LASALLE STAR

LaSalle Catholic College 544 Chapel Road Bankstown 2200 Ph: 9793 5600

Issue # 13 17 AUGUST 2018

2018

DATES TO REMEMBER

AUGUST

21 Robocop Exhibition

30 MCC Athletics Carnival

31 SCC Athletics Carnival

SEPTEMBER

5 Mission Action Day

7 Year 7 Vaccinations

Archbishop Awards for

Student Excellence

13 MCC Volleyball

25 Year 12 Graduation

9.00am Year 12 Assembly

5.00pm Graduation Mass @

St Felix de Valois Church

6.30pm Graduation

Ceremony @ Bankstown

Sports Club

28 Last Day of Term 3

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St John Baptist de La Salle,

Pray for us

Live Jesus in our Hearts,

Forever Michael Egan

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

We welcome Deacon Ronnie to our parish of St Felix de Valois. Deacon

Ronnie will also be involved with our College—following is an exerpt

from the Parish Bulletin:

“I am 26 years old and I have lived in Sydney all of my life. I grew up in

Campsie and went to St Mel’s parish for my primary schooling. When I

began school at St Patrick’s Strathfield in Year 5 my family moved to

Strathfield South where they still live.

After finishing school I went to university to study for one year and in 2012 I entered the

Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Homebush. My time at Homebush finished in June and I was

ordained a Deacon in St Mary’s Cathedral on 21st July.

I have been appointed to St Felix for 12 months and, God-willing, I will be ordained a priest

sometime next year. I am really excited about getting to work here at the parish as well as

continuing to learn as much as I can in my final year of preparation for my priestly ordination.”

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION - 15th AUGUST

Almighty and everlasting God,

You have taken up body and soul

into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,

Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,

that, ever intent upon heavenly things,

we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.

Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever.

Amen.

FROM OUR LEADER OF PASTORAL CARE:

MR ADAM WESTWOOD

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

COMMITMENT · CONFIDENCE · SUCCESS

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Year 9 students took part in a 3 day camp at the Great Aussie

Bush Camp at Kincumber near Gosford on the Central Coast.

Over the three days students were involved in numerous

activities ranging from the mud run, high ropes, abseiling,

archery, commando, power fan, rock climbing and survivor

challenge. These activities helped all involved face fears,

improve social skills and have an enjoyable time while at camp.

Special thanks must go to Mr Rheinberger (Yr9 Year

Coordinator) for all his efforts making it an enjoyable camp for

students and staff. Thanks to Ms Dagher, Ms Giorgiutti, Ms

Riakos, Mr Williams and Mr Stonefield (Yr9 Homeroom

teachers) for their ongoing support and involvement throughout

the camp making it a fun and memorable experience for all.

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

COMMITMENT · CONFIDENCE · SUCCESS

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YEAR 9 CAMP SNAPSHOTS

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

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Moving to NAPLAN Online

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for students in

Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Planning has begun to move NAPLAN from a pen and paper assessment to an online assessment.

School readiness test 2018

Any school in NSW who is transitioning to NAPLAN Online in 2019 will need to participate in a School Readiness Test (SRT)

between 20 August to 7 September 2018. Only secondary schools in Sydney Catholic Schools will participate in this readiness test

this year.

LaSalle will hold the Readiness tests on Tuesday, 28th August for Years 9 and Wednesday, 29th August for Year 7.

The test will ensure schools are ready to undertake NAPLAN Online the following year. It also allows students and teachers to

familiarise themselves with the online system and experience the test delivery method.

The school readiness test is a ‘practice run’ for schools to assess their technology ahead of NAPLAN Online. The readiness test is

not an assessment of student ability. The readiness test allows schools to:

• become familiar with the NAPLAN Online test format and processes

• check whether they have the technical capacity, rooms and devices to administer NAPLAN Online

• provide students in NAPLAN years 7 and 9 with the opportunity to experience the online test question types and format by

completing a practice NAPLAN online test.

SCS Primary schools will not transition to NAPLAN Online until 2020 so will not sit the SRT this year.

What are the benefits of NAPLAN Online?

Results will be faster and more precise

• Your child’s individual results will be returned to you within just a few weeks of the NAPLAN testing.

• Online assessment will reduce the time it takes to mark and provide feedback to schools, teachers and parents.

• Improved precision and timing of results will help teachers to tailor their teaching more specifically to address students’ learning

needs.

Tailored tests will provide better assessment

• The online format allows for ‘tailored testing’, where the test adapts to a student’s performance and asks questions that match

their achievement level.

• Students in each year level start with the same set of questions which can then branch into a different set of questions based on

their responses to the first set of questions.

• This means that students will be directed to questions that may be easier or more challenging depending on their responses.

• This test design will allow students to better demonstrate their literacy and numeracy skills.

FROM OUR LEADER OF LEARNING: MS JIZELLA AKKARI

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

COMMITMENT · CONFIDENCE · SUCCESS

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• Students find online assessment is more engaging*, which means they are encouraged to persist longer and try harder.

* Research by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) into online assessment has shown that

students have engaged well with electronic tests.

Frequently asked questions

Which students will participate in the NAPLAN Online School Readiness Test in SCS schools?

Students in Years 7 and 9 will participate.

