St John's Catholic College Darwin eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Dear Members of the St John’s Catholic College Community,

Dearest Lord,

Lift us high on Eagles’ wings,

teach us to be Strong in Faith,

St John the Evangelist guides us to live Your Word,

giving witness to compassion and courage,

welcome and truth.

Amen

Prayer for Year 12 Students

Father God, we praise you for the gifts of education, intelligence, wisdom, and friendship. We pray that as the year comes to its climax for our Year 12 students, you give them peace of heart, strength of mind, and joy in their spirits. We pray for the grace of recollection, resilience, and for gifted hands and thoughts as they sit their exams.

Jesus our Lord, we thank you that all knowledge, wisdom, and life proceeds from you, for all things are held together by your love and mercy. We are thankful that you redeem and refresh our hearts and minds and that you empower us to know God and the world you created.

Holy Spirit, we thank you that you give us energy and life. We ask that you comfort our Year 12 students as they sit their exams. We pray that they will know the peace and wisdom you offer and that their gifts and talents will honour you.

Lord God, we pray for the future of all our Year 12 students, that you will guide their footsteps and establish their plans whichever direction they head. May each student know your love, grace, and plans for their life.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Student Leadership Team

Inspired by Jesus Christ and the model of service leadership, St John’s Catholic College provides formal and informal opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills and qualities. Grounded in Gospel values, students are invited to nominate for the positions of: House Captains, College Vice Captains and College Captain. The process to discern the Student Leadership Team includes a written application, leadership speech to students and staff, a round of voting based on the preferential voting system delivered by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission and a formal interview with the Principal. The Student Leadership Team supports the Principal in working towards the College Vision by providing positive leadership to the student body in line with College values. A key component of the
role is the promotion of student wellbeing and the development of a culture of welcome and belonging.

Key responsibilities include:

Support and contribute to the successful induction of new students into the College Community, including Open Days.
Promote student wellbeing by supporting students in communicating issues to staff.
Provide visible leadership through active participation at masses, assemblies, carnivals, events and activities.
Be a positive role model by living and promoting the core expectations of Stay Safe, Respect Everyone and Learn Everyday.
Represent the College in the community at events (involves some evenings and weekends): Bombing of Darwin, ANZAC Day, Meeting with the Administrator of the Northern Territory.
Regularly attend and contribute to Student Representative Committee meetings and initiatives.
Contribute to the development of the Year Book.

Inspired by life, mission and vision of Father Jules Chevalier MSC, the College announced the incoming Student Leadership Team at our Founder’s Day Mass on Friday 20 October 2023:

2024 Student Leadership Team

College Captain

Luca Abate (Year 12)

College Vice Captains

Rishi Mishra (Year 12) & Hayden Jansz (Year 12)

Burford House Captains

Patrick Costigan-Dwyer (Year 11) & Afia Azam (Year 11)

Daley House Captains

Emma Ryan (Year 11) & Joshua Winters (Year 12)

O’Loughlin House Captains

Avika Malik (Year 11) & Janeth Msafiri (Year 12)

Doneley House Captains

Tyrell Lindsay (Year 11) & Lachlan Moffat (Year 12)

2024 Planning

At this time of the year, schools are busily planning for the next academic year. This includes creating the College calendar, employment of staff, development of the timetable, and the establishment of classes. This task is made more challenging with an unknown student roll. Parents / Carers are requested to write to the College at admin.stjohns@nt.catholic.edu.au should their son / daughter be leaving the College (local or interstate) at the end of the 2023 academic year. Parents / Carers are reminded of the 10 weeks’ notice period for student withdrawal.

SEQTA

St John’s will adopt SEQTA as our learning management system with the implementation to take place over the next 18 months. O’Loughlin Catholic College and MacKillop Catholic College have already implemented SEQTA. SEQTA is considered one of the top tier learning management systems that is available for secondary schools with extensive functions including: Attendance, Pastoral Care, Student Management, Assessment and Reporting functions, Teaching and Learning Programming, Scheduling, Student, Teacher and Parent Portals, and Home / School Communication. SEQTA will contain three platforms:

SEQTA Teach - for Teachers (from Term 4, 2023)
SEQTA Learn - for Students (from Term 1, 2024)
SEQTA Engage - for Parents / Carers (from Term 1, 2024)

As the College transitions to SEQTA, the College will move to continuous reporting and End of Semester (A to E) reports. Continuous reporting refers to Parents/Carers receiving access to individual student assessment results and feedback as they are marked / released by the teacher.

