St Agnes

Catholic High School

DECEMBER newsletter - term 4

Christmas is a time of hope and celebration. At St Agnes, part of our vision statement is to engender a sense of hope for a better future. As we celebrate Christmas I would like our community to think about and be inspired by the Christmas message of hope for a better future. Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and he brings hope and joy to the world.

Principal's message

Dear Parents, Students and Staff,

Christmas is only two weeks away and it is the end of the school year. It has been a great year; we have grown and developed as a community. It has been a privilege to lead the school and I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this vibrant and caring community. School has returned to normal so it has been wonderful that we have been able to have community events, as well as extracurricular activities. This builds community and provides opportunities for our students to participate in events and activities beyond the classroom. These rich experiences, binding with peers, is often what the students remember most of their time at school.

St Agnes Catholic High School 2022 Academic Awards

On Friday 9th December we acknowledged and celebrated the academic, sporting and extracurricular achievements of our students. I would like to congratulate the students who received awards whose hard work and commitment have been recognised. Also, I encourage all students to achieve to the best of their ability and embrace being part of our wonderful community by being involved in academic, sporting and extracurricular activities. This will enable you to flourish as a learner.

Here at St Agnes, we encourage students to undertake a journey of self-discovery to find purpose and achieve their best. We hope they continue their journey to be lifelong learners and central to this is the importance of believing in themselves and valuing the talents they have been given. When a person believes in themself they overcome self-doubt and have the confidence to achieve, which encourages them to take action and reach their potential.

The Principal’s Academic Awards were divided into two categories: Highly Commended Academic Achievement and Highly Commended which recognised sustained effort.

The Highly Commended Academic Achievement Awards were awarded to students who regularly achieve consistent results, not only in assessment tasks but also, in class tasks. These awards were mutually decided upon by the respective class teacher and the Leader of Learning.

The Highly Commended Awards were given to students who displayed sustained effort which was consistent. These students completed class learning, and home learning and when/where possible, sought teacher feedback. These awards were decided upon by the Learning Advisor, Learning Mentor and the Leader of Learning Pathways.

St Agnes Literature Prize, FIAT Awards, Participation in Vinnies Van, as well as numerous sporting awards, were presented at the Junior and Senior assemblies. The list of names is included further into this newsletter.

click on the photo to view more award photos

Advent Prayer

Lord God, may we, your people, who look forward to the birth of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate that with love and thanksgiving. Give us hope as we celebrate Christ’s birth.

Amen

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of the staff who were involved in the organisation, supporting and presenting at our Junior and senior Award Ceremony Assemblies.

I would like to thank:

Mr Kemmis for organising this award ceremony,

Mrs Bettiol for producing the certificates and presentation.

The IT Team for their technical assistance - Mr Khan, Mr Vellio, and Mr Reisbeck.

Ms Contogeorge for taking the photos on the day.

Our talented performers and musicians led by Miss D’Aprile and Mr Dienno

The Leaders of Learning Pathways, Learning Mentors and Leaders of Learning

Mr Dempsey for organising the sports awards

The Award Ceremonies was a great celebration and I hope that next year we can move the event to a facility big enough that parents can join us in the celebration.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal and

The Wash House Mount Druitt

Over the past three weeks, the St Agnes Community has supported the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal, as well as continuing to support the Wash House in Mt Druitt.

Last Tuesday 24 hampers were presented to St Vincent de Paul; the organisation was incredibly grateful for our contribution to the Mount Druitt community.

Likewise, the many hampers and gifts for Wash House were just as incredible. I would like to thank students and staff for all of their contributions to both appeals.

The Wash House staff were overwhelmed by our school’s kindness and care for those in our community. Thank you for making Christmas a little brighter for those vulnerable people in our community. A special thank you, to Mr Madigan, Mr Sadsad, Mr Zucco, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Vella for their work and coordination of these appeals.

St Agnes Art Mural

Thank you to Mr Chueng for organising a professional artist to work with our students in the creation of a large mural for the school. Also, I would like to thank the Creative Arts Team who supported this project. This was an opportunity for our community to see Sam Absurd, resident artist in action on Friday 2nd December. Sam has been working, in class, with our Years 9 and 10 Visual Arts students. The fact that he is a local person and making a huge impact not only in our community but in the wider art community, is such a great inspiration for our students.

