Dear families,

Welcome to the commencement of Term 2. I hope that your Easter break was faith-filled and that the girls enjoyed and relaxed during their break from school.

I ask that you keep the people of Sri Lanka in your prayers after the dreadful terror acts that took place whilst we were celebrating Easter here. I spoke to the girls yesterday about the courage we all need to have, to stand together as a united humanity from all faith traditions to eliminate extremism of all kinds.

ANZAC Day Reflection

The annual RSL and Schools Remember Anzac Commemoration Service was held on Tuesday 9 April 2019 at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park. Five Year 10 History students - Caitlin, Amy, Elizabeth, Anne and Kaitlin - volunteered to represent the College at the Service.

Yesterday at the College Assembly, the students led a wonderful ANZAC ceremony remembering all fallen Australians from Gallipoli right through to today’s modern peacekeeping forces. The girls brought a beautiful reflection of the effects that WWII had on the OLMC borders during this time. Life with ration books, evening blackouts, limited food and coping with fathers, brothers, uncles and aunts who lost their lives during the war. I would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Melissa Riley (Leader of Learning, History) who guided the girls in the development of our Service.

Roseneath

During the holidays, we received news that the restoration work that is now completed on Roseneath Cottage has been nominated for a National Heritage Trust Award. The Awards ceremony will take place at Doltone House, Pyrmont on Friday 10 May - our fingers are crossed.

The College Finance and Communication Offices have now moved into Roseneath. We are still waiting for the DA approval on the landscaping of the external yard space around Roseneath to come through from Council. As soon as that is through the whole project will be completed and we can then set an official opening date.

Mother Daughter Mass

A reminder that our annual Mother Daughter Mass will be held in the Edith Angel Hall on Monday May 13 at 4.30pm. Afternoon tea will be provided at the conclusion of Mass.

Year 12 Student-led Conferences

This Thursday afternoon/evening is the Year 12 Student-led Conferences. It is expected that all Year 12 students and at least one parent will attend. The students are expected to lead these discussions and provide a reflection on their successes, challenges and the work and or support they may need as they prepare for the Trial HSC Examinations in early Term 3.

P&F Meeting - Tuesday 7 May

All parents are invited to come along to the next P&F Meeting on Tuesday 7 May in the College Staff Common Room from 7.00pm.

Uniform Shop Hours Reminder

A reminder that our standard uniform shop hours are now Mondays and Fridays 8am-9.30am (school days only). In busier periods, the shop opens on additional days. Any changes or variations in opening times are advised through the College website and the fortnightly College newsletter, Parragraph.

The OLMC uniform shop is located in a historic cottage opposite the main College block on the corner of Ross and Trott Streets.

Phone contact: 02 8838 1275

Email contact: uniformshop@olmc.nsw.edu.au

Opening hours: Mondays & Fridays 8.00am to 9.30am

We Pray,

God of love and liberty, we bring our thanks this day for the peace and security we enjoy, which was won for us through the courage and devotion of those who gave their lives in time of war. ... This we pray in the name of the one who gave his life for the sake of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Lest we forget!

God bless

Mr Stephen M Walsh

Principal

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a proven pathway to well-paid jobs in a diverse range of careers. In NSW, apprenticeships are also fee-free – meaning no upfront training costs for students or employers, plus student earn as they learn. With more than 120 apprenticeship courses on offer, there is plenty of choice. Find out more at:

http://bit.ly/2U8Hevl

To learn more about different apprenticeship or traineeship pathways, watch the My Gain Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/AAPathways/videos

University and college update

On Friday 10 May, during lunchtime in F103, Student Ambassadors from Macquarie University (MQU) will be making a presentation for interested Year 12 students. There will be information about new courses on offer and MQU’s new early entry program.

Many of the universities and private colleges have scholarship programs to consider, plus upcoming information evenings, experience and open days on weekends and during school holidays. These will be of particular interest to students in Years 11 and 12. Students and parents are welcome to attend the various events, so read on for more information on a wide range of courses.

This year saw the introduction of the new Year 7-10 PDHPE syllabus for Years 7 and 9 at OLMC. The new syllabus aims to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes important for students to take positive action to protect and enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing in varied and changing contexts.  Physical education is fundamental to the acquisition of movement skills to enable students to participate in a range of physical activities confidently and competently.

The study of PDHPE provides students with the opportunity to enhance and develop resilience and connectedness and learn to interact respectfully with others. Through our learning experiences in PDHPE, students will develop the skills to research, analyse and evaluate health and movement concepts in order to maintain and improve their health, wellbeing and participation in physical activity. During our recent unit for Year 9 titled ‘Bouncing Back’ and Year 10 ‘How healthy are we?’, students were provided with opportunities to learn to critique and challenge assumptions, attitudes and stereotypes of mental health and nutrition and evaluate a range of health-related sources, services and organisations that can provide support and assistance.

