Delagram 16th June, 2023
From the Principal
‘Treat others with Dignity, not as objects’
(Pope Francis)
A timely reminder from Pope Francis on June 10 that we need to really consider the manner in which we treat those around us. This was the basis of my address at this week’s assembly in an attempt to
address the concerning normalisation and acceptance of poor language amongst youth today. And we are not immune to this at La Salle Academy. We can not be proud of our school and all the wonderful things that we do achieve, unless we have pride in ourselves. Pride in how we speak, the language we use and the language that we allow our friends to use in our presence. My challenge to our students was not to focus their pride on their school for the next two weeks, but themselves.
Please note that my comments are reflective of trends in our society and not representative of our
student population, although we do see some evidence of this behaviour. A concerning trend of the
language that is being used by our youth is derogatory towards the opposite sex, different races, the size of others or their intellectual ability. Even more disturbing is the use of swear words without the realisation that they are actually saying it. We are surrounded by conversations, workplaces, digital media where this is common, often used and normalised language.
Are we as adults and role models in these children’s lives demonstrating the language and behaviours that we wish to see?
When are where does it stop?
Who is responsible for creating positive change?
I would encourage all our families to stop and think about these questions and engage in a conversation with their children about the damage that poor language choices has on others – understanding that other people are not objects, but humans that deserve to maintain their dignity. We have an opportunity to lead this change, we have an opportunity to mould great young citizens with great values and morals. We can develop young lasallians who can be proud of themselves, their words and their actions, and what a better world we would all have.
Thank you!
We have had a very successful two weeks. As you may be aware we have had two full weeks of
enrolment interviews for Year 7, 2024. It has been a rich and rewarding experience to be able to
interview so many wonderful young men and women who are eagerly awaiting their opportunity to
join us at secondary school. Equally reaffirming are the reflections from the parents/guardians as to the reasons why they are choosing La Salle Academy. To know the hard work of our staff and
student population and the 2023 focus is having an impact amongst our community has been great
to hear.
Congratulations to Ms Hicks and our Year 12 student leadership team on an amazing Trivia Night.
A wonderfully successful night in support of two charities that are important to our students,
Beyond Blue and Breast Cancer Research. Thank you to all those that attended and contributed to
such a successful and fun evening. I promise the Quiz master will be better next year!!!!!!
Many thanks to the parents/guardians that attended the Parent Engagement Evening on Thursday
8th June. When preparing our notes for these evening, it is amazing to see how much we have done
in a short space of time. Equally important is hearing and engaging with a parent voice and having
some guidance into things that we can do better, or ways in which we can reconsider our approaches. Thank you again to those parents/guardians that attended, and I hope that you found
the evening as informative as Ms Bennett and I did.
Finally, as the Year 10’s will be engaging in their Work Experience over the next two weeks, we will not see them at school until after the holidays. I hope that they all have a great experience in their chosen workplaces and that these opportunities help them in some small way to provide direction for their schooling and career options. I would like to thank Ms Hicks for her superb organisation and our staff for their visitations of these work experience venues over the next two weeks.
God Bless
Glenn Carpenter
From the Assistant Principal
Reports and Parent Teacher Interviews
Year 11 Reports have been released today on Compass. If you are having difficulties viewing the reports please call the office and they can assist you. If you are accessing Compass on your phone via the app, you will need to click the ‘view on web browser’ link. From here simply navigate to your child’s report for Year 11 Mid-Course Report, 2023.
Parent Teacher Interviews will be held again in Week 2 of Term 3. The bookings will open first for Year 11 students in Week 9 and for the rest of the years 7-10 at the end of Week 10. Please keep an eye out on Compass for these notifications.
Year 11 Mentor Program
One of the most significant challenges for our senior students is navigating the expectations and demands of Stage 6 courses, which are very different to their Year 10 experiences. Results from a recent survey of our students suggest that although they would like to study more and be better prepared for tasks but they are not sure HOW. One strategy we are using at La Salle this year is to create a Senior Mentor Program. Our first group through this program is our Year 11 students who have each been paired up with a staff member of their choice who will be their mentor for the next year. Our focus will be on discussing clear goals for each student and assisting with strategies to help them achieve success in whichever pathway they choose.
Thank you to the staff members who are generously giving of their time to provide this extra level of support and guidance for our seniors.
Have great week!
