E-News 14 March 2023
Welcome to Week 7
Parent Engagement
It was a real thrill to have close to fifty parents and caregivers attend our first Friends of Av meeting for the year on Wednesday Week 5. I am very appreciative to those present for giving of their time and talents in co-constructing some critical strategies moving forward.
We had the opportunity during the evening to highlight the importance of genuine parent engagement and the proven positive impact that it has on student learning outcomes. We explored the benefits and opportunities where parents can shift from being involved to being deeply engaged in the school. That is, partnering with us in the holistic development of their children from a Learning, Community, Ministry and Stewardship perspective.
The Australian Government Department of Education clearly defines the difference between involvement and engagement:
“The terms parent engagement and parent involvement describe how parents and families support their children's academic achievement and wellbeing. Parent involvement usually focuses on school-based activities such as attending events or volunteering in class.”
“Parent engagement encompasses children's learning at home, at school and in the community, recognising the cultural and social diversity of families and communities. There is strong evidence linking parent engagement with improvements in academic achievement for children of all ages.”
The Advancing Partnerships - Parent and Community Engagement Framework meanwhile provides rich detail around the positive impact of parent engagement:
“A large body of evidence, spanning several decades, identifies the benefits of continued parent engagement throughout schooling for student learning outcomes. Parent engagement has been shown to improve students’ self-esteem, school attendance, and behaviour at school. In fact, Hattie (2008) estimated that effective parent engagement could add the equivalent of 2 or 3 extra years to a child’s education.”
“Parent engagement extends beyond parent involvement in volunteering at the school, to having a deliberate focus on influencing and improving learning and wellbeing outcomes. Parents are provided with ideas and strategies and are encouraged to collaborate with the school and community to strengthen partnerships and directly assist in supporting their child’s learning. Effective parent engagement creates authentic relationships valued by each party.”
As a College, we therefore strongly encourage parent engagement at all levels.
To this end, parents at the Friends of Av meeting were invited to consider what engagement opportunities they would like the College to explore in the ensuing months. These events and activities would aim to support the development of a common language and consistent approach to assist student learning both at school and at home. We are in the process of collating parent input from the meeting and look forward to updating our community soon.
We would also encourage parents and caregivers to connect directly with teachers in a constructive way to support the learning of their child. A reminder that parents can directly email teachers by clicking on the respective timetable lesson for their child in SEQTA. Please reach out to the ICT helpdesk on 08 6332 2574 or email helpdesk@corpus.wa.edu.au if you need any technical support.
In building quality relationships, good communities hold themselves accountable to constructive and respectful ways to connect with one another. We are pleased to have Codes of Conduct for staff, students and parents, all of which provide a clear understanding of the type of communication and actions that facilitate positive and effective working relationships. We want all members of our community to feel a real sense of welcome and belonging at our school and strive to live out our College values in a genuine way.
In acknowledging the energetic and vibrant input of our Friends of Av, we also recognise our wonderful Friends of Av Executive team who advocate for families and support the setting of meeting agendas and events in liaison with the College Executive Team. The Friends of Av Executive Team includes Indra Tomic (Chair and Advisory Council Parent Rep), Laura Bell-Ocejo (Deputy Chair), Max Leech, Bhupen Parmar, Kate Poole and Michelle Testa.
During our Friend of Av meeting Miss Katya Anderson, Head of Junior School, launched our newly rebuilt Classroom Connector roles. These roles are designed to help build community through connecting families within year levels. Classroom Connectors will have the opportunity to meet with Head of Community (K-6), Mrs Danielle Damjanovic, in planning events and activities. We again invite interested parents to apply for these
Connected environments also communicate well. We are seeking feedback on our recently developed College App as we prepare for an update release scheduled for the start of Semester 2. As our core source of communication to families, we want to make sure that the app is fulfilling expectation and providing an excellent experience for users. Please send improvement ideas to the app through to the ICT team at Daniel.Chapman@cewa.edu.au.
As partners in supporting the learning of students, we look forward to continuing to work alongside parents and caregivers to ensure that we create the best possible learning environment for our students in support of them becoming “Outstanding for Others”.
Best wishes and every blessing.
Jeff Allen
Principal
Av Connect App
We are proud to release the new Av Connect app!
The development has been a joint project between the Friends of Av and the College to provide a consolidated place for parents and guardians to access College services. This app is available for both IOS and Android operating systems and can be searched for using the terms: ‘Av Connect’.
For more information about the app, visit:
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- Junior School 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:
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. Please liaise with your childs Classroom Teacher or Head of Year prior to withdrawing.
