Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn eNewsletter

Catholic Colleges across the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn have much to celebrate as they acknowledge and recognise the achievements of the Class of 2019.

We congratulate all Year 12 students, many of whom achieved ATARs beyond what they expected, also those students who have successfully completed their VET certificates and others who have overcome great challenges to complete their studies and graduate Year 12.

This week, Year 12 results were released, and once again, our Catholic Colleges and their students have demonstrated excellence in many areas, in some instances topping State and Territory honour rolls. Many students have received early entry into universities of their choice.

Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn, Year 11 student, Kya Lamarra, achieved a perfect score of 100 in HSC Advanced Mathematics. Kya’s hard work and passion for mathematics saw him complete the HSC Mathematics Advanced course one year ahead of time. After a much deserved holiday break, Kya returns to Trinity in 2020 to complete his other HSC subjects. Mia Skeffington, another Year 11 Trinity College student, also completed the HSC Mathematics Advanced course this year and received a Band 6 with a mark of 93.

Merici College student Rosemary Zielinski, the Dux for the Class of 2019, placed first in the ACT with an ATAR score of 99.95. Rosemary finished first place in all her classes, a double major in Mathematics, majors in Literature, Physics, Chemistry and a minor in Religious Studies. Rosemary is planning to study Theoretical Physics at the Australian National University (ANU).

Overall, Merici students’ dedication and hard work resulted in exceptional ATARs with four students receiving scores of over 99.

St Clare’s College Dux, Laura van der Linden, received an ATAR 99.85 and was a recipient of the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS) recognition of Excellence Awards: Academic Excellence and Academic Studies Award. Laura will pursue Youth Ministry work in 2020 and intends to study a double degree in Arts/Science at the ANU in 2021.

Benedict Bawagan, Dux of St John Paul II College, excelled in his academic studies has received an ATAR of over 99.25. Benedict hopes to continue his mathematics studies at ANU through a double degree, Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences and Bachelor of Statistics. A further four St John Paul II College students achieved ATARs over 90.

As we farewell the Class of 2019, we are confident that they have all been well equipped to start a new chapter in their lives and we wish them all the best in their future pursuits.

St Francis Xavier College, Florey (SFX), student Elijah Arranz has shown enormous strength and determination to overcome great adversity to complete his Year 12 certificate.

Elijah, 18, was in a tandem skydiving accident in 2015 which left him with a traumatic brain injury and fractures at the base of his skull and one of his shoulder blades. He had internal damage to his organs, nine broken ribs, and multiple breaks to his pelvis and his jaw. Elijah’s life was saved by his heroic instructor, Tony Rokov, who purposefully took the brunt of the fall when their parachute collapsed.

After several weeks in intensive care, and then months of rehabilitation, Elijah fought hard to recover and eventually was able to return to school. Four years on, this month, he attended his Year 12 formal and graduated close to the top of his maths cohort.

Speaking with Elijah’s parents, the whole family is deeply thankful for the support and commitment of his peers, teachers and the SFX school community.

Elijah personifies courage and determination, not letting his disability get in the way of achieving his dreams. A passionate long distance runner, his goal is to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.

We congratulate Elijah on his graduation and wish him the very best as he commences his new chapter studying accounting and business at the Canberra Institute of Technology and continues his training to realise his dream.

Term 4 has been a challenging time for our regional Catholic Schools in drought affected and bushfire ravaged areas of the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese.

The St Bede’s Primary School community in Braidwood and our Catholic schools in the South Coast region were particularly affected. St Bede’s Primary was forced to close for a number of days and St Bernard’s Primary School, Batehaven, Carroll College, Broulee and St Mary’s Primary School, Moruya ran on vastly reduced numbers with many staff and students unable to make it through to school because of road closures. Some were unable to leave their homes and others were forced to seek refuge with family, friends, or at the temporary evacuation centres.

During these difficult times our prayers were shared across the Archdiocese and many schools were inspired to reach out to those in our fire ravaged Catholic communities in their time of need. Efforts by our schools highlighted the imaginations of our students as they reached out to help those who most need it.

Year 6 students from Good Shepherd Primary School, Amaroo approached Principal David Austin with the idea of a uniform free day to raise funds to support the firefighters as they continue the battle to keep us safe. Good Shepherd raised $1081 which was matched by the school’s parent council providing the Red Cross with a total of $2062. Uniform free days across our Catholic schools, including St Thomas More’s Primary School Campbell and St Mathew’s Primary School, Page, were also successful fundraisers for this important cause.