Katie Bennett
Year 10-12 Pastoral Care Co-ordinator
Pastoral Welfare Report Years 10 -12 and Careers Report
Despite being on the countdown to the end of term, things are just as busy at La Salle
Academy for both the students and teachers.
Yesterday, several of the Year 10 boys travelled with Mr Carroll and Miss Grace (Practicum
student) to Dubbo for Rugby League and as I write this, the Ag students are over helping
Mrs McCarron renew the fencing at the Ag Centre.
Year 10 have received the last of their information and instructions for the upcoming Work
Experience Programme which is running over the next two, and final, weeks of term.
Parents are reminded that if a child is unwell and unable to attend their work placement,
both the school and the employer must be notified. Year 10 teachers have nominated
students that they will supervising over the experience. Work Experience is a wonderful
opportunity for our students and they need to take the exercise seriously. Many of our ex-
students have secured post school employment as a result of their successful Work
Experience placement.
Year 11 are currently finalising their mid-year assessments, acknowledging that their
Preliminary studies conclude at the end of Term 3.
In my previous newsletter I wrote that Mr Carpenter and I were planning to accompany
some students of Years 10 and 11 to a HSC and Careers Expo at Randwick Racecourse. It was
a very successful day for the attendees and their eyes were opened to new possibilities with
regard to either study or employment. Mr Carpenter ad I certainly learnt a lot on the day
and students are encouraged to avail themselves of similar opportunities when provided.
Next Saturday, we will again be boarding the bus with some Years 11 and 12 to attend a
similar event at Homebush. To date though, numbers are disappointing and we may be
faced with the decision of having to cancel the proposed trip.
Last Friday night, La Salle Academy hosted what may become an annual event, a Trivia Night
to raise funds for the Year 12 charities of Beyond Blue and Breast Cancer Research. The hall
was full of people keen to test their knowledge on all things, both useful and not. I have to say, the most competitive teams consisted of our staff members, who ultimately had to
answer three tie-breaker questions before a winner could be announced. Could you name
the “7 Valleys” or say what an arctophile collects? Neither could they, but finally Mr Burrell
was able to say, before Mr Miller, when the De La Salle Brothers took over the school.
Approximately $2000 was raised on the night. Thanks go to Mrs Bek Sheather, Mrs Ange
Richardson and Mrs Leanne Case, our new canteen manager, who made the delicious soups,
slices and cakes which were served as supper. Sunnyridge Meats donated one of the raffle
prizes, a meat tray and the staff donated goods for a Gourmet Hamper raffle. High Street
Music and Coles Lithgow also donated vouchers for “Lucky Door” prizes, Year 12 donated
chocolates for the “Chocolate Toss” and I donated a bottle of Johnny Walker, Black Label ,
for the Whisky Toss. A special shout-out to goes to our quizmaster, Mr Carpenter, who
entertained the crowd with his one-liners (and mis-pronunciations) and to Year 12 who
were very active helpers on the night.
Mrs Bernadette Hicks
Pastoral Welfare Co-ordinator Years 10 – 12
Careers Adviser
Fun at the Trivia Night
Year 7-9 Pastoral Care Co-ordinator
Welcome to Week 8.
As we wind down for the term it is important that we continue to strive for success and create positive memories. With this said I am delighted to announce the exceptional achievements of our students at the recent whole school assembly. It was a momentous occasion as we recognized the dedication, talent, and hard work of our students across various disciplines. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the award recipients for their outstanding accomplishments.
Honour Awards (25 Merit Awards)
- Year 9: Molly Lambert
- Year 10: Emma Rushworth and Annika Della Bosca
- Year 11: Gabby Dray
- Year 12: Jorja Bailey and Jed Simcoe
Achievement Awards ( 5 Merit Awards)
- Year 7: Samara Kirkland and Noah Fitzpatrick
- Year 9: Lincoln Hutchison, Glen Okon, Alicia Turner, Isabelle Youman, Violet Younger and Jacob Wood.
- Year 10: Emma Ruchworth, Dylan Gilson and Annika Della Bosca
- Year 11: Liam Aarts, Gabby Dray, Maddison Field and Harry Osborne.
- Year 12: Jorja Bailey, Nathan Marshall, Ava Nicholls, Nina Sheather and Robert Spillane.
These remarkable students have demonstrated exceptional commitment and perseverance, and their achievements serve as an inspiration to the entire school community. We applaud their dedication to their studies, their sportsmanship, their artistic endeavours, and their passion for making a positive impact on the community.
