College Principal

It’s been a busy term and I wish everyone a relaxing holiday break. Please enjoy the latest Lamp Post as we reflect on all of the events that took place in Term 2.

Paulina Skerman
College Principal

Deputy Principal Mission and Pastoral Care

Connection and wellbeing via student leadership

It is a well-researched and documented fact that a sense of connectedness to school is a protective factor for young people. The positive impact on longer-term health and wellbeing and education outcomes is very apparent when students feel connected to and within their school environment. It is our job as educators to provide students with opportunities to have meaningful input into decisions and to drive new initiatives. By providing opportunities to show leadership at school we are able to enhance students’ sense of belonging and connectedness. These opportunities are also one way of enabling students to develop social competencies.  

Hence, both our formal student leadership structures across Years 4-12 and the multitude of ways we are able to provide opportunities for leadership skill building have become an important part of our wellbeing framework at Santa Sabina. Our Year 4 leaders all hold leadership positions and contribute to key activities across the campus; leading assemblies, fundraising and inspiring their younger peers to get involved and demonstrate kindness towards each other. When a student leads the way, not only do others follow but they are also exposed to the skills and capacities they need to step into similar roles in the future. 

In Gioia House, our student leaders also act as role models and capacity builders. The leadership program at Gioia House encourages our badged leaders to walk alongside all Gioia House students in their leadership journey; encouraging collaboration and involvement in all activities. Our Year 7-12 Leadership Team and the House Captains this year have been inspiring in their ability to lead with integrity and humility and to ensure that as many of them are coming up behind the student body encouraging and promoting involvement, as there are leaders striding ahead at the front – showing the way. Physical activity as a key component of mental health has been a driving belief of this leadership team and we have seen Fitness Friday, the Push up Challenge and Saint of Origin as initiatives that have seen the students put their beliefs into action. 

Term 3 on the Year 7-12 campus will see the start of the leadership election process for our new Year 12 leaders who will begin their leadership journey in Term 4 this year. Year 11 students will be hearing more about this in the first weeks of Term 3. The most important message they will be hearing is that this journey is not a solo journey – its intent is to bring others along with them so that all students’ leadershio capacities can flourish and grow. 

Melanie van der Meer
Deputy Principal Mission and Pastoral Care

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

The Year 11 2024 Information Evening was a great success. This took place in the Hall which was set as an Expo-style evening allowing parents and students time to speak with the Heads of Faculty and staff about the courses offered in both the HSC and IB Diploma. Students have now sent in their expressions of interest and this will help us design the lines for students to decide which subjects they wish to study in 2024. This will be sent to parents and students before the end of the term so they can make a decision by the beginning of Term 3. Students and parents will then meet with a staff member to discuss the pattern of study. 

Year 12 has now concluded a busy term of learning with one term to go. They have many workshops on offer in the holidays, and I thank the teachers for facilitating these opportunities. On the last day of the term, they will spend the morning at the Western Sydney Careers Expo, guiding them on their post-school decisions. They will return for two more weeks of learning next term before Trial Examinations start in Week 3. 

Music at Santa is booming. The Gala Concert was a spectacular celebration of music learning inside and outside the classroom. It was a highlight to hear the compositions of our students, staff and Santa alumni whose talents were ignited at Santa. This was a unique experience that I hope will continue. I particularly thank the teaching staff for the hours and hours they dedicate to our students. 

Reports

These will be available to parents in the Parent Lounge this week. This report contains valuable information about your daughter’s learning in each of her Courses this Semester. Our students have engaged with learning throughout the semester in various ways. 

The three-week break will begin at the end of this week. I wish our families a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing our students return on 18 July. 

Jacqueline Pugh
Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Deputy Principal Operations

One of the highlights on the Santa Sabina calendar is the Dom’s Day celebrations, to be held this year on Friday 28 July. The day commences with a Mass for the entire College community held in Dom’s Plot. As is tradition, the day for students concludes at 1:00pm.  I would like to remind all parents of the early finish on this day so that alternate pick-up arrangements can be made for their children.

With many members of the Santa Sabina community travelling abroad over the winter vacation, I would like to remind families that we have a geographical block on our network access. This means that if parents or students would like to access Veritas Online or Parent Lounge while overseas, by default they will not be able to access the network.  If there is an urgent need to access the College sites, please email helpdesk@ssc.nsw.edu.au and the IT staff will be able to assist on a case-by-case basis. Please note that given time differences, some requests will not be able to be fulfilled immediately.

After an enforced layoff, 2024 will see the return of international tours for the College. International Tours are one of the highlights of a student’s time at the College and provide students with a rich appreciation of the world around them. Staff are in the preliminary stages of organising tours for 2024, with proposals including:

A more comprehensive tours schedule for 2025 and beyond will be shared with parents at a later date.

John Gilmore
Deputy Principal Operations

Head of Gioia House

As we come to the end of yet another bustling school term, it’s time to take a step back and reflect on the remarkable efforts and accomplishments of our students over the past nine weeks. Santa Sabina College is a unique place where students immerse themselves in rich academic, pastoral, and co-curricular experiences.

Congratulations to all students for their unyielding commitment to learning and enthusiastic participation in a spectrum of sports, music, and co-curricular programs within and outside of the College. Our spirits soared witnessing all of the Gioia House students come alive on stage during the College Gala concert this week. It was more than just a concert, it was a symphony of world-class performances, where every student stepped into the spotlight. The air was filled with the harmonious chords of instruments, the melodic echoes of singing, and the rhythmic sway of dancing. With numerous Gioia House students taking part in multiple performances throughout the night, the Gala was an exemplary display of the collective talent of our students and music faculty, serving as a source of immense joy for everyone.

This week marked another noteworthy event as the students of Gioia House showcased their musical talents during the instrumental concerts. The event served as a wonderful platform for the students to demonstrate their growth and progress. It warmed our hearts to see the beaming faces of families, taking delight in the music and celebrating their children’s expanding musical talents. 

This term in Gioia House, we embraced the themes of compassion and acts of kindness, recognising their vital role in cultivating and sustaining positive relationships. Our students have been actively encouraged to explore these qualities by initiating conversations with peers from different classes, promoting inclusivity in discussions and decision-making processes, and fostering a welcoming atmosphere through simple gestures such as a smile or a heartfelt ‘Hello.’ They have also been urged to be attentive to the needs of others and to always employ truthful and kind words.

To reinforce this culture of kindness, we invite you to continue fostering these values at home, emphasising the universal benefits we all gain from nurturing a kinder, more empathetic world. 

Parent-Teacher-Student Meetings

Our recent parent-teacher-student interviews proved to be a great opportunity to discuss your child’s progress. The teachers and students undertook considerable preparation to ensure the insights shared during these meetings were both enlightening and beneficial. Our aim was for students to feel empowered while recognising their hard work and achievements and for parents to leave with an understanding of your child’s academic and pastoral progress thus far this year. We deeply appreciate your pivotal role in this educational partnership and encourage your active engagement. Please feel free to reach out to your daughter’s class teacher should you require any further information or wish to share any insights.

Semester 1 Reports

By this time, you should have received your daughter’s Semester 1 reports that allow us to honour her learning journey. We invite you to read the teachers’ observations and celebrate your child’s accomplishments. Furthermore, we encourage a collaborative approach towards any proposed recommendations to further enhance your child’s progress.

Junior Ethics Olympiad

Our young philosophers recently took part in the Junior Ethics Olympiad. This unique platform provided our students with an excellent opportunity to navigate the challenging yet fascinating world of ethical dilemmas. It was a great experience for the participants, as they exercised their critical thinking skills, embraced collaborative discussions, and explored varied ethical perspectives. The passion and diligence demonstrated by our students were truly remarkable, making it a day of valuable learning and intellectual growth. We congratulate all participants for their commitment to lunchtime training and commendable performance, and we look forward to more such enriching experiences in the future. I also want to acknowledge all the hard work of the Senior student coaches – Kate Fernandez, Emily Hirschhorn, Lucy Gee and Rochelle Dias – who generously shared their time and expertise with the Gioia House teams.

Congratulations to the Ethic Olympiad teams for receiving an Honourable Mention from the judges.

Emilia Srdanovic
Sienna Pirina
Rachel Michael
Elizabeth Saade
Ciara Darlow
Charlotte Esber
Louise Thill
Annabelle Stack
Sophie May
Michelle Ho
Jamie Kordian
Audrey Bargh

Reading in Gioia House

At Gioia House, we acknowledge the power of words and the transformative effect of reading. To foster a lifelong love for reading and to enhance our students’ reading abilities, we have introduced sustained reading into our curriculum. To deepen our interdisciplinary learning, we’ve incorporated reading into our various units of study, blending academic enrichment with literary enjoyment. Our unique ‘Year 6 Accendo’ reading program further offers students the chance to dive into a diverse range of genres, igniting curiosity and fostering deeper comprehension through guided book discussions. 

Ensuring the continuity of our students’ reading habits during school breaks is crucial in fostering their growth. As parents, your role in encouraging reading and sparking thoughtful conversations about their books can significantly enhance this process. 

To truly appreciate the impact of these initiatives, let’s hear from our Year 6 students about their transformative reading journeys this semester.

My reading sustainability has improved from reading only five pages to finishing the whole book. I used to only use three minutes to read a bit of pages and leave the book one the shelf, but now, since I have found a type of genre I enjoy, I can finally take my time to finish the book. When I was younger, I tend to miss words, sentences, or even paragraphs and pages but I think I improved on not skipping these bits of texts. I am not very good at comprehension but over the years, I have made progress, and I think that I have enhanced my skills on understanding.

Since participating in Accendo reading program, I have improved my reading and I am reading more books. I have also been more drawn into reading books. Reading books also helped me calm down so I do read a bit more when I do need to calm down. I have also found more books that I am interested and I have found more complex words that help my writing. My comprehension has improved because of all the new complex words I have learnt.  Also in my free time or when I’m bored instead of staying on my phone all the time I would pick up a book and read a book that I enjoy instead of staying on a device. 

Participating in Accendo has improved my reading a lot and I also love reading murder mysteries. I love reading more than I did last year because I figured out that reading is fun and not as boring as it was last year. Coming to Santa Sabina has helped me read more because of how good the library is here. I read a lot more now and I read everyday and I have improved so much from last year. Doing more reading has helped me become better at comprehension tasks as well. 

My reading has improved much more as I’m starting to read a lot more. Reading this semester helped me with learning bigger words and how to spell them. Comprehension has also been way easier. My understanding of reading is easy now that I can write more. Also I have found more books that I like to read which makes it more fun.

