05 March 2021 Term 1, Issue 3

Diary Dates From the Principal Leader Friday 12 March PBB Carni- val and Sports Day Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends,

Wednesday 17 March Open Evenings 2021 St Patrick’s Day

includes Mass & Cele- This week, we welcomed many visitors to our brations two scheduled College Open Evenings. It was a

Monday 22 March great occasion thanks to the help and support of our staff and students. We have received posi- Patrician Cup tive feedback from visitors congratulating us on our students who ‘showcased’ the College with Thurs 23 March— great pride and performed their duties admira- Wed 31 March bly—well done boys. The Open Evenings were Year 12 Assessment

Block a wonderful community celebration—a fine display of pride and commitment shown by the staff and students. Thank you to our staff and MCS Sport Contents students for their contributions. Congratulations to all the MCS summer sport

teams that have concluded their respective sea- Principal’s Message I wish to thank the Dean of Organisation and sons. I enjoyed visiting teams during the season Culture, Heath Borg, in overseeing the signifi- and was greatly impressed with the passion and cant organisation of the events. Assistant Principal – dedication that our boys demonstrated. In par-

Pastoral ticular, I acknowledge the A Grade Parent Information Evenings - Zoom team and the 8 Opens team who made Assistant Principal – The College recently facilitated the Years 9, 10 their respective grand finals but were defeated Learning, Teaching & by their opponents. Innovation and Year 11 Information Evenings via Zoom.

Attendance at these events was high. This was an opportunity for key school leaders to high- Year 7 Enrolments 2022 Religious Education & light important and useful information for fami- Mission Parents are encouraged to submit their enrol- lies during the meeting. ment applications and supporting documenta-

tion for places in Year 7, 2022 by Friday 19 Merit Awards Congratulations March 2021. Please be aware that students are

The College congratulates Flynn Broom (Class not automatically enrolled into the College. All Dean of Studies of 2020) for being awarded a State Placing applications must follow the enrolment process

Medal from the Society and Culture Association outlined on the College website. Resource Centre Update recently. We also congratulate staff member, Ms. Gearing, for receiving a Certificate of God bless, Teaching Excellence in Society and Culture at Sports Report the same event. Frank Chiment PRINCIPAL LEADER

Assistant Principal - Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care Learning, Teaching and Innovation

This year seems to have barely started, but his week we move Stage 6 Subject Selection Process Commences for Year 10 into March, and already our thoughts are beginning to turn to winter sports, assessment and reporting for Year 12, and enrol- Where do you aim to be in 2024? This is an important ques- ment promotions for 2022. tion that we are asking our Year 10 students in these first weeks of Term 1, 2021. It is in these first few weeks that our The last two weeks have included Year 7 Camps, Information Year 10 students will have engaged within discussions about Evenings (via Zoom) for Years 10 and 11, Ash Wednesday career aspirations, personal strengths and interests as well as liturgies, Open Evenings for 2020 students and families, trials future study plans through our Wellbeing Program. for winter MCS sport teams, a Mufti Day for Project Compas- sion and the first round of CSDA Public Speaking. This discussion about future thinking sets the foundation of our work in the process of subject selection for Years 11 and 12. In coming weeks, we look forward to Progress Interviews for This subject selection process will take much of Semester 1 Year 12, St Patrick’s Day Mass and celebrations, our annual and 2 so that, done with care, all students will develop a path- Swimming Carnival, and the Patrician Cup Sports Gala Day. way that sets them up for success in the HSC years. Our goal is to ensure that all students graduate from our College with a In terms of reminders for parents and students, we would again HSC that sets them up successfully for their next steps beyond mention the importance of parents logging into the Compass school, whichever post school directions they seek. Later in Parent Portal to gain access to the full range of features and the year, parents and students will be involved in deeper, per- information related to your son’s progress at school. This infor- sonalised discussions with staff about subject choices for 2022 mation includes student reports at the conclusion of each se- - 2023. mester. If you have problems with access, please contact Stacey Mamo in our school office and she will provide the nec- One very important source of information that will guide stu- essary assistance. dents, staff and parents will be the outcome of our upcoming Learning Assessment for Year 10. This will be held next week on Wednesday 10th March on site in the College Hall.

