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I have worked in a few schools now, over more than 20 years. No school I have worked in has a stronger parent involvement than St Aloysius. In fact, I think it is one of the most positive and defining features of the college.
St Aloysius was a regular sized Primary school, run by the Sisters of Charity at Kingston, for most of its history. Schools run by religious orders of nuns and brothers, were often away from the centre of capital cities and usually had a great community spirit and history of support from families. Most Catholic schools are, in fact, built on the work of religious Sisters and Brothers who gave their lives to the cause of Catholic education, with the support of generous parent volunteers. St Aloysius is certainly an example of this.
St Aloysius has changed in some ways in more recent years, with the Sisters no longer at the school and extraordinary growth meaning that we are now quite a big school. The good news is that, as well as having the extra opportunities that a large school brings such as subject choices and extra-curricular options, the individual care and wonderful community spirit remains.
One of the ways this is expressed in the school today, is through the vibrant Parents and Friends Association. This body raises money and puts on very enjoyable events to support the College. However, it is more than a fundraising body. There is also a strong emphasis on consultation, advice, discussion and community perceptions, as appropriate on particular issues; policies, processes and identified potential improvements. For example, at the most recent P&F meeting, there was a consultation on the Vision and Mission Statements of the College, amongst other agenda items discussed.
We are grateful to Danielle Milic and Caterina Thompson who were Co-Presidents of the P&F in 2021. Both of these ladies have put many hours of support into the College with the Board, Fair and P&F. They have now finished as Co-Presidents of the P&F. Angela Barker has taken on the position of President of the P&F and Meredith Hurd will be the Deputy President. Sarah Ascencio-Lane has also finished up as Secretary and we haven’t got a replacement as yet. Alison Byrne will continue as Treasurer. Thank you very much to each one of these very generous parents.
The next meeting of the P&F is Tuesday 21st June, 6:00pm, at the Middle Campus Library. All parents, guardians and carers are welcome.
Whole College Event
One of the realities of having grown so much as a school in recent years, is that there is no venue large enough at the College, for our whole school to gather. As a result, there has been no whole school gathering in a few years now.
We are going to rectify this on 21 June with a Whole College Event. This will be held at Wrest Point Casino. While the venue will be big enough to accommodate our students and staff, unfortunately there is not enough space for parents. The event will include a mix of prayer, formal words and a showcase of our amazing students in areas such as choir, dance, drama and a concert band. Why 21 June? This is the Feast Day of our patron, St Aloysius.
June 2022 also marks 175 years since the Sisters of Charity arrived in Australia, and we will be celebrating their remarkable contribution both to Tasmania and St Aloysius as part of the event. We are hopeful this will include recorded video messages from Sisters of Charity who worked at St Aloysius, as part of our very rich history.
We will be in contact closer to the event to give you more details.
Junior Campus Teaching Update
Student Free Day Reminder
As notified via Compass, the first day of Term 3 (Monday 25th July) will be a student free day for the entire College as our staff attend a Spirituality Day, postponed from earlier in the year due to Covid. Spirituality Days are a requirement of all CET staff by Catholic Education Tasmania to maintain Accreditation to work in a Catholic School. St Aloysius staff are lucky enough to combine with St James for this day of spiritual formation and building community.
Kinder Excursion to Tolmans Hill and Mt Nelson Park
Our Kinder students have been busy out and about exploring recently! We went to Tolmans Hill and Mt Nelson Park. It was the first time the children had been on the school bus and, for many, that was the highlight of their day. The weather was amazing and the children enjoyed exploring the equipment, bush, and running in the large space. We can't wait to explore another park soon.
Farewell Ottmar
The College recently received the resignation of Ottmar Helm. Ottmar joined our College in January 2019 as Facilities and Compliance Manager and has successfully overseen a number of projects for the College, ranging in size and complexity. These have included the expansion of our learning spaces in Learning Centre Doyle, and the successful life extending works to the Convent at the Junior Campus. Along the way he has kept us warm - maintaining our air conditioning, safe - with our security systems locking us up at night, mobile - with our bus fleet ready to go, and overall been one to deliver on his commitments.
Ottmar has shown his strength through his ability to listen and appreciate the needs of our staff when they have sought to improve the College surroundings for our students, their classrooms or their workspaces. His knowledge of Work Health and Safety, and his ability to quickly adapt and share that knowledge in an educational setting, is well respected.
Testament to his overall nature as a gentleman, are the genuine friendships he has acquired in such a short time with us. Always generous with his time and what others may need, we wish Ottmar well in his future endeavours. We will miss his humour around the College.