At the start of the school year, my average reading time was around 20-30 minutes. This was due to not finding the perfect book and not being interested in the book. However, throughout the semester, my reading time has increased from 30 minutes to 2 hours of sustained reading. I normally read on weekends or in my spare time. I believe that my sustained reading has improved because I have found the right book for me which is packed with mystery and crime. I am currently reading two books, The January Stars (as part of my Accendo) and The Chronicles of Narnia. Both of these books are packed with mystery and conflict. 

My reading sustainability has improved because of all the reading I do after lunch time. It also improved because of the books we read in English like Blueback and Snowy. Accendo also helps me because we are reading books that I might not read but have to read for homework and need to understand the story. I also like Accendo because after we read bits at a time my group talks about what happens in the book and I get to understand the story even better than before. All these thing have helped me build my reading skills.

Last year reading was more encouraged for homework instead of reading for pleasure, and it would take me a whole term to finish a 200-page long book. Now I have discovered genres and types of books I find more entertaining, and I usually finish my books in two weeks. Now I read for enjoyment as a source to relax and escape devices. It used to be quite a challenge to keep reading consistently and sustain reading each day, but now I feel more motivated to keep reading and find the book more enjoyable. Reading a class novel together helps everyone share what they discovered and encountered in the book that some people needed help understanding. So the idea of the book is summarised to everyone’s understanding. 

I used to read friendship and mystery books, but now I have switched to reading murder mystery books. I really enjoy this genre because there is so much potential to keep me reading the book, there is a book I’m reading called ‘A good girl’s Guide to Murder’ solving a case with a huge plot twist. This book I’m reading at home because I’m given more time to do it there. The books I read at school are more fiction, such as the book I read at school is ‘Anne of the green gables’, which is interesting because it is set a very long time ago (the 1900s) and keeps me intrigued. At the start of the term, I didn’t really like going to Accendo, but now I love Accendo because it allows me to try new genres, and the more I read books, the more it helps me improve in other things, such as reading music!

Stella Azizian
Head of Gioia House

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Gioia House staff and Music Teachers for their dedication and investments in ensuring high-quality teaching and learning occur. I thank you for your partnership and wish you all a restful break.

CALENDAR DATES

• 23 June – Last day of Term 2
• 18 July – First Day of Term 3
• 28 July – St Dominic’s Day. Students finish school at 12:45pm
• 10 August – Year 6 Excursion to NSW Parliament House
• 25 August STEM Gala Day
• 13-15 September – Year 6 Outdoor Education Experience at Tallong

We have fun while learning.

Stella Azizian
Head of Gioia House

Head of Primary P-4

Educators and parents today have become more aware of how important it is to teach children friendship skills. This is especially important after the pandemic and with the prevalence of social media and technology. Friendships have considerably evolved; but in other ways, they remain the same in that we all want to get along and belong.

The founder of the Friendology curriculum Dana Kerford speaks on The School of Wellbeing podcast. In this podcast Dana speaks about the Friendology program and its key tenets. The discussion focuses on the importance of friendship skills and why friendship and relationship skills are essential to be explicitly taught at an early age. Children need explicit instruction, followed by role play and practice.  

This podcast explores well the terminology used in the program so that parents can use these key terms at home in partnership. Explicitly teaching children how to develop healthy friendships and manage conflict in a positive way is at the heart of helping students flourish. This podcast explores many of these concepts including:

• Friendship fires
• Friend-O-Meter
• Quick comebacks (preloaded statement)
• Mean on purpose behaviour 
• Mean by accident 
• Friend-o-cycle
• The four friendship facts: 
• No friendship is perfect
• Every friendship is different
• Trust and Respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship
• Friendships change, and that’s okay.

I strongly encourage you to take the time to hear all about Friendology!

In our Friendology program, the theme of June is TRUST. Throughout June we have been unpacking what trust looks like in friendships. Trust is earned in tiny moments and is a must in ‘Green-Zone’ friendships (friendships that are trusted and make us feel that we belong). Based on the research of Brene Brown the seven elements of trust are:

• Boundaries
• Reliability
• Accountability
• Vault
• Integrity
• Non-judgement
• Generosity

If you would like to read more about Bene Browne’s 7 elements of trust click HERE for an explanation of each of the seven elements.

Just a reminder to please visit the grade pages to see what your child/ren has been learning about in Friendology. These is updated fortnightly.

Wishing you a restful break with family and friends and looking forward to a fabulous Term 3.

Joanne Gianinni
Head of Primary P-4

Director of Mary Bailey House

Vacation Care

Vacation care commences this Thursday, and the program is jam-packed with exciting leisure activities that will satisfy the interests of all children.

To get things moving, the program begins with two days of Tennis followed by an excursion to Strathfield Park, a disco party, and an action circus in the second week. The program includes the following STEM workshops: The Magic of Science, Brix Works, and Young Inventors to engage the curious children and active experiences including laser tag, rock climbing, and exergames to test and challenge them physically. As NAIDOC Week occurs during vacation care a workshop with Koori Kinnections has also been planned to celebrate and recognise the history and culture of Aboriginal people. There will be occasions to cook such as on the pizza party day and ample opportunities to create and connect and have fun with friends. Vacation care is certainly the place to be for your child if they are looking for something new and stimulating to do during the school holidays.

Eligible families are entitled to claim Child Care Subsidy through their MyGov account to cover the cost of OOSH fees. Presently families can also use the Services NSW BASC Voucher to pay for the cost of OOSH fees. 

Students from primary school and Gioia House are all welcome to attend vacation care once they are enrolled in OOSH. To learn more about the OOSH programs including vacation care, please email the OOSH Administrator Frances Windon at ooshmail@ssc.nsw.edu.au

I look forward to seeing your child laugh and learn at OOSH during vacation care.

Jackie Baxter
Director of Mary Bailey House

Director of Tallong Campus

To close out Term 2 for 2023 the Tallong campus will host our Year 11 students for their annual retreat this week. The Year 11 students will participate in a street type retreat in Goulburn working with some of the local community groups while some students will be involved in spirituality sessions on the campus.

The retreat program at the College is a very important component in our identity formation and students of Santa Sabina have been coming to the Tallong campus for over 20 years now. Retreats also form a significant part of the revenue stream at the campus and we will host retreats from numerous schools this year including Newington College and Marist College Canberra.

Winter has definitely hit the highlands this week so some advice to our Year 11 students would be to pack your thermals as we will get temps in the negatives this week.

Kendal Hann
Director of Outdoor Education and Tallong Campus Manager

Director of Community Relations P-12

Please join us on our Feast Day for our Patron Saint. Our St Dominic’s Day celebrations are legendary and the entire College community celebrates together. Just turn up on the day, there’s no need to RSVP.

Career Women’s Network Breakfast

On Friday 2 June, the College held our annual Career Women’s Network Breakfast. We are thankful to the over 100 parent and ex-student mentors who generously provided wisdom and advice to over 150 senior students. We particularly thank Hannah Rayment for being our guest speaker and highlighting how networks are invaluable to career success. 

Yvette Graniero
Director of Community Relations

Director of Development

SSC Annual Golf Day

All families are welcome to join us for a day of golf, open to all, as we come together to build a strong community and create wonderful memories.

When: Tee off at 7:30am,Thursday 12 October 2023
Where: Strathfield Golf Club

The cost is $189.00 per person which includes breakfast, 18 holes, lunch and drinks. There are limited spots available so please book to avoid disappointment.

If you have any questions, please contact George Ayoub on 0414 915 910 or Joseph Gittani on 0400 413 431.  

Santa Sabina College Sports Lunch

We are in the early stages of organising our very first Santa Sabina College Sports Lunch to be held on 10 November at Strathfield Golf Club, starting at 12:00 midday. I will provide more information in the coming weeks and an opportunity for all in our community to come and join us at what we hope will be a spectacular event. We have a great MC, guest speakers and much more to entertain those attending this event.

Save the Date: 10 November, 12:00 midday at Strathfield Golf Club

Bequests

There may be many in our community who are not aware of ‘The Orange Tree Society’ we have at the College. Please see below a brochure about the Society for you to read and understand. Named after the Orange Tree that sits proudly at the front of the school and without giving away too much, please have a read of the history behind it and a message from one of our ex-students who is a member of the society.

Donations

Thank you to the many families, ex-students and friends of the College who have donated this year. Your commitment to supporting our students does not go unnoticed and we are sincerely grateful. As the financial year come to an end, it is now your chance to donate to the College and receive a tax benefit. Your donation needs to be submitted before 30 June for you to be able to claim your tax receipt for the financial year 2022/23.

If you would like to donate and assist us in our appeal, please click here to go to the donations page to complete the form.

Santa Sabina College Business Directory

We are continuing to field questions about our Business Directory. It that provides our community with an opportunity to advertise your business and promote your company while providing a service to our parents, friends and local supporters of Santa Sabina. I encourage you to consider this as a way to grow your business and promote the service you provide.

Please click here to complete the Google form to advertise your business. Alternatively, please contact me in the Development office on 97450232 or at giving@ssc.nsw.edu.au

George Ayoub
Director of Development

HSC Textiles & Design Exhibition 18 July

Please join us on the Opening Night of our HSC Textiles & Design Exhibition on the first evening of Term 3. The exhibition continues during school hours until Friday 21 July.

Debbie Bachmann
Head of TAS

IB Diploma updates

Year 11 Theory of Knowledge – outing to the NSW Art Gallery

On 13 June the Year 11 Diploma cohort went on an outing to the NSW Art Gallery North Building to explore Art as an Area of Knowledge. The outing allowed us to explore two of the TOK concepts namely – Perspective and Interpretation. The aim was to explore the question – Who decides what art means? The students had to choose three or more artworks, in the gallery, and formulate a presentation to their cohort using the above guiding question. For more information about the IB Diploma TOK course for students from 2022 please see this short video.

Year 12 Global Politics update

Global Politics differs from other IB subjects as the Internal assessment has a weighting of 40%. Twenty percent is based on their two Higher Level presentations on a global issue of students’ choosing that needs to fall into one of the following themes – environment, poverty, health, identity, borders and security. The Engagement Activity, also 20%, is a 2000-word report based on the student’s actual engagement with a political issue.

Here are some examples of this semester’s Higher Level presentations which were absolutely amazing:

To what extent are China’s claims of legitimacy in the South China Sea a violation of territorial sovereignty as outlined in the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling?

Rosanna

To what extent was the inaction of the international community in response to the Tigray-Ethiopia conflict a failure of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine?

Natalie

To what extent are the continued sanctions in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe (2017) contributing towards increased povert

Lydia

To what extent is Israel’s current occupation of the Palestinian territory, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, a violation of state sovereignty?

Olivia

I am looking forward to marking the final Engagement Activities over the holidays – a vast range of activities were undertaken and some of their research questions are listed here:

To what extent does the Escaping Violence Payment effectively support women escaping domestic violence?