To notify of your intent to withdraw, please submit the online form available here: www.corpus.wa.edu.au/withdraw
Av Christi College - Private Bus Service
Av Christi College currently operate two private bus services (Fremantle Service and River Service) for our students. More information on these services can be found on our website. We are pleased to announce a new bus payment and monitoring system “TransportMe” with our transport partner, Buswest. The system is accessible through the TransportMe Passenger App from or .
The new system allows parents to:
Add funds to student SmartRider via Stripe (separate to the Flexischools account).
Enables the student SmartRider card to act like a digital wallet to pay for the private bus services which can be monitored via TransportMe.
Track the location of buses in real time and review check bus routes.
Receive notifications regarding delays and other issues.
For more detailed instructions on how to setup the app, Av ICT Team will communicate directly with parents of students currently using the service. For families who are not currently using the service, but are interested, please contact Pat MacDonald (bus@corpus.wa.edu.au) to establish log in details to link to your child’s SmartRider.
The College intends on doing a review of our existing private bus services, the stops/route and future routes in Term 2 of 2023. More information will be provided in due course.
The Shrove Tuesday pancake morning was a great success! Thank you to everyone from Junior and Senior school that turned out to purchase a serving of pancakes, we sold out! All money raised will go towards Project Compassion.
Faith in Action service learning programs have begun at the Senior Avus. Students cooked for St Patricks Community Support Centre and assisted in Parish Catechist programs. Stay tuned for more information on how to get involved.
Year 10 students will participate in the Av Compass Retreat and a workshop by IZRA to kick off their service journey. On day 1 students will learn about the Senior School Christian Service-Learning program and begin their journey volunteering in and supporting their local community. On day 2 students will participate in a workshop lead by the youth development organisation IZRA. We wish them all the best in their experience and encourage parents to intiaite conversations with their student this week about how they want to participate in service learning and complete their required 15 hours of service this year.
Caritas Day and Rice Bowl Day are coming up in Week 9 to raise money for Project Compassion. Join in the fun with stalls, games, and activities on Caritas Day, and buy a serving of rice to support the cause on Rice Bowl Day.
Students are encouraged to bring in money with all proceeds to go directly to our Lenten fundraising campaign, Caritas’ Project Compassion.
$2 for rice
$1 water
Events
The latest events can also be found by visiting: www.corpus.wa.edu.au/events
Peter Pan Production
Are you ready to be transported to the magical world of Neverland? Join us for an unforgettable adventure with our school production of Peter Pan!
Join us on Friday 5th May at 7.00pm for the opening show, or on Saturday 6th May at 1pm for the matinee show, or at 7pm for the closing show. Tickets can be purchased through the links provided below.
Friday 5 May Opening Show - 7.00pm - 9.30pm:
Saturday 6 May Matinee Show - 1.00pm - 3.30pm:
Saturday 6th May Closing Show - 7.00pm - 9.30pm:
Don't miss out on this incredible production - secure your tickets today and let us take you on a journey to Neverland!
Harmony Week
Av Christi College will be celebrating Harmony Week in Week 8 of Term 1 (20 - 24 March)
Throughout the week there will be fun activities at recess and lunch, a special canteen menu and students will be allowed to wear their sports uniform with orange accesories on the 21 March in exchange for a gold coin donation to show support to Harmony Day.
Junior School Events:
Special canteen menu serving international cuisines – changed daily.
Students to wear national dress on Tuesday 21 March and / or apply orange accessories to their uniform & offer a gold coin donation for Project Compassion.
Enjoy a ‘Harmony Week’ themed Junior Assembly presented by Year 6B – Friday 24 March.
Senior School Events:
Scheduled Activities at recess and lunch organised by the Stewardship Committee.
Special canteen menu serving international cuisines.
Students to wear sports uniform on Tuesday 21 March with orange accessories & offer a gold coin donation for Project Compassion.
We look forward to celebrating with you!
The Stewardship Committee & Mrs Danielle Damjanovic
Merici Day
On Wednesday 22 March our Secondary Students will be celebrating Merici Patron Day.
All Senior School students are encouraged to wear their House shirt on this day and bring in money for activities.
During recess and lunch there will be food stalls and activities with all proceeds going to the Merici House charity – ‘Wheelchairs for Kids’.
To learn more about Merici House visit:
Rice Bowl Day - Senior School
Rice Bowl Day is a long-standing tradition at Av Christi where our Cafeteria only sells rice as a food option to stand in solidarity with those who eat rice as their main or only meal every day.
Students are encouraged to bring in money with all proceeds to go directly to our Lenten fundraising campaign, Caritas’ Project Compassion.
$2 for rice
$1 water
Junior School Assembly
This year the Junior School will host their assemblies in the Theatre, these will take place on a Friday at 9.00am.
Each class will get an opportunity to showcase the learning taking place in their room, followed by merit awards.