Middle School Chess Elective

St John’s Catholic College is excited to announce the introduction of Chess into the Middle School Elective Program commencing Semester 1, 2024. The Chess program, as developed and resourced by the Tekman Education Group, has been mapped to the Australian Curriculum and aims to cultivate a range of skills, including: critical thinking, strategic planning, patience, concentration, sportsmanship, problem solving, pattern recognition, decision making, and teamwork skills in students. Mr Bayden Nheu will be teaching Middle School Chess in 2024. Our thanks to Sister Nuria Miro from Catholic Education NT for her assistance in implementing the program, Sr. Nuria is the former Principal of Barcelona’s Col·legi Montserrat where the Chess program has been established for many years.

College Advisory Board & Annual General Meeting

The College thanks the College Advisory Board for their ongoing support and counsel. Following our Annual General
Meeting we are pleased to announce the following Office Bearers for 2024:

Mr Neil Pomfret - Chair
Mrs Clalia Mar – Deputy Chair
Ms Candice Thomson - Finance Representative

School Bus #4

The College, with the support of the College Advisory Board, has written to the Department of Transport advocating for an additional School Bus to service the inner-city suburbs. This request aligns with the growth of enrolments from inner city suburbs and schools. We will keep the community updated on the status of our request.

SORA – Online Digital Library

St John's Catholic College is part of the Australian Catholic Education Network (ACEN). As such, our students have access to SORA, an online digital library. Student log into SORA via their Catholic Education NT dashboard: dashboard-nt.cenet.catholic.edu.au

Jacaranda Textbook eLibrary

With the implementation of the BYOD program, all students in Years 7-12 are provided with access to the Jacaranda Textbook eLibrary (JacPLUS) and the associated online activities (LearnOn). The Jacaranda Textbook eLibrary includes textbooks for all middle school core subjects (except Religious Education) and for selected senior school subjects. Please note that selected middle school electives and Stage 1 & 2 subjects may require additional texts. JacPLUS: https://www.jacplus.com.au

Mathletics

With the implementation of the BYOD program, all students in Years 7-10 and the Intensive English Unit (IEU) are provided with access to Mathletics. This resource compliments the Mathematics teaching and learning program and provides an engaging support and/or extension resource. Mathletics: https://login.mathletics.com

Fortes in Fide,

Cameron Hughes

Principal

My New Gallery

Assistant Principal: Teaching and Learning

Dear St John’s Catholic College Community,

Semester Reports

Our semester reports will be released electronically at the end of the year. If you have any queries regarding results please contact the relevant subject teacher. Staff will be unavailable from Friday the 15 December 2023 through to the start of Term 1 2024. The College will respond to queries after this date when staff return in 2024.

Please note that if you have any questions concerning reports staff are unable to respond during the holiday period. Relevant staff will respond to your queries when back at work.

Year 12 Students – Results release date!

Year 12 students can access their results and ATAR through the StudentsOnline portal. The results are not released by the College. If there are any issues with results, students are to contact the SACE Enquiry Line. The College will not release results or ATAR as the SACE Board is the reporting authority.

StudentsOnline can be accessed using the link below:

https://apps.sace.sa.edu.au/students-online/login.do

SACE results enquiries

askSACE@sa.gov.au
(08) 8115 4700
8.30 am to 5 pm (Australian Central Daylight Time) Monday to Friday

The operator will have access to the details of your results. Please have your personal details (including your SACE registration number) handy before you call.

Naturally it gets busy, but we'll answer your call as soon as possible. You may decide to contact your school first — they have a full register of results.

Students use their SACE registration number and a 4 digit PIN (day of birth and month of birth) which is changed after they first log in. All Year 12 students have logged into the system at school. Any issues with the PIN or access to StudentsOnline students are to call the SACE technical support line or email.

Technical support

If you have forgotten your password, you can request a password reset in Students Online.

For any other help logging in, contact our support team.
askSACE@sa.gov.au
(08) 8115 4700
8.30 am to 5 pm (Australian Central Daylight Time) Monday to Friday

End-of-year results (https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/studying/results/end-of-year)

Results will be released at 8.30 am on Monday 18 December 2023.

End-of-year results can be accessed in Students Online once results have been released in December. You will also receive an official certificate (if eligible) and Record of Achievement (ROA) in the post.

Qualifying for the NTCET/ATAR at Stage 2

Students are required to achieve a ‘C-‘ or better in 3 subjects (60 credits) at Stage 2 in order to qualify for the NTCET. This is in conjunction with the 140 credits at a ‘C’ grade or better at a Stage 1 or 2 level and the successful completion of the compulsory subjects (PLP, 2 x literacy, 1 x numeracy units).

