Term 2 - Week 4

A Message from the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of Bethany,

During May as we continue to highlight the importance of Mary and praying to her in our life, I thought that I would remind our community of the Angelus Prayer. Each day at noon at Bethany and across all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney, we pause united as one to pray the Angelus.

A series of bells signals the time, now and historically, to pause from working in the fields, typing on a computer or moving about and reminds us to stop and pray.

Like a heavenly messenger, the Angelus calls us to interrupt our daily, earthly routines and turn to thoughts of God, of the Blessed Mother, and of eternity. As Pope Benedict XVI taught on the feast of the Annunciation: “The Angel’s proclamation was addressed to her; she accepted it, and when she responded from the depths of her heart … at that moment the eternal Word began to exist as a human being in time. From generation to generation the wonder evoked by this ineffable mystery never ceases.”

Mary, Mother of God, thank you for showing us what true sacrifice and trust is and for being a guiding light and role model for all women.

One of my favourite parts of being a Principal is feeling as one in community with students, parents and staff. This was evident at our Mother’s Day Mass last week. By your very presence as mothers and mother figures to your daughter, what was modelled was support, care and interest. Many may have modelled sacrifice in juggling a day out of the normal routine. Of course we also understand that not everyone can make every event at the College. Thanks to those who were able to attend, thanks for joining us in prayer and thanks for the many conversations had and the feedback that was given. It is truly appreciated.

Last week, I had the privilege of reading each and every Year 11 and 12 report. I value the time taken to do this because it gives me a sense of progress for each girl and offers a time to affirm and also who may need greater guidance. I hope that the feedback received at the interviews on Wednesday evening was also valuable as a means to further improve. The girls listed below are to be congratulated on their consistency across their pattern of study.

SEMESTER 1 PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Robyn Rodwell

College Principal

From the Assistant Principal

Once again, Bethany College will be participating in an online survey - Tell Them From Me (TTFM). The survey gives us valuable feedback on what our community thinks about many aspects of school life. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at Bethany.

The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and you are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device. The survey opens on Monday 22nd of May and a link to the survey will be sent via Compass. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. 

Excitingly, Sydney Catholic Schools’ Eisteddfod kicks off this week. Featuring solo and ensemble performances in Instrumental, Drama, Dance and Choir, the festival will no doubt generate immense social media buzz and showcase the many talents of our students. Our girls have entered in a range of categories and we look forward to sharing the highlights with you. 

Finally, just a reminder about a few events that are coming up next week. Our Athletics Carnival is on Tuesday May 23 at ES Marks Athletics Field in Kensington. Parents are most welcome to come and spectate on Tuesday. If you plan to come and wish to take your daughter home with you, please send a permission note in to Student Services by Monday 22nd. Parents are asked to only take their own children home. 

Next Wednesday evening, Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning will present to our students and their parents/carers in Years 7 - 9. Dr Salter has specialised for the last 15 years in the area of study skills and will share with you some simple but powerful strategies to implement at home. These are designed to help students cope with the academic demands of school and achieve their personal best. I hope to see you there. 

Please see below for other important dates coming up over the next few weeks. 

Important Dates

Kristina Flanagan
Assistant Principal

What's Happening in Religious Education

Mother’s Day Mass

This is such a splendid celebration each year as we gather for Mass and breakfast to celebrate all mothers, mother figures and the Mother of our Church who gifted us with the Son of God. Thank you to Father George who continues to support the liturgical life of the College and Ms Perrin Jones for her thorough preparation of the Mass. I hope that last Sunday was a special day for all mums of the Bethany community.

St Vincent de Paul Society Winter Appeal

Collections for this initiative began this week. Please support this cause by donating the items listed below. Other items for donation include brand new socks, blankets, scarves or beanies. Please direct any questions to Miss Jones, Assistant Leader or RE and Mission and Youth Ministry Coordinator via email: perrin.jones001@syd.catholic.edu.au. 