Year 5 St Agnes High School Experience

On Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th November, Year 5 feeder schools had an opportunity to visit St Agnes and participate in various activities and lessons. This gave them an insight into what it is like to be a St Agnes student and an experience of high school.

Thank you to all the staff involved in the Year 5 High School Experience. A special thank you to the staff who planned and ran activities over the two days, as well as those people who helped out. There was wonderful feedback from the students and staff. A big thank you to Mr Khan for organising and coordinating the 2 days, Mrs O’Keeffe for liaising within the 4 primary schools, Mr Madigan for looking after the Year 5 teachers, our groundsman Mr Pride for cooking the sausages and Mr Camilleri and Mr Vellio for IT support. Also, thank you to Mr Hilder and Mr Kemmis.

A big thank you to the following teachers who ran various workshops:

Creative Writing - Mr Loughlin

Numeracy Activities - Mrs Walters and Mr Mangion

Science Practical- Mrs Cruickshank and Mr Bianchi

Food Tech- Mrs Vincent

Creating Music - Mr Di lenno

Creative Arts - Mr Cheung

Dance Routines - Mrs Tomich

Coding Techniques - Ms Phillips

Basketball Tricks - Mr Conte and Mr Dempsey

Week 10 Festivities

Our New Student Leaders have proposed some activities to brighten our final week with students.

Monday - Students will have an opportunity to solve a Christmas mystery at recess.

Tuesday - Students will be permitted to wear Christmas accessories. Students are allowed to wear tinsel in their hair, wear Christmas earrings/accessories (1 set as per Diary), Santa / elf hats and/or a Festive tie instead of the school tie. All other school uniform rules still apply (no nose rings or other accessories will be permitted).

Wednesday during Period 5 - all students will complete Christmas activities in class with the Year 12 leaders coming to assist. (We may also have a special visitor in a big red suit!)

I wish all families a joyful Christmas and that you take the time to rest and rejuvenate ready for a great year ahead.

Ms J Holland

Principal

UPCOMING EVENTS

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From the Assistant Principal - Learning Transformation

Another year has flown by and we, the staff of St Agnes, are very proud of our students. Many events have occurred throughout the year which has showcased the talent of our students, in and outside of the classroom. It is now a time for the students to reflect on the year, and their learning and determines the goals to be set for 2023.

We also remind parents to start planning for 2023 in terms of organising learning equipment and laptops for their daughter/son. In the last 2 years, supply issues caused by the lockdowns in Australia and overseas have had a serious impact on delivery times for these items. As a result, if a device upgrade is required, we recommend parents to place an order as early as possible. Laptops are a crucial learning tool for staff and students at St Agnes, and we ask all parents and students to make sure that device purchases/upgrades are prioritised in the coming weeks. We understand that these purchases have a significant impact on family budgets, but we also realise that post Christmas sales offer some of the best deals all year.

Year 12 2022

Our Year 12 cohort will receive their HSC Results on 15/12/2022 (6am) and later that morning, their ATAR. It is strongly recommended that students download these results and get a hard copy for future reference. They should also update their email address in the Personal Details section to a non-school email that they can easily access. You can also download your free eRecord and/or RoSA/HSC/VET credential PDF in the eRecords/Certificates section.

Step Up into Year 11

This occurred for Year 10 students from Wednesday 30th December to Tuesday 6th December. The aim of the programme was for each student to experience a number of lessons of their chosen subjects for Year 11. By all accounts, the students thoroughly enjoyed what the teachers presented and the learning opportunities they experienced. The students also completed various online activities and courses (under the direction of our Career Advisor) so that they were able to really consider the subjects selected against the Pathway they have in mind for the future.

Semester 2 Reports

By Tuesday 13th December, all students in Years 7 to 10 will be in receipt of their final academic report for 2022. This states clearly how the student has performed in each subject area and the Learning Advisor has also provided a holistic comment on their view of each student’s performance. I encourage all parents and students to read through the report carefully and reflect upon the learning attained.

