6 September 2019 Avila College Newsletter

News
06 September| 2019 Inspiring today for tomorrow

1

FROM THE Dr Michelle Cotter
PRINCIPAL
Principal

Exec. MBA, M.Ed. Leadership, M.Ed. RE, Post Grad.
Dip. IT, Post Grad. Dip. Adult Ed., Grad. Dip. RE, B.Ed

Chiara Smith It is spring and spring is indeed sprung here at Avila! With a little
midday sunshine come the cheery voices of students in the yard,
Co Captain a little skipping through the halls and the optimism that comes
from a new season.
Alexandra Michael

Co Captain

35 Charles Street,
Mount Waverley,
Victoria 3149
T 03 9831 9600
avila@avilacollege.
vic.edu.au
avila.vic.edu.au

We saw a busy last week of winter with the Congratulations to all of our nominees for
Music Festival, Father’s Day Breakfast and the School Captain 2020. The courage to put
Premier of Victoria. Hon. Mr Daniel Andrews oneself forward, consider what leadership
speaking to an overflowing Bunjil for a forum means to you and your school community,
on leadership with students across a range of then to present a speech to the whole school
year levels. is a fine achievement.

Our ongoing commitment to school Interviews for Year 7, 2021 are well underway
improvement has seen students and staff and have once again been a wonderful
issued with a link to the Catholic Education opportunity to connect with prospective
Melbourne School Improvement Surveys. future students and their families.

These surveys are an important dimension We anticipate a waiting list for Year 7 2021.
of our gathering of feedback and data for Should any current families have missed
school improvement planning for next year. the application due date, I encourage you to
Parents will be randomly selected to receive a contact our College Registrar, Mrs Elizabeth
survey link also in the coming week. Makhlout as a matter of urgency. We would
not want current families with younger
Our College assembly continued to provide siblings to miss out on enrolling at Avila
opportunities for all students to participate because an enrolment application has not
in a fundamental dimension of Australian been submitted.
democracy - voting.

2

Best wishes for the beginning of spring to all students, staff and families. As Season of
we go about our learning this September we might enjoy the words of famous Creation
American Naturalist John Muir who said “Spring work is going on with joyful Prayer
enthusiasm.”
September is dedicated to the
Happy Learning! global ecumenical Season of
Creation, we focus our prayers and
Dr Michelle Cotter actions giving thanks for creation
and call for its protection.

Creator of Life,

The Earth is full of Your creatures, and
by Your wisdom you made them all.

At Your word, the Earth brought forth
plants yielding seed of every kind
and trees of every kind bearing fruit,
the waters teemed with swarms of
living creatures of every kind, and
the world was filled with every kind
of winged bird, walking animal,
and creatures that creep upon the
ground.

Mountains, plains, rocks, and rivers
shelter diverse communities, and
through the changing seasons Your
Spirit renews cycles of life.

During this Season of Creation,
open our eyes to see the precious
diversity that is all around us.
Enlighten our minds to appreciate
the delicate balance maintained
by each creature. Inspire us to
conserve the precious habitats
that nurture this web of life.

In the name of the One who
came to proclaim good news to
all creation, Jesus Christ.

Amen

3

FAITH Ms Carmela Marino
& MISSION
Director of Faith and Mission

[email protected]

Mietta Busscher Farewell
and Safe
Faith & Mission Travels to
Captain Santa Teresa

Monique Mason Students from Year 10 will be
travelling to Santa Teresa,
Faith & Mission 80 kilometres from Alice
Vice Captain Springs with approximately
500 people, who speak
Clare McMorrow Eastern Arrernte and English.

Reconciliation Captain From Thursday 5 September to Sunday
15 September, the Year 10 students,
Tiara Chandraratne together with Mrs Sophie Clapperton
(Year 10 Coordinator) and Miss Zoe
Reconciliation Vice Captain Wood (Year 7-9 Religious Education
Coordinator), will be immersed in the
4 culture and traditions of the community.

We wish them a safe and rewarding
journey and look forward to them
sharing their experiences on their return.