Through PDHPE, students learn in, about and through movement and are given opportunities to apply and adapt their skills across multiple contexts. Here at OLMC we want to provide students with as many different types of physical activity experiences as we can. Not only do we offer the traditional types of physical activity such as volleyball, netball and athletics but also new and non-traditional types such as AFL, Ultimate Frisbee, Zumba, Hip Hop and Boxercise. Our aim is to provide opportunities for students to develop and adapt their movement skills in a wide variety of contexts that would ultimately increase the likelihood of lifelong physical activity.

I would like to share some information from the article ‘Why a thriving brain needs a lifetime of exercise’ written by Paula Goodyer (11 August 2017) about the relationship between a healthy brain and exercise.

We don't give much thought to exercising for the sake of our brains (at least not until we're old enough to worry about Alzheimer's). But there's growing evidence that brains thrive on regular physical activity all the way from childhood to old age, say researchers at Deakin University's Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition.

Childhood and adolescence may turn out to be critical for influencing brain health in later life says Dr Helen Macpherson whose recent review of research linking physical activity to brain health was published in Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience, although we need more research to determine this.

Over a lifetime, exercise affects our brain in different ways.

"Physical activity in the early years may set up long term behaviours that promote healthier brains over the lifespan. At any age it may be important to consider the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for maintaining a healthy brain, rather than focusing on the impact on our waistlines," she points out.

Besides paying off with a lower risk of dementia and Parkinson's disease in older age, a lifelong exercise habit – especially one that includes building strength – can benefit the brain at different life stages and even have direct effects on its structure and function.

These benefits may also be different depending on whether you're a child, a mid-lifer or over 60, says Macpherson.

In childhood, for instance, there's evidence that regular physical activity is good for young brains in ways that optimise the rapid development of brains at this age and may enhance learning.

"Imaging studies have found that in fitter children, the parts of the brain involved in attention and memory are larger and some studies have also found that more physically active teenagers have better academic outcomes," she says.

Some very interesting information that not only demonstrates the physical benefits of exercise but the cognitive as well, which provides a good opportunity to start a conversation about making time to be active in our busy lives.

Mrs Jennifer McIntosh
Leader of Learning, PDHPE

World Titles

Over the holidays, Jessica D’Souza of Year 11 travelled to Toronto, Canada, to compete in WIDPSC, the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Titles. Jess earned her selection through her outstanding performances in the Australian Titles last September. Over a hundred student speakers participated in the event, held over five days at prestigious Branksome Hall, an exclusive school for girls in Toronto.

Jess was thoroughly prepared for each of her compulsory events: debating, impromptu speaking, interpretive reading and after dinner speaking. All competitors were required to present in each of these categories twice over three intense days, until the top two in each section (top four in debating) clashed in the Grand Finals. While Jess did not reach the finals, her performances are to be highly commended. Her attitude, effort and graciousness throughout the competition deserve the highest praise. She gained the respect and admiration of all those in the Australian team and OLMC has every reason to feel proud of her.

I would like to thank all those involved in enabling Jess to compete at the highest possible level any student can aspire to: the College Administration, the D’Souza family who supported Jess all the way, the Year 11 and 12 Debating students who helped in training and of course, Jess herself. Her reliability, hard work and impeccable behaviour made it an honour to accompany her to Toronto.

Mr Christopher Ostrowski
Public Speaking Co-ordinator

Twitter

OLMC Sport is now on Twitter, so join in the conversation @OLMCsport

Cricket

Tarni Sutton and Vaishnavi Deobhankar played representative cricket for Parramatta Women’s Grade Cricket Club in the Sydney Cricket Associations U18s Brewer Shield on Sunday 31 March 2019 against Bankstown and were crowned premiers for 2018/2019. Vaishnavi took two wickets and Tarni two catches during the game. Well done girls!

Athletics

Congratulations to Lucie Francis who competed at the Little Athletics Australian Championships at Hobart over the weekend.

Congratulations also must go to Summer Giddings who competed at the Arafura Games in Darwin, winning the Parra Long Jump. Summer has recently been chosen in the Open Australian Team to compete at the Oceania Games in Townsville in June. Well done and best of luck Summer!

NSWCCC Touch Football

Congratulations to Hannah Mathews, Amelia Polley and Chanelle Mikhael who all competed in the PDSSSC 15 years Touch Football Team at the NSWCCC Touch Football Championships at Nelson Bay last Term. Despite not making the Grand Final, the girls all had a great time and played exceptionally well. Well done girls!

Saturday Soccer

Saturday Soccer starts this Saturday 4 May. The majority of our games will be played at our new home ground at Tara. The draw has been emailed to all students.

The girls will play in the old uniform for Round 1.

Saturday Netball

Round 2 was held at the start of the school Holidays. Round 3 will be played this Saturday 4 May.