Please remember that the opportunity is available to partake in a Student Led Conference with your child’s Learning Advisor on Thursday 15th December from 8.30am until 12.30pm. Thank you to the parents who have already made these bookings; please consult the Compass app as to the steps required.

Academic Awards

Congratulations to our students who received an acknowledgement of their effort and success at our recent award ceremony. Our awards recognised:

• First in the course (Year 11 only).
• Highly Commended - Academic Achievement. This first award is for students who regularly achieve consistent results in not only assessment tasks, but also, class tasks. The award is mutually decided upon by the respective class teacher and the Leader of Learning.

Highly Commended - Sustained Effort. This award is for students whose effort is consistent and does not waver. They regularly complete the set work, and homework and when or where possible, seek teacher feedback. This award is mutually decided upon by the Learning Advisor, Learning Mentor and the Leader of Learning Pathways.

Year 11

Year 10

Year 9

Senior Sport

Year 8

Year 7

Junior Sport

Mr G Kemmis

Assistant Principal - Learning Transformation

From the Assistant Principal - School Culture

PBS4L Update

This week we were able to announce the winners of the Inaugural “Free and Frequent” Rewards Day. Free and Frequent cards are given to students who display actions that contribute to the St Agnes Way of Being and Becoming. Students receive these rewards for Dignity, Integrity, Compassion and Inclusiveness.

This year students received almost 2000 Free and Frequent Rewards with each of them contributing directly to their house. Francis led the count for most of the year only to be pipped at the final count thanks to a late surge by Xavier.

All Xavier students will be rewarded with lunch and a movie to watch in the Alverna Hall on Tuesday 13th December. Thank you to all of the students who achieved a Free and Frequent token this year.

Safety

With the end of school now approaching, we would like to encourage all families and members of our community to stay safe during this holiday period. Some simple ways to help keep safe include:

1. Make sure you always are contactable and that multiple people are aware of your plans.

2. Arrange a meeting point if you get separated when going to new places or places with large crowds.

3. Research the area and try to avoid travelling alone and at night.

4. Stay in areas that are frequently populated.

5. Practise safe online behaviour.

6. Obey road rules and be sun safe.

St Agnes Changes to School Zone

Over the holidays, Blacktown Council will extend the school zone on Evans Rd to provide additional safety precautions for our school. The current zone will be extended down the hill on the eastern end of Evans Rd to approximately opposite Orcam Lane which increases the length of the school zone by approximately 80 metres. At this time the school zone boundary at the Western side of Evans Rd will not change.

Mr G Hilder

Assistant Principal - School Culture

From the Head of Mission

ADVENT

The season of Advent began on Sunday, 27th November. This marked a significant period in the Church calendar, a time where all Catholics come together in anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time where we recall the themes of Advent which are; Joy, Hope, Peace and Love. There is also a fifth candle, which most Christians use which is the Christ Candle. This is lit on Christmas day to signify and remind Christians of the light Jesus brings to the world.

In the book of Hebrews we read, “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus , the leader and perfecter of faith”. What great Advent advice. It is Jesus who is coming again in new ways to call us to be disciples and stewards of God’s many gifts and graces.

We need not despair when we are bombarded by distractions daily. Each day is a new beginning, to encounter Jesus; each liturgical season is yet another invitation to encounter God’s grace made present in the miracle of the incarnation. Humbly we invoke His guidance through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, a Spirit that enlightens us to see, a Spirit that allows us to love, a Spirit that emperors us to hear and follow the Good Shepherd.

We are not alone on this journey, we travel together, as one community and we are constantly reminded of the promise of the gift of the Lord’s presence.

As part of our pilgrimage to Christmas and the birth of Jesus, we at St Agnes perform the advent liturgy ‘ The Road to Bethlehem’ for our community. This year saw the return of this retelling and in a new way. Staff and students worked hard over the past few weeks to ensure this retelling and performance, allowed for poignant reflection as well as immersing the community in the Nativity story.

I would like to thank Miss D’Aprile, Mrs Millwood, Mrs Campkin, and Mr Sadsad, for all your tireless work with the choir and band, the performers and readers, costuming and the organisation and preparation of this significant liturgy. Thank you also to the students in the choir and band, performers and readers for your contribution to the liturgy.