Sophia

To what extent did the Melbourne COVID-19 lockdown escalate the victimisation of violence against women?

Sophie

How would reducing the voting age to 16 impact upon the nature of democracy in Australia?

Natalie

To what extent have ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ demonstrations in Australia impacted the state’s involvement in the climate movement?

Olivia

Is there a case for gender quotas in Australia’s democracy?

Lydia

2027 Development Plan

One of our chosen development plans for our 2027 review is to ensure that we all teach TOK – critical thinking in our subjects. At our June staff meeting teachers worked across faculties in exploring the six 2023 Theory of Knowledge prescribed knowledge questions. It was wonderful to see how different subject areas tackled the questions and gave staff an insight into the essays the Year 12s are busy writing.

Julie Harris
Dean of IB

Fujimigaoka High School visit

On Wednesday 14 June, 51 students from Fujimigaoka High School, along with their Principal, Vice Principal and some teaching staff, visited the College. During their visit, Year 8 Japanese students got to know them through the groups we had formed as well as through the day’s fun activities and awkward dance attempts. At first, it was quite awkward, but before long, we were friends thanks to our amazing social skills and an exchange of small gifts, practising our Japanese language skills. During the first two periods of the visit, the students got to know each other and speeches were given from both principals Ms Skerman and Principal Yoshida and a presentation was given by the Santa Sabina students. Soon after, it was recess and the groups shared the food we provided for each other.

During the middle two periods, Year 7 Japanese students joined us and everyone went to the hall for more interactive activities, which included an ‘about yourself’ mini book, Shaolin Temple demonstration (with a very intriguing spar with spontaneous screaming) from the Fujimigaoka students, heel toe polka, which was when everyone awkwardly danced, but still had fun as a whole, as well as sing both of the schools’ songs. This definitely was one of the most engaging parts of our day. Soon after we had a great chance to connect with our exchange students over classic Australian BBQ lunch. A special ありがとう to Mr Ayoub for organising the BBQ and the Sport Department for cooking.

The final two periods of the day were spent learning about Fujimigaoka High School and Japan from their presentations, and then a tour of our grounds. We showed them our (very) intricate school and our favourite places as well as different classes. We had a really fun time talking about the ghosts of Holyrood and the age of our school. It was then time for the Japanese students to go and we said a sad さようなら to our new friends.

Once again, thank you to Ms Whittemore, Ms Shiragaki and Ms Formosa for organising this experience, and we really appreciate it!

Tanvi Chava and Wendy Wang

Santa Scoop

Congratulations to our student journalists who have been working hard this term and produced a brilliant student newspaper – by students, for students.

The editorial team includes Lucia Juarez (Arts and Culture — Music), Tanisha Chari (Science and Nature), Sarah Hussein (Social Justice), Rochelle Dias (Student Spotlight), Vasiliki Pahos (Advice), Sienna Nigro (Wellbeing), Jasmine El Khoury (Recipes), Zoe Kearns (Co-curricular — Sports) and Georgia Long (Arts and Culture — Literature) and editors Isabel Aunedi and Molly Hoogland.

Here is the inaugural issue:

History Study Day at The University of Sydney

On 2 June Year 12 Ancient and Modern History students participated in a HSC study day at The University of Sydney. Students were able to attend a range of workshops led by academics, archaeologists and historians to deepen their understanding about the key historical events, ideologies, historical personalities and contemporary historiography. A huge thank you to Mrs Blake and Ms Jenkins for accompanying Santa Sabina students to this academic event.

Brigida Zagora
Head of HSIE (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Year 10 History Elective – Object Based Learning

Object based learning enables students to better develop the important skill of drawing conclusions based on an examination of artefacts as evidence. On 9 June Year 10 History Elective students attended a workshop at The Chau Chak Wing Museum at The University of Sydney. Students were invited to critically think about objects from the past and consider the interpretations of archaeologists and the limitations of material culture when reconstructing the past. Ms Janssen and Ms Jenkins are thanked for supporting students within this workshop.

Student reflection:

I really enjoyed the experience of going to the Chau Chak Wing Museum at Sydney University, as we got to use our archaeological skills we learnt in class and apply them to real life artefacts. We also explored the ancient Egyptian section in the museum, where our tour guide taught us many interesting facts about Egyptian society and how artefacts like mummies made their way into Australian museums.

Emily Gilmore

Brigida Zagora
Head of HSIE (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Careers Spotlight @ SSC

Students have engaged in a number of Careers events over the last few weeks. Some of the highlights are listed below:

Career Women’s Network Breakfast

On Friday 2 June, we celebrated our annual Career Women’s Network Breakfast. With close to 100 mentors and 150 students attending, this was a fantastic event for students to network with mentors from different industries and be inspired by their career journeys to date. Students were also encouraged to say yes to different opportunities and not be pigeonholed in the one type of job or industry as they heard from guest speaker and past student, Hannah Rayment (Class of 2006) who has held a variety of PR and communications related roles in different industries. Hannah also highlighted the importance of volunteer work for both personal and professional development.

Below is a student reflection from the breakfast:

Attending the Career Women’s Breakfast for the second year was the perfect opportunity for me to solidify my interests for my post-school journey, including university and my future career. I am so grateful to have spoken with professionals from not just my chosen field, the legal field, but also employees from a vast number of other careers including the defence force, medical field and marketing. Speaking with mentors at various points in their careers and with different levels of experience also provided fresh perspectives that enriched my knowledge of how to enter the workplace and what skills I need to prepare myself for the very different reality that is life after Santa. It was very reassuring hearing the different pathways that many career professionals took to enter the job they are in now, and I feel much more confident in the steps I need to take moving forward.

Olivia Nakhle
Year 12

Year 12 Careers Session with Ex-students

On Tuesday 13 June, two Class of 2022 students now studying at UTS presented to Year 12 on the Bachelor of Information Technology Co-op Scholarship degree at the university. Hannah Touma and Anya Francis are two of just 20 scholars in the scholarship program at UTS and encouraged students to consider applying for such a valuable scholarship worth $49,500 which includes two six-month internship placements, networking and professional development opportunities throughout the degree. These scholarships are available for students who display an interest in the related career field, have some involvement in co-curricular and community activities, and have achieved consistent results. Hannah and Anya also reminded Year 12 that universities are not necessarily looking for the student with the highest ATAR. This is one of several co-op scholarships offered by major universities. Year 12 students are encouraged to review the Co-op Scholarships Guide and General Scholarships Guide on the Careers Years 10-12 VO page (under University) for further scholarship opportunities.

Year 12 Visit to Western Sydney Careers Expo

This Friday 23 June, Year 12 will have the opportunity to attend the Western Sydney Careers Expo at Sydney Olympic Park and explore over 100 tertiary institutions including universities, TAFE, private colleges and providers of cadetships, internships and apprenticeships. Students will be able to gather information and resources on tertiary and employment pathways and ask any questions they may have around these pathways and application processes. Students will also have time to attend workshops being presented by providers including exam and employment preparation workshops, sessions on careers in different industries and seminars on the ATAR and tertiary application process delivered by UAC. It is hoped that students will gain a greater understanding of their post school pathways by attending this Expo.

As we approach the holidays, Year 12 have been encouraged and reminded that Early Entry Programs and Scholarship applications are now open and most will close at various points throughout Term 3. Year 12 students are encouraged to apply early and to utilise the holidays if possible to ease the pressure of completing these applications during the busy term time. Students have access to a wealth of information and resources on VO with all of the key dates for these applications as well as university open days and are encouraged to reach out if they have any questions or need support with any applications.

Upcoming Careers Events

Please refer to this link for the upcoming careers events and opportunities.

Year 10 Food Technology Excursion to Sydney Tower Restaurant

On Thursday 18 May, Year 10 Food Technology students visited Sydney Tower restaurant, located in Sydney Tower at the top of Westfield Sydney in the CBD. Year 10 Food Technology students have been studying the topic ‘Food Service and Catering’. In this unit students have explored profit and non-profit operations, front-of-house and back-of-house career opportunities, as well as how food service and catering establishments contribute to the economic, social and cultural fabric of Australian society. Our visit to Sydney Tower Restaurant was an opportunity to see a very popular restaurant in action. The visit included a tour of the premises, which includes Infinity, a fine dining restaurant, Bar 83 and SkyFeast, the buffet restaurant. We were also able to visit the kitchens and have a chef speak to us about how the kitchens operate. At the end of our tour we enjoyed lunch in the buffet restaurant and got to see the beautiful views of Sydney. As Sydney Tower is a main tourist attraction the buffet includes over 30 international dishes including seafood and desserts while you take a 360 degree revolving tour of Sydney 82 floors below.

Debbie Bachmann 
Head of TAS

Student reflections

The excursion was an experience you wouldn’t ever get, to go underground to the kitchen and observe how they store the food, their techniques, and the preparations for the buffet and dining experience upstairs. The food was delicious, a whole hour of all-you-can-eat. Such a fascinating yet fun experience.

Anabell David

Overall, the excursion was a wonderful and interesting experience and I learned so much about a day in the life working in the hospitality industry. I especially enjoyed going under the restaurant, into the kitchen, to see how the staff operate behind the scenes. I also loved sharing a meal with my friends at the revolving buffet, the view was spectacular!

Raqul Abdallah

I enjoyed looking behind the scenes of the famous revolving restaurant, and the layout of the kitchen. I loved eating delicious food with a view of the city. 

Emily Gilmore

Gioia House Action Girls Awards

It has been wonderful to see the Gioia House students work towards being Action Girls through their words and actions each day. As part of the three-way-interview process, the students were required to share how they are an Action Girl and the actions they have taken to be Action Girls each day. Many of the students shared how they are becoming more aware of taking action to invite students sitting on their own, when they notice rubbish flying around on the playground they pick it up to protect our environment, when they see a student who needs help in their learning environment or on the playground they offer their support. The students were able to list many wonderful qualities they have as well as a couple of goals they will continue to work towards.

Congratulations to the following Action Girls who received their awards and badges at our Gioia House Assembly last week:

Year 5 Action Girls:

Mila Amore 
Lillian Ayoub
Ines Bolger
Madeline Dus
Ovilia Chamoun

Year 6 Action Girls:

Emilia Srdanovic
Alicia Bouantoun
Eden Gregory
Audrey Luey 
Mikayla Sarkis

Making a difference

Service Learning – Outreach

This term, we invited the students to bring in some grocery items to create ‘snack packs’ or warm winter accessories and blankets for the St Vincent De Paul Night Patrol van. A big thank you to all the students who continuously contributed to a very worthy cause, by bringing in different items each week.