Learning Assessment Day - Year 10

This year, we have introduced a series of Learning Assessment

Days for students entering Year 7 as well as for our Year 8 and

Year 10 cohorts. This is an important opportunity for us to

gather information about our students literacy, numeracy and

other key aspects of student learning. The assessment provides We would also encourage parents to ensure that all contact detailed diagnostic information about strengths and challenges details that have been provided to the school office are up to for every student and their progress in relation to age peers date. We often need to contact parents during the day, for a across Australia. range of matters, but this communication is often hampered by old or inaccurate phone numbers and email addresses. This can We have elected to undertake this process annually in Years 6, become serious when the calls involve your son being sick or Year 8 and Year 10. This is so that we can closely monitor injured. student learning growth in these key aspects of learning, litera-

cy and numeracy in the years when NAPLAN data is not avail- We also ask all parents to make a point of checking their son’s able. student diary as often as possible. Teachers regularly com- municate subject and administrative issues with parents via The first of these is set for Year 10 and is scheduled for next student diaries and by email, so it is important that parents are Wednesday 10th March on site in the College Hall. This pro- alert to these sources of information. Of course, more urgent gram will also include an additional element, the Careers Sur- matters are generally communicated by phone. vey, which will provide parents, students and staff with a for-

mal careers profile that will support a conversation and plan- Finally, a reminder to parents that students should always trav- ning for subject selection over the next two terms. This will be el directly to and from school, and avoid spending unnecessary provided to all families once the external assessment service and unsupervised periods of time at WestPoint and the general who facilitate this program have produced the report for us. area of Blacktown Station. Further information will be sent to Year 10 parents, carers and

students on our COMPASS portal.

College Website Updates - Including Careers Portal for Parents and Students

Brian Edmonds We have just commenced some important work in updating our Assistant Principal – Pastoral Care College Website to reflect the work we have been undertaking

in the learning agenda. This will occur over the next term.

We are pleased that the first update has been the addition of our Careers Platform. This exciting addition allows all parents and students of our College to create a unique login and to engage with the full resources of the site. To cre- ate a log in, simply commence from the top right hand side of the screen ‘I’m New’ and follow the prompts. De- tailed instructions are also included here.

This resource is available to our students and their parents/carers until the end of Year 13 (the end of the year, after graduation).

Cathy Molloy Assistant Principal Learning, Teaching and Innovation

Religious Education and Mission Silver and gold awards are given out at College assemblies and bronze awards are given out during year assemblies or in Homeroom.

Bronze awards

Zac Finch 11A4

Tj Faalava 10C6

George Jabbour 10C3

Lenten Program Adam Zungua 9E10

In preparation for Easter, the College is running a Lenten Re- Francis Buenavista 8 D25 flection Program during lunch on Wednesdays in the chapel. Thomas Epere 10C1 The program involves scripture, reflection, discussions and prayer. All students and staff are welcome. Roman Severino 12F8 JayVora 8D22 Project Compassion Abel Reec 8D25 We have made a fantastic start to our Project Compassion Shayden Fernandes 10C5 fundraiser. We have raised over $2000 since Shrove Tuesday. This is a wonderful effort from all students and staff. This Dylan Bond 10C4 money goes towards CARITAS’ Project Compassion in Ryan Allingham 10C4 providing the opportunity for those in the margins to “be more”. Ethan Vaka 9B4

Dominic Fares 9E9 Patrician Brothers’ College Faith In Action Passport Harley Yates 10C3 To coincide with the College Theme of “We Are Your Hands”, the College will be implementing throughout the school the Daman Bathla 9E9 Patrician Brothers’ College Faith In Action Passport. This initi- Brandon Wilson 11C1 ative will allow students to log all their volunteer hours at the Harley Serle 8D18 school onto an online portal from Year 7 to 12. Students will be able to download their certificate of service hours at any Sahajpreet Singh 8D20 time. The Faith In Action Passport will support the learning in Timothy Su 9E10 the Catholic Studies classrooms. Fredritz Brillo 10C1

Austin Wood 11A4

Arjun Pillay 8D26 Victor Hunt Rubal Sraw 8D22 Dean of Religious Education & Mission

Mapa Kata 9B1

Rubal Sraw 8D22 ***************************** Jack Sofocleous 9E9

Alani Toofohe 10C7 Merit Awards Jerald Soliva 8D26

Adam Attard 8D20

Remember to hand in your paper merits to me so that they can

be processed. Good luck in the next fortnight!