World Youth Day

Over the past few news articles, as well as our posts on social media, I am delighted to announce that our student pilgrims that will be representing St Agnes and the Parramatta Diocese at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal are Faith Russell and Paula El-Ghossein. Congratulations to you both. Below you will find a Pilgrim in Focus - where you can read about one of our pilgrims.

Pilgrims in Focus

1. Why did you want to go to WYD 23?

I wished to go to World Youth Day 2023 to be able to embrace the opportunity to be able to strengthen my relationship with God and be surrounded by those who are there to do the same. The collaborative experience would allow me to encounter others' experiences in faith and feel a sense of community and support.

2. What are you hoping to take away from this experience?

I am hoping to take away traits of selflessness and a further understanding of the path and will God has for me. I wish to be able to leave the experience feeling moved, and closer to God and the Christan community.

3. What role does your faith play in your life?

Faith plays a massive role in my life, especially day to day. It allows me to view tough situations from a different perspective and to put trust in God that this is the path he has chosen for me and that he knows best. This gives me the confidence to get through any situation knowing that God has put this out for me for a reason and for my own good. My faith allows me to see the light in all dark situations but also allows me to reconsider my own actions and if they remark what Jesus would do.

4. What do you see your role in our school community now that you are a Pilgrim preparing for this significant pilgrimage and event?

I see my role in our school community now that I am a Pilgrim preparing for this significant pilgrim event as an influential and substantial role in terms of faith and setting an example representing St Agnes Catholic High School. My role in the school community is to have an open heart and to involve myself in faith initiatives here at St Agnes such as the Faith In Action Team this year.

Paula El-Ghossein

WYD Pilgrim

Vinnies Fundraiser - Hamper appeal

Thank you to all members of the St Agnes community for your generosity in supporting those in our community who may need help at Christmas time. The call was put to the community to give what you can to those in need, and would not ask. You all acknowledged this call, saw the need, and generously contributed to ensure all the families that St Vincent De Paul supports, will not go without.

This is the last opportunity where I can wish all of you a very Blessed and Holy Christmas, and a happy and safe holiday with your families. May you each find the joy, hope and peace that comes from the birth of Jesus Christ.

Peace and blessings,

Mr Patrick Madigan

Head of Mission

Around the Classrooms

Year 7 Textiles Technology Mandatory

Year 7 had fun designing and creating a Portfolio and an apron with an indigenous influence. They learnt how to follow a design process, and research textiles and indigenous designers and symbols. They implemented many sewing skills learning how to operate a sewing machine, tie dye specific patterns and hand embroider their initials and other designs. Brilliant effort to all Year 7 classes.

YEAR 8 FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Year 8 Technology Mandatory Food spent this semester designing and creating a healthy dish for adolescents. They have been involved and busy learning both food preparation and time management skills whilst making Anzac Cookies, Chicken Stir Fry and Spaghetti Bolognese during Practical Lessons. They finished the term by enjoying cooking Tacos and Parfaits.

Right - 8G Food Technology

CSIRO STEM Community Partnerships Project

This year, students in 9SCI4 participated in the CSIRO STEM Community Partnerships Program (STEM CPP). STEM CPP is part of Generation STEM and is a 10-year initiative delivered by CSIRO to attract, support, retain and train more NSW students in local science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and study pathways. The aim is to inspire local Stage 5 students into STEM pathways and showcase the exciting career opportunities available at their doorstep.

Students have been completing inquiry projects, where they were tasked with identifying a problem within the Blacktown Local Government Area and asked to design a STEM-focused solution.

On Wednesday 30 November, at Bowman Hall in Blacktown, students had the opportunity to showcase their projects, along with other schools from the Blacktown LGA. They showed creativity in their solutions and applied and developed many STEM related skills.

Students will be presented with CSIRO CREST Awards (Bronze) for demonstrating creativity, perseverance, and the application of knowledge through an open inquiry investigation in science and/or technologies.

Congratulations Year 9!