Time Management and Successful Task Completion
As we celebrate the achievements of our award recipients, it is important to reflect on the values and skills that contribute to their success. One vital skill that enables students to excel academically and in other areas is effective time management.
Managing one's time efficiently allows students to balance their academic responsibilities, co-curricular activities, and personal commitments effectively. It enables them to stay organised and meet deadlines. With well-planned study routines and effective use of study techniques, students can enhance their productivity and achieve their academic goals.
We encourage all our students to develop good time management skills by utilising study planners, setting goals, breaking tasks into manageable parts, and seeking support from their teachers and Pastoral Coordinators when needed. By adopting these strategies, students can enhance their ability to complete assessment tasks on time, reduce stress levels, and achieve their full potential.
Lasallian Leaders: Fostering Community and Caring for Others
We would like to express our gratitude to the Lasallian leaders who dedicated their time to spend a day with our Year 7 and 8 students this week. The Lasallian leaders engaged our younger students in meaningful discussions about the importance of building a strong community, caring for others, and creating lasting memories. Their commitment to fostering a sense of belonging and supporting our students' personal growth is truly commendable.
The discussions and activities conducted by the Lasallian leaders provided valuable insights into the Lasallian values of faith, service, and community.
Our younger students gained a deeper understanding of the importance of empathy, respect, and supporting one another. We are grateful for the positive impact they have made on our school community and their contributions to developing well-rounded individuals.
Special Shout Outs
A special shout out to Ruby Offner in Year 7 who last weekend travelled to Victoria (Shepparton) to compete in the Northern Victorian Sled Dog Club Classic with her 2 dogs Dojo and Zahli. Ruby even got to meet Christian Turner, who ran in one of the biggest and longest races in the world, the Iditarod in Alaska this year and came 13th making him the highest-ranked Australian and the fastest musher from the Southern Hemisphere.
Positive reinforcement changes behaviour for the better, while criticism stabilises negative behaviours and blocks change.
Virginia H. Pearce
Mrs Wilsmore-Smith
Year 7-9 Pastoral Welfare Coordinator
Ruby's Sled Dog Adventures
Year 8 Pictures
Year 10 STEM Camp
On Tuesday the 6th June, eight of our Year 10 students took part in the Year 10 STEM Camp at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst campus. These students were Amira Kathir, Ally Crane, Victoria Faunce, Isolde Samundsett, Mia Nicholls, Zarli Dyson, Benjamin Bennett and Harry Richardson, The STEM camp program for 2023 was facilitated once again by Janice Mendham, Education Officer - Science, STEM and Partnerships at the Catholic Education Office Bathurst.
The students travelled by coach to CSU, leaving La Salle Academy at 8:30 am for a 10:00 am start at CSU and returning to La Salle Academy by 3:00 pm for the afternoon buses. Along with students from other schools,both Catholic Secondary and State secondary schools, our students were treated to a sausage sizzle lunch prepared by a number of the staff and students of the School of Civil Engineering at CSU.
The day was divided into 3 sessions:
Session I: Cyber Safety
The presenter spoke about the importance of checking domains and email addresses of service providers to ensure that they are authentic to avoid phishing, so you are not being scammed into having your personal and financial information hacked. He spoke about how sophisticated scammers are with their professional looking websites that
victims are deluded into thinking the scammers are genuine and work for the organisations they are claiming to be working for. The lecturer engaged the audience by running through a scamming scenario showing the ease at which a person’s personal and financial information could be hacked by a scammer.
Session II: Talk about the Bachelor of Engineering Program at CSU.
The Director and one of the lecturers of the School of Civil Engineering spoke about what engineering is, in particular civil engineering, then went into detail about the different types of projects civil engineers work on. They spoke about how civil engineers could be working on site some days and on other days working in an office, some days working in teams, and on other days working alone. Throughout the presentation, the speakers profiled some of their students
on work placements and spoke about the different types of projects they’d been involved in.
The speakers spoke about how their engineering program sets them apart from other universities that selection is done through an interview plus the ATAR result, that there are no examinations as part of the assessment for any year of study. Student engineers are paid by the business they work for when they do their work placement. The work placements start after the first eighteen months of campus study then run for four days of the week, with the fifth day for online coursework to finish their engineering course over the next 2 ½ years.
