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News &Views Issue 1, 25 January 2018
Contents Quick Dates
Fri 26 Jan AUSTRALIA DAY
Tue 30 Jan 7.00pm Elizabeth Hayes School
Information Night (San Damiano Centre)
Thu 1 Feb Year 7 Reflection Day
Franciscan value this term: LOVE
To be loved as to love… from The Prayer of Saint Francis
With Saint Francis it is all about love: love returning love. When he was praying on La Verna, shortly before he received the sacred
stigmata, Saint Francis prayed for two graces: that he might experience in his own body the pain and suffering Christ bore in his death, and
that he might feel in his heart the love which moved Jesus to love us even to the point of suffering and dying for us. What a tremendous
lover Saint Francis was to make such a request and to follow through like he did.
From the Desk of the Principal
College Deputy
Deputy Principal Mission &
Community
Mission & Community
Assistant Principal—Staff Learning
Assistant Principal—Student Learning
Textbooks 2018
La Cucina
Community Notices—p15-16
Welcome
to our new
students
and
families
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from the desk of Kerrie Tuite, Principal
Thought of the Week:
Senior Pledge 2018
As the 2018 leaders of Mount Alvernia College, we pledge to be women of
integrity, upholding the values on which this College is founded. We promise to be
role models, demonstrating qualities of acceptance, compassion, and joy, each day.
During our final year, we will continue to strive for success and support one
another as well as the College. We will be ambitious and serve with dignity and
authenticity. It is our mission as your leaders to inspire you, the community, to
have pride in our school, empowering you to achieve excellence beyond your
perceived potential.
We commit to furthering the legacy of this College through both word and action.
Together, as women of passion, we will strive to continue the Franciscan tradition
in order to motivate you to flourish in your own individual way.
We are proud to be your Senior class of 2018, and we promise to uphold this
pledge.
Dear Parents and Carers, Staff and Students, and Friends of Mount Alvernia College
It has been a joyous start to the academic year, with the arrival on
Tuesday of our new students, and yesterday with all students returning
after a wonderful summer break. It is fascinating to watch new students
begin and to see the welcome that they receive from the whole school
community. Year 7 students looked impeccable in their new uniforms
and that, with the excitement of the Year 12 students when they
received their ties and badges, and recited their Senior Pledge, really
made me smile. I remember those short years ago when I presented the
now 2018 students with their Mount Alvernia badge, and I reflected that,
while the school years are critical for our young women’s future, they do
go by swiftly and it is so important to lay a great foundation for the
future. It was wonderful to have so many family members and friends at
both assemblies to be with us as we prayed for this year.
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Pax et bonum Kerrie
from the desk of Kerrie Tuite, Principal
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Leadership staff at the College met with all 2018 Seniors on Tuesday, to discuss with them their goals
and plans for this year. We have been using this process for the last few years and the discussion has
proven to be fruitful. You would have seen the OP results already – they are on Facebook – and the
academic success of our 2017 Seniors has made me proud. It confirmed for me that, while there is
always work to do to improve standards, we have made significant headway over the last few years. I
was fortunate to meet with the College Captains and all have their sights set high; I know that we – the
whole community - will work with them so they can achieve their goals.
We were blessed with a surprise visit from Sister Pauline Robinson, Leader
of the Missionary Franciscans Sisters, who dropped in from Rome just in
time to bless the Senior badges and ties. Sister Pauline is well known to the
college community and she travels widely to support the missionary work
of the Sisters. Sister Catherine White, Australian Leader, addressed the
community to remind them of what a
Franciscan education means. It is always
wonderful when we can return to our
beginnings and our Sisters are the
embodiment of Franciscanism for us at
the College, and we continue to be
grateful to them for their leadership and
support.
The excitement continued after assembly when I signed off on a Sister School agreement with Nigawa
Gakiun Franciscan High School in Kyoto, Japan. While we already have cultural trips to Japan, this
agreement will give us the opportunity to send students for short- and long-term language immersion
programmes, thus providing a valuable learning experience for their future. It is a pity that more
students do not study a language as it opens a number of doors for their future careers in what is a
global world. Bilingual people have an advantage over the rest of us.