To achieve an ATAR (university entrance score), students are required to undertake 90 credits worth of Stage 2 subjects.

StudentsOnline – SACE Results portal for students

Year 12 students must log into StudentsOnline, the SACE results portal for students, in order to
access their results and ATAR at the end of the year. Students must log into the portal and ensure
that they have ticked ‘yes’ to the sharing preferences. By not doing this, you may restrict your result access, which may include not generating an ATAR as you have not ticked ‘yes’ to sharing with SATAC.

To achieve the NTCET, students need to meet certain markers by the end of Year 10, 11 and 12.

By the end of Year 10 students must have achieved:

Minimum of 40 credits at a ‘C’ or higher
Successful completion of PLP
Successful completion of 1 x Stage 1 Literacy unit

By the end of Year 11 students must have achieved:

Achieved a 140 credits at a ‘C’ grade or higher
Successful completion of PLP, 2 x literacy units, 1 x numeracy unit

By the end of Year 12 students must have achieved:

C- or better in 60 credits at Stage 2
Successful completion of 200 credits in total

To generate an ATAR at Year 12:

Complete NTCET
Achieve 90 credits at Stage 2

Teaching & Learning Team

The Teaching & Learning Team members for 2023 are as follows:

APRE Mr Richard Bryant Richard.Brysant@nt.catholic.edu.au

Inclusion Support Ms Shinead Love Shinead.Love@nt.catholic.edu.au

VET/Careers Ms Tracey Ingui Tracey.Ingui@nt.catholic.edu.au

ACARA Coordinator – STEAM Mr Hasan Talduker Hasan.Talukder@nt.catholic.edu.au

Please make contact with the relevant Coordinator if you have questions.

May God Bless you all,

Cherilyn Hughes

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Dear St John’s Catholic College Community,

Friday 3 November was a special day for our Year 12s, it was their last official day at St John’s Catholic College before beginning their exams. The day started with a bacon and egg breakfast with staff , it was an opportunity for the Class of 2023 to reflect upon their schooling so far. These Year 12 students have just completed their exams and we will keep them in our prayers and look forward to celebrating their achievements at the Valedictory Mass and Dinner in the coming weeks.

Our Founder’s Day Mass was held on October the 21st at St Paul’s Parish Church. It was an equally important celebration. This mass is not only dedicated to our founder, Fr Jules Chevalier MSC but, we aslo remember students who had passed away while students at St John's Catholic College. We particularly remembered Hanna Wosiri who passed away 5 years ago. Fr John Kelliher MSC was our celebrant, and he gave us an insight into who Chevalier was and his struggles to restore vitality of faith in rural France that led to the global spread of MSC priests. We remembered the many other MSC schools across Australia and through out the mass we were reminded of the bigger MSC family we belong to.

Now that November has begun, and many of us have started to think about the Christmas shopping that is going to be upon us soon, I ask that you spare a thought for those who will not have a Christmas that they are able to provide a present for a child or a roof over their head or food over the Christmas period. As a College Community, we have always provided Christmas Hampers to the St Vincent De Paul Christmas appeal. This year I hope we can do the same. Below is what each House has been asked to donate during each week of the appeal. The College theme this year is Heart to Serve, and this is another opportunity to do this.

If every homeroom can collect the following items on the flyer below, we at St John’s can be sure that everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Parish Council Messages

St Mary's Cathedral

25 November Church working bee, 8am, Byo gardening tools etc.
26 November, African Choir at 9.30am Mass

26 May 2024 Multi Cultural Mass

Please refer to https://darwin.catholic.org.au/ for timings.

Honoring Remembrance Day: A Solemn Flag Presentation and March by Our School Cadets

On the solemn occasion of Remembrance Day, our school came together to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have sacrificed for the freedoms we hold dear. The ceremony was marked by a poignant flag presentation and march, executed with precision and respect by our five dedicated school cadets. This was led by Tyrell Lindsay who was strongly supported by Catrina Meldrum, Isiah Durrkay, Steven Griffiths and Vincent Di Donato

As the school gathered in respectful silence, the flag presentation by our cadets unfolded with grace and dignity. The Australian flag, representing the unity of our nation, was unfurled and held at half-mast along with our Torres Strait Islander Flag and Aboriginal Flag and New Zealand Flag in support of the staff and students we have at St John’s from New Zealand. These formed a symbols of the respect and gratitude we hold for those who have served and continue to serve.