Spring Faith &
Mission
into Faith Important
Dates
Join us for prayer
and reflection Gospel Readings
every second
Thursday in the Sun 8 September
Nano Nagle Room Luke 14: 25–33
as we enter into All who do not
the season of renounce their
Spring. possessions cannot
be my disciples.
Starting on
Thursday 12 Sun 15 September
September Luke 15: 1–32
with Mass/ There will be joy in
Liturgy heaven over one
sinner who does
8am penance

Australian Catholics Spring Issue Launch Important Dates

13 September
Memorial of
St John Chrysostom

14 September
Feast of the
Exaltation of the
Holy Cross

16 September
Memorial of
Sts Cornelius
and Cyprian

20 September
Memorial of
Sts Andrew Kim
Taegŏn and Paul
Chŏng Hasang

21 September
Feast of St Matthew,
Apostle, Evangelist

5

LEARNING & Ms Leah Eekelschot
TEACHING
Deputy Principal Learning & Teaching

[email protected]

Ms Klara Baka

Director of Learning & Teaching

[email protected]

Prakashika Ravi

Learning Captain

Stephanie Skafidas

Learning Vice Captain

Learning in Action

Now that Spring is upon us, students are on the move and
learning in diverse environments, both inside and out.
We have also had a number of special events showcasing
their knowledge and skills in different settings.

6

Reaching
for the Stars

Space School
Information Evening

Tuesday 22 October
6.30pm-8.00pm
Bunjil, Avila College

Learn about the program, travel
itinerary and essential packing
tips for the upcoming Space
School trip to the USA.
Essential for students and their
parents booked on the USA tour.

Astronomy Night

Tuesday 22 October
6.00pm-8.00pm
Avila College

Learn about the night sky with
our science teachers and local
astronomy expert on your way
to and from the Art, Design and
Technology Exhibition. No need
to book!

7

Year 8 Father’s
Day Cupcakes

8

Year 11
Rock Climbing

9

STUDENT Ms Janine Bauman
WELLBEING
Deputy Principal Students

[email protected]

Mrs Anne Stephens

Director of Student Wellbeing Yr 7-9

[email protected]

Anna Marvelli

Director of Student Wellbeing Yr 10-12

[email protected]

Claudia Chmielewski It’s Time to Get Moving!

Wellbeing Captain There are many physical and mental benefits to regular exercise...
Here’s a few important reasons to exercise, particularly for students:
Anna Zhang

Wellbeing Vice Captain

Michaela
Jansens Ter Laeck

Student Representive
Council Captain

Madelyn Janky

Student Representive
Council Vice Captain

Exercise can make you feel Happier Better Skin Health
It has been shown to improve mood and Regular moderate exercise can increase your
decrease feelings of depression, anxiety body’s production of natural antioxidants,
and stress. It changes parts of the brain that which help protect cells.
regulate stress and anxiety, and increases
the production of endorphins which Exercise can also stimulate blood flow,
produce positive feelings and reduce the which can protect skin and delay signs of
perception of pain. Your mood can improve ageing.
from any exercise, no matter the intensity of
the physical activity.

10

Increased Energy Levels Healthy Eating to Support Good
Engaging in regular physical Physical and Mental Wellbeing
activity can increase your energy
levels. This is true even in people Along with regular exercise to promote good
with persistent fatigue and those physical and mental health, the food we eat can
suffering from serious illnesses. have a drastic effect on our body as well.

