to newly commissioned augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) works. Pacific Undertow spans two decades of the artist’s practice. It brings together different media to trace Gladwell’s obsessions with colonial and art histories, forms of everyday urban performance, and mortality.

    The exhibition title, Pacific Undertow, is taken from a pivotal video piece. It resonates with a sense of elemental forces, motion and the heft of gravity: key principles that inform Gladwell’s work. Despite the rain, this was an invaluable experience for many of the students as it was their first time at the MCA.

    Image from Pacific Undertow from the MCA website.

    Karen McRae
    Art Teacher

      Languages

      Linguafest Festival



      Action! Year 8 students have been busy creating videos that will be ready for week 8. This is as part of the Linguafest festival, organised by the MLTA. Students have enjoyed using technology on their laptop as well as the school facilities (basketball court, green screen, library, etc) as well as classroom resources such as the French hats. They've discovered how to work as a team, how to respect deadlines and requirements as well as how to be creative! They have thoroughly enjoyed having some freedom in choosing everything but the theme, mystery, and the signature item, a ticket. Good luck to them in finishing this week. Bravo!

      Galiane Marterer

      French Teacher

      Co-Curricular

      Robotics Club

      Marist Oratory Competition



      On Wednesday 28 August, Marist College North Shore hosted the 29th annual Marist Oratory. The night included the presentation of speeches by students Years 7-12 from 14 Marist schools. Beginning and ending with an incredible assortment of food and drinks provided by the hospitality staff and students, I am sure our guests felt warmly welcomed.

      All six categories, Year Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Seniors and Impromptu saw a series of diverse, well informed, engaging speeches.

      I was lucky enough to participate in the Senior division amongst a series of extremely talented students, all presenting vastly individual and original speeches.
      Out of the six divisions Marist College North Shore achieved one 1st place trophy. In the end, this wasn’t enough for us to place overall.

      Marist Catholic College Penshurst placed first with St Gregory's College, Campbelltown being the runner up.

      This was my first experience competing in a public speaking competition. I was startled at the level of talent displayed by students. The night highlighted the importance of public speaking, as well as the importance of being able to effectively communicate and present your ideas to a large group of people.

      It must be said that the night would have been impossible without the tireless efforts of the staff, whose work often goes unnoticed. I would like to pay particular thanks to Ms Green, Ms Lee, Mr Rulewski, Mr Sherringham and Mr Neale.

      I am sure everyone is looking forward to next year at Marist Catholic College Penshurst.

      Corben Madden
      Year 11 Student and Winner of Oratory Senior Division

      Mathematics

      Extension 2 Student Day



      On Thursday 29 August, a selected group of pupils undertaking the Mathematics Extension 2 course was invited by Sydney Catholic Schools to attend a Student day hosted by the University of Notre Dame. The day aimed to provide support to pupils with mathematics experts from universities and experienced teachers, such as our own Mr dela Paz, together exploring insightful examination techniques and complex mathematical ideas that are highly beneficial to pupils. 


      The day commenced at 8:30 am, or rather 8:50 am for the MCNS pupils. We were then split into 2 groups. Group 1 comprised of myself and Benedict Lo and group 2 with Sean Auer, and Andrew Hu. The core topic explored on the day was devoted to ‘Mechanics’ and ‘Harder Extension 1’, the bane of our existence. With the aim to achieve the E4, pupils were taught complex ideas including the squeeze theorem, proof by contradiction, proof by strong induction, De Moivre's theorem, and angle chasing which are outside of the syllabus. My personal favourites was the inequality session with Dr Peter G. Brown from UNSW, who guided students in problems with his humour, claiming inequalities ‘as the art of throwing out the rubbish’ as well as Carla Giuliani-Bruno’s Circle Geometry session, which taught the art of angle chasing.

      On behalf of all the Mathematics Extension 2 pupils who participated in this event, I would like to thank Sydney Catholics Schools and all teachers and the University of Notre Dame for hosting such a fantastic day and wonderful learning opportunity, as well as Ms Conde for the organisation and Mr dela Paz for his moral support and supervision on the day.