So you can see from this short piece that the year has begun well. We have a number of new staff; you
will meet them at the various functions that take place this term, and of course you will hear how they
are going through your daughters.
And one last thing: Have you downloaded the MtA App? I love it!!
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From the College Deputy
Welcome to the 2018 College year to every member of our
community. The year has started well, and this year we are
introducing a number of new things into the College to assist
with communication to our community. Today I would like
to introduce you to the Mount Alvernia College App.
You may download the app from the relevant app store for an iPhone or
Android phone. It is a free app and is already active.
There are many aspects to the app and I would like to explain a few to you
today. Also, I encourage you to provide any feedback you may have as we want
it to be easy to use and provide you with useful information.
We have placed information about many areas of school life under the categories
shown on the opening page. These categories may be seen in the image on the
left.
Settings
I suggest that you go to Settings where you can set your preferences for the following:
Receive Push Notifications;
Subscriptions;
as well as other general areas.
It is important that you turn Push Notifications on and then select the relevant
area/s to which you wish to subscribe. If, for example, the Athletics team was
at an after-school carnival and they were running late in getting back to school,
you need to have push notifications on and subscribe to Sports, Athletics to
receive the notification. Similarly, if the girls were going to be late back from
the Year 8 Camp, you would need to select Year 8 in Year Levels.
You can select the various areas to which to subscribe. You can see that the
screen is divided into:
Arts
Outreach
Sport
Year Levels
You may either select all, or choose the area/s in which your daughter is
involved, to receive information.
Notices
In the Notices area you receive area you may see a number on the main screen. This indicates that you have that
number of unread notices. The notices are general notices for everyone.
News
News is general news about what has been happening around the College. It is generally after the event and links
to photographs or more details.
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From the College Deputy
Calendar
The calendar is the general school calendar. It has entries about important events and for each event you tap on
the particular event and see additional information.
Newsletter
This section contains the various College Newsletters:
News & Views
Parent Corner
Activities Corner
Flourish
Co-Curricular
The Co-Curricular section has information about various co-curricular areas in
which the girls may be involved. Currently there are areas relating to:
Sport
Arts
Outreach
When you tap one of these areas you see further information about areas in
that topic. I have shown the Sport page here. If you were to select Athletics on
this page, you see more detailed notices for this area. The numbers beside
each area indicate the number of unread notices.
Contacts
Details of various contacts points in the College are shown here. Currently we have:
Absentee Lines
College Uniform Shop
College Campus
Absentee
If your daughter is absent from school you may notify us via the App. You simply complete the details on the
page and tap Send at the bottom of the page.
You may still ring the absentee line if you wish. This can be done by tapping the phone icon.
Please download and explore the App. Again, we will be continually developing the App so, if you have
comments to make, please use the Feedback section under Settings. I believe it will be a great means of enhancing
our communication with the community.
Have a great week
Michael McDonald
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From the Deputy Principal:
Mission and Community
Dear Families and Friends in Christ
Joy and peace to you as we welcome the new academic year. I certainly hope everyone in our
community enjoyed the Christmas holiday break, and had a chance to relax and rejuvenate.
From the Catholic Bishops of Australia, I bring a message of deep joy and hope.
The Church in this land is entering a time of discernment as we move towards the Plenary Council of
2020 when we will chart a course into the future.
Pope Francis has already announced that the next Synod of Bishops in Rome as a dialogue on Young
People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.
As part of the journey the Catholic Bishops of Australia invite all the people of God in Australia to
celebrate a Year of Youth.
2018 is the Year of Youth.
This will be a year to acknowledge and celebrate the importance and life-giving presence of young
people in the local Church and society. We know very well that young people have a great capacity to
address injustice and create new opportunities for joy and hope. They want to serve, and are willing to
take a chance to make the world a better place.
This call from the Australian Bishops will inspire all we do, with and for our young women in 2018.
As we move forward into our year, let us invite Christ to bless us with the grace to recognise the joy
that young people add to our community and to all of society.
Go well this year.