Improved Brain Health and I guess it is a no brainer; eat well, feel good.
Memory Sometimes easier said than done when it comes to teenagers.
Exercise can improve brain
function and protect memory Some of the best foods to promote good mental and physical health
and thinking skills. It increases include colourful fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean protein
your heart rate, which promotes and fermented foods like yoghurt, kimchi and kombucha. The use of
the flow of blood and oxygen to olive oil, legumes, nuts and seeds are also beneficial.
your brain, and stimulates the
production of hormones that can It is not only the food that we put into our body, but also when we
enhance the growth of brain cells. eat it. We have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal
of the day, but often our young people struggle to eat in the morning,
Relaxation and Sleep Quality whether because they can’t face food, are not hungry or they couldn’t
Regular exercise can help you relax get out of bed in time. A delicious smoothie, a piece of fruit or a
and sleep better. In regards to handful of nuts, might be a good option.
sleep quality, the energy depletion
that occurs during exercise Food at school is also important, as it provides the energy needed to
stimulates recuperative processes concentrate and participate to the best of their ability. If your daughter
during sleep. doesn’t like to eat at school, perhaps provide her with some dry
biscuits, nuts or bags of air popped popcorn, to keep in her locker.
Although it can be difficult to get
motivated to exercise, especially Dinner with the family is most parent’s dream, but a reality that is
given Netflix is such a tempting often fraught with challenges. While a well balanced meal is the gold
way to relax, the benefits are standard, the time that we eat, is just as important. Eating well before
significant for your overall health going to bed, aids good digestion and improved sleep.
and wellbeing...and help with
studying as well. So let’s all get It is also important to remember what it is like to be young and that
moving! the occasional fast food meal, sleep in or day without exercise won’t
cause harm and might improve family relationships, but in the long
Source - The Top 10 Benefits of regular run; good healthy food, exercise and sleep will give your daughter the
Exercise https://www.healthline.com/ best chance at having good mental health and wellbeing.
nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise - cited on
2/9/19 Source Headspace - What you put into your body can affect how you feel.

11

COMMUNITY Mr Justin Cash

Community Engagement Manager

[email protected]

Visit from
the Premier

Kathryn Kia Semertzidi
Limeira-Beaton
Year 9
Sustainability Captain
On Friday 30 August I was one of Mr Andrews also spoke about how being
Dana Tomljanovic the hundreds of Avila students a leader involves having “integrity and
invited to listen to the very authenticity” and how strong morals and
Sustainability Vice Captain talented Hon. Daniel Andrews. values are essential qualities in a leader.

Georgia Miller He is not only the Premier of Victoria, but also I believe a leader speaks to the people at a
an excellent role model, as he confidently level that they understand, and I could see
Stage Crew Captain spoke to us about politics and inspirational that in Daniel Andrews’ speech.
leadership.
Lauren Karipidis He was very inspirational and taught all of us
Personally, I found his speech very important life lessons about how to be not
Stage Crew Vice Captain motivating. Mr Andrews discussed how only good leaders but good people in society.
being a good leader is not about doing what
12 people expect you to do, but more about He answered the many questions Avila
what you as an individual believe is right. He students posed and was very detailed in his
talked about how being yourself is crucial in answers.
demonstrating leadership qualities.
Personally, I’m honoured to have had the
privilege to listen to Hon. Daniel Andrews.

I was very inspired by his speech and I’m sure
all of the Avila students and staff who also
attended were too!

School Captains at Parliament Avila Calendar

Avila College 2019 Co-Captains Chiara Smith and Alex Michael Wednesday 11 September
joined with school captains from Eastern suburbs to meet MP’s, Art, Design and Technology
tour Parliament House and be inspired to continue their leadership Exhibition
journey after they leave school.
Thursday 12 September
National Health and PE Day

Monday 16 September
SCSA Netball

Thursday 19 September
Sports Awards Night

SECONDHAND UNIFORM SHOP

Wednesday 18 September

AVILA COLLEGE
GENERAL OFFICE HOURS
8am - 4.30pm
PLEASE CALL THE ABSENTEE
LINE BEFORE 10am
on 9831 9696

13

PUBLIC
SPEAKING &

DEBATING

Prabhloyan Gill Year 9 Public
Speaker of
Public Speaking the Year
& Debating Captain
At the last assembly the Year
Rachel Iwuagwu 9’s were challenged by the
students in the Public Speaker
Public Speaking of the Year competition.
& Debating Captain
Although students had a range
14 of topics to choose from, most
chose to discuss the need for
students to have a voice and
to speak for change.

The judges were impressed by the range of Congratulations to all of the students who
serious contemporary issues they engaged competed - their presentations were all
with from the treatment of our First Peoples informed and delivered with confidence.
to our care for the Earth. It became clear that
Greta Thunberg is a young woman who is This year there was a draw for the title of
giving hope to this generation. Public Speaker of the Year - well done to
Elizabeth Dinh and Colette D’Costa.

