Term 2 - End of Term Finish Time

Please note that Friday 28 June 2024 is the last day of Term 2

- Knight Street students will finish school at 2:15PM

- Emmaus Campus students will finish at 2:10PM

(buses will be running early on this day)

The College Office will close at 3:00PM.

School Holiday Office Hours:

The College Office will be open from 8:30.AM to 4:00PM from Monday 1 July until 4:00PM on Thursday 4 July.

The College Office will re-open on Monday 15 July at 8:00AM.

NAIDOC Week 2024

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held annually across Australia in the first week of July (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In 2024 NAIDOC week takes place from 7-14 July with the theme “Keep the Fire Burning: Blak, Loud and Proud.” The theme ‘celebrates the unyielding spirit of our communities and invites all to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that have long been silenced. It invites all Australians to listen, learn, and engage in meaningful dialogue, fostering a society where the wisdom and contributions of Indigenous peoples are fully valued and respected.’

Coinciding with NAIDOC week, the Catholic Church in Australia celebrates National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday on 7 July. Each year, Catholics from all corners of Australia gather on this day to celebrate the unique gifts and contributions of Australia’s First Peoples.

In his Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis speaks concerns about today’s world where;

“the sense of belonging to a single human family is fading, and the dream of working together for justice and peace seems an outdated utopia. What reigns instead is a cool, comfortable and globalised indifference’. He asserts that; ‘Isolation and withdrawal into one’s own interests are never the way to restore hope and bring about renewal. Rather, it is closeness; it is the culture of encounter.

Isolation, no; closeness, yes. Culture clash, no; culture of encounter, yes.”

In their 2023-2024 Social Justice Statement, Listen Learn Love, the Australian Catholic Bishops have encouraged Australians to embrace this culture of encounter through a renewed engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples based on love which puts the other at the centre.

A “love which seeks them out where they are, listens to them and learns from their great wisdom and which walks with them to a place where we are together freed from every injustice and oppression.”

Dear Lord,

We pray for a bright and just shared future for all who call Australia home. We ask that Your grace of acceptance and compassion will guide us.
Let the Creator Spirit lead our journey with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of this land.
May we share Your Spirit more deeply; celebrate the gifts You have given us.
Help us appreciate true harmony and peace just as our Old People did;
Keep us strong, make us resilient and remember us in this time.
Now is an opportunity to change our Nation’s history for the better.
Walk with us as we write a new chapter together and may we be one in Your love.

Amen

NAIDOC Week Resources:
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

This year NAIDOC Week is celebrated in 2024 from 7-14 July. The National NAIDOC Week theme is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. The NAIDOC Week website has many resources to help connect with this year’s theme and support local celebrations - https://www.naidoc.org.au/

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday

NAIDOC Week also coincides with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday which is celebrated on the first Sunday of July each year. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) produce liturgy resources each year. The 2024 liturgy resources can be found here - https://www.natsicc.org.au/2024-atsi-sunday.html

Student Leave Passes

Parents, if your child needs a leave pass during the day it would be preferred that you do NOT phone or email as our office staff may be busy with other tasks

INSTEAD:

· Write your child a note the morning of appointment, requesting to leave school at a specific time (if collecting at 2:00PM make your Leave Pass Note for 10 minutes before).

· The student will then have their note signed by Head of House / Community before Pastoral Group.

· When it’s time to leave the student will show the signed leave pass to their classroom teacher to be excused.

· The student will then show their note to Staff at Student Reception and will sign out using the kiosk.

· Parent/guardians will meet the student in the front of the College

In extenuating circumstances you can call the office and we will do our best to get message to them in a timely manner

Some Changes to Our Mobile Phone Policy

From day 1 Term 3 Notre Dame College is implementing some changes to our Mobile Phone Policy for students.

This Policy is in line with government guidelines and to ensure we have a learning environment that is free from distractions.

· The canteen will only accept cash or card payments. Students will not be able to use their phone or smart watch to make payments.

· If students choose to bring their phone to school they must store their phone in their locker from the first bell of the day to the last bell of the day. Students must have a secure lock on their locker.

· Students are not permitted to carry their phone with them during the school day at all. If a student has their phone with them during the school day between the first and last bell, teachers will be asking them to hand it to them. Students will be able to collect the phone at the end of the day from student reception. If this happens 3 times in a term, the student will be required to hand their phone into student reception each morning.

· Students will not need their phone for any of their classes – they are to use their laptop to check SEQTA notifications and to use for any classwork.

· Mobile phones are not permitted at any local excursions that take place in school times. This includeds swimming sports, athletics, GMD sports days and other events

· No mobile phones will be permitted to be used in Year 12 study classes.

Refugee Week

As Refugee Week comes to a close, we invite you to watch and listen to some of our staff and students whose families have fled their countries to seek refuge here in Australia.

Thank you to our Multicultural Education Support Officer, Fitina Mukasa, and our students Cidra and Francis for sharing their personal experiences with us. Your courage and strength is truly admirable.

