Year 8 Woodwork – Timber clock or sign

In Year 8 woodwork this Semester students got the choice to make a timber clock or hanging wall sign. This project was designed and introduced by student teacher Ryley Martin, who demonstrated the safety and procedures of the woodwork room. Students began by learning how to use the bandsaw and biscuit cutter to create a timber panel. They then designed the shape, cut it out using the bandsaw and sanded it down perfectly. The Year 8’s demonstrated a strong ability to independently manage their own projects within the workroom and problem solve how to create unique shapes. Using Adobe Illustrator they designed their own custom laser engraved images and number markers. The students should be very proud of the products they have created.

“While making the wooden clock I enjoyed using the machines to create it.”- Isabella Spadavecchia

“I learnt how to use the disk sander to sand the shape of the clock, and I got to use the biscuit cutter for the first time to join the two pieces of wood together.”- Angelique Ciccone

“I liked being able to find my own image and laser cut it onto my clock”- Evie McGregor

Ms Tess Morcom, Design and Technology Teacher

Year 9 Retreats

On Thursday 10 November, the Year 9 students took part in the Laudato Si’ Retreat which aimed to raise student awareness about the key elements in the encyclical and our responsibility to care for the environment. We were blessed with the best weather for two weeks, after an early morning scare with thunderstorms, and the group started their walk between different stations. Each station had a different theme and presenter and the Pastoral classes moved between each. Students enjoyed lunch in Henley Square and their Copenhagen ice cream.

Laudato Si’ is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle “care for our common home”. In it, the Pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action.” Students were encouraged to think about the urgency of looking after our planet and the need for all of us to be aware and take action.  Thank you to all involved and especially the parents and students as our attendance was excellent and a worthwhile experience had by all.

Further information on Laudato Si’ is available here;

Encyclical: Laudato Si’ – Catholic Earthcare Australia

Laudato Si Action Platform – Catholic Earthcare Australia

Here is a comment from one of the Year 9 students:

“The Year 9 Retreat was a day where we walked in the sunshine around Henley. We walked from station to station learning about the Pope’s letter to the world about the environment, Laudato Si. Activities varied from talks about the topic to persuasive posters about saving our planet. We were blessed with amazing weather and each presenter taught us something unique and invaluable about Laudato Si and other related topics.” – Kiara Didyk 9GPC05

Mr Robert Dempsey, Director of Mission

Year 8 Reception Mentoring

The Year 8 Student Leaders in Term 3 and 4 have been involved in some mentoring sessions with our Reception students from Beverley. In Term 3 the Year 8’s ventured down to Beverley where we were shown around the campus and then did some art activities with their buddies. In Term 4, the Reception students came to the senior campus and participated in a Scavenger Hunt around the campus and played some games with their buddy.

A couple of our leaders commented:

“The sessions with the Receptions were a fun and engaging experience. I strongly encourage this for further years and for it to start in Year 8 so that on their journey through primary school, they will have an experience to remember. I enjoyed the change from school to hanging out with the little kids as well as seeing them so proud to show off their favourite things around their campus.” – Sasha Corbo

“My experience with the Reception students was very fun and educational because it helped my leadership skills grow. My group did a scavenger hunt around the school, then joined with other Receptions and their leaders and played a friendly game of soccer with each other. This was an enjoyable moment and I can’t wait to see my reception buddies again.” – Giuseppe Cardillo

Mr Paul Flaherty, Year 8 Director

Year 9 Accelerated Italian Pen Pal Catch-up at Bottega Gelateria 

On Thursday Year 9 Italian was blessed with a beautiful sunny day, and an engaging opportunity to practice their Italian at Bottega Gelateria in Henley Square. Throughout Semester 2, the students have been corresponding with their pen pal from Nazareth College in Italian. Today they were able to meet in Piazza Henley, meet their pen pal for the first time, chat in Italian about their childhood memories and plans for the weekend.

After students met their pen pal, the Italian piazza experience would not have been complete without a stop at the gelateria. We were fortunate to have the owner, Adriano, open the store especially for the students so they could practice their Italian with a native speaker. Together with their pen pal, the students ordered a gelato of their choice in Italian, choosing from a wide variety of authentic flavours as the ice-cream is prepared daily just like it is in Italy.

After we walked along the jetty and enjoyed the sunshine with new friends, we returned to school, very proud of how far we’ve come in our Italian studies this year. Overall, it was a very enjoyable, relaxing morning where students could get a taste of La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life).

Ms Olivia Andreula, Italian Coordinator

Year 10 Advanced Manufacturing

This Semester the Year 10 Advanced Manufacturing students researched golf putters and then used the OnShape design program and 3D printers to create their own golf putter.  Students were able to use the 3D printers to create a prototype and then modify their designs to make improvements.  They found that the plastic putter heads were very light and therefore in some cases, students added pieces of solid metal to act as weights.

The Taylormade golf company were generous enough to supply us with merchandise to hand out to the best designs, and the thought of being hired to design their next putter was a huge incentive.  There were some very interesting and unique designs with Theo Kousiandis’ coming out on top as our overall Golf Putter Package winner. Other winners of a Taylormade hat were Sam Jarvis, Lewis Chambers, Daniel Porcaro and Steven Kassos.  Examples of their work will be sent to Taylormade.  Stay tuned to hear about any job opportunities that may arise from our results.

