20 Years of being ‘Enlivened by the Spirit’

Anzac Road Menai NSW 2234 Phone 9543 0188 Facsimile 9541 0398 admin@aquinasmenai.catholic.edu.au www.aquinasmenai.catholic.edu.au

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

AQUINAS CATHOLIC COLLEGE MENAI

26th November, 2012 Vol.19.No.31

Week 7 saw our only College Assembly for the term and it was a great celebration of student achievement to this point in the term. Some of the students who were featured are as follows;

Short Story Writers Meg Kelly Isabella Katzakis Anna Ciacchi Emily Vincent

Jazz Ensemble [l to r] Andre Sauzier Anthony Testa Vincent Holdem Shivneel Sharma Liam Gould Georgina Skinner

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Year 7 Inaugural Principal Award Winners

Whilst we were in the John Paul II Hall, Peter Boskovski [Year 10] was representing Australia in the 11th Shotokan Karate International Federation Championships held at Homebush Sports Centre. Peter made the 3rd round of Kata [Technique] where he was knocked out by the eventual World Champion from Venezuela and suffered the same fate in Kumite [Bout] where he was also knocked out by the eventual World Champion from Japan. Peter received his black belt and was awarded it by the Head of the Shotokan Karate style, Sensei Nobuaki Kanazawa from Japan. Well done Peter!

Benjamin Brown Tayla Preston Kealy Smyth Laura Bonnici Nicholas Capovilla

Rebecca Dooley Shannon Harris Matthew Mulligan Amelia Somerfield Max Stephens

Tia Tudehope Ralph Coloma Ewan Dwyer Tayla Ioannou Jeremy Iskandar

Coby Sola Jessica Arfanis Lachlan Bowmer Abby Catalano Sinead Daly

Stephanie Demetriou Victoria Efstathiou Samantha Gonzalez Renee Gritter Kiara Heyward

Mikayla Jee James Roumanos Isabella Wijesekera Olivia Clark

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FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Key Dates Week 8(B) Term 4

Robert Nastasi Assistant Principal

Monday 26th November Year 9 Visual Arts excursion to Hazelhurst

Tuesday 27th November Year 7 “Enough is Enough” program

Wednesday 28th November

Thursday 29th November Year 9 & 10 Drama night-7pm

Friday 30th November Year 9 Evangelisation day

Sport

Elective Drama Night 2012

When : Thursday, 29th November, 2012 What time : 7:00pm Where : Drama Room

Entry is FREE!!

Throughout the year the 2 classes have studied various topics in Drama, from clowning to Shakespeare. Come along and support the Year 9 and 10 elective Drama students of 2012. Students will perform some of their individual and group devised pieces. Expect lots of laughs and sheer entertainment.

Any enquiries, contact Mrs McNamara

Pleasing Year 8 Religious Education Test Results have arrived at the College following the external test held in May. Some 68 Credits, 40 Distinctions & 10 High Distinctions were gained by our Year 8s, with 73% students at Aquinas performing at a credit level or better. Thank you to the Year 8 RE team and Mrs Nolan for preparing our students for this test. Whilst the results are important the exercise is also a useful diagnostic Tool to assess the learning and teaching programs and will inform programming for both Years 8 and 9, 2013. During last week we also were delighted to hear the news that Mrs Bree Wells and her husband Ryan became parents for the first time with the birth of Whitney Abbey Wells on the 21st November. Congratulations!! Please keep the Bryant and Dragisic families in your prayers as Ciara and Olivia’s [Year 8] and Briana’s [Year 10]grandfathers recently passed away.

May they rest in peace and let perpetual light shine upon them. James Corcoran Principal

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Religious Education at Aquinas

Year 8 RE Test

In the first week of this term Year 8 students sat the Year 8 Religious Education Test. This test comprised of 50 multiple choice questions from the units that they have studied in Year 7 and 8 Religious Education. This year, our College received 10 High Distinctions, 40 Distinctions and 68 Credits on this test. Congratulations to all of these students! Students will receive their individual results with their Yearly reports. Year 7 students are reminded to keep their work from this year organised, in preparation for their 8 RE test next year.

