E-News 29 November 2022

Welcome to Week 8

Celebrating 2022

As the year draws to a close with our students set to finish next week, we reflect on what has been a busy, rewarding, and exciting year for our newly amalgamated K-12 College.

In bringing two flourishing school communities together this year, our focus has been to “remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.” (Pope John Paul II).

We celebrate what we have achieved this year in embedding an exciting new vision where we strive to be ‘Outstanding for Others’. We have aimed to live out our Mission daily through supporting the personalised needs of all within our community in acknowledgement of their uniqueness and individuality. We have looked to our College Values of Courage, Compassion and Commitments to guide all of our actions and deeds.

As we continue to shape our story together through open conversation, alignment of ideas and a clear direction forward, we are excited at the very prosperous future of this excellent College. I am very grateful to families, staff and students for their openness and input this year and look forward to their continued contribution and support into the future.

The Story Continues

Earlier this term we farewelled our Graduating Class of 2022. They were excellent leaders and role models for our community and demonstrated the benefits of fully immersing themselves in the life of the school. We recognise the contagious joy that they brought to the school and their deep support for those around them.

As one group departs, another joins us as our Av�԰� story continues. We were thrilled last week to welcome our 2023 Year 7 cohort to the College as part of their orientation program to support their transition to the school next year. We acknowledge Head of Year 7 Mr Stephen Kingwell and Deputy Principal Middle School Mr Patrick Woolley along with Homeroom teachers and a plethora of teaching and non-teaching staff for their efforts in ensuring the success of the day.

We also acknowledge our outstanding student leaders for their commitment and passion in supporting the new student transition process. These students demonstrated great pride in their school and a desire to reach out and serve those around them. We thank them for their generous contribution in continuing to positively shape our excellent school culture.

Av�԰� Christi draws from a broad range of different local primary schools and so the focus of the program was to instil a genuine sense of belonging in our students. We welcome them with open arms to our College and want them to feel very comfortable in their new environment, to make new friends and, like our graduating Class of 2022, to fully involve themselves in the life of the school. We are most definitely a school of opportunity and want to develop a sense of confidence in all of our students, which encourages them to step outside of their comfort zone to discover new learnings and grow as whole persons.

As a community that promotes quality relationships and engagement, we were pleased to welcome families with students commencing in Kindergarten and Year 7 to our Parent Information Evenings held last week. We thank parents and caregivers for their attendance and for the rich conversations around setting their students up for success next year. We are excited at the prospect of our new students joining us next year in kindergarten and look forward to supporting their learning and development as they progress through the College.

Advent

At this time of year, of course, our focus also shifts toward Christmas and the birth of Christ. In celebrating the beginning of the new liturgical year and the commencement of Advent last Sunday, we begin to prepare ourselves for Christmas through bringing joy and hope to those around us.

We have a key focus on making Jesus real in our school through reaching out and supporting one another. I was privileged to see students being recognised for these acts of courage and service at our most recent Junior School assembly. These students remind us of the importance of treating others with dignity, respect and care, just as Jesus did.

In lieu of a formal Christmas event in this busy time of the year, we’ve made the decision to incorporate the performances of our students into some of our upcoming events and assemblies.

We look forward to celebrating with families in our many events over the next couple of weeks.

**Advent Calendars**
Our Year 4 and 8 students buddied up to create the above advent calendars as part of of a cross-campus Ministry and Religious Education activity.

Thank You

In this our first year as an amalgamated K-12 Catholic College, we acknowledge the support of our very dedicated staff, students, families and Parish communities.

We have appreciated the outstanding support of the St Thomas More Parish community this year, especially Fr Phong Nguyen, Fr Simeon San, Deacon Bruce Talbot and more recently Fr Anthony Vu. We thank them for their contribution to the faith and sacramental life of our students and for their gentle presence and guidance.

We thank our parents and caregivers for their genuine engagement in the life of the school and their willingness to partner with us to support the holistic development of their children. A special acknowledgement to those parents involved in Friends of Av�԰� – we have greatly appreciated your passion and enthusiasm.

I would also like to make special mention of the considerable efforts of the College’s Transition Advisory Council this year. The Council has provided invaluable advice and support to the College in ensuring the success of our ongoing strategic planning.

Finally, I acknowledge our dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff who consistently put the needs of our students at the very centre. For their planning, their continued innovation and their desire to positively shape the lives of all our students, we thank them. We wish those staff departing our community at the end of the year all of the very best and thank them wholeheartedly for their contribution to our College.

May the blessings and joy of Christ’s birth be with you and your family this Christmas. I hope that you take the opportunity to spend some quality time together over the break.

Jeff Allen
Principal

News (all years)

Enrolments and Withdrawing Update

Kindergarten 2025 – Apply now

If you have a child born between 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021, please apply now for 4 Year Old Kindergarten commencing in 2025.