The subsequent march, led by our school cadets, was a moving display of discipline and reverence. The rhythmic sound of their boots echoed through the air, a poignant reminder of the military precision that has characterised the service of so many. As they marched in unison, it was evident that our cadets approached their responsibilities with a deep sense of duty and understanding of the significance of the day.

We were honored to have Sub-Lieutenant Tenicia Creagh from HMAS Coonawarra in attendance and to address us as the key note speaker. Her presence added a special significance to our Remembrance Day ceremony. Sub-Lieutenant Creagh's dedication to service and her commitment to preserving the memory of those who have fallen were evident as she joined us in honoring the sacrifices made for our nation.

Remembrance Day serves as a crucial reminder to pause and reflect on the courage and sacrifice of our servicemen and women. The flag presentation and march by our school cadets, underlining the importance of tradition and respect, were a fitting tribute to the spirit of Remembrance Day.

Let us carry the lessons of Remembrance Day with us throughout the year, fostering a deep appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy and a commitment to honoring those who have safeguarded them.

Lest we forget.

May God bless you all.

Richard Bryant

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Richard.Bryant@nt.catholic.edu.au

Founders Day Mass

Rememberance Day Assembly

Assistant Principal: Administration

Dear Members of the St John’s Catholic College Community,

Power Up-online:

Year 10 students participated in an online learning module regarding online behaviour and safety. The project was the delivery of a series of learning modules that cover various areas of concern (as identified by both teachers and students) that will be integrated into school Learning Management Systems.

Subject Selection forms:

Thank you, students, for returning the completed subject selection forms. Students who have not returned Middle school elective forms are overdue now.

Senior school subject selection forms are due by Thursday 23 November. Please make sure you complete and return a signed form. Students are advised to meet with Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning, Mrs Cherilyn Hughes, and Assistant Principal Administration to complete the form if required.

Student Pick up after School:

Students who attend Learning Nest are expected to sign in and continue their learning until picked up before or by 5:00pm. Parents and guardians are expected to pick up their child no later than 3:30PM if they are not attending Learning Nest.

Communicate absence/late arrival:

A reminder to Parents / Guardians to please notify Lisa Di Donato, Student Administration in the event of student absence at the latest by 8:30am. Lisa can be contacted on 8982 2222 or via admin.stjohns@nt.catholic.edu.au. In the event of an unexplained absence, the College notifies Parents / Guardians via our SMS service. Parents and guardians will receive a message for late students if they don’t sign in at the front office. Please ensure that the College has up-to-date family contact details.

Presentation of Awards night:

We look forward to seeing students, parents, guardians, and other community members of St. John’s to celebrate student achievements at presentation night with us on Monday 20 November at 6:00 pm.

Valedictory Mass

Whole school community will celebrate Mass with the St. John’s class of 2023 on Thursday 23 November following with Valedictory dinner. Not only would I like to congratulate graduating students but also the staff who taught them throughout their school life. I would like to thank parents and guardians for their trust in us to educate their children.

Key Dates – T4, 2023:

Week 7: Monday 20 November – Presentation Night

Week 7: Thursday 23 November – Valedictory Mass and Dinner

Week 10: Tuesday 12 December – Boarders / International student Travel Day

Week10: Thursday 14 December – Last day for students

Week 10: Friday 15 December – Last day for staff

Semester 1 Term Dates 2024:

Term 1: Wednesday 31 January – Friday 5 April
Term 1: Break: Monday 8 April – Friday 12 April
Term 2: Monday 15 April – Friday 21 June
Term 2: Break: Monday 24 June – Friday 12 July

Targeted Placement:

Targeted Placement occurs in Years 7 – 9, and in Year 10 Mathematics. Targeted Placement is used in the following subject areas: Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and HPE. Targeted Placement refers to the grouping of students in classes based on academic levels to best cater for their learning needs. Targeted Placement provides the opportunity for students to receive support and/or extension depending on their progress. Targeted Placement decisions are informed by a range of data collected by the subject teacher. For more information, please contact the Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at: Cherilyn.Hughes@nt.catholic.edu.au

Core Expectations – Stay Safe, Respect Everyone & Learn Everyday:

Homeroom Teachers and Heads of House continue to reinforce our expectations in building and maintaining a safe, respectful learning community that is focused on our Catholic Identity and Learning. Core expectations:

Stay Safe
Respect Everyone
Learn Everyday

Bus Travel:

The Northern Territory Government provides a school bus service to the College. Bus routes and timetables can be located at: https://nt.gov.au/driving/public-transport-cycling/school-bus-darwin/st-johns-college The drop off point and pick up point is located at the bus turn around area at the far end of the Hartzer oval. Students are required to comply with the Department of Transport’s Code of Conduct for School Bus Travel. A copy of the code can be located at: https://nt.gov.au/driving/public-transport-cycling/school-bus-darwin

Ayesha Fatima

Assistant Principal - Administration

Ayesha.Fatima@nt.catholic.edu.au

Director of Boarding

To our St. John’s community,

As we move toward the end of term, our Year 12 students have nearly completed their school work and are getting close to graduation day. An exciting time for all.