All Gioia House students put together the snack packs and were asked to stop and think about other ways they can continue to offer service and outreach to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. 

During our Gioia House assembly we shared five shocking facts about homelessness in Australia to highlight the importance of trying to do our bit to help those in need:

1. There are over 122,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night.
2. Only six percent of people who are homeless sleep on the streets.
3. There are many different reasons why people experience homelessness.
4. In Australia, one in seven people experiencing homelessness are over 55 years.
5. Over 17,600 children younger than 12 years are homeless.

It is through your generosity and compassion we were able to create over 200 snack packs for the homeless people in our community. We have encouraged the students to continue to think of ways they can make a difference and when they see a need they have the power to make a difference, no act of kindness will ever go unnoticed.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents, students and staff for another wonderful term and I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday break.

Marisa Maks
Assistant Head of Gioia House

Rock and Water

The classes of 6 Azizian/Dunphy and 6 McLaren joined together to discover, through role play, that there are two different attitudes to solve a conflict – Rock and Water. We looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the physical and mental water attitudes.

Water Attitude – you feel calm and full of self-confidence. You listen to others’ opinions and exchange ideas calmly. Water is not weak, but strong in its calmness and self-control.

Rock Attitude – you feel strong and independent. You close off from the opinions and feelings of others. You choose for yourself. This may be the right thing to do if you’re in a difficult situation, such as, you’re experiencing peer pressure. This means you do not care what others say or do, you do what you think is right.

Year 6 Azizian/Dunphy and Year 6 McLaren

Inter-school Speak Up Competition

On Wednesday 21 June, Santa Sabina hosted the Term 2 Speak Up competition. The Gioia House Speak Up Team competed with St Ignatius College Riverview. The students were committed to attending each Speak Up session each week and had a choice of five different speech topics. The girls worked hard to prepare their speeches and present them at the competition. 

Thank you to Mrs Anne Roberts, who was our adjudicator on the night. Mrs Roberts had a difficult task to award two Highly Commended students and one overall winner. Thank you to Eva Rose Youssef for being our timekeeper at the competition. 

The girls should all be proud of their commitment to their Speak Up co-curricular sessions, developing their public speaking skills and demonstrating courage in writing and delivering engaging speeches.

Congratulations to the Term 2 Speak Up team:

Alegra Cencigh
Mariam Fajloun
Maria Fredericks
Isabella Grasso
Charlie Jackson
Bianca Marchetta
Sophie May
Rachel Michael
Ella Needs
Tatijana Sesar
Isabella Shiner
Sireen Sukkar

The overall winner for the Term 2 Speak Up competition was Rachel Michael. Mariam Fajloun was awarded Highly Commended.

Congratulations to all the girls on your dedication and outstanding commitment to the Speak Up co-curricular.

Marisa Maks
Assistant Head of Gioia House

Australia’s Past, Present and Future – IDU

In Interdisciplinary Studies, students have begun looking at Australia’s past. They researched about Australia’s First Nations people and the importance of their traditions and cultures to our national identity. Students learnt about European Settlement, including significant people, events and what life was like in the early settlements. They explored the impact of this settlement on First Nations people and their cultures and traditions. Furthermore, students looked at Australia’s present-day society, including our democratic system of Government, multiculturalism, issues impacting First Nations people, population density and Australia’s connections with other countries. To culminate the unit, students worked in groups to focus on one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and designed a solution to help achieve the goal by 2030.

5 Kostakis

Coding and Robotics

This week the coding and robotics students were engaged in the Lego Spike robotics kit. They followed a set of instructions to create a Ferris Wheel. During this activity students were thinking critically and solved complex problems together. 

Student reflections: 

I enjoyed working with a group. It was really fun to break down the steps and see how the Ferris Wheel turned out. 

Lillian Scott

Cadence Wong: Building the Ferris wheel Lego was really fun to make and try. In my group we did really well problem solving and collaborated well together.

Cadence Wong

 So far this term I have enjoyed making a ferris wheel during coding. My favourite parts about it were definitely collaborating and problem solving with my friends. The activity itself was a lot of fun too. I especially liked watching it spin around and having the little Lego people fly off of the Ferris wheel.

Ella Rixon

Monique Taylor
Gioia House Teacher

Spark Writing

As part of our English lesson warm ups, we complete short sessions of writing as a way to engage our creativity and expand our vocabulary. We use images, words or phrases to spark an idea and then write uninterrupted for ten minutes. Here are some samples produced by students using this image. We hope you enjoy our ‘sparks’.

The Dream

I picture a blank landscape with a faint mountain range and two roads. My mind dances alive with imagery and portrays the birds chirping miles away and the sounds of their sweet hums, brighter than the green grass contrasted against dewy morning. Then I see the lost man. He is dressed in a crisp suit and perfectly dented bowler whilst standing before the two grey and gravel roads. Mad in his own mind whilst deciding which road to go down. Then I wake up.

Emilia Srdanovic  
6 Milicic 

Unhinged

Mother always told me I was too ambitious. Yet there I was. Seeking refuge from a world where I didn’t belong. A menacing desire for a fictitious jewel. I stood there, idle, letting the viscous night seep through my veins, like a sickness to your body.  The moon’s eyes strained, not once letting me out of her dangerous, impenetrable sight. Sleep, an imaginary thing. I was lost in my own unhinged mind, unable to escape. Beyond lost. Beyond alone.

Alicia Bouantoun   
6 Milicic  

Volcanoes

This week Year 6 students learnt about volcanoes. They explored the two most common types; stratovolcanoes and shield volcanoes and then created their own stratovolcano using clay. Each group used bicarbonate soda and vinegar to erupt their volcanoes.

As a class we discussed the chemical reaction and what created the bubbly reaction. The students discovered the carbonic acid is unstable and breaks down into liquid water and carbon dioxide as a gas, causing the ‘build up’ of pressure. The carbon dioxide rises, causing the bubbly reaction.

Year 6 Taylor

Writers Club

Writers Club is held every Thursday at lunchtime. The students have been eagerly writing for a term and helping each other with ideas as well as giving each other feedback. They are looking forward to having their writing published and sharing this with all of Gioia House. Here’s what they had to say about the Writers Club.

I like the Writers Club because you can listen to others’ ideas and share your own as well.

Ines Bolger

I like to collaborate with others when I write and I get to work with Year 5 as well. It gives me an opportunity to write outside of class and try different styles of writing.

Louise Thill

Here is a sample of our writing:

The Abandoned Castle

Blurry visions were swimming through Katarina’s head, but she could not piece them together. One second there was a black snake, the next was a gloomy castle. Soon all Katarina could see was her friend Emily trapped behind bars locked in a filthy old cage. Katarina leaped out of bed, snatched her phone off of the bedside table and immediately called Emily.
Katarina Brodowski

Tracked

Click, clank. Mission accomplished. Hi I’m Andrew Clark, this is my story. I’m a top secret undercover agent, always on the run. I have a family back in Pennsylvania, but they don’t know my secret. I get to visit them once a year at Christmas. My job is so undercover nobody knows what I do, not even my closest friends. I work all day and night with one day to spend with my family, at Christmas time and that’s it.
Ines Bolger, Georgii Nohra and Anastasia Bucciarelli

Wendy Anetter
Gioia House Teacher

Science Lesson – Creating Oobleck

During their Year 5 Science lessons in the Science Labs, students have been exploring states of matter by completing a range of engaging experiments.

In their most recent lesson, students created Oobleck to discover and discuss whether this material was a liquid or solid. The students thoroughly enjoyed getting their hands dirty whilst having scientific conversations throughout this experience.  

Bryony Williams
Year 5 Teacher

2023 Semester 1 Dominican Awards

A huge congratulations to our students who were presented with their awards today at the Dominican Awards assembly.

St Thomas Aquinas Award – Academic
Acknowledges students who:

• Display outstanding performance
• Are high achievers
• Achieve excellence in single or multiple key learning areas.

St Thomas was a member of the noble Italian family of Aquino.

He was born in the castle of Rocca Sicca in 1225.  Against his family’s wishes, he entered the Order of Preachers at Naples in 1244.  He was sent to Cologne to complete his studies under the direction of St Albert the Great. He devoted all his energy to the service of truth and shared this through his writing, his teaching and his preaching. St Thomas Aquinas is the Patron of all universities and Catholic schools. His feast is on 28 January.

Blessed Fra Angelico Award – Creativity 
Acknowledges students who display outstanding performance in one or more of the following areas:

• Visual Arts
• Music
• Drama.

Blessed John of Fiesole (Fra Angelico) was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1386. When he was a young man he studied art in Florence. He entered and became a Superior of the Dominican Order at the convent of San Domenico in Fiesole. He showed his love for God through his creative works of art and paintings. Fra Angelico was called to Rome by Pope Eugene IV to decorate two chapels, one in the Basilica of St Peter and one in the Vatican. His feast is on 18 February. 

St Martin De Porres Award  – Social Justice
Acknowledges students who:

• Display citizenship
• Are fair
• Show empathy
• Are involved in Outreach
• Are inclusive
• Are selfless
• Recognise the needs of others.

Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. As a boy, he studied medicine. When he joined the Dominicans he used this knowledge to help the poor.  He was a friend to the sick, ill-treated slaves, the poor, the marginalised, and stray animals. Martin de Porres is a patron of many things but particularly public education, public health service, and of interracial justice. His feast is on 3 November.

St Dominic Award – ‘Life Be In it’
Acknowledges students who:

• Are enthusiastic
• Participate to the full in school life
• Have a positive attitude
• Apply themselves diligently

Dominic de Guzman was born in Caleruega, Spain, around 1172-1173. After completing his studies at Palencia, he was ordained a priest and became a Canon in the Cathedral of Osma. From that time on he dedicated his life to preaching and to living simply. Dominic was very different from other religions who lived at the same time. Instead of staying inside monasteries, he went out amongst the people and traveled long distances on foot in order to take action to preach and teach to people who needed to hear about God. In 1215 at Toulouse, France, Dominic organised his fellow preachers into a new Religious Order to go out and spread the truth of the Gospel. St Dominic is the patron of many things, among which is being a patron of astronomers. His feast day is 6 August, the day of his death in Bologna in 1221.

St Albert the Great Award – Research
Acknowledges students who:

• Problem Solver
• Think Logically
• Display a thirst for knowledge
• Are deep thinkers

Albert was born in Swabia, Germany at the beginning of the 13th century. While he was a student at the University of Pavia in Italy he decided to join the Dominican Order. From 1242 until 1248 he taught at the University of Paris where Thomas Aquinas was one of his students. Together with St Bonaventure, he defended the right of the Dominican Order to teach in the universities. He was a distinguished writer and teacher and a very holy and charitable man. He is called ‘the Great’ and the ‘universal doctor’ because of his writings. He is a patron of those involved in the natural sciences. His feast day is 15 November, the day he died in Cologne in 1128.  