While we will not be interviewing for this cohort until a few years’ time, to avoid missing out on a place, applications are encouraged well in advance as places are limited. You can apply online, here:

Year 7 2025 – Sibling Applications

If your child is currently in Year 4 and is not already attending Av�԰� Christi College Primary and you have not submitted an application, we encourage you to apply for Year 7 2025 as soon as possible.

To be eligible for enrolment, all applicants must have submitted an application per child. If you are yet to do so, please apply online:

Year 7 2024 and 2025 - Current Av�԰� Christi College students

Av�԰� Christi College from 1 January 2022 is a K-12 College and is delighted to be able to offer the continuation of learning from Primary through to Secondary School.

As we are now experiencing a waitlist for the Year 7 2024 and Year 7 2025 cohort, we require confirm from our current Year 4 and 5 families if their child's enrolment will continue on to the Secondary School for Year 7 2024 or 2025.

Please complete the Year 7 Destination survey via the link below to assist us with our future planning to advise whether you will remain at the College or will be enrolling at another school:

For noting - you are not required to apply for Year 7 2024/2025 if you intend for your child to remain a student at Av�԰� Christi College.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Av�԰� Christi College Enrolments Team: or 6332 2500.

Withdrawing from the College Information

A reminder to parents, if you are withdrawing your child from the College you are required to give a Term's notice in writing. Failure to give adequate notice will result in a Term's fees being charged as per the terms and conditions of enrolment.

To notify of your intent to withdraw, please submit the online form available here: www.corpus.wa.edu.au/withdraw

Term 4 Concludes

Please take note of the Term 4 finish dates, which vary for each year group:

Year 11: Friday 2 December 2022
Year 10: Monday 5 December 2022
Kindergarten: Wednesday 7 December 2022
Pre-Kindergarten: Thursday 8 December 2022
Pre-Primary - Year 9: Friday 9 December 2022

We hope everyone has an enjoyable last few weeks of term!

Uniform Shop Update

Primary Uniform

Parents and caregivers will have received an update on 27 October 2022 from Principal Jeff Allen addressing changes to the Primary Uniform. This letter can be read here.

To purchase the interim Primary uniform or the discounted Yidarra uniform, please visit: and follow the prompts.

Secondary Uniform Shop Holiday Hours

The Secondary Uniform Shop will be closed from Friday 9 December 2022, re-opening Wednesday 25 January 2023 from 9.00am - 3.30pm (no appointments necessary).
The last date for Flexischool ordering is Thursday 8 December 2022 at 12.00 pm with pick-up available on Friday 9 December 2022.
The last day for dropping off pre-loved Secondary Summer uniforms is Wednesday 30 November 2022.

2023 Booklists

In the E-News of 30 August 2022, the College communicated a change in book list provider for 2023. There was an accompanying welcome letter from the provider, Box of Books, with further information for parents.

Effective from 2023, digital textbooks and interactive resources will be provided to students by the College and a separate levy will be charged through the school fees. Parents will notice certain digital resource items appearing in the online booklist which are not available for purchase. This is because the College is purchasing these for each student and will levy parents/caregivers for the cost of these mandatory resources through the school fee billing.

The benefits of this change for our parents and students include:

Enable continuous learning for students who will be provided uninterrupted access to digital learning resources.
Reduced troubleshooting and reported issues with subscriptions and access due to resources not being purchased.
Achieve cost savings for families as resources have been purchased in bulk, at heavily reduced rates.
Flexibility to pay off the booklist levy items with regular College fees, in instalments on a payment plan.

Please visit the link below to access the parent information letter and booklists:

www.corpus.wa.edu.au/booklists

To ensure delivery of all available physical items for the start of the academic year, please order by Friday 9 December 2022.

Events

The latest events can also be found by visiting: www.corpus.wa.edu.au/events

ACM Reminder

We remind families of our upcoming College Annual Community Meeting (ACM), as mentioned in the Principal’s Address in the 1 November 2022 E-News. This is scheduled for this evening – Tuesday 29 November 2022 at 6.00pm in the Secondary Library. All are encouraged to attend.

Year 9 Social

Year 9 students are invited to join us for the Year 9 Social!

The evening is a chance for our Year 9 students to come together and celebrate the past year.

Thursday 1 December 2022
4.00pm - 5.30pm
Av�԰� Christi College, grassy bank outside Library

Please refer to the information sent from Head of Year 9 Mark Barron on Monday 28 November 2022 for final details of this event.

Year 10 River Cruise

Year 10 students are invited aboard for the Year 10 River Cruise!

The event takes place on Monday 5 December 2022 from 6.00pm - 9.00pm, with a 5.45pm boarding time.

Departing/returning to Barrack Street Jetty, Perth.

Tickets are $50 per person, which includes Cruise, DJ, Pizza, Unlimited Soft Drink and Photo Booth.

