For over 15 years students from Years 4 - 6 have taken turns to report school news during a live broadcast to the communities of Batlow, Adelong and Tumut.

Sounds of the Mountain Station Manager, Dave Eisenhauer said that the station has over 20 local schools contributing to a daily broadcast, including St Mary’s Batlow, McAuley Tumut, St Joseph’s Adelong and St Patrick’s Gundagai.

“They all do a fantastic job and the kids seem to really enjoy the experience of contributing to local programming with their own radio segments,” he said.

Dave said that it is a privilege to be able to broadcast school news, which has become a main feature on the station, and he looks forward to continuing this partnership in the future.

“It’s a great opportunity for the schools to talk about what they’re doing in the community and students love to say hello to family and friends who tune in to hear them talk,” he said.

Students take their notes home to practice the night before broadcast, ready to report on the latest events, sport, family involvement, learning and fundraising activities.

“They are professional and enthusiastic, and we are proud of every single one,” said Dave.

“You never know - we may have amongst our school news reporters the next big name in the radio industry in years to come!”

On Friday 9 November, Rosary Primary School in Watson officially opened their Lone Pine Memorial Garden that was secured by a $24,000 Armistice Day Grant.

Rosary Primary School graciously received the grant through the proposal of a successful garden project designed and developed by teacher Alison Mark and supported by the school parent body.

School Principal Vicky Van Der Sanden said that the Lone Pine Memorial Garden is a contemplative space that encourages respect and encapsulates peace.

“It is a gathering space for our community to honour those who sacrificed their lives and those who continue to dedicate their lives to securing peace for our Nation,” she said.

“Armistice means to ‘cease fire’, to ‘put down our weapons’ and to be people of peace. That’s what this space is all about – it’s about peace.”

A gum tree counterbalances the lone pine on the opposite end of the garden, signifying the distance travelled by Australian Defence Force Personnel. Each wooden panel surrounding the gumtree is made from timber from all eight Australian states and territories representative of those who went to war. 

The school community joined with Defence families, the Honourable Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Parish Priest Fr Kieran Adams and Deputy Director of Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn, Angus Tulley for a commemorative Remembrance Day service.

Royal Australian Navy Commander and Rosary parent Bernadette Alexander addressed the guests before Graham Hannaford played the bagpipes for the wreath laying.

Keydan Bruce played the bugle for the Last Post, and following a minute of silence, the Rouse-Australian flag was raised while Rosary senior music students played the National Anthem.

Vicky Van Der Sanden closed the ceremony with an appreciative speech and blessing from the bible.

“The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.” (6:25-26)

Trinity Catholic College’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) students’ club, ‘Midgee’, have introduced a fortnightly Indigenous newsletter to communicate with the wider Trinity community about ATSI events, local indigenous history and Midgee student achievement.

The College introduced Midgee seven years ago when the four current ATSI students chose to name the club after the Wiradjuri word for lightning bolt to ‘shake the ground and light the sky’.

Today Trinity supports 30 ATSI students from a broad spectrum of mobs, clans and nations.

The Midgee newsletter, ‘Baaywang’, aims to help students learn about their heritage and provide insight for Indigenous students’ friends and supporters who have an interest in First Peoples’ cultures.

Contact Teacher for Aboriginal Education, Bev McGreevy said that the introduction of the newsletter is important for many reasons and she is thankful for the support she has received from the College who encourage the school community to learn about ATSI culture.

“The newsletter is a focus for all our Indigenous students and families, it provides information about our events, and it allows our Indigenous students to practise journalism skills,” she said.

NRL Canberra Raiders player and Ngunnuwal man Justin Church regularly visits the College to assist club members with CV writing, career planning and community involvement, in an effort to help students transition smoothly to life after school.

Twenty-five year old land rights lawyer and regular feature on ABC’s The Drum, Geoffrey Winters, is the official mentor for Midgee.

Indigenous Captain for 2019 Ryley Knight said, “I’m very excited to represent the Indigenous community and to further the Midgee group over the next year alongside Sophia.”

The Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin community celebrated the many weeks of inquiry, research and collaboration undertaken by the Year 6 students in the Primary Years Program (PYP) Exhibition this month.

The 2019 theme was ‘Where we are in Place and Time’, drawing on the central idea that inspiration and knowledge can be used for purposeful change.

Students selected their own lines of inquiry that reflected on a wide range of issues including prosthetics, equality, cancer and refugees, through art, drama and dance.