St. Michael’s Church

Bulletin- 14 May 2023

Sara Camporeale
Leader of Religious Education and Mission

From the Leader of Wellbeing

Building       in teenagers

Resilience is the ability of a person to adapt, recover and bounce back challenges or stressors. Reach Out Australia describes resilient teenagers as displaying the following traits, all of which can be nurtured and learnt:

• emotional awareness and the ability to regulate emotions
• control over impulses
• an optimistic outlook
• flexible and accurate thinking
• empathy towards others
• believe that one can achieve things (self-efficacy)
• a willingness to seek help when needed. 

This article, from Harvard Medical School is an excellent resource for parents on the topics of resilience and coping, and has several links to other informative material related to these themes.

Attendance data for 2023 - the averages for each year group for the academic year so far are tabled below. It’s pleasing to see that all year groups are now above 90% attendance (the lower limit of satisfactory attendance). Please continue to support your daughter’s attendance at school each day and to explain any absences via Compass, a written note or calling the College.

Wellbeing Wisdom

Gratitude journalling: A gratitude journal allows one to write down and reflect upon experiences, people, opportunities or their environment each day for which they are grateful. It is a tool for focusing on the positive aspects of life. For teenagers, this practice can help shift focus from negative to positive, increase happiness and wellbeing, and cultivate a more positive outlook on life.

Charlotte Buxton

Leader of Wellbeing

Teaching and Learning News

Year 10 Testing and Subject Selection

On Friday 26th May, students in Year 10 will complete testing from Academic Assessment Services, commonly referred to as Allwell testing. These tests provide the school with data on student progress in the areas of literacy, numeracy and reasoning. Furthermore, the results gathered help to inform student’s subject selection for Year 11 and 12. At the conclusion of the day, Ms Rodwell and Mr Kipriotis will speak to students regarding the subject selection process.

Families will receive the results of this testing towards the end of Term 2. 

Below is a timeline of events for families  to be aware of regarding Subject Selection.  As always we are here to support families during this journey.

Junior Study Evening

Bethany College will be hosting a Study Skills evening for parents and students in Year 7-9 on Wednesday, 24th of May.  Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning  Educational Services will present a range of strategies to assist students with time management, effective study techniques and revision routines.  

The presentation will run from 6:00pm to 7:30pm in Yallunga Hall. Please use this link to confirm your attendance.

Afterschool Tutoring

A reminder that the afterschool tutors are available Monday to Friday until 4pm. It has been pleasing to see the large number of students who have been making the most of the opportunity. The tutors provide students with help regarding homework or upcoming assignments.

Dorian Kipriotis - Leader of Curriculum

Sarah Rowland - Leader of Data and Growth

From the VET Coordinator

As you know, last Thursday morning, Bethany college hosted a Mother’s Day Mass which was followed by a lovely morning tea for the mothers of Bethany. What you might not know, is that the food was actually prepared by Year 12 Hospitality students.

On Wednesday, Mrs Kalaitzis and I worked with Year 12 and began the preparation of all the food, working all day to ensure it ensure it was cooked to perfection.

Then on Thursday morning, students added on the final touches and presented a very professional and high-quality morning tea for all the lovely mothers and guests. A big shout out to Ms Taylor and Ms Pedic who worked hard behind the scenes to help ensure the service ran smoothly. A very hearty congratulations to the students of Year 12 Hospitality who continue to impress with their culinary skills. A fantastic effort ladies.

Cassie Bartels

VET Coordinator

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Bethany Smashes the Science and Engineering Challenge

Students from the Year 10 Newman Science class along with some students from the Year 10 iSTEM class competed last Friday 12th May in the Science and Engineering Challenge.  They came in second place against some tough competition, consisting of State, selective and private schools.

The Science and Engineering Challenge is a day-long competition where 8 other High Schools compete against each other in a range of engineering challenges such as bridge building, building a Mars rover, designing a robotic hand and many more.

Bethany were runners up on the day, just missing out on first place by 20 points.

However, we came first in the Bridge Challenge, Return to Mars, Job Juggle and ElectraCITY challenges. Click on this link to see the students competing in the bridge challenge.