Alison Stone
See more at: https://youth.catholic.org.au/year-of-youth
Mission and Community news - pp7-9
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Mission and Community
Community Date Claimers
Year 7 Reflection Day: Encounter Jesus every day - Thursday 1 February: The journey
of secondary school has only just begun, so this special day holds much for our Year 7 students. They
are offered the opportunity to encounter others who are on the same path as them and time to
acknowledge that Jesus walks with them. It will be held in the San Damiano Centre from 8.30am
until 3.00pm. Students may wear sports uniform on this day.
Opening Community Mass: Thursday 8 February, 8.50am for 9.00am start in the
San Damiano Centre. Parish priest Fr Joseph ofm will celebrate our Opening Mass
with us. Parents, caregivers, and friends of the College are most welcome to attend.
Year 11 Reflection Day: Jesus as leader; Me as leader - Monday 12 February:
The journey of being servant leaders within and beyond Mount Alvernia College began many years ago,
and this reflection day will foster deeper thinking on this issue. This special day holds much for our
Year 11 students, as they are offered the opportunity to stop, reflect, and act. It will be held at the
Kedron Wavell Community Centre from 8.45am until 3.00pm. Students are expected to find
their own way to the centre. Appropriate street wear or sports uniform may be worn on this day.
Wednesday 14 February, 10.30–10.55am Ash Wednesday liturgy of the word will
invite us all to ‘nourish ourselves’ with spiritual food for the journey during the 40 desert days—in
the San Damiano Centre during Home Room.
Commissioning of Year 12 Captains – Thursday 22 February, 9.00am, San
Damiano Centre: Parents and caregivers of our Year 12 Captains are invited to attend this
special ceremony as we honour the elected student captains for 2018.
OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES:
Prep Reading Mornings for Francis School students: Any Year 7 or Year 8
student is welcome to sign up for this most enjoyable outreach where you get to read
to the St Anthony Prep students. The ‘preppies’ love having the ‘big’ girls read to them,
so we encourage every student to sign up during the year. Prep Reading mornings occur
every Tuesday from 8.35– 10.00am.
Samaritan Mornings for Clare School students: Any Year 9 or Year 10 student is
welcome to sign up for this fabulous outreach where we serve hospitality and warmth to
residents who come to the Parish Hall to play bingo and enjoy an outing. Many isolated
and elderly residents in the local community love having our girls be present to them at
these mornings, so we encourage every student to sign up during the year. Samaritan
mornings occur every Tuesday from 9.15–10.00am.
Delamore Outreach, Tuesday 13 February 3.20–4.30pm: where we will serve a Valentine’s High Tea.
We invite any student from any year level to get involved in this wonderful Outreach program where students
and teachers join our friends over at Delamore Retirement Community for afternoon tea and hospitality.
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"Is anyone among you suffering? … pray"
(James 5:13)
We pray for anyone in our College, friends, and family members who may have suffered from ill health or
entered eternal life over the Christmas holiday period. We pray especially for one of the Delamore
Retirement Community carers, Roz, who was killed on Gympie Road last Saturday. May she be resting gently
in God’s loving arms, and may our prayers and thoughts comfort her family and friends.
We pray for members of our College community who are ill at this present moment, and ask for the healing
strength of the Father to strengthen all in need, give them rest, and restore them to health.
As a community we offer support and prayers to the entire Mount Alvernia College family.
Thank you for all your good works ...
The local Little Flower Conference sent several
cards to the Mount Alvernia College community
this week thanking everyone for their “ever willing
and ever gracious support through the Christmas Hampers”. The card went on to say that SVDP is “especially
grateful for the thoughtfulness and commitment which translates good ideas into amazingly wonderful action. That
some of the families we supported said that they were really able to celebrate after they received the BEST CHRISTMAS
GIFTS EVER – beautifully presented and often with cards that touched the hearts of these people who received them.
Blessings! From Members of SVDP Kedron”
So thank you to the students, families, and staff who helped to deliver the Christmas Hampers to families in
early December 2017. Your generosity and care are greatly appreciated.
to our new Mount Alvernia College Campus Minister, Gabby Gastaldin.
Gabby is a past Mount Alvernia student. and will work in our community
two days a week on a Tuesday and a Thursday. She brings with her great
experience as a campus minister, having worked in both high schools and
primary schools joyfully leading young people to live the Gospel message.