Mr Mark Stephens, Design & Technology Teacher

Year 11 Advanced Manufacturing

Students were challenged this semester to create flat pack furniture for children that could be added to the Year 12 Outdoor Construction subject’s cubby houses. This real-world context sparked some amazing ideas from students who worked in teams to use the design process and their understanding of modelling, 3D printing, the CNC Router and the Trotec laser cutter. The brief required students to plan their concepts within only 2 sheets of 9mm Plywood and to incorporate an interactive, fun and educational aspect. Some of the projects designed included a goat bookshelf, a crocodile table, an outer-space chair, a stove, a Christmas tree bookshelf and an elephant shaped microwave.

“I really did enjoy the challenges of this course as it allowed me to explore the software used in this area. I was even able to implement this into my own projects. I learnt how to use Onshape, Keyshot and the CNC cutter. Onshape allows you to implement your ideas into the virtual plane, allowing your vision to come to life, it’s useful for designing things like furniture or gifts and more. Keyshot allowed you to render your design in order to see what it would look like in the real world. The CNC cutter removes your need for IKEA, as you can simply make all your furniture at home.” – Amie Lu

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course throughout the year and enjoyed the challenges that came with it. They tested my problem-solving skills and thinking skills greatly.” – Mitchel Tassone

“New skills I learnt included the process of planning, designing, using Onshape, engineering drawings and assembly. These processes were useful as they challenged you to think critically and carefully about a design that you want to produce.” – Joshua Lucas

Ms Tess Morcom, Design & Technology Teacher

Breakfast Club

It was fun vibes as usual at a very special Breakfast Club last Thursday, when we farewelled our star trio of Year 12 helpers:  College Captains Massimo Cavallo, Avah Topp and College Vice Captain Rana Hussien. Each of them were rewarded for their efforts throughout the year with their very own Breakfast Club Pack including Vegemite, Jam, Honey and a personally engraved Specialty Butter Knife. Special mention also to Nicholas Costa, who always brightened people’s day with his barista skills on the coffee machine throughout the year. Whilst our Year 12’s will be missed; the entire Breakfast Club crew can be proud of the impact they have had within our College Community this year.

Breakfast Club takes place in the Food Tech Kitchen in the LEC every Thursday morning from approx. 8am-8:30am. It has grown into a significant weekly community event where hundreds of students attend each week for some tunes, fun atmosphere and various breakfast treats including toast, pancakes, fruit, juice, milk, and yoghurt. We look forward to working with the College Leaders elect over the next few weeks and 2023. Our final Breakfast Club for the year will take place on Thursday morning in Week 8.

The Breakfast Club Team – Ms Sarah Sokolovic, Administration Officer – Pastoral

2023 Leaders Elect Leadership Workshop

In Week 5, our 2023 Leaders Elect came together for a Leadership Workshop, in preparation for next year. In this workshop, they collaborated to work through scenarios to support College improvement and policy application.

Year 10 Charities Week Drop Off

Last Wednesday, a group of our Year 10 students dropped off donations that were collected from Year 10 students during Charities Week last Term to Foodbank.

In total, we had 50kg of food, which equates to 100 meals!

The students who assisted with the drop-off were:

• Mikayla Roberts
• Georgia Zajkov
• Armani-Louise Rositano

Mr Aldo Calo, Year 10 Director

Year 9 Cultural Incursion

On Tuesday the 22^nd of November, students who chose to study Italian this year had the opportunity to experience a traditional Pizza demonstration and tasting led by a pizzaiolo (pizza maker), Mattia Cirulli. Mattia is from Rome and has been living in Australia for 8 years, where he runs his own pizza cart business.

While Mattia impressively flipped the dough in the air, he explained the differences between Pizza Napoletana, which has a think base and Pizza Romana, which has a thicker crusty with a crispy exterior.

‘It was very deliziosa, had lots of flavour and the demonstration was fun to watch.’

• Liliana

It was lovely to see the students engaging in an authentic Italian context and learning about quality over quantity, which is important not only when preparing food, but expands to all aspects of life in Italy. As Mattia says, pizza is not just about food, but about culture, tradition and passion.

Grazie mille!

Ms Olivia Andreula, Italian Coordinator

From Little Things, Big Things Grow… Acts of Kindness

This week the Year 7 and 8 Eco Squad began one of our biggest projects to date … creating acts of kindness as small gifts for 2023. Kindness is one of our character strengths and, as our Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader,  Tonia Carfora explained, being kind ‘helps our community to know, value and care for each other … [and that] … kindness also protects us from the negative effects of stress. Kindness makes us feel good. The Eco Squad is looking forward to being able to share these acts of kindness next year.

Ms Catherine Pearce, Robyn Palmer and Bridget Kearins, Eco Squad 

Year 7 Italian Animal Enclosure Diorama Creation

Last term all of the Year 7 students went on an excursion to the Adelaide Zoo as part of a cross curricular Science/Italian excursion.

As a follow up task and assessment, Mrs Giglio’s students had fun creating an animal enclosure diorama and then were asked to talk about it in Italian.

Students used the language they learnt on the excursion to describe the features of the animal, talk about what it was doing, where it was from and whether it was endangered or not. This was then presented orally.

The dioramas are currently on display in the library.

Ms Sara Giglio, Teacher