TOURNAMENT OF MINDS

A massive congratulations must go to all of our students for their efforts at the Tournament of Minds State Finals on Sunday 15 September at the University of NSW in Sydney.  It was a long and demanding day with a 3-hour lockdown for the resolution of their challenge and a Spontaneous Challenge which was conducted in that period.  We watched all the performances in our category and gained an insight into the range of creative responses presented. Our team was exemplary in their conduct and the spirit in which they engaged themselves on the day. 

The St Joseph's team performance was an outstanding effort and clever response to the challenge.  Their teamwork and creativity and use of issues and song from their world was evident in the response.  The Spontaneous Challenge was well handled and presented as always.

Though we did not receive an award on the day, the students represented our school to an excellent standard and should be very proud of themselves. 

Many thanks to our wonderful parents for the big commitment of attending the day at UNSW. It was a very long day and your positivity was greatly appreciated. Thanks also to our room assistant Miss Swift for her support and participation.

Congratulations to all for making it such a fantastic day. 

CAPA UPDATE

Term 3 has been spectacularly busy for the Creative and Performing Arts faculty.  One of the major focuses has been in the preparation of our HSC students to complete their studies and resolve final practical submissions. 

On Thursday and Friday 5 and 6 September, the HSC Drama students were assessed for their group and individual components of their performance work. It is a day of much pressure for both staff and students in Drama. Thank you to Mr Dennelly and Miss Swift for their preparation and care of these students. 

We are very pleased to announce it was a day of incredible success with one of our group submissions and two of our individual students' performances being nominated for "Onstage", a state wide showcase of exemplary Drama work from the HSC examinations. 

For Individual Project Performance these students were nominated:

Annelissa Ryan    - His Wobbleboard makes me wobbly (self written)

Genevieve Milan  - 7.65 Billion (self written)

For Group Performance the following group was nominated:

Aussie Bush Classics/Relevance (group devised)

Trent Allchin

Genevieve Milan

Annelissa Ryan

Destyni Ding

Tegan O'Connor-Byrne

These students are not guaranteed a place in the showcase, however, their submissions have now been filmed and will undergo a rigorous selection process with the hope that they may be successful. This is a spectacular achievement for this class and congratulations must go to the students for their perseverance and commitment to their studies. 

On Monday 16 September the HSC Visual Artworks were collected and transported to Sydney for marking which marks the completion of the practical component of the Visual Arts HSC for this year. 24 very carefully packaged Bodies of Work are destined for the Sydney Showground at Homebush for their final examination. Well done to the students in Visual Arts on reaching this milestone. 

On Thursday 19 September our Music HSC students will be examined for their performance and Viva Voce HSC exams. Many hours of rehearsal and finetuning have gone into the preparation for this exam. Thanks must go to Mrs. Burns for her work in preparing the class, and Mrs Mercieca, Mr Dennelly, Mr Ellul, Mrs Nascimento and our guitar teacher Mr Glenn Whitehall, who have all supported our students with practice and accompaniment for this day. 

In the first two weeks of next term, the CAPA faculty will be running

ARTSTOBER !!!!

This initiative to increase the visibility of the Arts in our school will see a range of activities and events occurring.   We will be having "Name that tune" and "Who Am I" competitions, Open Mic sessions at lunchtimes for students to perform, Open Rehearsals for students to watch the development of a finished Dramatic performance and gain an appreciation into this process.  

Another exciting venture will be the arrival of an Artist In Residence for Week 2.  Our resident artist is a professional artist who will bring her practice into our art spaces and work with Visual Art students in gaining understanding into artistic practices and materials processes. She will also be working with students to develop a Site-specific Installation in the school which will be revealed on Friday 25 October. 

Students will also be able to complete a daily drawing challenge booklet to win prizes. These and other events during the first two weeks of term 4 will add a fun and creative dimension to the start of the term and we hope students will become involved in a spirit of positivity. 

YEAR 12 HOSPITALITY

Year 12 2019 Hospitality Class 2.02 finished their practical applications experience at school making a batch of yummy chocolate coated profiteroles and eclairs. The class produced an excellent standard of pastry. The dough was well risen, crispy yet light, the cream chantilly filling complimented the rich, slightly bitter dark (Callebaut) chocolate. This recipe is not an easy dough to make it requires a high skill set and an understanding of some food science which was shared with them in our demonstration.

The class also produced over this term a range of high quality dishes - Chocolate Mousse & hazelnut biscotti; Seafood Marinara (made with a range of fresh seafood that we made into our own marinara mix) with pasta & gremolata; Sweet & Savoury Crepes with a filling of ricotta, toasted almonds, oranges and bitter chocolate; a savoury buckwheat crepe filled with mushrooms, ham, cheese & spinach served with Hollandaise sauce; Cajun Spiced fish fillets w/ salsa, and coriander yoghurt raita.

We will miss this class, they have been a pleasure to know and teach. Their attitude to do the 'right thing' as well as willingness to 'go the extra mile', never complaining about having to clean up, or empty bins etc. We wish them all the very best in wherever life leads them, they are a special group of human beings! 

YEAR 10 MATHS GROUP AT ST PAUL'S

Over the course of this year four Year 10 students had the opportunity to visit a group of St Paul’s students every second week to further their knowledge in the realm of ‘Mathematics’. Each fortnight we taught them new topics and formulae that will challenge them today as year 6 students, whilst giving them a sneak peek as to what high school education is like.

We entered into this schedule with the primary school students thinking it would be more of a program that progressed them with their current mathematical knowledge, which it always does, but every fortnight we looked forward to teaching them more challenging Year 7 and 8 topics and concepts which they enjoyed quite thoroughly. So far this program has been a great experience for us from a teaching perspective and we can only hope that students continue to question the unknown, pursue what they enjoy, and find answers to problems one step at a time. 

Thank you to Mrs Davis and all the teachers involved in making this program a success.

Alexander B, Ruby O, Romina V and James W