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In praise of teachers
Last weekend, I gave a presentation to the UTAS Masters of Education students on what it means to be a teacher in 2022. This term I have also returned to the classroom, teaching some Year 10 Religious Education. I’m looking forward to doing some teaching in Year 3 next week as well. All of this has me reflecting on being a teacher. Here are some of the things I had to say to the UTAS students.
The first thing was to congratulate them all on their choice of profession, as teaching matters. Education is the single most important factor in relieving poverty. Education changes life trajectories and has an impact on future salary, health and length of life. The most important factor in student success at school, is teacher quality and the most important ingredient in good teaching is good pedagogy. Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. Teachers have a responsibility to be life-long learners when it comes to their craft of teaching.
Often times it is the skills, rather than the content, which is what students most need to learn. The content knowledge comes and goes, but skills such as how to read and write, how to study, how to manage your time and so forth are of benefit for the rest of your life. The latest information on brain science tells us that the harder we work, the more intelligent we become.
The main question teachers need to ask is not “has it been taught?”, but “has it been learned?” When students tune out they are doing us a favour, they are telling us we need to teach the content in a different way. A good teacher has a Swiss army knife of strategies – this takes time! The original meaning of the word educate; ‘educare’ in Latin, is to draw out – I think this is true. We are helping students to become what and who they really are.
I have worked in a number of schools with hundreds of teachers and can honestly say that each one of them deeply care about the students in front of them and each one of them go above and beyond every day in support of their students. Thank you to the teachers of St Aloysius for your care of our students.
Staff Spirituality Day
On the first day of term, our staff joined with the staff of St James and Sacred Heart, Geeveston, for our annual Spirituality Day. This is a requirement for all Catholic schools in Tasmania. All up, there were around 250 staff present. We were led by Fr Richard Ross, a Tasmanian Priest. As you can imagine, leading a spirituality day for that many staff was a formidable task.
Fr Richard focussed on the topic of the Trinity, that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the first session, Fr Richard talked about God as creator and told us some stories of the geology of Tasmania, from ancient times to the present. I think we will all look at the rock formations on our beautiful island a bit differently, after Fr Richard’s words. The second session focused on Jesus as the second person in the Trinity. In this session, Fr Richard told us some personal stories of his own journey and people he has met along the way. He placed particular emphasis on the importance of gratitude and forgiveness. In the third session, focusing on the Holy Spirit, Fr Richard talked about the words ‘inspire’ and ‘enthusiasm.’ The origins of the word ‘inspire’ are to breathe into. It is interesting that the word for spirit in ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew is breath. Enthusiasm in the original Greek means to be inspired by God.
I am happy to report that the feedback from staff on our Spirituality Day has been very positive. We are all very grateful to Fr Richard.
On Friday, 5th August, St Aloysius Catholic College students and staff honoured National Plant a Tree Day by planting saplings and bushes in the Peter Murrell reserve, just across the road from our Huntingfield Campus.
Bridget Jupe (BJ), from Kingborough Council, started the day by explaining to students how much habitat has been provided by Plant a Tree Day activities, and how it supports the local wildlife. She spoke about the trees planted in the same location three years ago, by previous St Aloysius students, and how they have contributed to the local environment.
Ruby, who is currently Year 6, said that Plant a Tree Day ‘was really fun because we got to learn alot about different things and where they grow, we got to learn about how the environment works.’
Archie, a Year 7 student, shared; ‘I’ve learnt that some of the plants like to hang out in watery spots and some don’t, and I’ve realised that this is actually quite a lot of fun, doing this is really good for the environment as well. I’ve also learnt that plants are yummier for animals in their first eighteen months. We put netting around them, and some plants need different types of netting; some need it to have less sun, some need less wind, some need more wind, and after eighteen months they’re taken off.’
BJ taught the students ‘all of the names of the plants, and how some go by water, and which are natives and things like that.’ The same Year 6 student, also shared that, ‘It’s a lot of fun, except we killed some worms along the way!’
Year 9 student, Bella, shared that, ‘It’s nice to do something that affects our environment; it affects where we go to school.’
St Aloysius Catholic College is proud to support the National Plant a Tree Day initiative, and looks forward to volunteering again next year!
Information regarding the Commonwealth School Data Collection.
Arts and Technology Exhibition Coming Soon!
Year 10 Work Placements
Recently the UNO championships were held in the MC library at lunchtime. The event ran over two days due to the number of participants. Congratulations to Finn Workman, who received first place, Declan Shai Smith for second place and Jethro Penney for third place. Thank you also to Peter Kay who helped run the event.
