Issue 16 Term 4 2012.pub - Caroline Chisholm College

YEAR 11 RETREAT 2012CAROLINE CHISHOLMCOLLEGEYear 11 Retreat 2012On the 8th October half of the Year 11 cohort presented themselves at school at 8.00amwith bags packed, ready for a three day retreat at Winbourne in Mulgoa. We were readyfor a time filled with harmony, relaxation and the opportunity to reflect on our past andlook towards our future. By Wednesday the rest of the cohort arrived at Winbournebefore the first group made their way home.Throughout the first day of the retreat, students participated in activities that enabled usto gain a knowledge of the type of person we are as well as those immediately aroundus, in order to gain an understanding of how to deal with particular situations in our lives. This included discovering whatkind of personality we have, these fun exercises made it easier for students to mingle amongst others, conveying theirideas and opinions on particular topics of interest as well as breaking down barriersthat may have been formed within friendship groups throughout earlier years ofadolescence. Therefore, these 'ice-breaker' games allowed students to freelyparticipate in discussions with pupils they may not normally associate with at school.Thus, promoting the idea of equality and acceptance amongst students.After much anticipation our Year 12 Senior Jackets finally arrived. They lookedgreat! The excitement that these jackets brought was clear as they were worn by thecohort for the majority of the three days.We spoke about a number of ways in which we are able to live out God and his teachings both during our HSC studies andafter we leave school. This allowed us to reflect on how much God has helped us to date and how much we have to lookforward to in the future. Through these sessions it allowed us to recognise that we are the hands and feet of God. We alsowatched a heartfelt story about Turia Pitt who is an Australian woman who was trapped in a raging bushfire whilstcompeting in an outback marathon in September 2011. She suffered burns to over 60% of her body. This story did notonly outline of how strong and positive Turia was but to also help us to understand that beauty is on the inside not just theoutside. The beauty of being alive is the best of them all.Bright and early on our second day we were able to participate in a range of activities such as making candles, dreamcatchers, yoga, possum homes, and some light exercise as was described by Ms Connolly but was not the actual activitycarried out by Mrs Alfar!. These activities allowed us to mix with people outside our friendship groups so we were able tolearn more about our peers.With all the planned activities we needed time to reflect and meditate. The meditatingallowed us to have a strong connection with our inner selves. Some reflection activitieswe were involved in included the colouring of mandalas. There is some beautifulsurroundings at Winbourne so we used it to our advantage in free time and ventured outto explore what we had to offer within ourselves with the support of our peers.Participating in self motivated activities such as hide and seek.In the night session of our last night at Winbourne, students participated in various activities that strengthened our beliefand trust in God’s grace in assisting with the transition from our past hurts to a more positive state of mind through thesacrament of reconciliation. Activities included, praying the rosary, writing special intentions, reading stories aboutforgiveness and compassion and identifying our wrongs and identifying our need to put them right.After this opportunity we celebrated mass that was completely organised by the studentswith the direction of the student leaders. As Year 11 had been split up into two groups forretreat, so were our 15 SRC leaders with 8 leaders in Group A and 7 leaders in the secondgroup. However, in each group all leaders were assigned a specific part of the night mass toprepare and organise. For example the seven main parts of the mass were: music, thewelcoming, readings, prayers of the faithful, offertory and sacred space set up. So, eachleader was given a part of the mass to organise. Once assigned, students were to choosewhich part of the mass they wanted to help organise and present. As a part of this processleaders were to develop a theme, in both groups the theme of the retreat as a whole was the basis of both themes, with thefirst group's theme being "The beauty of God's creation" and group B's theme being, "Our gifts give light to the future".