The DAV
Intermediate
British
Parliamentary
Debating

Elizabeth Dinh

Year 9 Public Speaking

and Debating Captain

On Sunday 25 August, a group of six Year 9 At the beginning of the day, the debates didn’t go as we
students made their way to Huntingtower wished but by the end of the day we understood the
College to compete in a round robin strategies needed, finishing 2nd in our last three debates.
debating tournament for Year 9 and 10’s.
This year was the first time that many of us have debated
This style of debating is taken from the British Parliament and it gave us all a chance to improve our skills on debating
and is completely different to our usual debates, as it is a 4 structure and thinking on our feet.
on 2 debate rather than your standard 3 on 3.
Congratulations to Deanna Azucena, Lynn Ng, Colette
British Parliamentary is more interactive with the D’Costa, Alissa Yee and Victoria Sarafian for giving it a go!
opportunity to give a ‘Point of Information’, a chance to ask
what the opposition teams are speaking about, during their We all agree that it was a great experience!
speeches.

Junior DAV Debating

The season has begun for Avila's Year 7 and 8 debaters.
This year we have 8 teams competing. All of the juniors
have worked very hard on their speeches, meeting twice a
week at lunchtime to brainstorm and rehearse.

Monday night was the first round of debating and all
teams performed well.

Congratulations to those who won the Best Speaker Award:
Sharisa Robinson and Jyothika Nair.

15

DRAMA,
MUSIC & ART

Music Festival 2019 Thank you to John Nazloomian
for Music Festival photography

Charlotte Nunn

Art Captain

Hayley Cameron

Art Vice Captain

Chloe Smith

Drama Captain

Aliyah Thomas

Drama Vice Captain

Jade Judd

Music Captain

Emma Gare

Music Vice Captain
16

17

Kinuli Ranaweera

Year 9

Year 9 Food Only a certain number of As soon as you had a slider in
Technology students were allowed into Bunjil your hand, it was like winning a
Annual Sliders to taste the sliders. Therefore, prize as the room was filled with
Competition all you could see were Year 9’s hungry and ravenous Year 9’s
rushing towards the doors for wanting one too.
As lunch arrived, some free food!
there were groups of I personally didn’t get to taste
As a lucky recipient, I was able to all the sliders but just from the
Year 9 students get in and as soon as I did, the aroma in the room, you could tell
rambling down the overwhelming number of Year they were full of flavour.
stairs, pushing past 9’s made the atmosphere of the
everyone, towards room ecstatic and jubilant. By the end of lunch, the platters
Bunjil, eager to try that were once filled with a
There were four creative and variety of sliders were empty!.
the sliders! busy groups who had produced
the sliders. Each group had Some students were even craving
18 created inventive names for their for more, but unfortunately, they
burger brands to attract the rest were all consumed within a flash.
of the cohort to vote for them.

Oviya Victorian Crisis Point
Ponkathirvarathan
Hosted by the UN Youth Australia, the Victorian Crisis Point gave
Year 9 students from Years 9 to 12 an opportunity to interact as a group
and discuss solutions to real world problems.

The day was designed to specifically build our evaluative The groups faced the challenge of negotiating with the
thinking and decision making skills whilst also raising other cabinets by organising meetings or events to
awareness of ethical, political, and economic issues. effectively solve the problem.

We were allocated into separate cabinets, representing the In participating in the Crisis Point, all of us who attended
different states of Australia, and assigned into different - Jocelyn Satya-Graha, Julia Grubnic, Emma Johnston,
positions as a part of the ‘government body’. and myself - found it to be an interesting and unique
opportunity.
We were asked to respond to a scenario where a disease
in the ACT has killed the whole population - including the We met delegates from other schools whilst learning new
country’s supreme parliamentary body. strategies about leadership and teamwork.

As dark as this sounds it proved to be entertaining and It was also good to work with UN Youth Australia who are
interactive, as a mock version of the media was created for eager to make the world a better place.
the different cabinets to communicate to the public.

19

SPORT

Soccer Champions!