Congratulations to the following students who are the recipi- ents of bronze, silver and gold awards. Anthony Ventra Merits Convenor

Dean of Studies

NAPLAN 2021

Schools are fast approaching the testing period for NAPLAN. NAPLAN is a national assessment, and all eligible students are expected to participate to allow them to demonstrate their actual skills and knowledge.

NAPLAN is primarily an assessment of learning. Students will be actively supervised during the test period so that they can, without any disadvantage, demonstrate their growth in learning.

All students in Years 7 and 9 at this school are expected to participate in the NAPLAN tests. If your son is absent on the day of a test, there will be an opportunity for them to catch-up on that test.

Parents, download the parent information brochure from the NAP website: https://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/naplan-online-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

Test Durations

The following table shows the duration of each online test:

Writing Reading Conventions of language Numeracy

Year 7: 42 min Year 7: 65 min Year 7: 45 min Year 7: 65 min

Year 9: 42 min Year 9: 65 min Year 9: 45 min Year 9: 65 min

The NAPLAN Online test schedule has been amended for Years 7 and 9 in 2021. Year 7 and Year 9 students must sit the writing test on Wednesday 12 May 2021 or Thursday 13 May 2021 (day 2 or 3 of the test window). Year 7 and Year 9 stu- dents may sit the reading test on Tuesday 11 May 2021. Further details will be made available closer to the testing period.

Year 12 Examination Week

The HSC Semester 1 Examination Timetable is due for release this week. The testing period is from Thursday 25 March to Wednesday 31 March. These will be held in the College hall except for Chemistry which is a titration practical. Year 12 stu- dents must read their timetable carefully and make sure that they bring plenty of balckpens and other necessary equipment. Par- ents, I would ask that you please check that your son has all the correct equipment, especially if they have a NESA-approved calculator.

Students must also be aware that they cannot bring into the examination room mobile phones, smart watches, any electronic de- vices except for an approved calculator, paper or any printed material, or correction fluid.

Students will not be allowed to borrow equipment during an examination, so it is imperative that they bring what is necessary on the day of their examination.

Advice for all students who are challenged to write creatively:

“ Don’t write what you know - what you know may bore you, and thus bore your readers. Write about what interests you - and interests you deeply - and your readers will catch fire at your words.”

Valerie Sherwood

Danuta Paton Dean of Studies

For students taking part in the Challenge, the Resource Centre Resource Centre Update Team is available to actively work with students to help them select books to read, to record their selections in their personal reading log and to discuss books that have captured their inter- est and imagination. We love hearing about the reading experi- ences of our students.

The challenge is open to students in Year 7-10 and runs until August 20. We encourage any interested students to visit us in the Resource Centre for more information - we have set up a wonderful display full of books from the PRC booklist. Participating in this event is a fun way to develop and build skills and interest in reading and as a bonus, all students who

participate receive a Challenge completion certificate. Premier’s Reading Challenge 2021

We look forward to seeing more students coming to see us to We are very excited to announce to students that the Premier’s join the Premier’s Reading Challenge. Reading Challenge for 2021 has begun!.

Congratulations to Joachim Tabone. The Premier’s Reading Challenge is not a competition, but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. It aims to encourage a love of reading in students and promotes the value of reading quality literature. This year, the challenge is open to students in Year 7 - 10.

The Resource Centre works to support our participating stu- dents. In order to participate in the challenge, we require stu- dents to register with the College by filling in the Premier’s

Reading Challenge form available on our Patties eLibrary Page. Once students have registered their details, we are then able to create login accounts for the PRC for each student and from there they can manage their reading log.