YEAR 11 RETREAT /GALLIPOLI MOSQUE ANDFILM STUDY DAYCAROLINE CHISHOLMCOLLEGEBoth these themes displayed the importance of appreciating what you have and how to use thatas a powerful weapon to benefit not only those around you but yourself. This was a greatsuccess in both groups with the presence of Fr Robert of our Padre Pio Parish, Fr Wym ofCranebrook and Fr Joe for assisting with the mass and the act of reconciliation.After creating gift boxes earlier in the retreat that represented our individual beliefs of beautybased on quotes by Sophia Loren and Scripture passages, we received the opportunity to writeaffirmations for each of our fellow classmates. On these affirmations kind words were writtenabout each of us and it gave us the chance for us to tell each other what we valued most aboutthem. As well as creating the gift boxes we also designed our own photo frame to hold a photo of our Year 12 2013 class.On behalf of the Year 11 community, we'd like to express our gratitude and appreciation for the presence and support ofthe wonderful staff at Winbourne. Throughout the 3 days we ate more than we ever had in our lives. Five times a day tobe exact as we received big meals to keep our tummies full for the duration of all the activities we took part in.We would also like to say a big THANK YOU to all the teachers who helped make our experience the most beautiful time.There was so many areas that we have grown as a community it is hard to put into words but the staff that were with ushave assisted us as a community to strengthen our faith and use that to apply it to our lives. And for this we will be forevergrateful. We hope to model the behaviour you have taught us by giving your time away from your loved ones to be with uswith the rest of our college community when we return to our HSC studies.Written by Madelaine Caruana, Sami Joshi, Rhyannan Foster and Anna SetiuGallipoli MosqueLast week Year 12 2013 were fortunate to attend an excursion to the AuburnGallipoli Mosque. This was a great learning experience as we have been studyingthe religious beliefs and practices of Islam in Studies of Religion.The Gallipoli Mosque is a magnificent building, which is elaborately decoratedwith patterns and words that come directly from the Holy Qur’an. Out of respect weremoved our shoes and some girls wore the long skirts that were provided.Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and explained and demonstrated the prayer services that adherents of Islamparticipate in. We were able to see for ourselves how committed and faithful Muslims are to God. The guide was veryhappy to share their own experiences as a Muslim and answer any questions we had.This excursion to the Gallipoli Mosque was a great way to enhance our knowledge of the Islamic religious tradition.Written by Carly TebuttFilm Study DayAt Caroline Chisholm College, it is an annual tradition for Australian director and international speaker, Lynda Heyes, topresent a workshop to Year 11 students approaching their final year of schooling about film making, understanding the artand what dares film makers to continue to share their passion for their craft. It is a great benefit to the students to haveLynda explain the components of film as it is a predominant feature of the HSC course and, with Heyes being a partner inthe Australian production company, Faraway Films, it is certainly advantageous. With Lynda Heyes living in the filmingcapital of the world, Los Angeles, she undoubtedly provided the students with great insight into production design, castingand even colour palettes through the use of films such as Legally Blonde, Samson and Delilah and even a real-lifedemonstration with one of the girls being made to wear a Shrek mask to show how elements of a character are graduallyunveiled throughout the course of a film. Year 11 was split into two different groups and the presentation was conductedon both Monday and Friday so the students were able to have a great level of concentration on the insightful informationbeing relayed to them. Lynda also made special mention of a film she co-wrote, produced and directed called ‘TacklingRomeo’ which has already been released in Australia, with an American production company re-releasing the film with anew cast in the near future. The two days were beneficial ones that allowed for students to have a brand new outlook onhow they view a film, along with vocabulary and perspectives that they can now carry over to the study of various filmsfor their HSC year.Written by Ashleigh Williams

LANGUAGE PERFECTCOMPETITIONCAROLINE CHISHOLMCOLLEGECaroline Chisholm College Language Perfect CompetitionFrom the end of Week 9, Term 3 through the September school holidays, we ran the inaugural Caroline Chisholm CollegeLanguage Perfect competition for all students of Japanese. The competition involved using the Language Perfect websiteto learn and memorise Japanese words and phrases. There was a great level of participation and the Japanese teachers havehanded our prizes of Origami sets, fans, CD s, lollies and Japanese knick-knacks, as well as many, many merits to thefollowing students:Caroline Chisholm College Champion: Ashleigh Whitbread, 7 Macarthur, 2448 pointsSecond place:Sian Johnson, 7 Jackson, 2252 pointsThird place:Lily Popovich, 7 Mackillop, 2142 points7 Kenny Winner: Chloe Douglass, 1611 points7 Wright Winner: Emily Perring, 101 points7 MacKillop Second place: Sophie Douglas-Torrie, 1418 points7 Jackson Second place: Sierra Vail, 1194 points7 Macarthur Second place: Mikaylee Dawson, 724 points7 Kenny Second place: Keeley McCahon, 216 pointsYear 8 Winner:Year 8 Second place:Year 9 Winner:Year 9 Second place:Sarah Glynn, 533 pointsKirsten Pennings 129 pointsGabrielle Isaaks, 1312 pointsShae McLaughlin, 830 pointsCongratulations to all participants!Mrs Wendy Merriman - Leader of Learning - LOTE