Tricia Cowan Deanna Tambakakis For the senior squad, the competition
was one of both wins and losses, but the
Sport Captain Soccer Captain winning streak continued on, and in the
hard fought grand final they were victorious,
Sophie Gregson In recent years, Avila girls have shown a coming away as division champions as well
great deal of determination and enthusiasm
Sport Vice Captain when it comes to the annual SCSA Soccer For the inters squad, the stakes were high,
competition, and this year’s extraordinary with a nail biting penalty shoot out in
Bridgette Roza group of girls did not disappoint. their grand final. With the support of the
Avila squad on the sidelines, they came
Chisholm Captain Nervous but eager to face the competition, away victorious, and the celebrations were
the Avila soccer squad left for the Darebin beyond joyous with all three Avila teams
Sarah Ang International Sports Centre, determined to ending the competition as champions in
give it their all in the tournament. their respective divisions. It was a hard
Flynn Captain earned, well deserved clean sweep.
The cool morning weather cleared to a
Daniella Fischer beautiful sunny day and this enthused the As my final year here at Avila, and my last
girls to play to the best of their abilities. With opportunity to play inter-school soccer, I’d
MacKillop Captain shin guards on and soccer boots tied up, the like to thank all the girls who participated
games started soon after we arrived. and making it one to remember.
Zoe Gifford
All three teams played with their heads On behalf of myself and all of the teams
Nagle Captain held high and eyes on the prize; the title of I would like to say a massive thank you
champions within their respective divisions. to Mr Ross, Mr La Fauci, Mr Bernardo and
20 Mrs Williams for their time and effort with
The junior squad played with cohesion and training sessions and their encouragement
spirits running high, as they dominated and support on competition day.
their competition, coming away with a well
deserved victory in their grand final. The outcome wouldn’t have been possible
without you all there.

21

Father’s Day
Breakfast

22

23

Indigenous
Celebration
Day

Avila staff and students
celebrated Indigenous Literacy
Day by wearing their favourite
footy colours to school and
participating in, or watching
the annual staff vs students
Marn Grook football match.

24

Student
Elections

It has been a dynamic
election process for the 2020
Co-Captain positions with
speeches, preferential voting
and panel sessions.
Congratulations to the elected
Co-Captains for 2020, Alicia
Roy and Kavia Pynadath.

25

PATHWAYS Ms Jenny Dunn
& CAREERS
Pathways Co-ordinator

[email protected]

Mrs Madeleine Franken

Careers

[email protected]

Step On Campus - Deakin

This is a great chance to get an inside look at what life is like at
Deakin University and ask questions about further study.

Students and their families will be taken on a 45 minute tour
of their chosen campus by a current Deakin student.

Step On Campus Tour Dates and Times

Melbourne - Burwood Campus
Wednesday 25 September, 10am, 11am and 12pm

Geelong - Waurn Ponds Campus
Thursday 26 September, 10am and 12pm

Geelong - Waterfront Campus
Tuesday 24 September, 10am and 12pm

Warrnambool Campus
Tuesday 24 September, 10am and 12pm

Click here to register and find out more about
the Step On Campus program at Deakin

26

Reminder!
VTAC Application
Final Dates Approaching

Timely Applications CLOSE September 30
Late Applications CLOSE November 1
Very Late Applications CLOSE December 5
January Applications CLOSE January 21

More information about the dates and fees available
here: https://www.vtac.edu.au/dates.html

The Glen Shopping Centre
Job Fair | September 12

There are more than 100 positions ready to be filled with
full-time, part-time and casual opportunities with over
20 brands including H&M, Target, Bonds, Skechers and
Betty’s Burgers.
The Job Fair offers the chance to meet with potential
employers and apply for roles on the spot.
12 September, 4-8pm | Ground Floor near David Jones
More details avilable on The Glen website.

27

11-13 SEPEXHIBITION
& TECHNOLOGYART DESIGN

Opening
Night

Sept 11

6-8pm

Art, Design &
Technology Exhibition

Don't miss our official opening night. Book to attend our famous fashion runway launch
and immerse yourself in an evening of creative delight. | Bookings Avila Facebook Event

28