Joachim Tabone of Year 10 has been a consistent participant in the Premier’s Reading Challenge. In 2020, Joachim completed his seventh consecutive year participating in the Challenge and he has now been awarded the Premier’s Reading Challenge Medal to honor the significant achievement.

We were so excited to present Joachim with his Medal at our College Assembly. Well done Joachim.

Job Jump, the fantastic careers resource the College subscribes to, has had a makeover. With a fresh, modern new look, the updated Job Jump platform is more user friendly and easier to navigate.

Our Year 10 students were introduced to Job Jump during their Wellbeing lesson in Week 5 and now have their own account.

The students were keen to explore the features of the site and enjoyed exploring career pathways they are interested in pursuing. This is an important step for Year 10 students in the process of selecting senior subjects and we will continue to support them throughout the year.

All students in Years 10-12 should now be on Job Jump. If there are any students who are new to the school, please come and see Mrs Lane or Mrs Hunt in the Resource Centre for assistance.

Coming soon - Keep an eye out in the next Focus issue for information about the brand new Patrician Brothers’ College Job Jump site!

Marie Lane & Stephanie Hunt Resource Centre Leaders

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SRE Induction

On Friday 26 February, 14 Year 10 boys were involved in an induction lesson to become Special Religious Educators for 2021. They went back to their primary school days, remembering the importance of actions, playing music, and craft time! They even learnt how to create an origami cross for Easter time.

These boys have volunteered to teach primary students from Blacktown South the word of God, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is the first time these boys are being teachers in a classroom, and the first time teaching scripture and the Catholic faith gener- ally. Please pray for these boys, and thank you all Year 10 boys who showed an interest in the SRE program this year.

Anthony Silvestrini

SRE Induction

Year 7 2022 Open Evening

A Grade Basketball Report Patrician Brothers’ College vs St Dominic’s College

The chapel quad was bustling with kids as they made their way towards their Thursday sport, yet amidst the busyness, 10 boys sat there silently, earphones in, with nothing but focus and determination on their faces.

2pm, right on the dot, the ball was thrown up with our boys securing the first possession. A quick pass to one of our shooters on the 3 point line. Swish, we were on. The first half was a gruelling back and forth process with both teams getting hot from the 3 point line. The starters shut down St Dominic's big men early and proceeded to bring the rain with their ball movement and effi- cient shot selection. The bench squad provided uplifting energy with their hustle and determination to keep the ball moving and momentum flowing, while the starters got some much needed rest. Coming into the second half, we were still in striking dis- tance only being down by 11 points.

A quick defensive change, and a few player substitutions and we were back. 3 minutes into the second half and St Dominic's started to show why they were the top team all season. They began by barraging us with 3's with their big men grabbing crucial rebounds. A quick timeout was called to cut the momentum which allowed the boys to relax and reset. We managed to secure a lead with our own run of 3's lead by our guards. As the game progressed, the challenge got harder and harder, but we held our ground and gave it our all - being the underdogs, we had nothing to lose. The final whistle sounded. We took the loss but the boys left everything on the floor. As a coach, I could not be more prouder.

A quick exchange of medals and team photos and we were back on the bus home. Hungry to try again next MCS season.

Shane Sandot Coach

MCS Cricket and Basketball

In Weeks 5 and 6 the MCS 2020/21 season finished up, with Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown competing in 1 Grand Final in both Cricket and Basketball. The 8 Opens Cricket team put up an outstanding effort to win their Semi Final after Eastwood batted first and posted a total of 2-134, with our team chasing that total down in only 15 overs. Unfortunately, they then lost their Grand Final to St Dominic’s in Week 6, with a much more defensive style of cricket on display by both teams.

Our A Grade Basketball team were also valiant in defeat. Going into the Grand Final against a very talented opposition, our boys held the lead for a portion of the game before ultimately being defeated by St Dominic's.

Finals Results

8 Opens Cricket Semi Final

Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown 3-135 Defeated 2- 134 Marist College Eastwood

8 Opens Cricket Grand Final

Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown 9-64 Defeated by 6/75 St Dominic’s College

A Grade BasketballGrand Final

Patrician Brothers Blacktown 45 Defeated by 64 St Dominic’s College

MCS and Soccer

MCS Soccer teams have all now been finalised from the trials and have commenced training for their Round 1 matches in Week 7. We wish them all the best in their opening round.