We have the following class assemblies schedule this term:
24 March 2023 - Year 6B
31 March 2023 - Year 6G
Merit Award winners will be notified via SEQTA on the Wednesday prior to the assembly.
A coffee van will also be available on Friday 24 March before heading down to the Junior School Assembly.
The van will be parked in the yellow bay outside the administration block on the Junior School between from 8.00-9.00 am.
International Pianist Music Recital
Av Christi College is proud to host, renowned International Pianist, Marialena Fernandes to perform a piano recital on Wednesday 22 March from 6.30 pm.
If you are a lover of classical music and appreciate the beauty and complexity of the piano, you won't want to miss this!
This event while hosted at Av Christi College is also open to the general public to attend.
For more information and to book tickets, visit: www.corpus.wa.edu.au/events
Junior School Interschool Swimming Carnival
Av Christi College emerged victorious in the Junior Interschool Swimming Carnival held on Thursday. A formidable squad of 30 students from years 4-6, led by captains Hunter M and Madison L, demonstrated exceptional swimming skills!
The team exhibited remarkable sportsmanship, representing the College with pride and enthusiasm throughout the competition. The day concluded with Av boasting several champions and runner-up champions, including Olivia L (Year 4), Aedric H (Year 5), Amelia M (Year 5), Madison L (Year 6), and Jagger T (Year 4) as the runner-up champion.
We are thrilled that Av Christi College has retained the championship shield for the second consecutive year, a testament to the team's hard work and dedication.
Congratulations to all the swimmers and reserves for their exemplary performance on the day. We are extremely proud of you all!
ACC Junior Girls and Boys Basketball Championship
On Tuesday 28 February, the ACC Junior Girls & Boys Championship basketball carnival was held at the Willetton Basketball Stadium. The event saw junior boys’ and girls’ teams from various schools compete in a hotly contested competition. The students showcased their skills, determination, and teamwork throughout the day, with the girls' team going through undefeated and winning their pool. As a result, they will play off against Kennedy Baptist College in the next round. This is a fantastic achievement, and we wish the girls the best of luck in their next challenge. The junior boys' team won their first four games but unfortunately went down narrowly in their last two games to finish third overall.
We would like to congratulate all the students involved in the day and special thanks to the senior students who came along to coach and score.
Clean Up Australia Day
On Thursday 2 March our Year 5 and 6 students lent a hand or two in their quest to clear rubbish from our Junior School grounds.
This incentive was inspired by Clean Up Australia Day, celebrated on March 5th which highlights the important message of conserving our Australian environments. If we all do our part, the beauty of our natural landscapes and surrounds will be enjoyed for generations to come.
Dannielle Damjanovic
Head of Community (K-6)
UWA Partnership
Av Christi College is delighted to announce that we are partnering with The University of Western Australia for the pilot of UWA Starter.
The UWA Starter program will provide a unique opportunity for senior students to start their university experience early by completing micro-credentials through UWA while still at school. The courses on offer are diverse and challenging and would appeal to students considering further studies in law, human rights, science or medicine. The successful completion of three micro-credentials also equates to advanced standing for one unit in certain undergraduate courses at UWA.
What are the benefits?
Access university-level study in unique courses and specialities.
Opportunities to learn from UWA academics, who are experts in their fields.
The chance to try different course areas to help you decide what you want to study at uni.
The opportunity to gain credit towards selected UWA bachelor’s degrees by completing three micro-credentials.
The possibility of contributing to your tertiary studies while in high school by using completed micro-credentials as part of an Experience-based entry pathway to UWA.
Information on the program, including the available micro-credentials for 2023 can be found on the and select students in Year Ten are currently being encouraged to apply. However, there is an opportunity for all students across Years 10, 11 and 12 with a genuine passion in a particular subject to enrol.
We are excited to work with UWA on this innovative new program and look forward to its commencement in April 2023.
If you would like further information about this exciting opportunity, please contact Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning – Jenny Miraudo.
Jenny Miraudo
Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning
Herbert Edwards Tennis Championship - Year 9 Boys
On the 9 March 2023 Av Christi sent a team of eight boys to represent the College in the Herbert Edwards Tennis Championship. On the pristine lawns of Alexander Park Tennis Club our students competed in five round-robin ties against other schools, participating in both singles and doubles.
For a number of our students it was the first opportunity they had ever had in a competitive tournament. Although the wins were few and far between, a fun day was had by all. A huge thank you to Gabriel Cheong (Yr 7) and Raidan Chipchase (Yr 9) who captained their respective teams.
We encourage as many students as possible to continue to come down to the courts on Thursday mornings 7.15am for the remainder of the term to engage in some competitive matchplay and tennis games. Congratulations, Team!