Eucharistic Ministry Training

Last week a number of Year 11 students and staff undertook training with Fr Phil to become Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. They will be commissioned in this important ministry at our final College mass on December 7th. Years 7-10 ’20 point’ Assessment Tasks Evaluation

Year 7-10 students have participated in ’20 point’ assessment tasks in Religious Education this year. This has given students the opportunity to complete a variety of 4, 8 and 12 point tasks, adding up to a total of 20 points per assessment task. The Religious Education department is currently evaluating this style of assessment. Parents and students are encouraged to participate in this evaluation process by completing the surveys at the websites below.

Parent ’20 point’ assessment task evaluation: http://tinyurl.com/parent20pointsurvey

Student ’20 point’ assessment task evaluation: http://tinyurl.com/student20pointsurvey Thank you to the students and parents who have already responded. The survey will remain open until the end of this week. Mrs Catherine Nolan Acting Religious Education Coordinator

Reflection on the Gospel

Sunday (25th November) was the solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. In Sunday’s Gospel (John 18:33-37) Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus replied ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of the truth listen to my voice.’ Until His trial, Jesus refused to be identified as a king. The royal messianic expectations that prevailed during His lifetime were predominantly political. When he finally did acknowledge His royal identity, he insisted that His rule was not like that of other kings. Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace. He is the one who loves us so much that He handed Himself over to suffering and death, so that we might live.

Adapted from a reflection by Dianne Bergant

Did you know?

This is the last week of the Church’s liturgical year. The new liturgical year begins with the First Sunday of Advent on

December 2nd. 

‘Practical Idea

Take time to look at the news stories and events around you each day with the 'eyes of faith'. Ask,

'What would God see?'

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Year 12 2013 A reminder that registrations for Discovery Day at the University of Wollongong close on 30th November. Discovery Day is a valuable experience for you to learn what it is like to be a uni student, to get to know the University of Wollongong, and also to learn a bit more about subject areas which interest you. If you have not registered at www.discoveryday.uow.edu.au by 30th Nov, you will not be able to attend, regardless of whether you have returned a permission note or not. There are still vacancies, and I would hate for you to miss out, so please get those registrations and permission notes in.

Lisa Higgins Careers Advisor (Tuesday, Wednesday and every second Thursday)

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CANTEEN ROSTER TERM 4

TIME: MONDAY-THURSDAY 10:00-1:30, FRIDAY 10:00-12:30

MONDAY 26/11 KIM GLENIE, ANGELIQUE ANDREW

TUESDAY 27/11 CAROLYN COONEY

WEDNESDAY 28/11 JACKIE TORO, CLAUDIA ISAACS

THURSDAY 29/11 SALLY DONOVAN

FRIDAY 30/11 ANN-MARIE WALKER, CATHY CARUCCIO, KYLIE DUGGAN, LOUISE PERRAU

JANENE POPULIN

MONDAY 3/12 TANIA WILDER, ANGELIQUE ANDREW

TUESDAY 4/12 KERRIE HARRINGTON

WEDNESDAY 5/12 TRISH BENSON, LIBBY YIP

THURSDAY 6/12 DEBORAH SCULLION, FIONA EDGAR

FRIDAY 7/12 LIZ GARCORZ, CAROLYN BARLOW, JACQUI HARGREAVES

UNIFORM SHOP

THURSDAY 29 NOVEMBER 8:00am—10:00am

Please note the Uniform Shop only sells Sports Uniforms and School bags

The Uniform Shop does not accept Eftpos or Credit cards

College caps and sports socks can be purchased from the

College Office

Answers:

MATHS CHALLENGE

Maths Department

1. 8 - x

2. -40

3.

4. m = 1/2

5. False 3 > 2 but reciprocals change direction of inequality 1/3 < 1/2

2

1

4

1

5

1sin

2

1,

4

1,

5

1ce

AL MARTINO’S

CASUAL WORK AVAILABLE

JUNIOR PIZZA COOK ASSISTANT

Required for Al Martino’s Italian Restaurant in Illawong.

2 nights per week

Contact Robert on 0439 735 810

Maths Recall is included in the newsletter each week and is designed for Stage 4 and 5 or junior students. The questions may focus on Working Mathematically problems and all are intended to be done without a calculator. 1. Simplify x less than 8

2. Simplify –5 x 8

3. Write in ascending order

4. Solve 25/m = 50

5. True or false 3 > 2 1/3 > 1/2

Mrs Catherine Fensom Maths Teacher

MATHS DEPARTMENT RECALL CORNER

5

1,

2

1,

4

1