The exhibition is an integral part of Holy Trinity’s teaching and learning program that provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate the skills, knowledge and attitudes developed through their primary years.

Assistant Principal, Katie Smith said that students displayed passion and maturity beyond their years when they presented their research and responded to questions confidently and articulately.

“Our PYP exhibition is a whole of school celebration and thanks must go to all our teaching staff who have worked alongside our Year 6 students,” she said.

“It is the open minded, knowledgeable and reflective Year 6 students that made Holy Trinity's 2018 PYP exhibition a great success.”

Year 6 student Emily said that she loved researching her chosen topic because it allowed her to develop a deeper understanding.

“I learnt so much about the challenges people go through and it has inspired me to make a change for refugees,” she said.

Will said that the exhibition provided him with an opportunity to use all of the skills he had learnt over the years to inquire into one of his passions.

“I feel I am a better learner for having had this experience,” he said.

For the past 31 years, the Garden Viewing has featured a mix of rural, country and town gardens for the public to admire. St Anne’s then provides the community with a BBQ, afternoon tea and a variety of market stalls held on school grounds.

Students work together with the Garden Viewing Committee and parents on the day to assist with the running of the event that has become a special October tradition for the school community.

Local businesses kindly donate prizes for the garden raffle and school parents sell a variety of homemade delicacies to raise money for the school.

Event organiser El Warren said, “The day has a real buzz to it and is a great community event that welcomes people of all ages to come and view gardens, walk around our grounds and be part of the day.”

In the days following the event, the school invites gardeners and committee members to a private tour of the gardens with an afternoon tea for their efforts. 

St Anne’s extends a thank-you to the school groundkeeper, John Goode and Nancy White who first started the Garden Viewing in 1987. Liz Grant has carried out Nancy’s legacy for the past 15 years. 

Holy Spirit student Lauren Murphy has been recognised for her creative endeavours in raising money and awareness for those less fortunate after a recent nomination for the 2018 Order of Australia Association (ACT) Annual Citizenship Award.

Lauren was presented with a Highly Commended Certificate for coordinating fundraising events to support Barnardos Australia, collectively raising over $2,400 over a six year period.

The twelve year old passionately upholds the beliefs of the charity she supports, that ‘all children and young people deserve caring families in which they can grow safely and to their full potential’.

Lauren’s works of compassion, generosity and charity began in 2013, at seven years of age. With the encouragement of her mother, Lauren organised a cupcake and cookie stall for the local neighbourhood, raising an initial $41.50 for Barnardos.

In the years to follow, Lauren has invited neighbours to a café at her house and collaborated with peers to design, paint and sell gift cards. In 2016, Lauren raised $725 through ‘Lauren’s Recycling Service’ and in 2017 she demonstrated outstanding initiative and leadership skills, creating one hundred original string puppets with friends and family. The puppets sold for $1,660, and an additional 55 puppets were given to Barnardos children for Christmas. This year Lauren has started a ‘Calendars for Kids’ Christmas appeal.

Assistant Principal, Anna D’Amico said that Lauren is an inspiration to the Holy Spirit community, and never ceases to amaze those who come into contact with her.

“Lauren possesses the qualities one would hope every member of a school and society would have,” she said. “She is a humble person who cares deeply, works tirelessly and strives bring happiness and love to others. In every encounter she makes people smile and feel special, offering them time and genuine respect. She consistently displays school spirit and lives the values of our school.”

Lauren immerses herself in the life of her school, her family, the Parish and the community and hopes to inspire people to be more and do more.

 

 

Year 7 St Mary MacKillop College students recently invited Year 5 and 6 Holy Family Gowrie and St Anthony’s Wanniassa students to participate in a Science, Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) Challenge Day.

Students worked together to delve into theories of investigation and develop a response to a variety of STEM based tasks that explored dimensions, balance and problem solving techniques.

Participants built water towers with plastic straws and tape that were capable of holding up to five litres of water, participated in a cup and saucer challenge and measured the galaxy with grains of rice.

St Mary MacKillop College Numeracy Project Coordinator, Paul Kruger developed the initiative as a valuable learning opportunity that also enabled Primary school staff to participate, teach and learn alongside Secondary teachers.

Staff and students enjoyed the shared learning experience and working in a collaborative space to come up with a variety of approaches and solutions using sceptic thinking. 

St Bernard's Batemans Bay student Sophie Barling has been recognised as one of Australia’s top young inventors from more than 3,000 entries in Origin Engery’s littleBIGidea competition.