The St Agnes School Band and Choir have been very busy this term preparing musical items for the Bethlehem Play. Our school is so grateful to have such talented singers and instrumentalists who have done such a fantastic job sharing the joy of Christmas through music.

Merry Christmas from the Band and Choir!

2023 Design and Technology

The 2023 Design and Technology class, as part of Year 11 Step Up Program, , competed in a ‘Paper Ball Run’ Design Challenge. The winners were the team that designed their ball run for a table tennis ball to take the longest amount of time from the entrance to the exit. The students were given limitations that they had to consider, could only use tape, scissors and paper to create the ball run and evaluated the success of their design at the end of the challenge.

Access Artists @ St Agnes - Sam Absurd

If you’ve ever walked down the main part of Blacktown you would have seen the work of our St Agnes Artist in Residence - Samuel Kim aka Sam Absurd. Sam’s artwork in the field of Street Art celebrates the culture and diversity in Western Sydney as well as advocating for Street Art and Public Art.

The project through the CEDP’s Access Artists pilot program saw our St Agnes Year 9/10 Visual Arts students work with Sam over parts of Terms 2 and 3 to learn, investigate and create their own works of Street Art.

Sam and Mr Zucco worked with the Visual Arts class to learn character creation, illustration techniques and ultimately aerosol painting techniques as they made their own “tag” using their names along with signs and symbols that represented them.

The culmination of this project was the “St Agnes Live Mural” which was a large-scale mural created in a day. The students along with Sam planned and conceived the ideas behind the mural which was a reflection of our patron saint - Saint Agnes, our Franciscan traditions as well as our school pillars of Dignity, Compassion, Integrity and Inclusiveness.

The day of the mural saw the student ideas brought to life as well as seeing the community come together to see art created live in front of their eyes, which was a unique experience for our students. Our students were also interviewed by the CEDP about the project and they had some great insight into what they learnt and they have left their footprint on St Agnes for years to come. Our Year 9 PDM students did us proud too by capturing the artmaking process and even having some of their photos used by the CEDP.

*Fun Fact - the mural was even “tagged” by our school Principal, Mrs Holland, as her contribution was immortalised in the “St Agnes” text of the artwork.

You can see some great images on our school Instagram page as well as a time lapse (coming soon) created by the CEDP LEX Team.

I would like to thank Sam and his collaborator Taylan for working with our students and for bringing his passion and knowledge of Street Art to our community. A huge thanks to Ms Andrews from Captivate and Mr Zucco for their work on this project and of course to the Year 9 and 10 Visual Arts students for their creativity and vision.

Mr D Cheung

Leader of Learning - Creative Arts

Olympic Guest Speaker Greta Hayes

St Agnes were fortunate to have Olympic guest speaker Greta Hayes, from the Australian Hockeyroos team, meet with Year 9 on the 8th December, as part of the Olympics Unleashed Program.

Students learned, from Greta's Olympic journey, how to build resilience, the importance of setting goals and how to find what you are passionate about.

Greta spoke about how she overcame challenges to compete in her chosen sport at the very highest level, and how some lessons she's learned in sport could help St Agnes students be the best they can be – whether that’s in school, at home, on the sporting field or with friends.

We would like to thank Greta Hayes and Olympics Unleashed for this wonderful opportunity!

St Agnes Literature Prize 2022

In Term 4, students from St Agnes had the opportunity to demonstrate their outstanding writing skills in the St Agnes Literature Prize and have a chance to be named Junior, Intermediate or Senior Writer of the Year. The stimulus for 2022 was: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

This year there were over 30 entries from Year 7 to 12, a good increase from 2021. All entries were of a high standard and each student who entered received feedback on their writing and a merit award for their participation. Entries were judged on originality, depth and highly accomplished writing skills in addressing the stimulus in their chosen form.

Well done to all our winners, runner’s up and participants.

Stage 6 Winner: Akon Angara for her poem ‘Knowledge of Self.’

Stage 6 Runner-up: Ritika Prasad for her narrative “Through the Reflection.”

Stage 5 Winner: Angela Younan for her discursive essay “Why You Should Take Time to Learn about Yourself

Stage 5 Runner-up: Purva Kumar for her poem “Left Within Him, Lost Without Him”

Stage 4 Winner: Ashleigh Galletes for her poem “The difference between Her and Me

Stage 4 Runner-up: Andrea Plaatjes for her speech “Knowing Yourself is the Beginning of All Wisdom.