Session III: Tour of the School of Civil Engineering Laboratories
Students went into one research lab and looked at a model testing how water flow rate through a channel is affected by channel width and slope. They then went into another laboratory to view a demonstration to determine if timber beams used for making walls, windows and doorways give more support when the individual beams in the framework are orientated vertically or horizontally. Afterwards, students viewed a display of graduates’ work and had a look at a
laser cutter and a 3D printer in operation. A model of a water filtration plant was also set up and operated for students to observe.
Thank you.
Jason MacKinnon
Excursion organiser
Ag farm additions
On the 9th of June 1 of our Ag farm bunnies had babies mum and the 5 new additions are all doing well.
Baby Bunnies
NAIDOC WEEK
Sport - Equestrian News
North West horse Expo – Coona
Five students Macy Brown, Jarah Cafe, Gabrielle Dray, Isabelle Yuman and Riley McIlvenn Webb competed in a variety of equestrian events over 6 days.
Theses included working horse challenges, dressage, sporting, hacking, polo, team penning, team barrels, show jumping, Warrumbungles Way and Pentathlon.
The team had some great results. Gabrielle competed in the pentathlon, completing 5 gruelling events showing jumping, cloak and dagger, javelin, cross country and mountain bike riding, placing 11th overall.
Isabelle and Riley played some awesome polo. Isabelle received a 4th in hacking.
All students got high points in Warrumbungles Way. Macy coming 2nd in freestyle, 6th in mechanical cow, top 10 in all other events and coming 8th overall. Riley showing off his whip cracking skills and Jarah her free lunging. Isabelle showed of her hand eye coordination coming in the top 5 in cloak and dagger.
All students competed in the team barrel racing which was a feature event one evening. Macy and Isabelle came 1st in their heats. Jarah and Riley came a nail biting second in theirs and Gabrielle came 3rd in hers.
Macy, Jarah, Gabrielle and Riley then did what most of them love to do the most and that’s sorting out some cows in team penning. Each team penning 1 out of 3 cows.
All students and parents had a great time and students should be congratulated on their excellent horsemanship.
Coonabrabran -North West Horse Expo
My New Gallery
School Counselling Corner
Hello Students, Parents and Carers,
VAPING
Lets talk about it…..
Vapes are not water. The main ingredient in vapes is propylene glycol, vegetable
glycerine or glyercol. Vapes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning
products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray. They just don't put it on the
pack.
Research shows that 1 in 5 young people have vaped and nearly 80% of them say it
is easy to get a vape illegally at a shop or online.
Information from the NSW Government indicates that:
Many vapes contain nicotine making them addictive
The nicotine in 1 vape can = 50 cigarettes. Depending on the size of the vape and
nicotine strength, it can be much higher
Vapes can leave young people at increased risk of depression and anxiety
Vapes contain toxins such as formaldehyde and heavy metals as well as ultrafine
particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
Vapes also contain flavouring chemicals such as diacetyl (a chemical linked to
serious lung disease)
Young people who vape are 3 times as likely to take up smoking cigarettes
Vapes can cause long-lasting damaging effects on the brain and physical
development, the impacts can include impaired attention, learning, memory, and
changes in mood.
It’s important that we discuss the risks of vaping with young people. I have attached two
helpful information factsheets in this Delagram. If you would like more information,
please head to: www.lungfoundation.com.au
Take care of yourselves and each other,
Tegan Kiely
From the Finance Officer
2023 School Fees
Any family that does NOT receive their School Fee Statement via email is asked to contact the school office to ensure that the correct email address is listed in our system.
2023 Billing Dates
Term 1 billing date 03/03/2023 and instalment due date 17/03/2023
Term 2 billing date 05/05/2023 and instalment due date 19/05/2023
Term 3 billing date 28/07/2023 and instalment due date 11/08/2023
Please note that school fees are charged over the first three terms, therefore no school fee charge in Term 4.
Payment Arrangements
Families wishing to make a payment arrangement can contact the school office. Payment arrangements are made by Direct Debit. Payment plans of up to 52 weeks are available. Please obtain a copy of the Direct Debit Authority Form to set up a direct debit payment.
For your information:
Payments can be made by the following payment options:
Account balances can be accessed on Compass and payments can be made via the Compass app.
BPAY Payment references are printed on the statements.
Direct Debit Forms are available from the school office and a copy is attached below.
EFTPOS is available in the school office and can be used for payments over the telephone.
Centrepay Forms are available from the CentreLink Office
Please do not hesitate to contact Mary Cassar, School Finance Officer, if you would like assistance with any matters in relation to school fees.
Mary Cassar
July School Holiday Activities
School Zones Reminder