St Catherine of Siena Award – Resilience
Acknowledges students who:

• Are flexible
• Cope with maturity
• Deal with life’s complexities
• Bounce back
• Display a positive approach to problem-solving.

Catherine Benicasa was born in Siena, Italy in 1347 and was the youngest of 25 children. God challenged her to become involved in the world around her even though she preferred the solitary life of prayer and penance. In the face of adversity, she worked to bring about peace by influencing some important decisions being made by the church and government leaders of her time. She faced many problems in her life but never gave up and always worked to make things right even though it made things difficult for her. She is the patron of nursing services and of Italy. Her feast is on 29 April.

Blessed Jane of Aza Award – Faith Development
Acknowledges students who:

• Display prayerfulness
• Demonstrates spirituality through reflection and action
• Appreciate the goodness of God in their lives
• Are interested in and knowledgeable about Catholic faith traditions.

Blessed Jane was born into the prominent d’Azur family and married Felix de Guzman. She is the Mother of St Dominic. This truly Christian lady inspired her three sons to spend their lives in the service of the church. She had an outstanding reputation for her faith in her community. She was a person who believed in the power of prayer when seeking the answers to questions and after times of reflection and prayer took action. She died at Caleruega Spain at the beginning of the 13th century.

Joanne Giannini
Head of Primary P-4

Pentecost Liturgy

On 28 May the Church throughout the world celebrated Pentecost Sunday commemorating the day when the Holy Spirit first descended upon the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem. The following prayer is a way of reflecting on the meaning of Pentecost and its relevance for us here today:

Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost
Come, Holy Spirit of the Great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia and guide us on the pilgrim way.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future, that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.

Our Year 3 students led the school in a Pentecost liturgy to celebrate this important day in the Church liturgical calendar.

Year 3 teachers and students

Religious Education news

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing,
I adore you, I love you and with a lively sorrow for my sins.
I offer you this  heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will.
Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you.
Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions;
give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.
Within your heart I place my every care.
Heart of Jesus, help me.
Amen.

Fransican Media

The month of June is dedicated to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the Sacred Heart, we see that God’s heart is consumed with love for us – so much so that He was willing to suffer and die for us. The Sacred Heart teaches us that true love, while sometimes difficult, is life giving. Hence why we often focus on those less fortunate than ourselves during this Feast Day.

This month falls within the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, which is represented by the liturgical colour green. This symbol of hope is the colour of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. It is used in the offices and Masses of Ordinary Time.

Sacramental Program of First Communion

In the sacrament of Holy Communion, we remember what Jesus did for us in his life, death and resurrection. We remember particularly the Last Supper, that final meal Jesus shared with his disciples. At that meal, Jesus gave us the Eucharist so that we could remember Him in a special way. When we receive Communion, we believe that we receive the person of Jesus into our very beings. We become one with Him, and we become one with each other. As a community, we become ‘the body of Christ’

 We pray for our students who have received the Sacrament of First Communion during the last few weeks or will be receiving the sacrament over the holidays.

Tina Nicotina
Religious Education Coordinator P-6, Acting Co-Assistant to the Head of Primary Campus P-4 and Year 3 teacher

Rosary at recess

The children this year at Santa Maria del Monte have been coming together everyday for Rosary at Recess. It’s wonderful that so many children have made an effort to come and we now have many regulars who come everyday. Our school is truly blessed. We would like to continue to encourage your children to come and pray the Rosary. 

After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Rosary is the prayer most pleasing to Our Lady. Why is it so pleasing to her? Because it brings us closer to Jesus. That is the single most important reason we should pray the Holy Rosary: through it, we grow closer to Our Lord.

Good Catholic

Tina Nicotina
Religious Education Coordinator P-6, Acting Co-Assistant to the Head of Primary Campus P-4 and Year 3 teacher

St Dominic the Adventurer Award – Rock Climbing

St Dominic possessed a strong instinct for adventure. He was daring both by nature and by grace. Dante calls him ‘il santo atleta,’ the holy athlete. The friar’s studies were shaped by the needs of others, and given the nature of the crisis at that time.

Our Dominican Difference means our young people are formed with the 800-year-old Dominican commitment to justice, truth, reconciliation and compassion, always encouraged to be responsible for making the world a better place and embracing the future with hope.

Last week our St Dominic the Adventurer Year 3 and 4 students participated in a rock climbing session at St Peters Indoor Climbing Gym Centre. Mr Walker led this engaging session with the support of various teachers from the Del Monte Campus.

Here are some photos of our Year 3 and Year 4 Adventurers:

Refugee Week 18 June – 23 June

Lord, No one is a stranger to you and
no one is ever far from your loving care
In your kindness watch over refugees and those separated
from their loved ones, those who are lost,
and those who have been exiled from their homes.
Bring them safely to the place where they long to be,
and help us always to show your kindness
 to strangers and those in need.
Amen

Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

This week, students took part in lessons to remember all displaced people throughout the world. The theme this year is ‘Finding Freedom. It raises awareness of the issues affecting refugees and highlights aspects of the refugee experience while helping the broader community to understand what it is like to be a refugee. It helps to make Refugee Week a national celebration. The theme provides a focal point for events across Australia, uniting separate activities into a single nationwide celebration.

The students shared in a story written by Anh Do. This book tells the inspiring and uplifting story of Anh’s family from their dangerous journey by boat from Vietnam to their struggle to establish a new life in Australia. The Little Refugee tells the uplifting and inspiring story of the incredible childhood of one of Australia’s favourite personalities.

Tina Nicotina
Religious Education Coordinator P-6, Acting Co-Assistant to the Head of Primary Campus P-4 and Year 3 teacher.

Music at Del Monte

Our school is alive with the sounds of music! The Camerata and Chamber Strings have been performing with great aplomb in Assembly, preparing the music for the Australian National Anthem, Warami song, Happy Birthday and the College Song. In Week 7 we also showcased particular music groups and events. This time we gave a sneak preview of our Gala Concert item Jubilee Fanfare. Next week it will be the Laudare Singers, Siena Singers and some select string players, to present Corama Uluru. Bravo musicians!

The Gala Concert involved Laudare Singers, Siena Singers, Chamber Strings, Camerata Strings, and all of Year 4 as our leaders of Del Monte. We experienced rehearsing with the ‘big girls’ over in the senior school, singing our combined items and enjoying the talented orchestra accompanying us. We then had another exciting day rehearsing in the city, at the Sydney Town Hall before the Gala Concert at night.

Phillipa Knight
Music Coordinator P-4

Year 1 electricity, light and heat incursion

On Wednesday 21 June, Year 1 attended an incursion with the educational company ‘Ranger Jamie Tours’. This incursion was linked to the students’ Science program where they are exploring the unit ‘Energy Comes in Different Forms’.

During the incursion the Year 1 students investigated and identified how light, sound, and heat energy are sensed and produced. The students used their senses to explore the properties of familiar objects and phenomena, identifying similarities and differences.

Kelly Garcia and Julianna Hunt
Year 1 teachers

Kiss & Ride

At Santa Sabina College, for your convenience and the safety of our students we offer a pick up and drop off service in Carrington Avenue, ‘Kiss and Ride’. The Kiss and Ride zone assists to minimise congestion and risk when used properly by all in our community. These zones operate under the same conditions as no parking zones, i.e. you may stop to drop off or pick up children for a maximum of two minutes.

On the back of your Kiss and Ride sign are the procedures for the use of the Kiss and Ride service. Please note that the Rangers are very active in the area to enforce adherence to council regulations of Kiss and Ride Zones. Please contact the office delmonte@ssc.nsw.edu.au if you require a new or additional sign.

For the safety of children in the Kiss and Ride zone – points to remember 

1. Drivers need to remain in their vehicle: To assist with traffic flow in the Kiss and Ride Zone, drivers are encouraged to remain in the car while the children get in and out. To facilitate this, children should travel with bags in the car and not in the boot. If a driver must get out, they must be within three metres of their vehicle.

2. Timely: If your child does not enter or exit the vehicle within two minutes you are required to travel around the block and re-enter the zone at the end of the queue. 

3. Kerb Side Entry/Exit Please ensure that your child enters/exits the vehicle on the kerb side for their safety. 

4. Exit from Kiss and Ride: Please drive onto The Boulevarde to exit the Kiss and Ride Zone. U turns in this busy area are not permitted for the safety of all.

For the safety of all in our community parents are reminded that u-turns on Carrinton Ave are both illegal and unsafe for our children.

Thank you kindly for your cooperation as we work together to keep our children safe. If you have any questions or need further clarification please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Joanne Giannini                                                                                                                                      
Head of Primary P-4

Prep: True Colours

This term our Prep students have continued to engage in the Friendology program. Our focus has been on building their emotional literacy by exploring different feelings/emotions. Research tells us that children feel happier and cope better with challenges when they understand and manage their emotions. When young children can recognise and talk about strong emotions such as excitement, anger and disappointment they are less likely to express these emotions in their behaviour, but instead in their words.

To assist the students in building their emotional literacy, firstly the children practised making different facial expressions to represent different emotions

The students then viewed photographs of children displaying a variety of different emotions and we discussed as a class what emotion each child may be experiencing and why they may be feeling that way.

Maybe he’s sad because someone took his toy.

Abbie

I think she is angry because someone hurt her.

Nikki

He could be excited because it is his birthday.

Nathan

Following on from this, the children each chose an emotion and a corresponding colour for that emotion. They painted an oval in their chosen colour and then once they were dry they used permanent texta to add facial features and limbs to further represent that emotion.

This week the children have reflected on times where they have felt happy, sad, angry, nervous, surprised, worried or scared. They recorded these reflections using illustrations and explained their images to their educators. Some of their responses were:

I feel happy when I go to school.

Ireh

I am hapy when I play with Victor.

Richard

I feel sad when the school is closed

Ayanna

I feel sad when flowers die.

James

I feel nervous when I go to swimming lessons.

Willow

I felt worried when I first went to school.

Iggy

I would feel angry if someone hurt me.

Willow

I feel surprised when someone is singing so good.

Ayaana

I felt scared when there was a storm.

Abigail

In Term 3, Prep will continue with the Friendology program, focusing on what makes a healthy friendship.

Clare Wood
Prep Teacher

Gala Soccer Day

More than 40 students from Years 3 and 4 represented Santa Sabina this week at the Sydney Catholic Schools Conference 2 Soccer Gala Day at Concord.