Our winning entries from Stages 4, 5 and 6 are published below.

Mr P Loughlin

Leader of Learning - English

Knowledge of Self by Akon Angara, 12.1

Moments of desolate inconstancy seem to frequent the vicinity of a vacuous chamber.

The mind beckons an unresolved conundrum with an incessant cry.

Yet there lies no response to the despondent sound.

Encrypted epistles without engagement,

Pigeon posts pending with no place to return,

Smoke signals smothered and suffocated.

Helpless calls thrown into oblivion, cast out and exiled.

A mind.

A void.

To know oneself without knowing self.

Finding solace in the mirage of the walls that confine me.

A harmony sung by the showmen,

Sermonised by the fire,

And dispersed into shadows for the captives of the dim cave.

An endless Sysphean battle.

The intellect remains a barren, no-man's land,

With the memories stained in the soil of the earth

And whispers of the past in the trickles of Poseidon’s spring,

The salty water never satisfies the insatiable thirst for knowledge.

It is only through the atonement and acceptance of suffering

That Olea europaea springs from Athena’s palms

That the warzone of consciousness ceases fire.

The silence of the psyche rings loud; yet only then will the consciousness emerge.

Only then, may wisdom sprout in the drylands of the mind.

Why you should take the time to learn about yourself by Angela Younan 9.8

Have you ever felt like a fraud or as though you were hiding something from others and yourself? I don't mean posing as someone else or deceiving strangers online. I'm talking about ignoring your genuine nature and what your true goals in life are. This is the foundation of wisdom and the source of all other forms of wisdom. When you were younger, did you ever take a Buzzfeed quiz asking, "What animal am I?" or "What Hogwarts house am I in?" (Unless you didn't have one, a significant part of everyone's childhood.) These are just a handful of the several methods I've used to try to learn more about myself, from a laptop that doesn't even have a mouth or a mind of its own. Then, without the influence of my classmates, I realised that I really didn't know who I was, what my aspirations were, or even what I actually liked. Many individuals are unaware of the advantages of understanding oneself and how it starts the path to knowledge, which may be a daunting and lonely task but was one I and many others had overcome.

Contrary to the popular opinions of many parents, I prefer to believe that wisdom is something much more significant and deeper than just schooling and your grades. Wisdom may arise from many various areas in our life, such as our employment, hobbies, and friendships, all of which incorporate some form of knowledge in our lives. The information that you and I can gain is infinite; it is not limited to what we learn in school and might emerge from taking the time to pick up new skills like knitting, negotiation, or even signing up for leadership roles. I was able to recognise both my talents and limitations when learning more about myself, such as my passion for English and my reluctance to public speaking. We're all hesitant about facing our fears, but once you do, I promise your life will completely be flipped around for the best. By overcoming my fear of public speaking, I was able to see new ways to grow myself and overcome my weaknesses. This was something I never would've expected from simply taking the time to learn about myself and utilising that knowledge to make myself better in areas I struggled with previously.

Knowing yourself is truly the beginning of all wisdom, it gives you the wisdom to build your resilience and helps you overcome and learn from previous mistakes. To challenge yourself, to become better in all ways you can. You can actually bring out the best in yourself to be a better person to yourself and to those around you by learning and being aware of your limitations and talents. "Be the change you wish to see in the world," Gandhi once stated. Being aware of your skills is an essential factor in furthering your career, education and friendships. The possibilities are endless and all it takes is one leap of courage to do better. Think of the process of understanding yourself like taking yourself on a date, asking basic questions is the best starting point. This is important as your relationship with yourself is the most important as it is one for life.

Today's society focuses too much on being like others having a mob mentality that we neglect our own thoughts and feelings. I am ashamed to admit that was me. Going to school I just wanted to feel accepted and the easy way to do that is to act like everyone else. To not stand out. By changing this mentality we can allow unique minds and ideas to thrive and allow us to connect with our inner consciousness. This is essential for us to learn from one another, but this can only be achieved if we all know enough about ourselves and what we can bring to the table.