Ottmar, from us all, Auf Wiedersehen und die besten Wünsche.
Masks in Year 7 - 10
Families and students are reminded that masks remain compulsory for Year 7-10 students and that they must bring their own.
Year 10 Science
A lucky class of Year 5s were recently invited to join in spectating a Science experiment conducted for Year 10 students, demonstrating the reaction between Sodium and Water!
Huon and Channel Cross Country Carnival
On Wednesday 25th May, 45 students from Year 3-6 represented the College at the Huon and Channel Cross Country Carnival. The carnival was held at Huonville and we were greeted with a blanket of fog that didn’t lift until the final race! Our students enjoyed the opportunity to warm up with a run in true cross country style.
Congratulations to all our students who participated in a wonderful manner.
|
Place |
Name |
|
1st |
Aryah Filipowski, Lachlan Vince, Madeline Marshall |
|
2nd |
Callista Hogan, Max Kull, Jasmine Taylor |
|
4th |
Charli Skinner, Freya Lovell |
|
5th |
Adele Bahr |
|
6th |
Giselle Filipowski, Jacob Wass, Grace Kinder |
|
7th |
Grace Fielding |
|
8th |
Willow Jones, Jordan Lucas, Olive Daley, Lucinda Lockwood |
|
9th |
Grace Burton, Noah Lynch |
|
10th |
Oscar Pither, Sandra Stirling |
SATIS Cross Country
Well done to all the selected Year 7-10 students who represented the College at the Southern SATIS Cross Country Carnival on Wednesday 18th May.
The team arrived at the Queens Domain, Soldiers Memorial Oval, to a blanket of fog. To say it was cold is an understatement! Although testing conditions, we were very proud of our students' ability to adapt and give it their very best, with some outstanding times and results.
Congratulations to Bessy Brereton and Angus Brereton who both finished in third place.
Year 3 and 4 Choir to perform at the Festival of Voices!
The Year 3 and 4 Choir will be singing in the Tasmania Sings concert at the Festival of Voices this year. This will involve choirs from about eight different schools from around Tasmania and some special guest choirs. The choirs will be performing together, under the direction of guest conductor, Kate Albury. There will be two full days of rehearsals at Federation Concert Hall to prepare for the evening concert.
The evening concert will also take place at Federation Concert Hall on Monday, July 4th.
If you would like to attend this concert, you may purchase your tickets from the Festival of Voices website or via the following link. This link will take you directly to the Young Tasmania Sings tickets. St. Aloysius will be singing on Monday July 4th!
https://festivalofvoices.com/act/youngtasmaniasings/
Lucy Cane (Year 9) reflected; 'Art Rage was an amazing art display of what we could be doing in the future years. It also showed that we can expand our art into showing modern day problems or struggles you could have. It really showed us how to push the boundaries of how we can express ourselves in our art.'
Reconciliation Assembly
National Reconciliation Week has begun! We started our commemorations on National Sorry Day (Thursday, 26th May) with a Reconciliation Assembly at the Middle Campus. Year 10 students opened the assembly with an Acknowledgement of Country. After Parish Priest Fr Mike Delaney guided us in prayer, Jesse Frost (a descendent of Fanny Cochrane Smith) delivered a moving speech about the stolen generations. Showing great pride in their heritage, Jack Batchelor and Archer McMeekin wore traditional palawa attire including ochre. Together with Emily Scanlon, the boys explained the significance of the 1967 Referendum. College Principal, Mr Eamonn Pollard spoke to students about the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and our Director of Teaching and Learning (K-12), Miss Sarah Adams commended students on their presentations and discussed Vincent Namitjira’s painting ‘Stand Strong For Who You Are’.
NRW Lunchtime Forum
On the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, Friday 27th May, eleven Year 10 student leaders attended a lunchtime forum at Hobart’s Function and Conference Centre. Listening to guest speakers including Aria Ritz (lutruwita youth Mob) and the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Hobart, Anna Reynolds, students learnt above some of the brave actions of First Nations People. The group were able to meet and chat with guest speakers before eating lunch together.
Year 10 English - Guest Speaker - Mr Adam Thompson
Year 10 students are in the middle of an English unit that explores textual representations of Indigenous Australians. The College was fortunate to have Mr Adam Thompson, an emerging pakana author, travel down from Launceston recently, to share his perspectives and experience with students. Adam also spent a lesson with our Year 9 First Nations students, sharing information about tayaritja (the Furneaux group of the Bass Strait Islands). The students learnt about some families on Flinders and Cape Barren Island. Adam also talked to the students about muttonbirding.
