08.06.2018 Avila College Newsletter

June 8 | 2018


From the Principal
I Dare 2018
As a Catholic and Presentation community we have core beliefs and values that stick us together like glue. The faith, hope and love of the Gospels and our Presentation values: Faith, Vision, Community, Action, Daring, Justice and Compassion are fundamentals.
They help guide our choices, our actions and our relationships. They shape our moral decision making, bring joy to our days of celebration and they offer comfort too.
Because we know what we believe and we share our faith we are a community of students, staff and parents together seeking to achieve our best.
In the spirit of our theme for 2018, DaretoDo,Ihaveadareforeachofus and I’ve tried it myself too.
I Dare 2018 Avila people to answer these questions for themselves and maybe even have a chat with another Avila person about your responses::
1. This week I learnt ......
..about non-naturalistic dramatic performances from the Year 12 Drama class, about the joy of music from the Year 10, 11 and 12 students and about how to keep being positive when studying for exams by Year 10 students.
2. HowluckyamItobeapartof......
a school community that has students, staff and parents showing they stand for Reconciliation by joining with Melbournians on the Long Walk last Saturday night.
3. I am proud of another member of the Avila family who showcased how great they are...
By being awesome team members who trained and trained and trained for the State Finals for Aerobics and when they celebrated together when the S & P Team was selected to go through to the National Finals later this year.
There is much to be proud of as an Avila person, I hope you’ve experienced some of what this last two weeks has had to offer.
You may have seen some of our recent showcase videos on the Avila Instagram or Facebook accounts, you may have talked with a staff member who undertook professional learning about Capabilities across the curriculum or Mental Health First Aid or you may have heard about our booked out Twilight Tours ably hosted by our Student Ambassadors.
In the busyness of school life it’s easy to keep ticking things off the list, but it’s good to look up and talk with each other too or just to watch, see and listen to what’s going on around us ....
Dr Michelle Cotter
Principal
Exec. MBA, M.Ed. Leadership, M.Ed. RE, Post Grad. Dip. IT, Post Grad. Dip. Adult Ed., Grad. Dip. RE, B.Ed
35 Charles Street, Mount Waverley, Victoria 3149
T 03 9831 9600
[email protected]
avila.vic.edu.au
Avila College acknowledges the Wurundjeri people, the traditional custodians of the land on which the College is built.
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..like the Year 12 students have continued to make me laugh and wonder at their aspirations and memories over Dare to Do Morning Teas.
I Dare our Year 9, 10 and 11 Students in particular to do their best in the exam period.
I Dare our Year 7s to plan for a “Better World”, our Year 8s to keep on reading and problem solving, our Year 12s to persist - the SAC frenzy will soon be over!
And our Parents and Friends of Avila to enjoy all the PFA has to offer and to get involved in the next Student Wellbeing Conversation Hour, the rst one was indeed awesome!
Happy Learning!
Dr Cotter
Quick Links
> Reconciliation Week
> Year 7 Better World Project
> Year 7 + 12 Teddy Bear Picnic > The Conversation Hour
> Debating and Public Speaking > Y9 Virtual Museums
> Mother's Day Photobooth
Reconciliation Prayer
Holy Father, God of Love
We acknowledge the pain
and shame of our history
and the sufferings of Our peoples, and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures
Our hope is in you because
you gave your Son Jesus to reconcile the world to you
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, accept and love one another,
as you love us and forgive and accept us in the sacri ce of your Son.
Amen
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Faith & Mission
Ms Carmela Marino
Director of Faith and Mission [email protected]
Tiana Chandraratne Chiara Smith
Grace Guiliano Caitlin Grima
Faith and Mission Captains
Year 9 Australian Catholic Church: Past, Present and Future
Last week Year 9 students explored the past, present and future of the Catholic Church in Australia throughout the City of Melbourne.
They visited different landmarks and organisations that had an impact on the Catholic narrative and a strong connection to the City of Melbourne.
Sites included St Patrick's Cathedral, St Francis Church , MacKillop Family Services, Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre and the Carmelite Monastery.
Designed to enhance their learning and faith development, the excursion offered a chance to explore and connect within their own city.
Australian Youth Ministry Forum
A group of Year 9 students also had the opportunity to participate in a Youth Forum at Our Lady of Sion College.
Together with students from other Catholic schools, they discussed the
role of youth in church and society.
Bishop Mark Edwards challenged them to think holistically about their role as young people.