We are also conducting a number of orientations for new students for 2024 at the moment and we have a positive number of young students looking to come into the College next year. Our Enrolment Officer Harvey Jupp is working hard to manage all of the incoming enrolments and coordinating their orientations before the end of the year.

Football season is back in full swing and we have a large group of male and female students engaged
in the NTFL competition for various suburban clubs. Boarding staff are very busy each week running
students around to training during the week and games across the weekend. Two of our senior
student’s area playing Premier League with Darwin Buffaloes and doing well with the Buffs
undefeated so far this year.

During the last holidays, Lazarus Oxtoby travelled to Brisbane as part of the Indigenous Basketball
Australia national championships. Lazarus represented the Northern Territory team and played well.
The team fought hard against the bigger states and had a great week in Brisbane, including meeting
Australian basketballer Patty Mills along the way.

We look forward to the celebrations coming up for our senior boarding students, to enjoy the fruits
of their hard work over the years and celebrate with them and their proud families.

Kind regards

Scott Mannion

Director of Boarding

Indigenous Basketball

Finance Manager

Dear College Community,

Welcome to Term 4.

I wish to thank all families who made their fee payments on time or who have set up a direct debit arrangement. I would like to request families who still have outstanding fees to ensure fees are paid in full before the end of the year.

Paying school fees is a crucial part of supporting students and maintaining the high standards of education that we provide. We rely on your timely payments to cover the cost of our programmes and services, and to ensure we continue to offer these services. To facilitate the payment process, we offer several convenient payment options including weekly / fortnightly direct debits, online payments, credit card payments and in-person payments at our finance office. If you have any questions about the payment options available to you, please do not hesitate to contact our finance team.

The finance team is committed to providing seamless support services to the College to ensure the best possible education outcomes for our students.

Ruth Suriyagoda CA, CPA, FCA (SL)

Finance Manager

Inclusion Support

Thank you to all the families who have been working closely with us this year.

We have some Educational Adjustment Plans coming home, please ensure you sign this and return it to the college for our records. If you would like a face-to-face meeting please email me at shinead.love@nt.catholic.edu.au to arrange a time to discuss Educational Adjustment Plans or any inclusion support needs.

Attached are links that may be of interest:

Autism NT https://www.autismnt.org.au/aboutPositive Partnerships:https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au/

Shinead Love

ACARA Co-ordinator - STEAM

In Semester 2, the Business Innovations students partnered up with Young Change Agents (YCA) & Digitally Buzzed (a team of Digital Ninjas who have been the pioneers for digital solutions over the past 13 years). The students were presented with the following design challenges:

Work Readiness: How might we prepare young people for real-world digital jobs?
Supporting Elders: How might we provide better tech support to parents and other older people in our community?

Working Remotely: How might we support our team to feel connected and supported when working remotely?

From developing a life-simulation virtual workspace to designing an interactive, internet bot solution, the students have surpassed the expectations of the industry partners who would now take these design ideas to their strategic & creative teams for development.

Since last year, Stage 1 Business Innovations students have been part of a pilot study for YCA’s Industry Intrapreneurship program, which is designed for young people to experience solving real-world problems for companies across different industries. This is the second time the students have engaged with local and Australia-wide industry partners and used design thinking processes to develop, validate and prototype solutions. A case study video is in the works and will soon be shared by YCA.

Please congratulate Luca, Finn, Alex, Joshua, Hayden & Ethan if you see them around the campus!

TIMSS

TIMSS is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and has monitored trends in mathematics and science achievement at Year 4 and Year 8 every four years.
Our school's Year 8 cohort has been selected to participate in this study this year. The dates are as follows:

Tuesday, 21 November (from 8:45 am): 8.1 classWednesday 22 November (from 8:45 am): 8.2 class
The information brochure has been attached for your reference and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at hasan.talukder@nt.catholic.edu.au

Hasan Tulukder