RSVPs have now closed. For any enquiries, please contact Head of Year 10 Lee-Anne Marroccoli.

Year 6 Celebration Evening

We warmly invite our Year 6 families to join us for the Year 6 Celebration Evening on Wednesday 7 December 2022.

The event will be hosted in the Av�԰� Christi College Caroline Payne Theatre at 6.00pm, with doors opening at 5.30pm.

Following the celebration, a light supper will be provided by Year 5 parents in the College Hall (next door to the theatre), with the event finishing by 8.15pm.

Tickets

Tickets are limited to 5 per family.

Please do not book a ticket for your Year 6 child.

This is also accessible via the College events page.

For any enquiries, please contact your Year 6 teacher or Primary leadership staff.

Year 12 Ball

We are pleased to formally invite our Class of 2023 to the Year 12 Ball.

Friday 27 January 2023
6.30pm - 11.00pm
The Westin

We hope our Class of 2023 is excited for what promises to be a great night and a fantastic way for our Year 12 students to commence the school year.

Tickets

RSVP by Monday 5 December 2022 via the link below:

This is also accessible via the College events page.

For any enquiries, please contact Head of Year 12 James Ramsey.

Primary Library Update

A reminder all books are due back to the library now.

Please check that home readers and library books have been returned.

A huge thank you to our Scholastic Book Club Co-Ordinator, Mrs Rebekah Ernst, who will step down from her role after many years.

Our library receives approximately $1,200 of free resources from Book Club and we are grateful for her help, enthusiasm and hard work over the years.

Mrs Catherine Munro
Library Technician

2023 Years 1 – 5 Netball Opportunity

We are pleased to share that there will be the opportunity for students to participate in Netball for Years 1 – 5 next year.

Expression of Interest Sign-Ups will be made available as part of the K-12 Groups and Clubs release for Term 1 2023.

Pre-season training will occur in mid-term 1 with the season commencing in Term 2.

Year 1 will be a 10-week skills program run after school in Term 2.

For Years 2-5, students will be able to participate in the Saturday Winter competition at Fremantle Netball Association.

More details will be made available in due course.

Year 6 2023 Polos

We are now taking orders for the 2023 Year 6 Polos.

Sample sizes to try on are available in the Primary Reception.

Please make payment prior to Friday 9 December 2022 via the below link:

Middle School (Years 7-9)

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award - Year 9 2023

Registration for the Duke of Ed Bronze Award are now open for students who will be in Year 9 in 2023!

Students who decide to take on the challenge of the Bronze Award will experience many new opportunities in the areas of Skill, Physical Recreation and Voluntary Service, as well as undertaking two 'Adventurous Journeys' with their peers.

For further details and to apply, please visit:

Senior School (Years 10-12)

Year 11 Guest Speaker

On Wednesday the 23 November 2022, Year 11 General Religion were lucky enough to have a guest speaker visit.

Catherine Kolomyjec spoke with students about the importance of compassion and wellbeing. The session was interactive and engaging, involving the whole class in discussions about dealing with wellbeing and stresses as their Year 12 journey commences. Catherine offered strategies to use when feeling overwhelmed. It was a rewarding experience for everyone involved.

The following day students reviewed the session; what they learnt and what they enjoyed. Thank you to those students who shared their thoughts below:

"It was good to hear about how many benefits showing and receiving compassion can have, and how this can affect so many aspects of our lives." Alicia

"I enjoyed the random acts of kindness part of the session and I also liked how everyone was involved in the discussions." 11 General Student

"I thought the talk was pretty good, we learned about our brains and how we can do certain things to turn negative situations into positive situations by taking a step back and just relaxing. Overall, I thought the talk was insightful and it was pretty enjoyable." Liam

2023 Leavers Jackets

Year 12 parents and caregivers will have received a communication from head of Year 12 James Ramsey last week regarding orders for the 2023 Year 12 Leavers Jackets.

Please make payment prior to Monday 5 December 2022, via the online booking form:

For further information, including when students are permitted to wear the jackets and any queries, please refer to Mr Ramsey’s communication.

2022 has been a positive one where students have continued to be involved in Faith in Action activities in each year.

We have seen the Senior Students involved in the Vinnies Sleep Out, card making and cooking for St Patricks, Fidget Blankets for Seniors with Dementia.

Our Middle School students were involved in the Vinnies Winter Appeal, Selfless September and more recently cooking for St Patricks. Each student has donated to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal, to which we are very thankful for, we once again have an abundant of donations to be given to families in need in our community.

Some of our Year 10 students have helped at the Kardinya Toy Library with stocktake, and we were provided with the following feedback from one of the organisers:

“I just want to say thank you to you for organising the students to come and help us. They did a wonderful job at cleaning and checking our toys. Please relay our gratitude to them. We really appreciate all the help!”