The nine year old was awarded with $1,000 for her invention of a digital lunch box attachment called ‘Lunch Mate’ that monitors nutritional value and encourages healthy eating.

Sophie has since travelled to Melbourne to participate in a design workshop with 11 young inventors to create a prototype that will help her pitch the idea to the littleBIGidea juding panel later this month.

If crowned one of Origin’s littleBIGidea national winners, Sophie will be awarded with a trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in the USA.

Origin CEO Frank Calabria said, “Congratulations to Sophie, and to everyone who submitted an idea this year.”

“We have been overwhelmed by the range of great ideas and record number of submissions we received this year and are thrilled with the 12 finalists whose ideas demonstrate extraordinary creativity and innovation.”

Origin littleBIGidea judge and Engineers Without Borders Australia volunteer lead Anna Cain said, “It’s been inspiring to see all the positive ideas and inventions submitted, and it’s exciting to think about how these little ideas could actually come to life and make an impact in the world.

“There have many outstanding submissions this year with students inspired by their thoughtful observations and empathy to help others and improve the world around us.”

Year 8 St Francis Xavier College student Mitchell McNamara has been awarded Best in State (ACT) at the Australian Mathematics Trust’s Australian Maths Competition after finishing in the top 0.3% of participants.

Mitchell said that he finds it easy to grasp mathematical concepts, and would like to pursue a career in quantum physics.

“I was very happy to receive the award out of hundreds of thousands of students that competed,” he said.

“I’ve been extended in maths since Year 4 or 5, and it’s a good way to pass the time at school.”

St Francis Xavier College Acting Principal Colleen Rowe said that Mitchell’s passion for studying Mathematics has seen him accelerated to participate in Year 10 Maths and Science courses two years ahead of his peers.

“It is wonderful to see the great success Mitchell is experiencing,” she said.

McAuley Catholic Central School in Tumut recently held a ‘Paper Planes for Printed Pages’ writing event that showcased student writing from Kindergarten to Year 6 with a focus on flight and global destinations.

School Literacy Leader Liz Boxall planned and promoted the event that involved students writing a persuasive paragraph about a chosen travel destination that was then printed, decorated and launched as a paper plane.

“The event engaged students in a creative writing process that involved reading, research, visual art and purposeful fun,” she said.

Liz hopes that this activity will encourage students to one day embark on their own travel adventure.

“McAuley appreciated the very generous budget allowance of $5000 from Catholic Education toward printed engaging literature for classroom reading,” she said.

“Thank you sincerely for your support of developing literacy here at McAuley.”

Holy Spirit Primary School in Nicholls recently opened its bush tucker garden as part of the school’s Aboriginal Education Strategic Plan to improve Indigenous cultural understandings and interdependence of the environment.

During the planning process, Greening Australia taught students about native plants, food sources and the seasonal migration of the Ngunnawal people. Students tasted a variety of plants and food sources and made bush tea.

The Bush Tucker Garden has enabled students to develop a deeper understanding of how the Ngunnawal clans traditionally travelled across their lands according to seasonal food sources, trade partnerships with neighbouring nations, and how ceremonies honoured their relationship with the land and creator spirits.

Holy Spirit Principal Brad Gaynor said that the school community is proud to have an Indigenous bush tucker garden.

“Students were introduced to the notion that caring for the environment is the basis for much of traditional Ngunnawal life,” he said.

“This involves a strong relationship between people and the land based on respect, obligation and interdependence, and an intimate knowledge of the land. Students are encouraged to continue this legacy.”

At the official opening of the bush tucker garden, Ngunnawal elder Wally Bell performed a Welcome to Country and a cleansing ceremony in front of the school and Parish community, involving the school’s indigenous students.

The bush tucker garden project was a combined effort between the school and Rotary Club of Gungahlin, Rotary Club of Hall, Rotaract Club of the University of Canberra and Greening Australia.

St Thomas Aquinas Primary School in West Belconnen have raised $2750 for St John’s School in Hakha, Myanmar through organising and implementing a student-run Mini Mission Fete.

The Mini Mission Fete was officially opened by St Thomas Aquinas Parish member Sr Colleen in an effort to support and educate students in some of the most remote and isolated communities in Myanmar.

The whole student body participated in the fete, from the Early Learning Centre through to Year 6, with minimal assistance from parents and staff.

Students ran a pre-loved book and toy stall and cake stall, filling the school playground with everything from lucky dips and slot car racing.

Mission and justice have long been a focus of the St Thomas Aquinas School community, who are committed to supporting the poor and marginalised.