Welcome back to the start of Semester 2, which much like the end of Semester 1, has allowed our College to celebrate through liturgy our connections to our Carmelite founders. It provided an opportunity for our community to recognise the contribution of a number of staff for their service as mentioned by Mr Lo Cascio. I would like to thank each of these staff members for their contribution to the College throughout their association, both in terms of supporting learning and also the role modelling that they provide for students and staff with respect to their care and concern for all members of the College.

CEDoW and the College seek your consent to use material created by your child/ren for the purpose of learning and education, and/or promoting the school, CEDoW or Catholic school education at state and national levels The date of consent is 18 August 2023.  Please note that failure to consent will not allow students photos to appear in any publication including the College yearbook. Reminders emails will be sent out today.

As is often the case at the commencement of each term, there are some matters that students and carers need to be raised with respect to learning and wellbeing. The College has received some concerns about the manner that students are crossing the road in the afternoon when school finishes. Could all students and carers be reminded that there is no designated Pedestrian Crossing on Spitfire Drive or on St. Andrews Road and that students need to be vigilant when crossing each of these access routes and take the appropriate care when departing the College in the afternoon.   

At the end of Term 2, students received their Semester 1 Academic Reports and Parent Teacher Student Interviews were conducted during Week 10. Students, in particular, are encouraged to look closely at their reports to identify areas of progress and improvement and use these to set goals for the second part of the year. This will be addressed in Year group and Pastoral classes over the coming weeks and it is important that reports are used as a valuable tool in enabling growth for all students and their learning. Should you have any questions regarding your son or daughter’s academic progress, please do not hesitate to contact their class teacher, Pastoral Advisor or Year Coordinator.

As always, thank you for your support and cooperation with your child’s learning and wellbeing and in particular, the smooth return to school over the past week.

Mr Simon Huntly

As  the end of Semester 1, students in 7-10 finished up their current HSIE subject for the year (history or geography). As of Term 3, Years 7 and 9 will be starting the Geography component of HSIE, while Years 8 and 10 will be beginning history. Although the subjects are grouped together, they are quite different in the topics of study and skills associated with them. I hope all students have enjoyed this semester's topics, and I wish all students luck for next semester.

On Monday 15 May, Year 9 students attended an incursion on the experiences of Australian troops in WWI. WWI - Fighting the Kaiser was a performance that focused on an ANZAC soldier, returned from war, who recounted experiences and showed signs of the mental scars sustained in the fighting. Students were engaged in this presentation that did a great job of illustrating the experiences of soldiers in WWI, and some were even pulled up on stage to participate. Year 9 were excellent in the way they participated on the day, and asked a range of relevant and insightful questions. 

Year 10 students were visited by Professor Rob Brander, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW, to discuss coastal management. This talk expanded on students' understanding of the different ways governments seek to preserve our coastline, and the geological processes that impact them. Professor Brander also spent some time exploring the important issue of beach safety. Once again, students were excellent in the way they listened and participated, with Professor Brander saying that they were the most attentive, well behaved group of students he has presented to. 

Thank you to all the teachers who helped in the organisation and facilitation of these incursions, particularly Mrs Ellsmore. These events are valuable learning experiences for students, but are often time consuming to organise.   

Thank you to all HSIE staff for the work they have done in Semester 2 in providing engaging, meaningful learning opportunities for students. A special thank you to the staff who offered holiday classes to our year 12 students. 

On Friday the 23 July, the Year 11 PDHPE classes attended Wollongong University and had the privilege to participate in some hands-on, interactive lessons about the currently studied topic; The Body In Motion. Throughout the day, both classes were able to see and learn more about human organs, bones, muscles and joints. Witnessing real life cadavers was very helpful in extending our understanding of the human body and being able to touch organs and put together a human skeleton made the experience all the more interesting and exciting. We were also lucky to spend some time in the Biomechanics lab, where we participated in a range of practical activities to broaden our knowledge of how motion, force, balance and stability are applied and used by individuals to improve performance. We were able to practise balance by attempting to complete a two-person hold that depended on one’s centre of gravity, and we interacted with force by using a track that measured the force an individual exerts on the ground when running and walking. Overall, the experience was very enjoyable and informative. I would like to thank the instructors at Wollongong University for their interactive and helpful lessons, as well as the PDHPE teachers that were involved in organising and accompanying us on the excursion. Thank you!

By Meghann Peeters