St Joseph’s Primary School, Adelong, students, Riley Maher, Year 4, Harry Pearce, Year 5, and Ted Pearce, Year 6, have done their school community proud, winning first place in the Snowy Hydro Science Week Competition.

Students living in the Snowy Mountains region were invited to design power stations of the future that generate 100 per cent Australian-made renewable energy. Winners were named in two categories, one chosen by a judge and the other voted on by the community.

Riley won first place in the judge’s category and was the runner up in the community section for his design of a lightning harnessing power station. Cousins Harry and Ted Pearce built a solar powered fan, winning first place in the community section and runner up in the judge’s category.

Riley designed a lightning catcher to be based in the Kimberley as this area has the most storm activity in Australia. “The metal spike and ball attached to the top of the lightning towers attract and gather energy from the lightning,” said Riley.

“The surge protector at the bottom of the rod stops the electricity going in too fast and wrecking the battery. The power will then go to a substation to feed into power stations all around Australia,” he said.

To build their model, Harry and Ted used a solar panel and a dead battery that they had found in a shed. They connected the panel to a lead to charge up the battery that now powers the fan. They had to use electrical tape to repair part of the lead that had been damaged in the Dunns Road bushfire.

“It took us one morning and three afternoons to complete,” said Harry.

The boys won an overnight safari adventure to either Taronga Zoo in Sydney or the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. They also won the opportunity to tour the Snowy Hydro Tumut 3 power station with their class.

Kerrie Dean, Year 5/6 teacher at St Joseph’s, said the school was very proud of the boys. “They put a lot of effort in,” she said.

Year 7 STEM students at Lumen Christi Catholic College, Pambula Beach, have been building solar lights for children living in energy poverty in Papua New Guinea. They have been participating in the SolarBuddy program, an Australian charity that aims to help children study after dusk and improve their education outcomes.

Earlier this year, people from Papua New Guinea donated $60,000 to the Bega Valley Community Disaster Fund. The College was inspired by this act of generosity and wanted to strengthen the bond of friendship by sending solar lights to children affected by energy poverty in those areas.

With generous funding support from the Tathra Hotel and ClubGrants, students worked together to assemble the SolarBuddy lights and wrote personal letters to accompany them. The Merimbula Rotary Club helped to ensure the delivery of the lights to the areas of greatest need.

As a result, children in Papua New Guinea will experience better educational outcomes by using a reliable, clean source of light, as well as improvements to their overall health and wellbeing. The lights will have a positive economic impact on families, reducing expenditure on fuel, batteries and electricity.

“Education needs to offer opportunities where students do more than talk about sustainability and caring for others,” said Wendy Mockler, Facilitator of Pedagogy at Lumen Christi. “The SolarBuddy program helps our community by educating students about renewable energy sources and reaching out to people who need us.”

“It is important for our students to appreciate that serving others and making a difference not only builds community connections, but gives us individually a sense of accomplishment and drive to work for the betterment of all. We want our students to recognise that they can lead with the strength of optimism and generosity,” she said.

This is the third year that Lumen Christi has taken part in the SolarBuddy program. Last year the College gifted lights to children in Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Harold.

Teachers at Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin, have been undertaking individual Professional Inquiry Projects (PIP) this year to strengthen their ability to be thinkers, collaborators, communicators and researchers.

Each teacher was given the opportunity to research an area of education that they were passionate about and create artefacts representative of their inquiry. Staff spent a special afternoon together viewing the artefacts and their accompanying annotations.

“The purpose of our Professional Inquiry Project was to develop our expert education team by promoting compelling questions from areas of passion, interest and need,” said Philippa Brearley, Principal of Holy Trinity.

“The most powerful professional learning is embedded in everyday work and this PIP has enabled teachers the opportunity to explore and develop innovations,” she said.

From these projects, staff will work collaboratively to determine the learning to be continued into 2021 and embedded into practice at Holy Trinity. These projects will assist in informing the school’s Annual Improvement Plan for 2021 and beyond.

 “I could not be prouder and more in awe of the teachers at Holy Trinity,” said Philippa. “This project has reiterated the incredible talent, commitment and expertise we have in our teaching staff in the Primary school and Early Learning Centre.”

A moving Remembrance Day ceremony, commemorating the 75^th Anniversary of the end of World War II was held at St John Paul II College, Nicholls. Red crosses with written messages of love, peace, thanks and remembrance to past and present service men and women were planted on the College grounds.