DM Dance Club

In Term 2, Stage 2 students were able to engage in the co-curricular activity of Dance. This was facilitated weekly during their lunchtime playbreak. Throughout the term, students focused on learning new dance skills, improved their technique and worked on their flexibility. They had opportunities to work in a variety of different groups such as whole class, small group, partner work and individually to develop their dance abilities. It was fantastic to see all the dancers attempting new skills with a positive approach to these challenges.  

Some of the Stage 2 Dance Club students’ reflections: 

I enjoyed learning new stretches to help me improve on my splits. 

Harper Doueihi
Year 4

I like trying new things. 

Rafqa Chidiac
Year 4 

Each week we try different things and we get better and better every time.

Nieve Merhi
Year 3 

I loved the stretching activities that we did in partners. 

Madelene Nakhle
Year 3 

I loved making our own mini dances in groups.  

Angelina Khalil
Year 3 

I liked that we get to dance with our friends and the stretching.

Khaleesi Staveris
Year 3

I liked learning new tricks to help my dancing.

Vera Zhang
Year 3 

Learning new dance steps I have never learnt before and working on my splits. 

Catalina Nader
Year 4 

We improved our skills, thanks to our teacher. 

Abby Micallef
Year 4

Reneé Andrews 
Acting Assistant Head of Primary 

Science Club

Science Club provides learning opportunities to engage with chemistry, biology, and physics in a fun manner with students from Kindergarten to Year 4.

Our young scientists have developed scientific thinking skills. We hope during the term that we have  promoted their curiosity through fun experiments, asking questions and investigating the natural world around them. We have had an exciting term, full of wonder and discovery!

Try this experiment at home over the holidays

Colour Changing Milk.

Brianna Cammalleri and Tina Nicotina
Primary Years Teachers

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

To our wonderful parents/guardians of our students and our students of Santa Maria del Monte:

Your response to the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal has been enormous and is so much appreciated. You have touched our hearts and your generosity will make a difference to many people and help rebuild lives.

Homelessness can affect anyone and has become a more concerning issue in 2023. The fact is in 2023 there is a fast-growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia: women over 55. It has been brought on by the cost of living and housing affordability. 

I’ve spoken to a person who works at the Burwood Vinnies Support Centre and she was telling me that they cannot keep up with the demand. Therefore, the plan will be to keep encouraging people to donate to this appeal throughout the winter months of next term.  

Finally, I would once again truly like to say thank you for everyone’s generosity and I would like to leave you with our Lord’s words in Matthew 25:

34 ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” 37 ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”40 ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Therefore to continue to help the HOMELESS CRISIS Santa Maria del Monte would really appreciate the following items for the Burwood Vinnies Centre:

Non-Perishable and in-date food items such as: dry pasta,  pasta sauce, cooking oil, tinned soup, tinned vegetables, tinned fruit, tinned tuna, rice, chicken noodles, beef noodles, Kraft cheese blocks, long life milk, sugar, coffee, tea, Milo, juice, Vegemite, assorted biscuits, Sao biscuits, nut-free muesli bars, Jatz biscuits. 

Winter Woolies in new condition (not pre-owned or used) such as: blankets, socks, scarves, winter hats/beanies, fuzzy slippers, handkerchiefs, mittens, earmuffs.

Toiletry Items such as: shampoo, conditioner, soap/body/wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, razors, shaving cream, hand sanitiser, lip balm.

God Bless you all

Sebastian Dell

Kindergarten Friendology Program

How to be a ‘Friendship Ninja’

Kindergarten commenced the Friendology Program this term to help the students navigate their way through the ups and downs in their friendships.

The students have started to learn the skills and language to help them with the ‘rollercoaster world’ of friendship, and are reminded frequently by their teachers that it is normal for friendship to feel challenging or tricky at times. The students have also learnt how to be a ‘friendship ninja’ by being kind, open, honest, brave, and most of all, by having fun. The students were particularly interested in learning how to be kind to themselves through positive ‘self-talk’, as this is just as important as being kind to others.

The students were also very interested in learning how to be brave, as bravery helps us to learn, grow and become stronger. The notion of ‘bravery’ was compared for the students to the feeling of having butterflies in their tummies. The students were taught explicitly that bravery is when they feel the butterflies, but they do something anyway because it is the right thing to do.

Kindergarten students gather as a grade to complete the Friendology lessons. They enjoy spending time with students in different classes, and look forward to their fortnightly lessons together.

Rebecca Saba, Brooke Napper, Anna Donato and Melissa Mannah
Classroom Teachers

Kindergarten: Excursion to Sydney Wildlife World

On Tuesday 13 June, Kindergarten embarked on an exciting adventure to Sydney Wildlife Zoo in Darling Harbour. This term, the students have been learning to write a descriptive text on Australian animals, specifically the wombat.

Unfortunately, Ringo the Bare-Nosed Wombat sought refuge in his burrow when he heard the footsteps of the beautiful Kindergarten students. However, we did see some other fascinating animals, such as Princess the Southern Cassowary and Kofi the Goodfellow Tree Kangaroo.

We were fortunate to listen to some of the animal keeper talks, and answered very inquisitive questions on things we wanted to learn more about. We had such a wonderful day, and what made the day so special was the help of our amazing parent volunteers. We look forward to more adventures like this in the future.

Rebecca Saba
Classroom Teacher

Artistic Director

Gala Concert

Congratulations on a beautiful concert. I was immensely proud of the effort of all the students and staff. It could not have been better – well done to everyone!

The entire concert will be published on the SSC Youtube channel in due course.

Young Instrumentalists Festival – The Metropolitan Orchestra

Congratulations to some of our Del Monte and Gioia House performers at the Metropolitan Orchestra’s Young Instrumentalist Festival on Sunday 18 June at Ashfield Town Hall:

Estelle Gilmovich – Year 6
Maria Fredericks – Year 6
Leah Han – Year 5
Also Aiden Curren – Year 4
Mason Xu – Year 2

Giaio House Instrumental Program – Semester 1 Concert

Congratulations to the Gioia House Strings and Mini Maestros performers on Wednesday. One hundred and fifty parents were treated to the outstanding work of the students and staff. What a fabulous way to finish the term, especially after the mammoth effort of the Gala Concert.

Semester 2 Private Music Tuition Links

Bookings are now open for Semester 2 Private Music Tuition and Taiko Ensembles. Please find the booking links below: 
2023 PREP – YEAR 4 & MBH SEMESTER 2 PRIVATE MUSIC TUITION – https://www.trybooking.com/CJJJU
2023 YEAR 5 – YEAR 12 SEMESTER 2 PRIVATE MUSIC TUITION – https://www.trybooking.com/CJJKA
2023 PRIMARY YEARS TAIKO CLUB – SEMESTER 2 – https://www.trybooking.com/CJJXA
2023 JUNIOR TAIKO ENSEMBLE – SEMESTER 2 – https://www.trybooking.com/CJJXD
2023 SENIOR TAIKO ENSEMBLE – SEMESTER 2 – https://www.trybooking.com/CJJXI

Timothy Chung
Artistic Director

Winter Holiday Tennis Camp

Term 2 Sports wrap up

It has been an extremely busy term in the sport and co-curricular domains and our students have made all of our community really proud.

In the Representative Sports Pathways within the Sydney Catholic Schools (Primary students), the Catholic Girls Secondary Schools Sports Association (CGSSSA) and Combined Catholic Colleges (Senior School) we have seen students succeeding in Football (Soccer), Cross Country, Athletics, Hockey, Volleyball and Netball.

We witnessed a great deal of enthusiasm, House spirit (the best I have ever seen in Schools I have worked so far) and participation in the Senior and Junior Athletics Carnivals. It is so heartwarming to see how proud our students are for being part of the Santa Sabina College community and the sense of community and belonging the College naturally offers to staff, parents and students.

IGSA, IPSHA and ERNA Netball Saturday sport were also a highlight of our programs where our students could showcase their commitment and passion for the sport, showing great sportsmanship and support to one another.

Our debaters have also shone through the competitions they were taking part in, showing that Santa students are very persuasive and can confidently (and quickly) develop smart thinking over any topic, offering the audiences very entertaining rounds of debating.

I had the opportunity for the first time to watch over three weeks the famous “St of Origin” when our students had three epic weeks battling it out against the St Patrick’s Strathtfield students over three different events (Netball, Volleyball and Debating) to be crowned this year’s champion. Unfortunately, the gentlemen had a little edge on the two last events (Volleyball and Debating) after a whopping Santa win on Netball to take this year’s title.

Our Representative Volleyball program has definitely taken off with our teams taking part in the Sydney Volleyball League, in preparation for the NSW Volleyball Schools Cup starting this week. The levels of play in such competitive set ups were outstanding and I am extremely hopeful of great performances to come in Term 3 and ultimately in Term 4 when we embarc on the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup on the Gold Coast in December.

And finally (please see Ms Williams article on it) our Dancers have started they journey with a Hollywood-like showcase in the School Hall and two great wins in the first Eistedfodd competition.

To close the term with a golden key, we ran trials in preparation for next term and the students commitment and enthusiasm was second to none shaping us up to a great  Term 3 of Sport.

I would like to thank the team I feel blessed to have working alongside me for the dedication and care towards students ensuring every minute spent on the court, field or stage is a very special one and that Santa Sabina College Sport creats life long memories to all of us.

A special mention to Ms Rachael Simmons who is taking on the motherhood journey, farewelling us for the next 12 months. Rachael has been a rock solid member of the department providing great services to the College and personally being a great help at this starting period of mine here at Santa. We wish her all the best for this very exciting life event and we are definitely looking forward to seeing her back in a year.

Luiz Ramalho, Director of Sport and Co-Curricular Actvities.

Over 150 students from year 3-12 represented the College across 9 teams in 4 different IGSA and IPSHA competitions this term!

Our 6 basketball teams have faced some tough competition from other Independent girls schools across Sydney this term in the IGSA (7-12) Championship Season and I applaud each girl for their continued determination throughout this term! It has been wonderful to see the results and skill level improve each week from all teams. A season highlight for our teams was the commanding victory for SAN04 in round 5 beating MLC 53-10!

Miss C Crampton (Basketball Coordinator)

It has definitely been a strong term for our hockey players in the IPSHA (3-6) Competition and IGSA (7-12) Invitation Season! There were many new faces at hockey this term from girls in year 3 up to our senior students. Our year 5/6 Super 8’s team had a fantastic victory 6-0 to Barker College in week 6 which was definitely a highlight for our IPSHA results this term. I hope all of our new players enjoyed their first season and I thank our continuing players for returning for another fantastic season of hockey at the College!

Miss C Crampton (Hockey Coordinator)

Representative Sport Update

NSW Futsal Championships

Last week, the senior representative futsal team competed in the NSW Futsal Championships, going head to head with schools from across Sydney.