All netball uniforms have now arrived at the Uniform Shop for the teams wearing the new strip this season.

You can view the draw and results here - http://erna.nsw.netball.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/draw.aspx?

Mr Stuart Guthrie

Sports Coordinator

School fees for Instalment 2 have now been sent to all families and are due by Friday 3 May 2019. Payment may be made by Bpay, cheque, money order or by credit card via the Parent Community Portal (Visa or Mastercard).

Any queries regarding fees or payments can be directed to the Finance Office on 8838 1214 weekdays (8.00am - 4.00pm) or by email to finance@olmc.nsw.edu.au

Mr Bradley Johnson
Finance Manager

Staff Spirituality Day

On 12 April, the last day of Term One, all staff took part in our annual Spirituality Day. The theme of the day this year picked up on the College Mercy Value that we are focusing on: Service. We used the passage from Galatians, ‘Through love serve one another’ (5:13) as our inspiration.

Staff went to various locations around our local area and engaged in hands-on activities and works of service looking at ways to serve God, others and self. We then spent time reflecting on the woman of Catherine McAuley and the wonderful contributions she made to Ireland, especially to the women and children who were in such dire need of care and attention.

The day was a practical way of demonstrating our commitment to service by making our actions real and visible. All staff were also asked to donate towels to the Women’s Community Shelter which will open later this year in Parramatta. These donations will help to support the dignity of the women who seek refuge here.

Some of the staff made JRS care packages, cooked for Hope Hostel, sewed bags for JRS and visited Nursing Homes.

Candela Mission Peru Mother's Day Stall

Mrs Mary Rajca spoke at our College Assembly on Monday 30 April about the work of the Sisters of Mercy in the shanty town of Candela in Lima Peru.  This mission supports women through a program that teaches them to make beautiful handicrafts.

We will be selling these items at lunchtimes in Week 2 (keep your eye on the digital boards for more information).  Items range in price from $4 to $10. They are perfect Mother's Day presents.  The proceeds from the sale of these crafts give the women an income so they can provide for their families.

This is a significant way for the students to help the women of Candela and at the same time purchase a handmade gift for their own mothers and grandmothers.

All money raised goes straight to the women who have made the goods. This money is used to buy basic necessities for their families.  Your support of the Mission is greatly appreciated.

Sister Joan Doyle RSM with Ellen and her family outside their home.

Mother Daughter Mass

Our annual Mother/Daughter Mass will take place on Monday 13 May in the Edith Angel Hall. An invitation will be sent out shortly, but you might like to ensure your diary is free for this lovely celebration which will be led by Fr Walter Fogarty, our College Chaplain.

Mass will commence at 4.30pm and you are all warmly invited to attend the Mass and join us for afternoon tea also.

Click here to RSVP to the Mother Daughter Mass.

Mrs Claire Thomas has taken leave for the remainder of the year and I have the privilege of working as the Director of Mission in her absence. I am looking forward to the Retreats, Masses, activities and works of service throughout the year and thank you in anticipation for your support in all that the Mission Team do to ensure your daughters receive a well-rounded education full of amazing possibilities and life-changing opportunities both at the College and in the local community.

Mrs Gabby Scanlon
Director of Mission (Acting)

Have you noticed times when you are driving and you find yourself arriving at your destination without any real sense of how you got there? Have you ever read the same paragraph of a book over and over again, without any understanding of what you have been reading? In this modern age, we have multiple modes of technology at our fingertips and are often encouraged to multi-task and complete many things all at the one time. Research is increasingly showing us that when we make demands on our brain to divide our attention, rather than focus, it is hampering our ability to perform even simple tasks.

This can have an extremely negative impact on attentiveness and learning. In essence, the more we multitask the less we are able to accomplish because we slowly lose our ability to focus enough to learn. Attention is essential to learning. If we attempt from an early age to constantly multitask, we do not practise how to tune out the rest of the world, to engage in deeper processing and learning. Empirical research has demonstrated that multitasking with technology (such as texting, listening to music, checking emails) negatively impacts studying, completing homework, and learning.

Mindfulness is a technique that we can use to restore our focus and attention to the task at hand. It is the practice of being present in the moment, aware of where we are and what we are doing, without being too affected or overwhelmed by what is going on around us. When we practise mindfulness our thoughts tune into the present rather than ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Mindfulness is an evidence-based self-awareness technique which has been found to assist people who have depression, anxiety, chronic pain, substance abuse, ADHD, and other mental health issues. It has been shown to help people manage stress and to boost calmness and overall wellbeing.

The following links may assist in developing or enhancing the ability to be mindful:

https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

http://www.freemindfulness.org/download

https://www.biteback.org.au/powerup

Mrs Sandra Portela

Senior School Counsellor

Year 8 Camp in 2003