“This year we wanted to engage the students in a creative way,” said Vicki Walsh, Defence Mentor at the College. “Over 1000 crosses were engraved with the names of relatives who served during World War II or the words ‘Honour Their Spirit’, ‘Lest We Forget’ and ‘Remember’.”

The crosses carried personal significance for the school community, in particular for the 110 students at the College with Defence backgrounds. Students and staff planted their crosses in a bed of poppies arranged as a cross, acknowledging the sacrifice of those who fought bravely for their country.

“I had fourteen relatives who served in World War II,” said Year 9 student, Joshua Fankhauser. “We didn’t have the dates for when they died, but most importantly we had their names to remember them by. I wrote on my cross, ‘Thank you for your service and fighting the war’,” he said.

Students and staff were encouraged to submit names and stories of their family members who served during World War II. In the four weeks leading up to Remembrance Day, some of these stories were published in the school newsletter to honour and acknowledge their spirit and bravery.

Cameron Pepper, Year 12, said that it was a great way to get the school community involved in Remembrance Day. “It was so nice to see all of the crosses and poppies at the front of the school for everyone to see as they drive past. This little reminder is so important for us to stay humble and to remember the significance of the Defence Force for our community,” he said.

Emily Burgess-Orton, Year 12, felt proud to share her family history with her school community. “One of my relatives, John Orton, served in the South African Artillery, fighting for the allies in North Africa and Italy. For me, Remembrance Day represents respect, gratitude and community,” she said.

“It was a privilege to collect our school’s families’ histories and share them with the wider community,” said Defence Mentor Vicki Walsh. “To not speak of them does a disservice to their memory and their actions. To stop speaking about them means to forget them and we should never forget,” she said.

Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin, have officially opened their newly refurbished Kitchen Garden with a special Liturgy and dedication to the Eldridge family.

The learning space has a rich history, with many families, past and present, represented in the pavers throughout the garden. It is named after the Eldridge family, who have an incredible 44 year association with Holy Trinity.

Robyn and John Eldridge had nine children who all attended Holy Trinity Primary School. Their eldest child, Damien, started Kindergarten at Holy Trinity in 1976. Their youngest child, Zac, graduated from Holy Trinity in 2008. In 2010, their grandchild, Huon, started at the school, followed by his three younger brothers. Their youngest grandchild, Liam, is currently in Year 3.

Throughout their association with the school, Robyn and John volunteered their time, assisting at school functions, fetes and in the canteen. They shared fond memories of the days when the Sisters of Charity nuns taught at the school, the tradition of the Kindergarten ball and the school’s pet cockatoo.

The garden project was inspired by the 2019 Year 2 class, who in their inquiry, collaborated and developed a proposal to transform the area into a useable outdoor classroom. The students saw the space as a ‘problem’ and decided they would take action by redesigning the area into a garden and outdoor learning space.

“As an International Baccalaureate school, we certainly encourage our students to think critically, and consider effective ways to solve problems and take action,” said Principal, Philippa Brearley. “This beautiful learning space is the result of such action and work at our school, and for that, I truly celebrate this learning.”

Year 2 surveyed staff and fellow students and wrote letters to the Parents and Friends (P&F) Council outlining their ideas. The school received funding of $15,000 from Alicia Payne MP, Member for Canberra, through the Australian Government Local School Community Fund. The P&F Council generously donated another $10,000 to the project. The landscaping was completed by Utopia Landscaping.

“I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of this school because of its incredible community, and how grateful I am to be part of such an inclusive and supportive community,” said Philippa.

“All our community, present, past and into the future, are significant members of our family here. Their contributions, whether openly recognised or achieved quietly and consistently, are certainly appreciated and acknowledged, today and always,” she said.

Congratulations to Abigail Van Ballegooyen, a Year 7 student at Merici College, Braddon, who is the 2020 Origin Little Big Idea winner.

Origin Energy’s Little Big Idea is a national competition designed to foster creativity and innovation in young Australians. Twelve-year-old Abigail has been awarded $10,000 after being named the national winner in the Years 7 to 8 category. Selected from over 2000 entries, Abigail’s award-winning idea, Safety Sound, is designed to make school zones safer for children.