In our first game, we were able to claim success against Holroyd High School with our attackers putting away some fantastic goals. The defence held their own and remained strong to ensure Santa maintained a clean sweep for the remainder of the game. Despite tensions rapidly escalating as we were faced with a game against Marsden High School, it quickly eased as our attackers put away a phenomenal goal. Unfortunately, under the pressing time conditions, we were unable to secure another goal and lost 2-1. Santa soon picked up their stamina resulting in a glorious win against Burwood Girls High School. This earned the team a chance to conquer the semi-finals and gain a win against a very skilled Emanuel School. During this tense yet entertaining match, we were unfortunately unable to bring home victory. Nonetheless, each and every single player maintained a commendable display of sportsmanship, perseverance and enthusiasm throughout the day. The competition was a fantastic opportunity for girls across senior years to establish bonds and healthy team dynamics in a competitive and enjoyable way; a pivotal example of the rich value sports brings to the college. On behalf of the team we thank Ms Dalageorgos and Ms Page for their commitment leading up to the tournament and for their outstanding coaching skill.

~ Maree Sialepis (Year 12 Futsal Player)

NSW Futsal Championships 16’S

On Wednesday, 7th June, the Under 16s Representative Futsal team participated in the NSW Futsal Championships, consisting of players from Year 7 to Year 10. Our first game was against Burwood Girls High School. It was a thrilling match and started off slowly, but we persevered as a team and came away with a 4-0 win. We demonstrated exceptional teamwork scoring 4 goals and maintained a clean sheet. Despite scoring two great goals in our second game against St Narsai Assyrian Christian College, they proved too strong taking the win with 4 lucky goals. Our last round competition game against Australian International Academy was very entertaining. Our team continued to improve and we ended up with a 1-1 draw. We were unlucky to not win this game, but our overall results were good enough to push us into the Semi finals as we finished second in our pool. Our Semi final saw our team enthusiastically cheering each other on and playing our best as we knew what was at stake. We needed a win in order to progress to the next round.  Our Year  7 students, Catherine Sialepsis and Francesca Placanica played fantastic futsal which led us to score our only goal of the game against the Emmanuel School. They had very experienced players which ultimately led them to win 4-1 and progress straight to the finals. Our team bonded over our interest in Futsal and the tournament that we participated in was a great chance to show our skill, our camaraderie and our sportsmanship. Thank you, to the teachers that coached and encouraged us and a special thanks to the Year 7 and Year 10 students that stepped up to ensure that we had a full team.

~ Cecilia Cicco (Year 10 Futsal Player)

NSWCCC and MacKillop Cross Country

Congratulations to a number of students who competed at the NSWCCC and MacKillop Cross Country Championships on Tuesday 13 June at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park.

NSWCCC Championships – representing CGSSSA;

Emma Wheadon – 18s – 4th

Annika Ingwersen – 17s – 7th

Scarlett Chidiac – 13s – 28th

Una Quinn – 12s – 51st

MacKillop Championships – representing Sydney Catholic Schools

Freya Ingwersen – 11s – 5th

Abigail Schutt – 11s – 50th

Emma Elphick – 12s – 31st

Isla The – 12s – 34th

CGSSSA Athletics

A team of 49 Santa Sabina athletes represented the College at the CGSSSA Athletics Championships at Sydney Olympic Park last Thursday, doing the College very proud. There were some fantastic results and a number of students have automatically qualified for the NSWCCC Championships next term.

Some notable achievements from the day include;

Mikayla Tadros – 3rd 12 Years Age Champion

Sophie Hickey  – 13 Years Age Champion

Olynda Lebeau  – 3rd 15 Years Age Champion

Lily Stewart – 16 Years Age Champion

The NSWCCC Athletics Championships will be held on Monday 11 September at Sydney Olympic Park.

ERNA Netball

Thank you to all the Santa parents and Y12 students who volunteered their time and helped with our canteen and table duties in round 7, it was very much appreciated and showed great Santa community spirit. 

Good luck to all teams in round 8 on June 24, our last game before the holidays. Don’t forget to wear your crazy socks and funky hairdo and make a donation to The Kid’s Cancer Project, a very worthy cause.

There is no training during the first two weeks of holidays but the courts will be made available on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 July for teams to train anytime between 9am & 2pm in preparation for round 9 on July 15.  Training will be coordinated with each team via their coach and or manager.

Last but certainly not least, congratulations to Amelia Goff and Gianna Leonard who have both received their ERNA Encouragement Award for Umpiring.  Well done!

~ Ms Gocher (Netball Coordinator)

Co Curricular News/wrap up (LR)

Please note that registrations for the following Co-Curricular Actvities close this Friday, the 23/06:

Co-curricular Activities – closing Friday 23 June

• Fit Club (Years 5-12)
• Run Club (Years 5-12)
• Senior Boxing (Years 10-12)
• Arabic Lessons (Years 4-12)
• Dance Development Program (Years 7-10)

I would like to thank all the helpand support of our Community to the College Co-Curricular programs and we are very much looking forward to a great Term 3 .

Luiz Ramalho, Director of Sport and Co-Curricular Activities.

Dance Update (BW)

What an amazing start to the dance season it has been! On Tuesday 30 May, all of our 120 Representative Dancers performed their 8 routines in their first performance at the SSC Rep Dance Showcase. This event is a highlight of the season as it is the first time family, friends and the wider community see them perform. It was an energetic evening and we were so proud of all of our dancers.
No time was wasted as our Senior Dance teams competed at their first eisteddfod of the year on Sunday 4 June. The prestigious Sydney Eisteddfod, which is in its 90th year of operation, is our biggest eisteddfod of the season. The Senior Contemporary, Senior Jazz, Senior Musical Theatre and Senior Hip Hop Teams all represented the College so well at the eisteddfod and performed beautifully as well as demonstrating great teamwork both on and off stage. All teams received great feedback and high scores from the adjudicators and a particular special mention to the Senior Jazz Team who placed 2nd in their section against 20 other competitors! This was a huge success for the team as this section is seen as one of the toughest in the season. Another big congratulations to our Senior Hip Hop Team who took out 1st Place in their section! The excitement was truly ecstatic during the awards ceremony and we are so proud of all our dancers. We look forward to our next eisteddfod on the 22nd July where our junior teams will also be competing.

Bryony Williams – Dance Coordinator and Year 5 Teacher

SSC Rep Dance Showcase Video

SSC Rep Dance Squad 2023 – Showcase Photo

Debating and Public Speaking

CSDA Debating

The final regular round of the CSDA Debating competition saw our 12 CSDA teams come up against St Pat’s in the final Saint of Origin Round with the Debate of Origin. It was a fiercely contested round, with Pat’s eventually finishing as the victors. It was fantastic to see so many parents, staff, friends and families supporting all of our teams and seeing the skills of the Santa debaters on show.

After the six rounds, three teams progressed into the finals rounds. The Year 7A team and Year 11A sides progressed through to the Elimination Rounds and the Year 10A, who remained undefeated for the regular rounds, progressed straight through to the Quarter finals, which will be held in Week 1 of Term 3. Our Year 7A side was unfortunately knocked out in Elimination 1 and our 11As won both of their Elimination rounds and will join the 10As in the Quarter Finals.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the CSDA competition this year. It was great to have so many rounds go ahead in person after many interrupted and online seasons. Thank you to the coaches and adjudicators for their dedication and the families for their support of the Program.

A special mention to our Year 12s who have shown great commitment to debating over their many years at the College. We hope to see many of them return next year in coaching and adjudicating roles.

Archdale Debating

The Archdale debating teams have finished the first five rounds of the IGSA competition, and all teams have had success, working on their skills week in and week out. For now, the competition takes a break until Week 2, Term 3, with 2 remaining regular rounds before the finals. We wish the teams the best of luck for the remaining rounds and we hope to see many progressing through to the finals.

NSW Plain English Speaking Award

Congratulations to Molly Hoogland who has made it all the way to the State Final of the NSW Plain English Speaking Award. The Award has required Molly to deliver an eight-minute speech on a topic of her choice, as well as having to present an impromptu speech on a topic of the adjudicators choice, with three minutes preparation time. The State final will be held on Thursday 22 June at the NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre in Surry Hills.

IGSA Festival of Speech

The IGSA Festival of Speech will be held again in Term 4, and we are hoping to increase our team of Santa students representing the College. Please keep an eye out on the Debating and Public Speaking VO page for information and an expression of interest form.

Rachael Simmons
Assistant Director of Sport and Co-curricular Activities

Santa Dialogues – new episode

Making big trouble – Service, Social Justice and Advocacy

At Santa Sabina there has always been a strong emphasis on service to others and social justice. What drives us is a response to the Gospel and living out Jesus’ message. The Dominican Order teaches its members to serve others through compassion, care for the marginalised and by making a positive difference in the world through service.

This episode features ex-student and current teacher Jane Sulis OAM, ex-student Sarah Dale, Principal Solicitor at the Refugee Advice & Casework Service and Year 12 students Ruby Bron, Olivia Nakhle and Sophie Way. They discuss with College Principal Paulina Skerman how their commitment to social justice and care for our earth and its people drives them to act justly, take action and speak their truth. 

Santa Dialogues is available on our YouTube channel and on Spotify.

Order of Australia recognition for our inspirational Dominican

Staff Story: Ms Jane Sulis OAM

Our long-serving Religious Education and Year 5 teacher and ex-student Jane Sulis was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours List for service to the community and to education.

Jane Sulis, who is also our Outreach Coordinator, has been employed at Santa Sabina College for 21 years. During that time, Jane has been an exceptional educator and advocate. Her commitment to social justice, outreach and service is not just part of her job, it is a vocation that has influenced Santa Sabina staff, students and families. She has led countless service and social justice initiatives that support a large number of Sydney’s most vulnerable. The impact of her work opens the minds and hearts of people to what they can achieve for others when they had no thought of it prior to meeting her.

Jane’s generosity of spirit and commitment to advocating for those unable to do so addresses systemic social justice problems in her local community and educates others to have an attitude of fundamental respect for all people. Her advocacy provides solutions and structures that address the inequities of people in our community and provides them with tangible and long-lasting outcomes. Our school community is beyond proud of the work that Jane does in not only educating the next generation of social justice advocates but in supporting those in need.

Jane herself is delighted with the award saying it recognises the importance of doing things in the community.

‘Any individual can make a difference’, Jane says.

‘So many people will say “I’m just one person, what can I do? I won’t make a difference to the big problem.” My approach is that although you can’t help everybody you can help somebody’.

Our social media feeds – Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn – lit up with the news of Jane’s OAM when we published it recently. The tributes came pouring in from within and outside the Santa Sabina community – more than 150 comments of congratulations such as these:

Congratulations Jane! I have been honoured to work alongside you and you have inspired me with your generosity and selflessness. The energy and passion for what you do is a special gift and you have helped so many people.