You’ll hear more from Gabby in the weeks to come.
Mission and Community
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Prayer for Youth
Come Holy Spirit of this Great Southland
Inspire our entire faith community,
as we prayerfully discern new horizons for spreading joy
in the lives and communities of the People of God.
Come Holy Spirit of Youth
Fill the hearts of young people with the hope and love of Jesus Christ.
Enliven our community with the creativity, energy and joy of youth,.
Guide us together, as we strive to offer God’s mercy
to those who feel abandoned or outcast.
Come Holy Spirit of Faith
Empower our community to be courageous.
Unite your people as witnesses of love.
Walk with us, as we blaze new trails of discipleship,
accompanying young people as we renew the Church together.
Come Holy Spirit of Vocation
Stir within young people as awareness of God’s call.
Reveal to us the graces of young people.
Guide us all, in finding our place and raising our voices
to build a civilisation of love.
Saint Francis, friend of the poor, pray for us.
Saint Clare, woman of light, pray for us.
Blessed Elizabeth Hayes, educator and visionary, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, friend of the young, pray for us.
Amen
Mission and Community
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Showcasing our Impressive Staff
I wish you all a warm welcome back to the start of the 2018 academic year. I trust this was an
opportunity to celebrate the Christmas season with family and friends, along with a time to relax and
reboot in preparation for another exciting year of learning.
As leader of Staff Learning at the College, it is always heartening to witness the dedication, commitment,
and passion of our highly experienced staff. In the true spirit of a community of learners, Mount
Alvernia staff have been actively involved in courses and professional learning over the break, and
eagerly look forward to implementing these new learnings in their classes over the coming term.
In addition, many of our teaching staff utilise the holiday period to complete additional qualifications in
the pursuit of becoming the best practitioners for the students under their care. This commitment to
their own learning translates into the experiences our students have, and ultimately impacts our
increasingly impressive learning outcomes and achievements.
One staff member requires a special mention. Our Careers Program Leader,
Ms Melissa Loveday, has been completing her Masters at the Queensland
University of Technology (QUT). Most recently she was awarded the Queens-
land Guidance and Counselling Association Award and Vice Chancellor
Academic Achievement Award. This is prestigious award given for the
highest GPA in 2018 post-graduate study, and for significant contribution to
Masters research at QUT. We are extremely proud of Ms Loveday, her
achievements, and contribution to our community. If you get the opportunity, I
encourage you to pass on your congratulations.
Over the course of the term I look forward to highlighting the learning of our staff here at the College
and the impressive level of expertise we have working in our Mount Alvernia community.
Daniel Crump
From the Assistant Principal:
Staff Learning
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It is hard to believe that we are already back again and the 2018 academic year has
begun.
We still reflect upon 2017 and the successes of our
students at all levels and, as we have already done, I
again publicly acknowledge and congratulate our
graduates of 2017 on their successes. We are
extremely proud of their achievements, and know
that through their dedication and commitment they
have set themselves up well for their futures. I also
take this occasion to congratulate the teachers and
all staff of Mount Alvernia College for their work to
ensure our young women succeeded in 2017. Well
done!
And so now it is down to the business of another year, where we have welcomed a new cohort of Year
7s, with whom we will work very closely to ensure a smooth transition from their respective primary
schools. At Mt A, we focus very strongly on transitioning, with deliberate Middle Years practices in
place, not only from a pastoral perspective, but also from a curriculum perspective. Our integrated
approaches to learning allow continuity and stability for our Francis School students. Be sure to attend
our Year 7 Parent Information Evenings to gain the important information that can assist you and your
daughter to navigate secondary school. We understand that it can be a daunting task, and have many
strategies and processes in place to meet the needs of our Year 7s.
For all of our girls, there is a transition to a new year level, and it is our aim to ensure that we address
our students’ needs at each of these levels. All teachers will be spending time in this week to orientate
their new classes: setting goals, creating classroom expectations, organising study guides and their
Student Planners in readiness for the term (and semester) ahead. As a parent, take some time to look
at what your daughter is doing in her classes, check her student planner, and encourage her to organise
herself as much as possible. You might even investigate some of the Moodle courses. There is a
multitude of resources on these, which assist the girls in their daily classes.