Students from St Patrick’s Parish School Cooma and Lumen Christi College, Pambula Beach, worked hard this year to help their communities by successfully completing their NSW RFS cadetships.

The St Mary’s Primary, Moruya school community took part in the #BusttheDust, Rural Aid Australia fundraiser, performing a rain dance, hoping it would serve to help lighten the sombre mood of their community, help put out the fires and hopefully loosen the grip of the drought across the Archdiocese in regional NSW. They prepared a video inviting other Catholic schools to join them. The challenge has been taken up across the entire Archdiocese by several of our schools including St Anne’s Central School, Temora; St Mary’s Primary School, Young; St Joseph’s Primary School, Bombala, St Mary’s Memorial School, West Wyalong; St Joseph’s Primary School Grenfell; St Mary’s Primary School Batlow, through to Canberra where Holy Spirit Primary School Nicholls; Sts Peter and Paul Primary School Garran and St Clare’s College joined in on the fun, dancing for rain and raising funds. These stories are all examples of the efforts of our schools to help their communities battling bushfires and drought this summer.

These challenging times brought out the spirit of community and solidarity so prevalent in our Catholic schools. United in prayer, Catholic Education across the Archdiocese demonstrated the hope and faith that defines us. The bushfire danger and devastation of the drought in our Archdiocese continues, please continue to pray for all Australians facing the threat of bushfires and struggling with the drought this season.

Throughout Term 4 Canberra Capitals players Maddi Rocci and Abby Cubillo, ran basketball training sessions for St Clare’s students, organised by Tony Plunkett, Senior Child Protection Officer for Catholic Education and Head Coach of ACT Elite basketball team, the Canberra Gunners. The sessions were held on Wednesday mornings in the newly refurbished gymnasium at St Clare’s College in Griffith. Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Yvette Berry, visited during one of the workshops, taking time to chat with the students and with Principal, Brad Cooney. Minister Berry was impressed with the initiative and the improved facilities.

The St Clare’s College gymnasium, named after St Clare’s past Principal, Helen Sheedy (1988 to 1992) was originally opened in 1993. This year saw some significant improvements to the facility including new state-of-the-art flooring, automatic doors and updates to the changerooms. In the new year, the gym will be fitted with a retractable grandstand, increasing the seating capacity by 500.

Students were challenged by the Canberra Capitals to build their basic offensive, defensive and shooting skills and gained insight into the hard work and dedication it takes to become an elite athlete.

“The sessions developed from discussions between Principal, Brad Cooney and myself around his desire to provide avenues for students to be in contact with young female role models,” said Tony. “Brad saw basketball as an excellent opportunity to do this knowing that he had a number of students who currently play in ACT Basketball junior competitions and representative programs.”

Principal Brad Cooney was grateful to the Canberra Capitals for mentoring the students throughout the basketball sessions. “The students' skills definitely improved over the course of 10 weeks with expert guidance provided by Abby Cubillo and Maddison Rocci,” he said. “The amazing opportunities that St Clare's College offers in the academic, sporting and arts fields gives our students the ability to grow in all dimensions of their life.”

Congratulations to five ACT Catholic primary school students who were recently honoured by the Fred Hollows Foundation. Each year, the Fred Hollows Humanity Award celebrates Year 6 students who display qualities of kindness, compassion and integrity. Recipients are recognised for their dedication and commitment to making positive changes within their communities.

Ava Brassil (St Jude’s Primary School, Holder), Mischa Warwick (St Michael’s Primary School, Kaleen), Harry Labouchardiere (Good Shepherd Primary School, Amaroo) and Veronika Rover (Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin) were recipients of this prestigious award.

Abigail Van Ballegooyen (Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin) was also acknowledged in the ceremony as ‘Highly Commended.’

“It is so wonderful to recognise and celebrate our students who display qualities of integrity, compassion and kindness,” said Phillipa Brearley, Principal of Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin. “It is their contribution that truly makes a positive difference to our school and the wider community.”

St Mary’s School, Young, has been collecting donations for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal throughout December.

This year saw record donations from school families. St Vincent de Paul representative, Darrin Bear, was very grateful when he visited the school to collect the items.

School Captains, Josh Cameron and Madi James and Vice Captains, Zoe McRae and Jackson Butt were honoured to assist Mr Bear in packing the donations to be taken back to St Vincent de Paul. The items kindly donated by the school community will be included in Christmas Hampers for families in need this Christmas.

“We would like to thank our families for their generous donations towards the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal,” said Sarah Sullivan, Religious Education Coordinator at St Mary’s, Young. “It is wonderful to see and outpouring of care and support for those who most need it at Christmas.”