      Chun Hei Jerry Chu
      Year 12 Montagne 4

      Newman Mathematics



      Last Thursday, the Year 7 and 8 Newman classes partook in a combined lesson in the ARC to complete a few Maths challenges. Both the Year 7 and 8 students were challenged by the abstract problem-solving questions. Students worked in pairs, working collaboratively and sharing their ideas to build upon their skills in thinking outside of the box to solve the problems. We enjoyed the experience and look forward to doing it again.

      Harry Pasalidis and Tadhg Nolan, Year 7



      Careers

      Careers Term 3 Week 7

      For current Careers information click here

      Events

      Handball with Mr Rudd

      On Friday, 30 August, we had a special guest join us for the finals of our inaugural handball competition. We were fortunate to have Mr Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister of Australia, come and play against us.

      How did this happen?

      Mr Rudd posted a video on Facebook asking students around Australia to challenge him in handball, a sport he calls “the best in sport the world”. Mr Rudd aligned his handball challenge with his visits to different states to promote and raise awareness for the National Apology Foundation for Indigenous Australians.

      I invited Mr Rudd to attend Marist College North Shore. My intention was that he could come and play handball with us, while also spreading awareness to the younger generation on the important initiative of ‘Closing the Gap’.
      To say I was shocked when he accepted my invitation is an understatement. 

      Earlier in the week, we held handball competitions for each year group. Mr Rudd played the four finalists from each year as well as staff members: Ms Taylor, Ms Krejci, Mr Munro, Mr Brown, Mr Mullaly, Mr Heiss and Mr Byrne, who all surprised the boys with their handball skills.

      Mr Rudd’s time spent at Marist was a success. The Year 12 cohort, with some Year 11’s and Year 7’s watched and supported the games with lots of chants and cheering. The event was fantastic, heaps of fun and could not have gone any better.

      Mr Rudd was incredibly proud of how our school participated and acted throughout the event, to the point that he wants to come back next year - saying of his return “it will be bigger and better”.

      I would like to thank Ms Taylor and Mr Duncan for enabling this event to take place and to Ms Taylor and many other teachers for assisting on the day. I know all the boys and staff members had a great time and they can’t wait until 2020 for Round 2.

      Look for the article about Mr Rudd's visit to our school in the North Shore Times and the Sydney Catholic Schools “About” magazine in the coming days.

      To view gallery click here.

      James Netting, Year 12, Salta 3

      School Notices

      Loan Computers

      If a student is in need of a computer due to it being repaired they are able to borrow one from the ARC. They need to see their House Coordinator who will sign their diary and then they bring this signed diary to the ARC. The maximum loan period is one week. If after one week the student is still in need of a laptop he will need to source a replacement from outside agencies.

      Tracey Dunne

        Community Notices

        JESUIT MISSION INDIAN BAZAAR



        Come and join in the fun and festivities at Jesuit Mission’s Indian Bazaar on
        Saturday 14th September 2019, 9am-5pm at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview
        There will be rides, stalls, auctions and more. The annual fundraiser supports Jesuit Mission’s work in over 13 countries, empowering the most vulnerable people to transform their lives and build brighter futures. 
        More details at https://jesuitmission.org.au/indian-bazaar/ https://www.facebook.com/events/926093744402699/

        National Child Protection Week


        This year National Child Protection Week is from 1-7 September. The aim of the week is to engage members of the community in supporting families and protecting children. Child protection is a critical issue that affects all communities, particularly our schools.

        A parent forum on this issue will be held at the following locations during the week:
        ● The Southern Region’s office, located at 300 The River Rd, Revesby on Tuesday 3rd September at 6:30pm.
        ● The Eastern Region’s office, located at 33 Banks Ave, Daceyville on Wednesday 4th September at 6:30pm.

        ● The Inner West Region’s office, located at 3 Keating St, Lidcombe on Thursday 5th September at 6:30pm.

        All parents are invited to attend. A mass will also be held on Friday 6th September at Holy Name of Mary Hunters Hill at 6:30pm in recognition of all the sexual abuse victims and survivors. All community members are welcome to join us. For catering purposes please register your notification of attendance here.