Book Week Parade coming soon at the Junior Campus
Save the Date: Thursday, 15th September
Parents and Guardians are invited to save the date for an upcoming seminar, as organised by our P&F Association, by Daniel Sih, author and founder of Spacemakers.
Daniel is an award-winning author and will be speaking about how we can support our children's wellbeing and mental health in the digital era. More details will be shared shortly.
This event has been supported by the generosity of the Tasmanian Catholic School Parents Council.
P&F Trivia Night Save the Date
Following a hugely successful event last year, The Parents & Friends of St Aloysius are once again hosting a Trivia Night Fundraiser. Further details to come, but parents and guardians are invited to Save the Date: Saturday, 17th September.
STCPSSA Cross Country Carnival
The final Cross Country Carnival took place on Monday, 4th July. Fifty-five selected Year 3-6 students competed at the STCPSSA Cross Country Carnival at Rokeby Police Academy, with some outstanding results.
Well done to the following students who placed in the top ten:
Year 3
Aryah Filipowski - 3rd
Charli Skinner - 6th
Year 4
Freya Lovell - 4th
Ava Bahr - 9th
Olive Daly - 10th
Lachlan Vince - 1st
Jordan Lucas - 8th
Year 5
Callista Hogan - 4th
Conner Reid - 1st
Max Kull - 3rd
Year 6
Madeline Marshall - 1st
Jasmine Taylor - 4th
Jacob Wass - 4th
Year 7-10 Athletics Carnival
1st Gonzaga - 1321
St Aloysius recently hosted the wonderful Bell Shakespeare company, to perform to our Year 8, 9 and 10 students. This falls within our current units of studies, in each of the year groups, which have been focusing on Shakspeare, his world and his works. The performers invited some students to engage with the performance, which was very enjoyable for the audience.
Festival of Voices Performance
Recently, the St Aloysius Singers performed in the Young Tasmania Sings concert at Federation Concert Hall for the Festival of Voices. The singers performed in six songs, including two with the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra. The experience was inspiring, engaging, educational and a lot of fun!
Enjoy the photos below, which were taken by Alastair Bett Photography.
A lot is happening in the Music Department, as we welcome three music tutors in the
Year 7 Music class, Artists in Residence and also work towards more performances.
Thomas McKay - Saxophone, Clarinet
Emma Lefroy - Flute
Ben Brinkoff - Bass and Guitar
In the Year 7 Concert Band we are learning new pieces and also working in small
ensembles with a tutor, to prepare for the Arts and Technology Exhibition in week 9 of term 3.
Tutors at St Aloysius College
Our Music offerings are expanding at St Aloysius and we now cover the following
instruments:
Flute – Emma Lefroy
Clarinet – Thomas McKay
Saxophone – Thomas McKay
Trumpet (brass) -Thomas Geale
Piano – Jesse Liu, Anita Cairns
Bass – Ben Brinkoff
Guitar – Ben Brinkoff
Drums – Sean Brady
The tutors that are coming in as part of the small ensemble are highly accomplished
musicians and are also offering one on one music lessons. Please contact Mrs McDermott at belinda.mcdermott@catholic.tas.edu.au, if your child would like to learn a musical instrument from one of these tutors, or if you need to borrow an instrument. Lessons are held at school and cost $35 per lesson.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students recently learnt about the local Aboriginal Dreaming story of the Creation of Trowenna. Trowenna means Tasmania in the South East dialect. Aboriginal Student Success Teacher, Ms Anne-Marie McWatters read the story to the children, who then acted it out with props. With handfuls of ice, students re-created the ice age, sprinkled seeds and imagined the great gum trees growing. The lessons took place in our outdoor learning area, specially created for Aboriginal education.
7A Religious education
This term students in Year 7 are studying a unit on ‘Creation’ in Religious Education. As part of this unit, students in 7A were fortunate to have Uncle Rodney Dillon introduce this unit to us through the lens of Aboriginal spirituality and we were lucky enough to have him share with us the Whale Dreaming story – a creation story from lutruwita (Tasmania).
In our second lesson, Jesse Frost read us the story called ‘The creation of trowenna’ and elaborated on local language and additional parts of story with us. Ms McWatters also visited us and shared her knowledge and experiences of Aboriginal spirituality – as can be seen from all the learning on the whiteboard!
NAIDOC Week Prayer spaces and Mass
During NAIDOC week, the Middle Campus Chapel provided the perfect home for our series of NAIDOC week prayer stations. These interactive prayer spaces involved prayers of thanks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, arts and language as well as acknowledging, as Pope Francis has, the deep and respectful ways indigenous peoples connect and care for land and the environment. This environment was a place of peace and consideration and was enjoyed by students during their Religion lessons as well as being open for ‘drop in’ at recess time.
