The Art of Teamwork
The ASPIRE production is over for another year and as I reflect, and plan for 2016, I look at the successes of this year. All too often the real success stories in the performing arts are not the final product on the stage, but what emerges from the rehearsal process.
Seeds to Supper at St Columban’s
In late 2014, St Columban’s Primary, Mayfield, was awarded a grant of $6500 from the Port of Newcastle to initiate the ‘Seeds to Supper’ project. This project recognised a need to educate students about sustainability and healthy eating, including gardening and cooking with local produce.
Time to Thrive at San Clemente
High school is a rite of passage and an opportunity for young people to thrive in their surroundings whilst building the skills they need to become happy and successful young adults. Two staff at San Clemente High School, Mayfield, Scott Donohoe and Nathan Beckett, with the support of the principal, Tony Kelly, introduced a positive education program (PosED@SCM) in Term 1, 2015, designed to strengthen student well-being at the school.
Diocese Announces Major Developments in Education
This July, I had the privilege of being able to share with our valued staff, clergy, students and caregivers, news regarding one of the single biggest developments to Catholic education in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle’s history. The diocese will build a new high school at Chisholm and another at Medowie, scheduled to open in 2018 and 2020 respectively. St Mary’s High School at Gateshead and St Joseph’s High School at Lochinvar will also grow from offering Years 7-10 to Years 7-12 from 2018.
Stranger than Fiction
Catholic high school students Michael Almond, Lilli Thompson, Billie Wheildon, Eden Whitchurch and Emily Shakespeare are all performing in this year’s ASPIRE production, Stranger than Fiction. They explain the allure of this unique production and the joy of being part of the cast.
Making memories at a shared table
St Joseph’s Primary School in Gloucester has come up with a rather unusual twist to the traditional school lunch. On Mondays you won’t see any hot chips or lollies on the menu in the school’s canteen. Instead, students and staff pay five dollars to have a three course meal, made from fresh, wholesome and seasonal local produce, prepared with love in the school kitchen.
Should Maths be compulsory ?
There has been some debate recently on the necessity of making Mathematics compulsory in Years 11 and 12. Carmel Tapley, Education Officer (Secondary Curriculum) in the Catholic Schools Office and former mathematics teacher, gives some insight into the pros and cons of this argument.
Advice From a Hypothetical Grandmother
As the mother of three young adults, I think it’s reasonable to hope that sometime in the imaginable future, I might become a grandmother. With that status will come the opportunity (welcomed or not by my offspring) to offer some advice, including about schooling.