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Eat Up Australia Day
Tiana Chadraratne
Year 12
Jess Senzio
Year 12
At lunch, several girls gave up their time to either butter, wrap, label or pack sandwiches whilst singing along to a few ABBA hits.
Initially, it was overwhelming to see the large number of bread loaves that had been brought in. Although, once we
got going at our stations, it was hard to stop.
Collectively, we made approximately 500 vegemite sandwiches, which is a testament to all those who helped us out.
Thank you! A special thanks to Ms Gilfedder, Ms Rank and Mrs Trembath for helping us throughout the session.
Although a simple act, it was a privilege to be able to give back to the community. Knowing that we helped in reducing the number of hungry kids at school was a very ful lling experience. We look forward to helping Eat Up Australia again soon.
We were fortunate enough to have Eat Up Australia come on Thursday 24 May and allow us to help make sandwiches.
Eat Up Australia is an organisation that serves sandwiches to 101 schools in Melbourne, for kids who cannot have a lunch of their own.
Unfortunately 1 in 8 Australian children arrive at school hungry every day and as a result, they plan to expand their program right throughout Australia.
Faith and Mission Important Dates
Sunday's Gospel Reading
Sunday 10 June
Mark 3: 20–35 Those who do the will of God are family to Jesus
Sunday 17 June
Mark 4: 26–34 Parable of the mustard seed.
Wednesday 13 June
Memorial of
St Anthony of Padua
17–23 June
Refugee Week
Thursday 21 June
World Refugee Day
Friday 22 June
Memorial of
St Aloysius Gonzaga
Memorial of
Ss John Fisher & Thomas More
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Reconciliation Week
Commissioning of the Avila Fire Carriers
In a special whole school assembly, Avila College was delighted to welcome back former student Emma Spencer to conduct the formal commissioning of the 2018 Fire Carriers, Natasha Palamara and Caterina Abell.
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Jade Casemore Reconciliation Week Performance
Singer, Songwriter, proud Gunnai woman and Avila Alumnae Jade Casemore, treated students to a special performance in Bunjil in recognition of Reconciliation Week.
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The Long Walk 2018
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Youth United Melbourne Event - FAQ's of Faith
The next YUM event will be held on Saturday 30 June.
All youth (including young adults) are invited to attend the FAQ's OF FAITH event. There will be games, praise and worship, a BBQ and the main event: A Q&A put to our panel including Bishop Mark Edwards.
The event costs $5 per participant and registration is essential. Contact Cassie at youthunitedmelbourne@ gmail.com for more information or register here:
https://goo.gl/forms/9iDa4kCdWHSyBt162
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Learning
and Teaching
Dare to Do - Extending Learning
Parents often ask about how their daughters’ learning can be extended. A quick glance at the daily messages on Simon recently reveals numerous opportunities for extension.
Students have been able to extend their public speaking skills, not only in the DAV competition, but also in the Rostrum Voice of Youth competition in which a number of Avila students were semi- nalists.
Years 10 and 11 students from The Avila Quill and Ink Writers’ Co-op undertook a Stella Prize Girls Write-Up Workshop at the Melbourne Museum last week.
The annual ICAS Science, Australian Geography and Dante Alighieri Italian Poetry competitions have provided multiple opportunities for students to extend and test themselves against their peers nationally.
We were delighted to see more students than ever before committing to the ICAS Science competition this year and look forward to sharing the results next term.
Year 8 students also have a chance to develop their scienti c and engineering skills in the “STEM 4 All” program running at Avila for a second year, following great success in 2017.
The Wool4 School competition is calling for aspiring fashion designers to pitch their ideas or, alternatively, those with a talent for drawing or graphic design have been invited to submit entries for the cover of the Avila College Yearbook 2018.
All of the above opportunities have been on offer in just the past fortnight at Avila.
Parents are encouraged to read the daily messages on Simon and to chat with their daughters about challenging themselves to “Dare to Do” by stepping beyond their comfort zone into the rich co-curricular program on offer.
Madeleine Franken
Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching
Mrs Madeleine Franken
Deputy Principal
Learning & Teaching [email protected]
Ms Angela Torelli
Director of Studies Y10-12 [email protected]
Ms Klara Baka
Director of Studies Y7-9 [email protected]
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The Better World Project
Avila College recognises the importance of empowering students to drive and actively contribute to varied learning experiences.
Over many months, Year 7 teachers have been involved in developing a unique opportunity for Year 7 students to engage in cross-curricular learning through participating in a project that encourages peer learning and an opportunity to think deeply about the world that they live in.