Cooking for St Pats

Thank you to our Middle School students who took up the challenge to cook each Thursday for St Pats:
Maya Kloosterman, Shae Asker, Christopher Xanthis, Jayden Kutty, Charlotte Grace, Audrey B, Freya Irving, Tilly Bonneville.

We also thank our Year 6s who came onto the Secondary campus and cooked each week:
Isaac Lee, Aldrik Gunawan, Fyfe De Pinto, Jordi Shroy, Arthur Anggakesumah and Ryan Francis.

Thank you also to their parents for supporting the students and instilling the idea of showing compassion to others in need.

Prayer Bears for Children at St John of God Hospital

Our Year 7 students are starting the Av�԰� Prayer Bear activity. Students are paired up, design and decorate a bear that will be given to the St John of God Hospital. We then send a small choir to the hospital to visit the children’s ward to sing Christmas carols and hand out the Prayer Bears.

Each year the students have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this community building activity. Thank you to Head of Year 7 Mr Stephen Kingwell, the Year 7 Religious Education Teachers and Head of Religious Education Ms Simone Preedy for their support.

A Big Thank You

Lastly thank you to all the staff involved in Faith in Action at the College. Without your continued support of the before school, after school and weekend support these activities would be possible over the years.

I wish everyone a very safe, happy and holy Christmas.

Katrina Morris
Christian Service Learning Coordinator

Year 11 Religion General Service Hours at the Parish

Student Success

Anneliese De Luca - Year 8

Congratulations to Anneliese in Year 8 Pallotti who was awarded the Rising Star Trophy for the Pre-Senior category at EK Dance.

Well done!

Josh Spry - Year 8

Congratulations to Josh in Year 8 Romero who after two trials was successful in making the Western Australia Under 13 Boys Extended Squad for Indoor Hockey.

We wish him all the best for the next stage of selection, where the final team will be chosen to fly to Brisbane.

Av�԰� Christi College Academic Excellence Mastermind Challenge

On Wednesday, the 23rd of November, the College’s Secondary campus hosted the inaugural Academic Excellence Mastermind Challenge, a collaboration of the Primary Enrichment Program and the Secondary Academic Excellence Program (AEP).

36 students from Enrich-Kids (Years 2-6) and twelve of our finest Year 9 AEP students took part in a team competition designed to pit intellect versus intellect on subjects such as history, science and geography.

I could not be prouder of the enthusiasm, teamwork and beautiful behaviour of all students involved. They are a credit to the College and its values.

The final results were extremely close with only nine points separating nine teams. In the end, third place went to Team Eagle, second to Team Hippo and First Place to Team Tiger.

Congratulations to the following students for earning their place on the podium.

Team Tiger: Alex Dempsey, Cruze Frederici, Oscar de San Miguel, Zachary Rheinberger, Ryder Hudson

Team Hippo: Ramielle Lazar, Lucy Fisher, Chloe Meldrum, Lisa Holmes, Deaglan Chong

Team Eagle: Zach Wong, Henry Johnson, Alex Huang, Aedric Huang, William McIvor

Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Danielle Damjanovic, Assistant Head of Primary whose selfless generosity and encouragement was integral to making this exciting event happen. Last but least, thank you to Antonio Muto, Assistant Head of Primary who provided moral support on the day and our principal, Jeff Allen who took the time to stop by to join in the cerebral festivities.

Adrian Richmond
Coordinator of Academic Excellence

⭐ Share Your Story ⭐

We love celebrating student success, so if you have a story to share please send details and a photo to:

marketing@corpus.wa.edu.au

Av�԰� Christi College Academic Excellence Mastermind Challenge

Av�԰� Christi College Academic Excellence Mastermind Challenge Participants

St Thomas More Bateman Parish Sacrament Dates 2023

First Holy Communion

Saturday 17th June 2023, 3.00pm
Sunday 18th June 2023, 11.30am

Confirmation

Saturday 9th September 2023, 3.00pm
Sunday 10th September2023, 11.30am

Reconciliation

Saturday 28th October 2023, 10.00am

Bateman Parish also runs a special Sacramental Program for high school students from families within our Parish boundaries who may not have completed all of their Sacraments.

For all enquiries please telephone Judy Machado, Religious Education Coordinator, St Thomas More Parish Bateman on (08) 9310 1747 or email her on catechist.bateman@perthcatholic.org.au

Av�԰� Christi College Movember Team

Our ‘Christi Crustache’ Team, consisting of 17 staff members, have raised over $4000 for Movember so far.

The team members have raised this money by either growing a handsome moustache or by walking or running 60 kilometres, for the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour.

If the College community would like to donate, the fundraising link is available below:

Your donation could help save a father, a brother, a son, a friend, a partner, a man’s life.

Thank you to our staff for participating in this worthy cause.