The Safety Sound features Bluetooth technology that sends voice alerts to drivers’ mobiles, reminding them to slow down as they approach a school zone.

Her idea was inspired by her own research into school zone accidents. Abigail realised one day while driving to school with her dad, speed signs could be easily missed. Initially she thought of a device that could be installed in cars that would mechanically slow down speeding cars in school zones.

“I realised how dangerous it could be to have a car slow down mechanically, without involving the driver” she said. “I had to think of a solution that would remind people to slow down. You can’t really miss a voice,” she said.

In October, Abigail was announced as one of the Top 12 inventors for 2020. She received an initial $1,000 towards her education, her ideas illustrated by a professional artist and mentoring support from the Little Big Ideas judges.

Congratulations to the winners of the Australian Council for Education Leaders (ACEL) ACT Annual Branch Awards ceremony, which was held in Canberra in November.

ACEL actively supports the development of educational leadership capabilities across Australia and is the largest professional association in the education sector in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Each year ACEL ACT celebrates and honours individuals who, in the view of their peers, have made a significant contribution to educational leadership.

This year, Patrick Ellis, the Education Lead, Performance and Improvement in the Catholic Education Office in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, was awarded an ACEL ACT Excellence in Educational Leadership Award.

Upon receiving the Award Patrick said, ‘I am very honoured to have received this award. I am privileged to be in a leadership position in Catholic education and feel very humbled to be acknowledged in this way by my peers.’

The ACEL ACT Trish Wilks Award for Collaborative Practice was presented to the Catholic Education Office’s Performance and Improvement Leaders: Dominic Braybon, Mary-Jane Carroll-Fajarda, Noel Hurley and Tim Smith. The Performance and Improvement leaders provide ongoing support to schools, working closely with Principals across the Archdiocese.

In the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Catholic Education is proud to have many outstanding staff who are dedicated and passionate about providing exceptional quality education to our students.

Lumen Christi Catholic College, Pambula Beach, officially celebrated the Class of 2020 with a Graduation Ceremony and Awards Presentation, held at the Pambula/Merimbula Golf Club.

The evening was a welcome chance to celebrate the completion of Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams and farewell Year 12. Those in attendance were pleased that COVID-safe guidelines allowed parents and carers to join students for the special occasion.

College Captains, Ewan Piotrowski and Lucy Little thanked parents and carers for their support. Parent community representatives, Kari and Tony Esplin responded on behalf of parents and carers, acknowledging the perseverance and dedication of the students throughout the challenges of 2020.

Principal Shane Giles, extended good wishes and congratulations to the Class of 2020, acknowledging the excellent conduct of the students and thanking families who supported them in their endeavours.

Congratulations to the students who received special awards at the ceremony:

Principal’s Award
Emma Palacios, Paris Martin and Bree Armstrong

Sporting Award
Kiarna Wooley-Blain

Cultural Award
Emma Piccione

Unique Contribution Award
Luca Ziino

All-Rounder Award
Lily Butler-Woollard

Paul Carroll Service Award
Charlotte Lipsham

Women in Business Award
Hannah Byrne 

Rotary Award
Connor Leayr

Light of Christ Award
Lucy Little

Long Tan Award
Aliza Esplin

STEM Award
Liam McGerty

Highest ATAR 2019
Kirsten Fraser

Zoe Cerne, a student from Sacred Heart Primary School, Pearce, was selected to participate in the second Year 4 students-only edition of Sam Mac’s Virtual Quiz, live on Channel Seven’s Sunrise. Zoe was one of eight children, one from each state and territory, chosen to appear on the segment.

From 5.30am and throughout the morning, the children had to answer different quiz questions on topics such as celebrities, sports and media.

When off air, Zoe had the opportunity to learn about her fellow contestants, their interests, hobbies and pets.

Each contestant prepared a colourful background that highlighted where they lived. Zoe chose to include her school banner and a Canberra Raiders’ flag.

Kate Cerne, Zoe’s mother, said that Zoe was thrilled to be given the opportunity to participate in the quiz. “She had such a great time. We are very proud of her” she said.

Anne Staines, Principal of Sacred Heart, said that Zoe was a wonderful ambassador for the Australian Capital Territory and her school. “We are very proud of Zoe’s efforts,” she said. “She was an excellent representative of Sacred Heart and Catholic Education.”

Well done Zoe!