Year 7 History
‘Ancient Australia’ is a unit studied by Year 7 students in Term 2. Each year, our Aboriginal Student Success Teacher, Ms McWatters, delivers a lesson that focuses on pre-colonial technology. Students are given the opportunity to handle cultural artefacts and weapons. This year, students also practised using friction boards and discussed ancient fire making methods. The lessons explored aspects of traditional palawa culture here in lutruwita/Tasmania as well as mainland Australian systems of knowledge and traditions. Students particularly enjoyed holding spears, shields, waddies, collamons, a stone axe, spinning a bull roarer and throwing a boomerang.
Reconciliation Breakfast at Wrest Point Casino
St Aloysius staff were joined by Uncle Rodney Dillon and Fr Mike Delaney at Reconciliation Tasmania’s annual breakfast. The group listened to guest speakers Thomas Mayor (a signatory to the Uluru Statement from the Heart) and Kaytlyn Johnson (Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year 2022).
Kingborough Helping Hands – Thank you from us!
Kingborough Helping Hands have very kindly ‘paid it forward’ to thank us for the many ways the College supports them, with the donation of an industrial toaster for the Middle Campus Breakfast Club, as well as a substantial donation of books to enrich our reading programs at the Junior Campus.
Our Breakfast Club runs three mornings per week and always welcomes donations of breakfast foods! We are also looking for a stainless-steel catering trolley (or similar) to house our new toaster!
Entertainment Book Fundraiser
This is a fundraiser for the College P&F Association and 20% of your membership purchase is returned directly to the P&F for future spending on students!
The cost of the membership can be easily recouped in your first few purchases, with the soon to be released 2022/2023 Entertainment Membership.
Purchase your entertainment book for great deals and to support our College, at https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/24043g6
Visit from Faith in Action students
On Wednesday 1 June, we welcomed students from a Faith in Action class at Guilford Young College. Our Year 4 Environmental Leaders dazzled them with their knowledge, enthusiasm, and passion for the environment, and impressing teenagers is no mean feat! Some waste reduction messages they want to share are: buy in bulk, don't put snacks in ziplock bags, and we love bento-box lunch boxes!
Vinnies Update
Ten litres of minestrone and creamy vegetable soup, the culinary creation of our Vinnies students, were dropped off to the Vinnies office in Hobart last week, to go out on Loui’s Van. Hopefully this will give some warmth to those doing it tough this winter.
Look out for our upcoming Warm Winter Woollies Appeal and the opportunity for our Year 5-10 students to participate in the Vinnies Sleepout at school.
Free Flu and COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic
At Margate Primary this Saturday 4th June, 10am - 3.30pm, free Flu and COVID-19 Vaccinations will be available.
Bookings are preferred, via coronavirus.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 671 738, but walk-ins are also welcome.
Night of Lights
Night Of Lights will be held at the Kingborough Community Hub this Friday evening, June 3rd from 6.30pm. Food trucks will be serving up some delicious wintery treats including wood-fire pizza, curries, smoked meats and mulled wine.
There will also be children’s activities, such as LED poi spinning on the grass, as well as indoor glow-in-the-dark craft play. A video animation will be playing in the auditorium for all to enjoy.
The first laser show is set to start at 7pm. At 7.45pm the Fireflow collective will bring their choreographed routine to the Town Square for a half time break and you will be able to warm up under a cosy heater. The second laser show will finish off the night from 8.30pm.
Notice of Works - Roslyn Avenue, Kingston Beach
Girls Indoor Cricket, Ages 8 - 13
Youth Beat - Huonville & Cygnet
Youth Beat is a free outreach service provided by Mission Australia providing a safe, fun and supportive presence at our local skate parks.
Come to the skate park on the days they are here, say hi, hang out, listen to some music and have a chat.
The Huon Valley Council is pleased to have established this working relationship with Mission Australia to trial Youth Beat in the Huon Valley until the end of June.
To stay up to date on Huon Valley Council Youth Activities, follow our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HVCyouth/
Gearing Up - FREE Driver Mentor Program with a car in Kingston and Huonville
Tasmanian Indoor Cricket Opportunity - Ages 7 to 12
Kingborough Community Hub - Youth Activity Program
Advanced Barista Course: Monday 6th June
Polymer Clay Jewellery: Friday 10th June
Soap Making: Friday 17th June
Coder College