        Other

        Michael Colvin

        Michael Colvin, Year 7, Chanel 2 competed in the SSA (Ski and Snowboard Australia) Northern States Interschools Championship competition last week. Michael raced well, narrowly missing out on making the Australian Championships in Victoria. One of Michael's event was the 2.1km downhill course.

        Congratulations Michael on your achievement.



        Ryan Perrott

        Ryan Perrott, Year 9 Chanel 2 is in another Shakespeare Production "The Tempest " airing every night this week. Ryan is the support lead role in this production and has been rehearsing hard (sometimes late into the night).

        Congratulations from the MCNS Community.
        For further information click here.






        Teachers as Learners

        As you would already be aware teachers at MCNS spend each Monday afternoon working together in faculties or as a whole staff on professional learning. Last Monday the team looked at bringing a few concepts together. 
        In recent years Mr Duncan has enlivened the school with Carol Dweck’s growth and fixed mindset concepts. I have written about this research before in 2016 and it remains a part of our fabric here. There is much written about this work. Here is a short review. Also, we have spent the last few years developing our School Wide Pedagogy that underpins our Vision for Learning. We expect that as teachers and students we DARE TO BE: Challenged, Relational, Engaged and Deep Thinkers. Finally, you may be aware that John Hattie is a well-known educational researcher. John has some thoughts on the mind frames that teachers have you can find a short video here. So, our goal was:

        Staff worked in small groups looking at Dweck’s Growth and Fixed Mindset, Hattie’s Mind frames and our School Wide Pedagogy.

        By the end of the session we were able to bring these concepts together. You will note that each of our Pedagogical Principles has a logo. More on this in the coming weeks.

        So, what did we find?

        At MCNS we challenge our students to move away from a fixed mindset and be engaged through a growth mindset. To build positive and collaborative relationships with teachers and students where they are resilient, learning from mistakes and engaged in deep thinking and learning.
        Amanda Conde, Sean Mullaly, Jo Talwar

        MCNS strives to develop students and teachers who are Challenged, Relational, Engaged and Deep Thinkers. To be this they must have a positive growth-mindset, not be afraid to make mistakes and enjoy taking on challenges and testing their knowledge and understanding.
        David Paull and team
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          Year 12 Study Skills Seminar



          On Thursday 29 August, Year 12 attended a study skills session titled ‘The HSC Countdown’ with Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services. The aim of the Seminar was to assist Year 12 organise together a strategic plan of attack for between now (post HSC Trial Exams) and their final HSC exams. The HSC Trial results have now been returned to the Year 12 students and the Seminar focused on how to effectively respond to the teacher’s feedback and how to maximise their learning. The session focused firstly on what students need to do before the end of Term 3. Prue outlined in the Seminar that it is essential that study notes are completed, students work through their returned Trial HSC exam papers thoroughly (using the checklist provided), pinpoint areas of weakness and seek help on these areas, and to do essay writing practise and past examination papers before the end of term so they can obtain feedback from their teachers. These last weeks of school is the time that students need to use their class time as effectively, however after making the plan for the weeks just prior to the HSC exams, students can now see how quickly the time will go and how important it is to use the rest of this term to the full. Each year 12 student completed a grid with their HSC Examination timetable, planning the most effective way to allocate their study time over the weeks before and during the HSC Examination. Having a plan in place the students can prevent exam anxiety, as students know what they need to do to move forward and can see the steps they need to take. Parents are encouraged to review the handout from the session with their son and have their son explain their study plan as discussing these ideas can clarify students’ approach. Students can download the slides from the session and extra copies of the grid at www.enhanced-learning.net

          The Academic Resource Center is a hub for the Year 12 students to receive support for study skills, they can access past HSC exam papers and implement their study plan under the leadership of Ms Dunne. It is strongly recommended that Year 12 take advantage of the resources and the expertise of our Academic Resource Leader in their preparation for their HSC Examination.

          Carolyn O’Brien
          Director of Diverse Learning