Commencing June 7 and concluding June 15, all Year 7 students will undertake The Better World Project.
Students will work initially in a group of nine then smaller teams to investigate the topic “The world can be a better place by the time we are 30 because....”
Students will need to investigate and research social and environmental factors as well as an area of their choosing. They will need to incorporate data, graphs, reports, research literature and present their ndings in the form of a large poster.
All groups will have a Mentor teacher guiding and overseeing the students project over the week.
This is an exciting and unique learning opportunity for the students.
Parents are warmly invited to attend The Better World presentation evening on Friday June 15 from 5:30–7pm, where students will be able to showcase their work to parents as well as present their ndings to the research question they have investigated.
Mrs Klara Baka
Director of Studies Y7-9
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Pastoral Care
The Conversation Hour
Over the years, Avila has run student parent forums, but never like this!
The Conversation Hour was a chance for the whole of the student body to be heard and was run completely by students, with behind the scenes help from Ms Bauman and Mrs Dewers.
Elisa Scholast
Year 8
Milagros Vagra
Year 8
Here, the girls, Mieke de Vries, Beatrice Van Rest and Stella Hicks, presented some eye opening statistics gained from surveying from nearly 360 students in the school. Seeing these statistics so early on in the night gave parents something to think about for the rest of the evening.
The next topic of ‘Is my daughter normal?’ was presented by Anna
Zhang, Stephanie Michaud and Oviya Ponkathirvarathan. This part of the conversation covered the tough topic of mental health which can affect people of all ages.
By addressing this topic, the girls shed a light on the struggles that teens
can face with their mental health and opened up a new conversation.
Our third topic was ‘My Relationship with Social Media’. Priyanka Sharma, Sanjana Nair, Abbey Goullet and Alexandra Michael spoke about this topic, highlighting the positive and negative aspects of social media.
They were able to provide perspectives that sometimes go unheard in conversations about social media and all spoke with passion on the topic.
The Conversation Hour was designed to extend our relationships with parents in the Avila Community, in the hope of giving us, the students, an opportunity to be heard by the adults in our lives.
Our aim was to not only give parents and signi cant adults in our lives an insight into what being a teenager means in the today’s world, but also to dare to open up the doors of conversation.
Abbey Goullet kicked the night off
as one of the MC's, alongside Elisa Scholast and Milagros Vargas, by welcoming the teachers, parents and the students who came along.
The conversation started with the powerful topic of ‘Most Girls...’ .
Ms Janine Bauman
Deputy Principal Students [email protected]
Mrs Anne Stephens
Director of Pastoral Care Y7-9 [email protected]
Mrs Anna Marvelli
Director of Pastoral Care Y10-12 [email protected]
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Next, Jacqueline Vincent, Colette D’Costa and Milagros Vargas, spoke on the topic of ‘Why am I always so tired?’. First they explained why and then went on to speak about how what you eat and the way you organise yourself can affect your Sleep Hygiene. Overall, it was an extremely informative topic for parents and students alike.
We ended the night with the topic ‘What I want
my parents to know about being a teenager.’ This was led by Elisa Scholast, Delani David and Hirushi Desanayake.
Through surveys conducted throughout the school asking what students wanted their parents to know about being a teenager, the girls formulated what they wanted to talk about.
The topics they touched on included stress, how life has changed since parents were teenagers, responsibility and independence. I think that every parent listening took something from this.
A special thank you to the four fabulous Avila Ambassadors for the night, Demi Bourdopolous, Monica Fazzino, Georgie Donnelly and Caitlin Cameron.
The evening was one of stimulating conversation. As Ricky Maye once said, ‘Conversation isn't about proving a point; true conversation is about going on a journey with the people you are speaking with.’
On Tuesday 5 June, we truly went on a journey with the parents and students, a journey of understanding important aspects in the lives of teenagers and daring to talk about them.
The Conversation Hour |Let's Chat
Thank you to all the parents who joined us for The Conversation Hour and your positive feedback on this new initiative.
We asked the audience to 'identify one highlight of the night'. Here are some of the responses:
"I think the event serves as a great starter to many conversations with our daughters and at home".
"Understanding more about what in uences are most important to our daughters"
"I learnt alot"
"I liked hearing the survey data and listening to the students interpretations of the information".
"Starting the conversation on topics in mental health, such as trust and resilience in the challenging world of a growing teenager".
"Contributing factors to good sleep hygiene and actually - what sleep hygiene is".
"Mental health - great to see the awareness the girls have around this growing issue".
"Teenagers perspective about social media was enlightening for my generation".