Janet Mg

Wonderful news and a very deserving recipient! Congratulations Jane! Well done!

Steven O’Connor

Congratulations Jane ..one of my fellow class mates ..I feel we were well schooled in Social Justice at Santa Sabina in the 60’s …

Judie Gardiner

Congratulations. So well deserved for all your tireless and loving service, at our school and in the wider community 

Daniela Sicurella

Congratulations, Jane. So well deserved. I’m so happy that your tireless work for social justice has been recognised. You have made an enormous impact educating the girls about social justice issues. 

Jeanette Carroll

Congratulations Jane, my girls were constantly inspired by your dedication to social justice issues. You have been a wonderful role model and you absolutely deserve this recognition.

Anne Bell

This is so well deserved. Jane your compassion and commitment to those that are not heard is beyond extraordinary

Maz Loof

Congratulations Ms Sulis. So happy that your service, generosity and values have been recognised. So grateful that both of my girls had you as a role model during their years at SSC.

Keiren Witting

Victoria Harper
Publications and Marketing Officer

Our inaugural Santa Sleepout

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Matthew 25:40

Last Friday night, a group of Year 12 students took part in our inaugural ‘Santa Sleepout’ in support of the St Vincent De Paul Winter Sleepout. When planning the sleepout, my intention was to build an understanding of the issues surrounding homelessness by giving students a glimpse of what life is like for someone experiencing homelessness. Everyone was asked to bring an open mind to truly understand why they were taking part in the sleepout and the importance of this experience. So, to begin the evening, I asked them to think about what they had packed and to reflect on what they deemed essential for sleeping out, as well as whether these would be considered essential items for someone experiencing homelessness.

While it was only Year 12 students who ‘slept rough’ for the night, the whole school community played a part in this sleepout due to the generous donations everyone brought in. These donations were incredibly important as we used them to make up 356 snack packs which will be distributed to people in need via Night Patrol.

During the evening, we heard from Ms Sulis, Ms Kempers and Ms Dunphy about their first-hand experiences with Night Patrol and completed a Cost of Living activity. In this activity, we were provided with a $545.80 budget, which is equivalent to the average Newstart payment, and we had to determine how we should spend this money to cover living expenses. After this, we enjoyed delicious soups for dinner, made by the Year 12 Food Technology cohort, had a visit from the ‘Vinnes Van’ for some late-night hot chocolate, and ended the evening with a liturgy.

Those who attended the sleepout brought a great attitude and outlook to the night. They participated in all the activities with such interest and insight. Their comments and reflections made in our initial conversations and final liturgy were reflective and inspiring.

Here are some thoughts and reflections on the sleepout:

I am forever grateful to have participated in the Santa Sleepout with my peers. It is so clear we have a strong sense of social justice and service at the College because all the students participating were so willing to help pack the snack packs, engage in all the activities, listen to our teachers speak of their experiences and even sleep outside. After the liturgy and our reflection, I feel even more connected to my peers, and teachers and more knowledgeable about homelessness in Australia and how I can help others.

Olivia Nakhle

On Friday night a group of committed Year 12 students embarked on the first Santa Sleepout. It was an amazing opportunity to connect as a cohort as we played fun games, packed snack packs for Vinnies night patrol and some of us sleeping outside and others inside. My favourite part of the experience was the night liturgy where we expressed our gratitude for our peers and deepened our connection to our faith. It was truly a wonderful and memorable experience where I was able to broaden my understanding of the impact of homelessness through the experience.

Sienna Signorelli

The Santa Sleep Out was a great opportunity for Year 12s to help the homeless community and reflect on all the gifts we have been given. To start off the night, our teachers that partake in Vinnies shared many stories with us, giving us a sense of appreciation for all that we have been taking for granted. The rest of the night consisted of discussions, packing snack packs for the homeless and participating in activities that allowed us to be empathetic with those who are less fortunate than us. We then concluded the night with a liturgy where we were able to reflect on what we did. Overall, it was a wonderful experience that taught us to be grateful as we helped others.

Mariam Ibrahim

I was so pleased with the way the sleepout was received and am so grateful to the school community for supporting the initiative. The College has a long history of supporting St Vincent De Paul Society and this event was an excellent way to consolidate this relationship and raise awareness and advocacy for more than 120,000 people who are experiencing homelessness around Australia.

Lisa Haddad
Faith and Mission Prefect 2023

Uniform shop holiday trading hours

The Santa Sabina College Uniform Shop will close for the school holidays on Friday 23 June at 4:00pm and will re-open for Term 3 on Monday 17 July at 8:00am.

Normal Trading Hours

Monday                                           8:00am – 4:00pm
Tuesday                                           1:00pm – 5:00pm
Wednesday                                     8:00am – 4:00pm
Thursday                                         1:00pm – 5:00pm
Friday                                              8:00am – 4:00pm

Online orders can be placed at www.midford.com.au, please then select Santa Sabina College.

Pass Phrase is SS1894.  Orders are packed during opening hours.

Please note the Uniform Shop does not accept cash, payment is via eftpos/credit card only.

From the P&F Association

As the end of school Term 2 approaches, the P&F committee would like to express our thanks and gratitude to all the parents who have participated and helped organise events. The numerous community building events, from Year Group catch-ups to Mother’s Day breakfast and lunch activities (to name a few), have created opportunities to strengthen bonds within our school community.

We wish you and your family a happy and safe school holidays.

We look forward to seeing you all at future events in Term 3. Together, we can build a thriving community and once again thank you for your invaluable support.

It’s back on… the Santa Sabina College Golf Day.

Join us for a day of golf, open to all, as we come together to build a strong community and create wonderful memories.

When: Tee off at 7:30am, Thursday 12 October 2023
Where: Strathfield Golf Club

The cost is $189.00 per person which includes breakfast, 18 holes, lunch and drinks. There are limited spots available so please book to avoid disappointment.

If you have any questions please contact George Ayoub on 0414 915 910 or Joseph Gittani on 0400 413 431. 

Joseph Gittani
President

Technology and internet use for our young people

Our Young People are smart. They know so much about the safe use of technology and the internet. They’ve had to learn fast. When I was young, computers were just starting to enter into homes and the internet wasn’t around. Technology and the internet are now an inherent part of our modern lives.

Our young people have already learned, through school, through friends, through family:

• the importance of using secure passwords AND not sharing passwords with anyone
• That some websites and apps can’t be trusted; going so far to know that some websites and apps may use the information we provide for wicked purposes
• that there are some people online who can’t be trusted and therefore not to speak to people who we don’t know
• that there are some people we do know who can bully, troll, or act in a mean way
• the importance of having some screen-free time and not having our phones near our bed at night.

They know so much, yet unsurprisingly, our young people also find it hard to maintain safe technology use. Why is this the case? There may be a few factors at play:

• Role modelling: at a simple level, our young people watch our use of technology and habits, and normalise that the behaviours that they are seeing also apply to them (for example, using your phone in bed).
• Optimism bias – ‘It won’t happen to me’ – is a thought that may be going through our young person’s mind, albeit at a subconscious level.
• Brain development and use:
  • The use of the internet and social media has an impact on the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is considered the reward system in our brain and is responsible for motivation. Our brain has a release of dopamine when someone ‘likes’ or comments on a social media post. Our brain seeks out these as a means of maintaining motivation. When our brain seeks out the validation on social media it can become addictive for a person. The challenge is that social media has no natural ‘stopping cues’ to help us get off social media; we could be scrolling for hours for that next dopamine hit. This reinforces prolonged time on the internet.
  • Our brains don’t fully develop until 25 years of age. As such, whilst the brains of our young people are still developing and growing, unsafe technology and internet use can have a negative impact.

The facts are that poor technology use can have the following physical impacts for our young people:

• being hacked
• data can be farmed for wicked use.

Poor habits for technology use can have an impact on the mental health of our young people:

• poor sleep
• lower self-esteem due to comparing ourselves with others and the perception that others on the internet are living ‘perfect lives’ when, in reality, this is not the case (social perfectionism)
• the impacts of being bullied/trolled.

What can we do to support the ongoing safe use of technology and internet:

• Create and maintain a family agreement of technology use. This includes:
  •  Time and place to use and not use technology. For example:
    • no devices at mealtime
    • no devices in the bedroom
    • time limits for devices
  • How to hold one another accountable for the family agreement.
• Role model, as adults,positive behaviour for technology and internet use.
• Help young people to learn how to be respectful and kind on social media, and how to support someone who may be experiencing bullying/trolling behaviour.
• Create family rituals that don’t involve technology.

Debra Brodowski
P&F Association

Ex-Students’ Association

What a wonderful event the Golden Lunch was for ex-students having left the College 50 years plus. Friendships were rekindled, laughter and love permeated the hall. A beautiful photo display organised by Trudie Rogers, on our committee, encouraged a walk down memory lane.

To recognise the occasion the Association gave a gift bag including an engraved pen, to the 36, 1973 girls. We held a popular raffle to raise funds and contributed a small amount to the cost of the function.

The Career Women’s Networking Breakfast on 2 June also brought many ex-students together in their role as mentors to current students. Hannah Rayment spoke passionately about her time as a student and career professional; the impact the College had in developing her skills and shaping her choices. The Association was once again proud to sponsor the breakfast.

Our thanks goes to the College, particularly the Community Relations team for these annual functions which bring so many ex-students together.

Elizabeth Pooley

President

Vacation Care

Vacation care commences this Thursday, and the program is jam-packed with exciting leisure activities that will satisfy the interests of all children.

To get things moving, the program begins with two days of Tennis followed by an excursion to Strathfield Park, a disco party, and an action circus in the second week. The program includes the following STEM workshops: The Magic of Science, Brix Works, and Young Inventors to engage the curious children and active experiences including laser tag, rock climbing, and exergames to test and challenge them physically. As NAIDOC Week occurs during vacation care a workshop with Koori Kinnections has also been planned to celebrate and recognise the history and culture of Aboriginal people. There will be occasions to cook such as on the pizza party day and ample opportunities to create and connect and have fun with friends. Vacation care is certainly the place to be for your child if they are looking for something new and stimulating to do during the school holidays.

Eligible families are entitled to claim Child Care Subsidy through their MyGov account to cover the cost of OOSH fees. Presently families can also use the Services NSW BASC Voucher to pay for the cost of OOSH fees. 

Students from primary school and Gioia House are all welcome to attend vacation care once they are enrolled in OOSH. To learn more about the OOSH programs including vacation care, please email the OOSH Administrator Frances Windon at ooshmail@ssc.nsw.edu.au

We look forward to seeing your child laugh and learn at OOSH during vacation care.