Following Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, a NAIDOC Week Mass was held at the Junior Campus led by our Aboriginal Students following the Gospel theme “The harvest is plenty but the labourers are few”. This was a beautiful Mass which recognised the rich beauty of Aboriginal Catholic Spirituality.
Refugee week
During Refugee Week, Year 10 student Nila shared her experience of being a refugee, with the entire Middle Campus, including her recollections of having to leave Sri Lanka by boat amidst storms and the threat of pirates. Michelle also shared her family's story; of the sacrifices made by her parents in order to migrate from Zimbabwe to Australia, to give their children the best and safest life possible. Both girls are commended on their courage in sharing with their peers. You could have heard a pin drop and there were tears from many staff! They felt it was important to share their stories, to break down racial barriers and create more understanding around refugees and migrants from other cultures.
Vinnies Sleepout
On Friday, 24th June, 49 students and numerous staff braved the cold to spend the night sleeping 'rough' for the Vinnies Sleepout. Unfortunately, due to intruders on the school grounds, the entire group had to move into the gym. However, this formed part of the reflection and gave even greater insight into those who are unsure of their shelter and safety from one night to the next.
Highlights for the students were the interactive games, spending time with friends and having to ‘move along’ and make their bed somewhere else as 'it gave us an insight into what real homeless people have to put up with'. They identified some challenges, such as it being hard to get to sleep and stay asleep, or being disrupted by others in the night. One student commented how difficult it was to sleep with no mat or mattress and only some cardboard, and we only have to do it for one night!
Vinnies Winter Appeal
From Elle Bate, Vinnies Youth Engagement Officer (South)
I just need to say a huge thank you to you and everyone involved in the winter appeal – I am absolutely blown away by the incredibly generous donations from your school community! Our emergency pantry was getting low, and now it is so full that everyone in the office had a huge smile on their face when we saw it all! Truly, thank you so much for your hard work, it will do a world of good for those who are in need of support. And to all of the students who have been working to raise awareness as well! It all helps us and the community so much, and I can’t say thank you enough.
Feast Day Event
Our Feast Day near the end of last term was a momentous day for the staff and students of St Aloysius Catholic College, as we celebrated with a liturgy and celebration of the performing arts at Wrest Point. This was attended by all students from Prep to Year 10, the first time we have all been together in 10 years and was extra special as it coincided with the 175th Anniversary of the first Sisters of Charity arriving in Tasmania. The performers were spectacular, and the entire student body are to be congratulated on their conduct throughout. A special thank you to all of the staff and volunteers who went above and beyond to make this event a success.
Memorial Bench
Our Memorial Bench at the Junior Campus was recently completed, with the addition of memorial plaques for staff members Grazyna Wilson and Terry Smee, and students Maria Cresswell and Hamish Cullen. Two identical benches have been purchased for the Middle and Senior Campuses. This has been generously funded by the P&F committee.
Year 3 students attended a short prayer service at the end of term 2.
Adventure Patch OSHC Available
Anxiety Workshop for parents of children of all ages
There is an upcoming Anxiety Workshop for parents of children of all ages at Cassie’s Place – Child and Adolescent Psychology, on Saturday, 13th August 2022 from 9:00am to 2:00pm.
The workshop is comprised of psychoeducation about well-being, emotion regulation and anxiety more specifically, as well as hands-on practice of a wide range of strategies for parents to support their children and teens navigate their difficulties with anxiety. Families are also provided with a resource pack to extend the learning at home.
Josephite Mission and History Centre Open Day
Tenpin Bowling for Primary aged students
Bowl Patrol is a learn to bowl program for primary aged children. To cover the cost of the program, your family may be eligible for a $100 Ticket to Play Voucher. Find out more at https://www.communities.tas.
Rubik’s Cube Competition - Register by Friday, 12th August
Stage and Screen Film Fest at Kingborough Community Hub
Art from Scratch Classes
Childrens Classes
For students aged 9 to 14 years, this art course allows kids to socialise and have fun while developing skills in a range of art media and methods.
ENROL: https://artfromscrat.ch/product/art-from-scratch-for-young-huonvillagers-9-14yrs/
Adult Classes
This art course allows students to experiment with and enjoy a range of art media and methods through making an artwork each week.
ENROL: https://artfromscrat.ch/product/art-from-scratch-huon-valley-hub-aug-sept/
If you have any questions about this current workshop series, or suggestions and ideas for future art workshops, you can contact Yilian at start@artfromscrat.ch
War on Waste: School Food Workshop