"I loved this night. It was engaging and the topics were relatable. The girls were great speakers".
"As a parent, social media is an unknown and uncertain terrain. Thank you for a wonderful evening".
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Year 12 & 7 Teddy Bear Picnic
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In the Classroom: Year 9 History Virtual Museums
Year 9 History students truly demonstrated what Inquiry Learning is all about this term. They have just completed their virtual reality Museum Displays. Students chose such topics as: Bushrangers, Explorers, Marvellous Melbourne, Afghan Cameleers and Women's Suffrage. The focus of the task was to collect virtual artefacts on their topic, research these and present their information as it might be seen in a modern-day museum display.
Please step into our virtual museum and learn of the wonders of Australia's history ....
The Discovery and Settlement of Melbourne
Kayleigh Schroder 9 Gold
Explorers
Allegra Dal Ben
9 Purple
"I thought it would be interesting to discover who actually uncovered Australia and why they chose to do so. The journeys were fun to imagine back in the 1800’s.
I also enjoyed discovering how certain expeditions led to the Australia we all know today".
"The history of the Gold Rush and the Eureka Stockade has always been intriguing to me. This assignment gave me the opportunity to explore a topic that I already was curious about. Finding out that a lot of Australian immigration began because of the Gold Rush,
was interesting. I had a lot of fun researching and it gave me more insight as to how it shaped our Australian Society today".
The Gold Rush and Eureka Stockade
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Rachelle Patturajan 9 Orange


Year 8's in the Food Technology Kitchen
Using a variety of fresh herbs, Year 8 students tested their culinary creativity baking a variety of savoury scones.
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Debating and Public Speaking
Rostrum Voice of Youth
Rostrum has organised the Voice of Youth speaking competition since 1975 to contribute to the welfare and personal growth of Australian youth.
The competition has a junior and senior division. Last weekend, Avila's team produced some very well-researched speeches that were delivered with con dence and air.
This year we had a signi cant number of brave Year 7's attempting their rst formal competition and all should be extremely proud of their achievement.
In the senior section we had a large Year 12 contingent who are to be congratulated on competing at such a busy time of the year.
Avila College was thrilled to have two students in each division go through to the semi nals - a great effort.
Congratulations to Ashley Ng and Ella Mc Kenzie who competed in the senior semi nal and Kimberly Berger and Elizabeth Dinh who were junior semi nalists.
The judges commented on the high calibre of the speeches and the students commitment to improving our world.
Avila's Internal Junior Debating competition
Congratulations to the following students who receive the "best speaker award" in round two of the Junior Debating Competition:
Year 7: Tamara Spasojevic, Jessica Loeding, Olivia Schubert. Year 8: Elisa Scholast And Milagros Vargas
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Off to the Nationals!
Congratulations to the Avila S&P Aerobics team who have quali ed for the School Aerobics National Championships in Queensland. Well done to Logan Sharrock, Sarah Loughnan, Oneisha Talarico, Jenna Di Gregorio, Christine Rigopoulos, Ally Redlich, Taneisha Thom and Angelica Rigopoulos!
City Experience Video - Take a Look!
Having trouble viewing the video? Watch it here.
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Avila Calendar Dates & Events
7 - 15 June
Y10 + Y11 Exams
Tuesday 12 June
Y9 Re ection Day
Wednesday 13 June
GAT Assessment
Tuesday 19 June
SCSA Cross Country
Thursday 21 June
Y12 Trivia NIght
Friday 22 June
Final Day of Term 2
Monday 16 July
First Day of Term 3
SECONDHAND UNIFORM SHOP
Wednesday 20 June, 1-4pm
AVILA COLLEGE GENERAL OFFICE HOURS
8am - 4.30pm
PLEASE CALL THE ABSENTEE LINE BEFORE 10am IF YOUR DAUGHTER IS ABSENT FROM SCHOOL on 9831 9696
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The Dante Alighieri Poetry Competition 2018
The Dante Alighieri Poetry Competition has been a Melbourne institution for over 150 years as students from all over Victoria come to Melbourne University to take part in this annual event.
The process began at the end of Term 1 when our 72
Year 9 Italian students selected a poem to recite for the competition. Students needed to practice pronouncing their words correctly, eloquently and clearly, stanza
by stanza in order to ful l the requirements of the competition. Not to mention that the poem needed to be learnt by heart.
A dif cult task we may say, however our students rose to this challenge and were magni cent in their performance on the day.