WORLD YOUTH DAY 2013 /CYBERSMART FOR PARENTSCAROLINE CHISHOLMCOLLEGEPreparation for World Youth Day 2013On the 8th October, a group of students in Year 10 gathered with Ms Balite and Ms Kent to prepare for World YouthDay in Rio, 2013.The meeting began with a prayer and reflection, where we read 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, a passage about the gifts that wehave been given from God and how we can use them to unite others. Many of the girls shared their thoughts and feelingsabout the scripture and what it meant to them. As a group we came to the understanding that the scripture was primarilyabout using our faith to strive for peace and unity in our world, not only among not only Catholics, but all of mankind.After we reflected on the scripture we then brainstormed fundraising ideas in order to raise money for the pilgrimsattending World Youth Day in Rio, 2013. We decided that throughout the term we will hopefully raise money by holdinga Christmas themed mufti day, two cake stalls, creating a donations box and finally creating a play centered on scriptureteachings. We are all very excited and are preparing for our first cake stall on Thursday the 18th October in Week 2. Wewould like to thank everyone for their support so far and we can not wait until our next meeting.Written by Bernadette Fam and Meghan Warda (Year 10)Cybersmart for ParentsYoung people today are immersed in digital technologies. They use the Internet and mobile phones to socialise, study,exchange ideas and play. While online activity has many benefits, there are also risks.To help your children stay safe online, Caroline Chisholm is hosting a Cybersmart Outreach—Internet Safety Awarenesspresentation. Designed for parents, teachers and students, this presentation is provided by the Australian Communicationsand Media Authority (ACMA) as part of a national program of cybersmart initiatives.The Cybersmart Outreach—Internet Safety Awareness presentation is thorough and non-technical. It covers a range ofissues including:• the ways children use the internet and emerging technologies• potential risks for children online, such as cyberbullying, identity theft, inappropriate contact and exposure toinappropriate content• tips to help children stay safe online.This year, there will be three presentations, for students, staff and parents – all on Tuesday 6 th November as follows:Session 1: Student presentation Years 7/8 in Period 5Session 2: Student presentation Years 8/9 in Period 6Session 3: Staff presentation from 3.00pmSession 4: Parent presentation from 7.00pm (in the LIBRARY)All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend the evening session. If interested, please indicate your attendance byemailing the Principal’s Secretary, Robyn Wilson (carolinechisholm@parra.catholic.edu.au).Mr Michael Stevenson

RECENT SCHOOL EVENTSCAROLINE CHISHOLMCOLLEGERecent School EventsAs our students participate in activities, we are updating the College website.Our students have participated in the following recent events, which can be viewed on our website. Please click on thehyperlink to view the article in full.Physics Extension Excursion for Year 9 ScienceTwenty students from Year 9 attended this excursion on Friday, September 14 th which addressedthe connections between physics and other sciences and medicine. The event was held at UWSCampbelltown campus.http://www.cccglenmorepark.catholic.edu.au/news---events/latest-news/latest-news.aspx/physicsextension-excursion-.aspxWorld Youth Day 2013It’s hard to believe that thirteen months ago Madeline Arnold, Jessica Hocking and I spent anincredible two weeks in the Holy Lands and celebrated World Youth Day in Madrid.http://www.cccglenmorepark.catholic.edu.au/news---events/latest-news/latest-news.aspx/worldyouth-day-2013-1.aspx

NOTICESDIARY DATESCAROLINE CHISHOLMCOLLEGEYear 7 Items, Year 8 Items, Year 9 Items, Year 10 Items, Year 11Items and Year 12 Items, Whole School ItemsMonday 15Monday 22Tuesday 23Friday 26Monday 29Thursday 1DIARY DATESHSC Examinations commenceStaff Development DayYear AssembliesYear 10 Drama Joan Sutherland ExcursionDance Showcase - 7.00 pm St Dominic’sYear 9 Examinations commenceAll Saints LiturgyUniform ShopJust a reminder current Year 9 Studentswill be moving into Senior uniform in2013.Orders are now being taken.Any enquiries please contact Karen Chester on4737 5522. Tuesday 8.00-10.30 am and Thursday2.00-3.30 pm.