The wisdom gained from knowing yourself can be defined in many ways either academically or in your specific skill set, but the wisdom you can gain can only help you improve yourself. Building your resilience and knowing your strengths and weaknesses is one of the many kinds of knowledge you can gain. Only once you truly know yourself can you be the best version of yourself. If I had the chance to go back 3 years I would tell myself to stay away from “fitting in” and instead focus more on knowing myself because that truly is the source of all kinds of wisdom.

The difference between ‘HER’ and ‘ME’ by Ashleigh Galletes of 8.3

Staring into the mirror, the mirror of truth and reality

The ‘me’ hidden by the mask of lies and dreams

What’s the difference between ‘her’ and ‘me’?

She plays a sport, but isn’t even good at it

She follows the trend, but none pique her interest

She laughs with her friends, but questions if she actually belongs

She easily gets mad, but it’s about the least of her worries

She talks with people from time to time, but she doesn’t even like them

She gets complimented, but doubts her skills and talents

She smiles everyday, but forces it every time

She feels tired all day, but stays up all night

She sobs for endless hours, but doesn't know the reason why

She feels alone, but has trouble trusting people who care for her

She is pretty, but is full of insecurities

She loves the attention, but wishes it’ll all be over soon

I stand in front of the mirror

I lay zoning out into my daydream

I sit there wondering

I can’t accept the real ‘me’ that lives deep within

I don’t know who I am, as a person

I live life with the burden of what they will think of ‘me’

I am afraid they will hate ‘me’

I know that I’m not ‘she’ or ‘her’

But I can’t help it

Everyone wants ’her’ but not ’me’.

Noticeboard

Uniform Price List Effective 10 January 2023

We have been advised by The School Locker ( our uniform shop ) that there will be a price change effective 10 January 2023. We recommend to all of our community to purchase any uniform needs by the end of Term 4, before the price increase to take advantage of the current prices.

The new price list, below, has been supplied by The School Locker company.

Please take note of the trading hours listed at the bottom of the document.

Thank you

Holiday Uniform Fittings

Book your fitting HERE www.schoolinterviews.com.au

St Agnes code: mr45k

Monday 16th January - 8am - 12pm & 1pm - 3:30pm

Tuesday 17th January - 8am - 12pm / 1pm - 3:30pm

Wednesday 18th January - 8am - 12pm & 1pm - 3:30pm

Monday 23rd January - 8am - 11am

Wednesday 25th January - 8am - 11am

Friday 27th January - 8am - 12pm

Monday 30th January - 8am-12pm

English Classes

Life Anglican Church will be running free English classes for all levels to help family members of international students. An additional English class with a focus on writing will also be offered. The classes will be run in the evening to include people who work. Classes will be run on Wednesdays at 6pm starting 1st February 2023 at 4 Samuel Place, Quakers Hill (behind Aldi). Those interested in enrolling, should contact Dr Daisy William at daisy.william@lifeac.org.au

All students catching the bus in 2023 will need a School Opal card.

Under the School Student Transport Scheme, eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school.

For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a School Opal Card, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/#/ from a desktop computer, and click 'apply for a school travel pass.'

Applications for 2023 opened at the start of Term 4.

School Opal cards

Compass has become our primary parent communication tool for day-to-day operational matters, upcoming events, notices, and notifications so it is essential that all parents download the app.

It is more important than ever that we are able to communicate effectively, especially when it involves the safety of our children. If you haven't already, we ask that parents download the Compass app onto their devices for either Apple or Android.

• Compass is a web-based system allowing you to access up-to-date and meaningful information about our school and your child’s progress. Compass includes many different features, including the ability to:
  
• Be informed of important updates, events, and reminders
  
• View your child’s timetable
  
• Review your child’s attendance
  
• Provide explanations for periods of absence
  
• Update your contact details
  
• Book Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences.
  

Compass is accessible on any modern web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) or by using the Compass iOS or Android apps.

If you have not received notifications via email can you please email the school to check on our contact details for you.

website

stagnes@parra.catholic.edu.au

shttps://www.facebook.com/StAgnesCHSRootyHill