Senior Girls Basketball
We are pleased to share the fantastic news about our Senior Girls Basketball team's performance at the recent ACC Carnival. The team demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork, and skill throughout the tournament.
The ACC Carnival, held annually, brings together some of the best school basketball teams from across the region to compete against each other. Our Senior Girls Basketball team put in a great performance, showcasing their talent and dedication to the sport.
Despite facing some fierce competition, our girls emerged as one of the top-performing teams at the tournament. They displayed excellent ball handling, accurate shooting, and strategic play, impressing all those who came to watch.
Our team's captains, Florence Chapman and MacKenzie Johnson, played a vital role in leading their teammates to find success. They provided great guidance and motivation to their teammates, ensuring that they stayed focused and determined throughout the tournament.
We would also like to thank the coaching staff and all those who supported our team throughout the tournament. Without their hard work and dedication, this success would not have been possible.
Once again, congratulations to our Senior Girls Basketball team on their fantastic performance at the ACC Carnival. We look forward to seeing them continue to excel in their future games and tournaments.
Senior School Careers News
Interested in exploring your options, check out the March Careers News here.
UWA Starter program
The UWA Starter provides a senior secondary school student with the unique opportunity to start your uni experience early by completing micro-credentials through UWA. Micro-credentials are short focused courses that can help you develop specific skills and knowledge in a given subject area. Explore your passions with university-level study in a range of subject areas, learn from UWA experts and gain credit toward selected UWA degrees by completing 3 micro-credentials.
Students interested in this opportunity are encouraged to attend the session led by UWA.
Date: Week 7 Thursday 16 March
Time: Homeroom 8.35 am – 8.50 am.
Place: College Library
Enquiries to Mrs Davey in the Careers Office.
Try a Trade
South Metro TAFE Naval Base campus is hosting a ‘Try a Trade’ Welding Experience (2 sessions: 23 and 30 March).
This will be an opportunity to “Meet the Employer - Skillhire and CIVMEC”, experience a state of the art fabrication workshop and welding simulators and also apply for current Boilermaker and Welding apprenticeships on the day or shortly after.
For more information,
Outstanding Students
Sam Zollner - Open Water Nationals
We are thrilled to congratulate Sam Zollner on his impressive achievements at the Open Water Nationals for the 16-year-old boys category! Against tough competition, Sam placed 6th in Australia and 2nd in WA in the grueling 7.5 km race, and 12th in Australia and 4th in WA in the challenging 5 km race.
Sam's dedication to his sport and hard work leading up to the event was evident in his impressive performances. He swam an incredible 11-minute personal best on his seed time for the 7.5 km race, a remarkable improvement from his previous performance in December 2023. Sam also managed to shave off an impressive 5 minutes from his seed time in the 5 km race.
Sam's efforts were particularly noteworthy as Nationals was held in Busselton last week, and he represented South Shore Swimming Club with distinction.
Congratulations, Sam, on your outstanding achievements. You are an inspiration to us all, and we can't wait to see what you achieve in the future. Well done!
⭐ 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
St Thomas More Bateman Parish Sacrament Dates 2023
Sacramental classes for St Thomas More Parish, Av Christi College and other surrounding schools will commence on Wednesday the 8 of February. These classes are conducted every week on a Wednesday from 4.00-5.00 pm in Terms 1-3, not including school holidays.
Enrolments for sacramental classes are available online and close on 26 April 2023 with high school classes commencing on the 26 April 2023. To register visit:
First Holy Communion - enrolments close for this class on 24 March 2023.
Saturday 17June 2023, 3.00pm
Sunday 18 June 2023, 11.30am
Confirmation - enrolments close for this class on 20 July 2023.
Saturday 9 September 2023, 3.00pm
Sunday 10 September2023, 11.30am
Reconciliation - enrolments close for this class on 20 June 2023.
Saturday 28 October 2023, 10.00am
High School Class - enrolments close for this class on 6 April 2023.
26 April 2023
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
Learn to Swim at Av
Av Christi College offers a Learn to Swim Program onsite at the Jennifer Reilly Aquatic Centre. The aquatic centre features a covered and heated 25 metre, eight-lane indoor lap and water polo pool, a separate 12 metre learn-to-swim pool and terrace seating for 180 people.
Our Learn to Swim Program is facilitated by Speed With Style, a company who provide a unique approach to swim teaching called Individualised Custom Teaching, which was developed by Dr Nigel Williams in collaboration with head coach and Speed with Style Founder - John Williams.
The Learn to Swim program is available to both Av Christi College students and those external to the College.
You can register and find more information about Speed with Style on the
College website: www.corpus.wa.edu.au/speed-with-style
In case you missed it...
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