As our young women progress through secondary school, we often find that they don’t provide you
with as much information, but communication is critical. Ask your daughter to show you her Student
Planner. These have many significant dates outlining the Parent Information Evenings, Camps, Reflection
Days, Carnivals, Exam Blocks, and so on. We will email you with information as events arise as well, but
you will find the planner a valuable source of information to plan your own school-related schedules.
From the Assistant Principal:
Student Learning
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Parent evenings coming up in this term relating to curriculum:
Elizabeth Hayes School Information Night – 30 January
Year 7 Nuts and Bolts Information – 6 February
Year 7 Francis School (Curriculum and Learning) – 20 February
Clare School Information Night – 6 March
Finally, I would like to make particular mention of our Elizabeth Hayes School students. The transition
from Year 10 to 11 can be a big step, and of course the final year for our 12s is significant. It is
important to begin the way we intend to continue, and I encourage all of our senior students to step up
and reach their potential.
Some ideas to assist in succeeding in Year 11 and 12:
Physical activity is still important when study ramps up at school. This is the age many
students drop sport, but it's important for them to continue to incorporate exercise into
their schedule to help them manage stress as they undertake senior studies.
Your daughter may have a part-time job; be mindful of the time she spends on this. Study
and school commitments should really be her major priority and organising her time around
this helps to keep stress levels at a minimum.
At all year levels monitor your child's technology use. Research shows http://
www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/technology/using-technology/homework-and-multitasking-can-it-
be-done that the quality of study and learning suffers when kids are frequently interrupted by
texts, emails, phone calls, or by flicking between homework and Facebook screens. Instead,
tell your daughter to schedule ten-minute breaks every hour to catch up on her social life, if
need be.
For our Year 12s, we have really begun in a positive frame. The SET Plan follow-up meetings proved
extremely positive, and the ‘vibe’ amongst the girls is one of commitment and enthusiasm to succeed.
It has been an absolute pleasure to talk one-on-one with the seniors as they begin their final year.
The OP-eligible students have received OP predictions which have been clearly explained. They are
predictions only, within a range, based upon their Year 11 results and a compilation of QCS data.
There are many anomalies that will impact your daughter’s individual OP at the end of this year. Their
effort will be foremost in influencing what results they achieve. This is just a guide to assist the girls to
set relevant and realistic goals.
In all, the year has begun well, and the girls have arrived with a sense of positivity and pride. I trust that
we have a wonderful year and I personally look forward with enthusiasm.
Debra Evans
From the Assistant Principal:
Student Learning
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Information about Textbooks for 2018
At Mount Alvernia, textbooks are distributed through the iCentre. Textbooks are a primary content
resource for subjects, and are chosen in consultation with Learning Area Advisors. The following
arrangements are in place for 2018. If you have any questions about textbooks please don’t hesitate to
contact Helen Stower, Program Leader (iCentre).
Year 7 & 8
Learningfield - Maths, Science, English, History, Geography
(Year 7 will be provided with support to set up Learningfield)
Year 9
Learningfield - Maths, Geography, History
Oxford Big Ideas – physical book - Science
Year 10
Oxford Big Ideas – oBook (electronic) – Science
All other subjects – physical books – as required
Year 11 & 12
Physical and electronic books distributed as required
English novels for all classes are physical books. eBook and audio versions may be available for students
with special learning needs.
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La Cucina Roster
Term 1
Monday 29 January
Emma Reid, Kate Wilson
Tuesday 30 January
Melissa DeBonis, Caterina Gugliucciello
Wednesday 31 January
Tracey Cognetta, Lilly Boccalatte
Thursday 1 February
Jo Holmes, Kathy Leddy
Any enquiries: please call Jane or
Jo in the College Office—3357 6000.
Remember to place
your orders online
and beat the queues
Open from 7.15-9.30am &10.30am-
3.00pm (3.15pm Wednesday). Staff,
parents and friends are very welcome
to drop in for coffee—$3.50; $3 in
own cup.
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