How should I prepare my child for the NAPLAN Online School Readiness Test?

Your child will not need any academic preparation for the school readiness test. This is not a test of their literacy and numeracy

skills, but an opportunity for them to experience the online test format and for their school to assess its online testing capability.

How long is the school readiness test?

The school readiness test is expected to include two assessments: a writing assessment* and a combined numeracy/literacy

assessment. The duration of each assessment will be approximately 40 minutes.

How will students be prevented from using the internet or spell-checkers when completing the test?

The NAPLAN Online assessment platform will have state-of- the-art security protections. The assessment is delivered inside a

locked-down browser. This ensures students cannot access the internet or spell-checkers while completing the test.

Will schools and parents be provided with information on the results of the readiness test?

There will be feedback to schools about the technical information gained from the readiness testing. There will be no reporting of

student test results from the readiness test.

For more information

Parents, students and schools interested in familiarising themselves with the NAPLAN Online format can access the NAPLAN Online

demonstration site that includes sample tests for each NAPLAN year. Use the following link:http://www.nap.edu.au/online-

assessment/public-demonstration-site

Further information about NAPLAN Online is available on the national ACARA website: http://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment

Privacy

If you have concerns about privacy issues relating to NAPLAN Online, please contact your school.

Further details about how NESA complies with NSW privacy laws, including a right to access and request amendment to your personal information, are available here.

Information about how ESA handles information for the purpose of NAPLAN Online is available here.

Information about how NSW Catholic schools comply with privacy laws is available here.

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

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The Learning Centre presents…

James Phelan

Both Years 7 and 10 were privileged to have renown Australian author, James Phelan speak with them about his creative inspiration and how to improve writing skills.

James is the author of a number of popular series – The Last Thirteen, The Jed Walker Series, and the Alone trilogy. He is currently engaged in completing a new novel and writing a series for Netflix.

Students were interested in the stories James told of growing up, dreaming of being an author and his delightful witty take on life.

Students commented:

He was funny and he told stories which we enjoyed.

I’m going to borrow some of his books, they sound great.

So, now I know, you don’t just write it once and hope for the best. Mrs Anne Nowakowski

CaSPA Secondary Boys Bootcamp

On Monday, 13th August, 20 boys from Years 7 to 10 attended the CaSPA Secondary

Boys Bootcamp. The camp allowed the boys to engage with various performing arts

workshops in Music, Drama and Dance with industry professionals.

“All I wanna say is… it was great! I liked the singing the best and I’m looking forward

to a music class in 2019, hopefully.” - Michael Pousini, Year 10

The music workshop gave students the opportunity to work with Philippe Marc

Anqueti, a renowned singer, songwriter, vocal arranger, producer and mixing

engineer who has forged an international career working for artists such as One

Direction, LittleMix and Jessie J. During this session students learned to sing “I’m

Free”, an original song by Philippe as well as “Kelele”, a traditional African song that

engages students in call and response techniques.

“We had a fun, educating experience with many talented professionals” - Declan Nguyen, Year 7

Students also completed a drama workshop with Atlas Adams who currently holds the world record for longest improvised play.

Students had the opportunity to explore their improvisation skills individually and as a group, bouncing from idea to idea to

manipulate the scene.

“It was great and very tiring! Especially the dancing.” - Jamie Och, Year 8

The dance workshop put their stamina to the test with an intense workout before learning some hip-hop/b

-boy choreography from Jason Lewis. Jason began dancing when he was just 7 years old and his career has

allowed him to travel the globe and perform alongside artists such as Fergie (MTV Awards), Olivia Newton-

John, TV Rock, Caroline O’Connor and Cindy Lauper.

“The event was very entertaining, even better than last year!” - Brandon Huy Tran

LaSalle students are looking forward to the bootcamp again next year as it was an opportunity they won’t

forget. Ms Sara Giorgiutti

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

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WHAT’S NEW IN THE LEARNING CENTRE!

Which novel is your teacher’s favourite? Come along to the Learning Centre and find out!!

Mr Egan Ms Dowd Miss Bou-Simon Mr Williams

Mr Rheinberger Mrs Barrington-Smith Mrs Nowakowski Mr Saad

Guess which book I’m from????

Come and check out the Learning Centre and see our ‘quivering’ and sometimes ‘questionable' book quotes on display.

Look inside the covers to reveal their secrets.

“One child,

one teacher,

one book,

one pen

CAN

change the world.” “He had tattooed all of the names of the men he had killed on his body….unfortunately he had run out of room.”

By Sharon Apomayta

www.lasalle.nsw.edu.au

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St Raphael’s Church, South Hurstville - 90th Anniversary

St Raphael’s Church, Parish of South Hurstville will celebrate its 90th year of the

dedication/blessing of the Church.

On Sunday 11th November 2018 there will be a Celebration Mass at 10:00am.The

Archbishop of Sydney, The Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP will be the Chief Celebrant.

At the conclusion of Mass, a BBQ and light refreshments will be served in the Parish

grounds.

We would like to extend an invitation to all current as well as former parishioners to

the weekend of festivities surrounding this special event.

To find out more, please contact Minh Nguyen 0417 431 786 or Parish Office on 9546 2605 or email: admin@materdei-

straphael.org.au

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