Refugee Week

This week Year 7 – 9 students celebrated Refugee Week keeping with the theme of “Finding Freedom”– with a focus on Family. In a world marked by displacement and the search for refuge, this incursion allowed students to recognise the contributions that refugees bring to Australia, and more specifically to Greater Shepparton.

We had the pleasure of hearing from Monga Mukasa who shared with students his lived experience of the African culture as well as his own personal journey as a refugee from Africa to Australia.

Students and staff were given the opportunity to immerse themselves into the African culture by having a go on the African drums (some played much better than others).

Students also participated in another session where they used media as a tool to discuss issues affecting refugees, which involved being part of a mock podcast.

School Production - The Drowsy Chaperone

Details

Riverlinks Westside - Echuca Road, Mooroopna

Notre Dame College invites you to disappear into the decadent world of the 1920s, where the champagne flows, the caviar chills, and the entire world becomes a party.

Performances:
Thursday 25 July, 7:30pm
Friday 26 July, 7:30pm
Saturday 27 July, 2:00pm
Saturday 27 July, 7:30pm

In a darkened theatre audiences are welcomed by the peculiar Man in Chair, a die-hard musical theatre fan, who welcomes us into his living room. He drops the needle on his all-time favourite album, The Drowsy Chaperone, an outrageously funny musical set in the decadent world of the 1920s. As the record spins the show bursts into life complete with starlets, gangsters, and all manners of mayhem. It is a colourful musical with vaudeville gags and tap-dance galore.

Through the narration of the record, the audience is introduced to Janet van de Graaff, a young starlet about to give up her career on the stage to marry the dashing Robert Martin. However, between Janet's drowsy chaperone, the forgetful hostess Mrs. Tottendale, Latin lothario Aldolpho, and Janet's calculating producer, Feldzieg, there are more than enough hijinks to keep us entertained!

https://riverlinksvenues.com.a...

Maths Review

Notre Dame College is dedicated to continuous improvement and implementing best practices in education.

For the past seven years, the Maths Pathway Programme has been an integral resource and teaching tool in delivering mathematics in Years 7 - 9.

The College has embarked on a comprehensive review of these practices and require feedback from key stakeholders (Mathematics teachers, Students and Parents) on the programme’s efficacy and areas for improvement.

The surveys are designed to explore key perspectives on the following areas:

· Student engagement

· Learning outcomes

· Support and resources

· Pedagogy and teaching practices

The purpose of these surveys is to inform the review panel on the viewpoints of stakeholders and to address key questions regarding the effectiveness and suitability of the Maths Pathway Programme in achieving our educational goals and quality outcomes for our students.

Updates on the progress of the review will be communicated through the College Newsletter.


Kris Walker
Deputy Principal - Learning & Teaching

Term 2 Uno Tournament Champions have been crowned - Fun in the Library

Students at the Knight St campus had the opportunity to compete in our Term 2 UNO Tournament held by the Library at lunch time. It was a bustling event with students competing for the honour of UNO Champion for Term 2.

With 7 tables of 4 students competing, winners moved through the rounds. Two champions were crowned. Maya and Conor both from year 7. Plenty of door prizes were given out to players and spectators.

A big thanks to Fiona Hudgson the Student Engagement Coordinator Library for organising and promoting the event.

Year 9 Big Bang Theory

Have you ever wanted to see a star grow? Fly around in space? Blow a star up?

Well, that is what the Yr. 9 Big Bang Theory class did on Wednesday 12 June at Swinburne Technology. The reason why these astronomical events weren’t front page news, was because they did it in a virtual reality.

We visited Swinburne University in Melbourne and started off with a tour of the campus. Ozgrav was the next destination where the students wore VR goggles. Each group had a different type of star to investigate. They measured the stars' temperature, colour, radius and composition at different ages.

The final step was blowing up the star and forming a black hole or a neutron star. The last stop on the journey was watching a 3D movie about the different planets in our solar system.

The students had an amazing day.

2024 MARIST SERVICE AWARDS

Each year, staff currently working in our school (and have been working in a Marist Brother school anywhere in the world) are recognised and thanked for their work and (contributions to the improvement in the lives of the people they work with) if they have completed 10, 20, 25 or 40 years of service to the Marist Brothers.

This year at Notre Dame College, we proudly acknowledge the following staff members for their commitment and dedicated service.

Those recognised are:

10 Years:

· Salie Bardi
· Brogan Doyle
· Kylie George
· Megan Lia
· Matthew Nihill
· Jacinta Todd
· Stephen Warren
· Richard Wittingham

20 Years

· David Cuzens

25 Years

· Emmi Rachele
· Wendy Sheed
· Doug Taylor

And welcome to the 40 Club

Our longest serving Staff Members who have dedicated their careers to Catholic Education are:

Joe Magee (commenced June 1984) joins esteemed colleagues Maree Geisler and Peter Dmytriw who have now collectively accumulated 123 years in Catholic Education.

Congratulations to all Marist Service Award winners, your work is greatly appreciated.