A Grade vs St Dominic’s College, Kingswood

B Grade vs St Gregory’s College, Campbelltown

7A, 8A, Year 9 and Year 10 vs Trinity Catholic College, Auburn

7B and 8B vs Patrician Brothers College, Fairfield

MCS Rugby League teams are still being finalised, with our U13 and U14 age groups having a large number of participants across their trials. Teams will be finalised in Week 7, ready for Round 1 in Week 8.

MCS Rugby League Representative Trials

Trials for the U15 and U18 MCS Representative teams will be held on Thursday March 11, Week 7, at Parramatta Marist. All boys interested in trialing need to have registered on the Catholic Schools NSW Sport Website and be approved to attend the trials. www.csnsw.sport

Safe Return to Sport:

As we continue to navigate a safe return to sport, all school sporting events will be conducted with a ‘No Spectator’ policy in accordance with system guidelines. While we acknowledge that many parents would like to attend, we thank you for your cooperation with this policy as it ensures the boys are able to return to School Sport.

Noah Meares MCS Sports Leader

MCS Sports Order Form

If your son was part of an MCS team listed below and you would like to purchase photos, order forms are available for collec- tion from the College office.

Orders must be returned by Friday 12 March.

Collection Notice for parents/guardians 2021 Student Residential Address and Other Information

The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (the department) would like to advise you that a request has been made for your child’s school to provide residential address and other information as required under the Australian Education Regulation 2013(Cth).

The school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school:

• Names and residential addresses of students’ parent(s) and/or guardian(s) • Student residential address (excluding student names) • Whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level) • Whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status).

Your child’s school generates a unique and unidentifiable record number for each student record. The number is only used by the school for this collection.It is not allowed to be used for any other purpose. The number indi- cates to the department that each record provided is for one student.

Purpose of the collection

The Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection (the Collection) informs Australian Government school education policy and helps ensure funding for non-government schools is based on need.

The information collected will be used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with data held by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated capacity to con- tribute to the costs of schooling.

From 2020, a new measure of capacity to contribute, the Direct Measure of Income (DMI), was introduced. The DMI is based on the median income of parents or guardians of students at a non-government school using data collected through the Collection. More information about the DMI can be found at https://www.education.gov.au/what- direct-measure-income.

Use and disclosure of personal information

Your personal information is protected by law under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). Personal information is information or an opinion about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes an individual’s name and contact details.

Any use or disclosure of your personal information must occur in accordance with Privacy Act and the Australian Education Act 2013 and Australian Education Regulation 2013.

Your personal information provided to the department through the Collection may be:

disclosed to the ABS for the purposes of capacity to contribute calculations and analysis as a part of the Multi- Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP). Further information about MADIP can be found on the MADIP page on the ABS website.

• disclosed to a contracted auditor where the department may from time to time, carry out an audit of a school’s submission to the Collection. The contracted auditor compares the school’s submission with the student enrolment information held by the school and will not use the information for any other purpose • disclosed to its service providers for the purposes of the provision of information and communications tech- nology support services to the department • used or disclosed where it is otherwise required or authorised by law. The department does not intend to disclose your personal information to any overseas recipients.

The department’s privacy policy can be found at www.dese.gov.au and includes information on: • how individuals can access and seek correction of the personal information held by the department; • how complaints about potential breaches or breaches of the Privacy Act can be made; • how the department will deal with these complaints.

The department commissioned an independent privacy impact assessment (PIA). The PIA assesses the flows of in- formation under the Collection, compliance with the Privacy Act and measures in place to safeguard the personal information being collected. The report is being updated, and will be available in 2021 on the SchoolsHUB Address Collection help and support page. The current version is available at https://docs.education.gov.au/node/51436.

What do you need to do? You are not required to do anything. Your school is responsible for providing the requested details to the depart- ment; however, you may wish to ensure that your school has the most up-to-date and correct details for your fami- ly.

Contacts for further information

Your school can provide additional information about the Collection process. Alternatively, please visit the SchoolsHUB Address Collection help and support page.