The afternoon was followed by lunch in Lygon St.
where the students indulged in the culinary delights of Melbourne’s Italian heartland. In the past we have had a number of nalists and this year we are hoping to match this effort once again.
Salvatore La Fauci
Languages Curriculum Leader


Staying Healthy in Winter - Tips from the Health Centre
Winter Colds
Most people who have a cold and who are generally healthy will get better in several days without any treatment, because the body’s immune system can take care of the infection on its own.
Do I send my daughter to school with a cold?
If your daughter has a cold, she should stay home if not well (especially associated with fever, vomiting, asthma, etc). This helps to get over the infection faster and will also mean that you won’t spread the infection to others.
If coming to school with a cold, a student should minimise the possibility of infecting others by:.
• Washing hands regularly
with soap and running water, particularly before eating food and after blowing your nose
• Coughing and sneezing into a tissue then throwing it away
• Covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing
• Keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth
• Avoid sharing cups, cutlery, drink bottles, etc. when eating or drinking
Staying Hydrated
In the Health Centre we see
many girls who are not adequately hydrated. Poor hydration can cause symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, headaches and feeling faint.
To help stay adequately hydrated girls should:
• Drink plenty of water and bring a water bottle to school
• Have breakfast. If running late grab something to eat on the way. For example: ‘Up and Go’, yoghurt, banana, cereal bar, etc.
• Do not turn the heaters in the classrooms up too high
Head Lice
Head lice are common in school- aged children and we have recently been made aware of a couple of cases at Avila.
Please check your daughter’s hair.
The best way to check the hair is by putting hair conditioner in dry detangled hair. Use a ne toothed comb, wiping the conditioner on a tissue or paper towel.
The lice cannot attach to the hair with conditioner on and will be seen on the tissue along with eggs, which look like a grain of sand.
If you have any suspicions that your daughter has head lice please keep your daughter home until her hair has been treated (in accordance with Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009).
Treatments can be purchased at the pharmacy along with a ne- toothed comb.
A week later treat your daughter again.
Make sure as part of the treatment you clean the pillowcase. Putting the pillowcase in a hot dryer after washing helps get rid of the pests.
Also, clean hairbrushes, and it may be best to throw away hair ties, etc.
If you need some help on treating head lice, there are some information sheets at the Health Centre. Please pick one up,
or for online information look at www.health.vic.gov.au/headlice -Treating and controlling headlice
Catherine Angus R.N.
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Avila Mother's Day Breakfast | Photo Booth
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A MUSICAL
COMEDY
Inspired by & featuring the songs of
ELVIS PRESLEY®
Book by
JOE DIPIETRO
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BOOK AT: WWW.TRYBOOKING.COM/WEDW
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH ORiGiNTM THEATRICAL ON BEHALF OF THEATRICAL RIGHTS WORLDWIDE, NEW YORK
AN AVILA MAZENOD PRODUCTION


Community Notices
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Monash Youth Services
Yellow and Black Film Movie Night
Monash Young Persons Reference Group have decided to organise a midyear movie night to remind young people to look after themselves and their friends during the exam periods this year.
The group has chosen to screen The Perks of Being a Wall ower, which is a coming of age movie that explores relationships and dealing with different pressures life produces.
After the movie Darren Pereira from Success Integrated will be sharing some effective study tips.
The event is free to attend and there will hot food provided. After the screening and guest speakers there will be an opportunity to talk to services and play some popular games from different cultures or try a round of giant Connect Four or Jenga.
The Monash Young Persons Reference group is targeting young people aged 15 – 25 years. Please note The Perks of Being a Wall ower covers mature themes.
FREE SCHOOL HOLIDAY EVENT
Youth Job Seeking Skills Workshops
What should I put on my resume? How can I build up my experience? How do I control my nerves in front of a potential employer? What questions will I get asked in an interview? Will I be expected to be able to do the job straight away or will they teach me?
You asked. We listened!
One of the biggest concerns of young people in the City of Monash, according to Monash Youth Services’ recent Youth Action Plan Survey, was regarding employment and careers.
To help answer these common questions and ease the nerves, Monash Youth Services have developed
a FREE Job Seeking Skills Workshop for young people aged 15-20, who are looking to earn their own money by joining the workforce as a casual, part-time or full- time worker.
Tuesday 3 July 1pm-4:30pm at Wheelers Hill Library: 860 Ferntree Gully Road, Wheelers Hill
Thursday 5 July 9:30pm-1pm at Clayton Library: 9-15 Cooke Street, Clayton
Bookings essential on 9518 3900