On the whole, it was a team effort from all of our students and hopefully they consider the wonderful future career opportunities STEM has to offer.

Frank Miliic

Science Coordinator

Regional Debating

Round 2 of the Regional Catholic Schools Debating Competition was held at Bethany against De La Salle Caringbah on 10th of May and Round 3 of the competition was held at St Patrick’s College Sutherland yesterday evening.  All our debaters competed in fine form. I wish to congratulate our Year 8 and 9 debating team for winning their debate while Year 10 also won by forfeit in Round 2. Unfortunately our Year 7 and Seniors were unlucky in that round.

As for Round 3, Year 8, 9, 10 and Seniors won their debate, with Year 9 and Seniors winning by forfeit. Year 7 debaters faced tough competition in this round and were unlucky. We wish to applaud all our debaters who competed in the second and third round as follows:

I wish to also take this opportunity to thank all staff who supported our debaters in Round 2 and 3. Thank you to Mrs Saveski, Mrs Carruthers and Mrs Buxton for adjudicating. Thanks to all our coaches Ms Stravopoulos (Year 10), Mr Chapman (Year 9) and Miss Issa (Year 8) and our Prefect, Aya Bazzi (Year 7) for their continuous efforts in coaching and supporting our debaters. Also thank you to Mr Wong, Mrs Sotirios, Mrs Sladen and Mrs Flanagan for supporting our hosting and visiting rounds.

Information on the last two initial rounds are as follows:

Round 4 Wednesday, 24th of May

Aquinas vs Bethany (Aquinas hosting)

Round 5 Wednesday, 31st of May

Bethany vs DLS Revesby (Bethany hosting)

Shirley Woo

Public Speaking and Debating Facilitator

Sport Update

Athletics Carnival Reminders

A reminder that the College Athletics Carnival is on Tuesday 23rd May at ES Marks Athletics Track, Kensington.

• All students must arrive at school by 8.40am for normal roll call in homerooms and will then move to buses as per the directions announced on the PA. 
• Students who have nominated to compete in the early events (Javelin, High Jump and 1500m) are required to meet at school no later than 7:20am.
• Students will spend the day with their age group, moving to each field event (Long Jump, Discus and Shot Put), as well as 100m and novelties. 
• Competitive runners will need to listen to announcements for events such as the 200m, 400m and 800m. These will run throughout the day at the same time as field events. Students will need to make sure they pay attention to instructions for these races to start marshalling and inform their age group leader as you leave.
• Students should also bring their own food and drink for the day as there will be NO CANTEEN.
• DISMISSAL - Should parents wish to pick up their child from the venue, they will need to bring in a note from home. Parents can only take their own child home, not other students. 
• The dress up theme for this year's carnival is ‘Movies and TV Shows’. Be creative and remember to show off as much of your house colours as possible! If you are not dressing up, please come dressed in your house colours.

Sydney Catholic Schools Representative Sport Update

In Round 3 of the weekly sport competition, Bethany teams came up against Marist College Penshurst.

Week 3 Results

This week our Bethany teams competed against OLMC and De La Salle Cronulla.

Week 4 Results

NSWCCC Volleyball

Congratulations to Phoebe Luo who has been selected in the NSWCCC Opens Volleyball Team. Phoebe will compete in the NSW All Schools Tri-Series Tournament at Homebush on the 9th June. Good luck!

Rachel Bevan

Sport Coordinator

Meningococcal Vaccine

Year 10 students will be offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine on 21st June. If you have already provided consent via earlier communication, you do not need to do anything. If you haven't provided consent, please follow the instructions below. Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. 

How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
2. Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one. 
3. Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required. 
4. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:  
5. a)Enter your child’s personal details 
6. b)Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child  
7. c)Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement 
8. d)Provide consent  

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.

Careers News

University of Sydney - Entry schemes and admission pathways’

31 May

There's more than one way to gain entry to your dream degree at the University of Sydney. USyd entry schemes and pathways help you make the most of your ATAR by recognising your circumstances, special high school achievements and other abilities and activities. Join to find out more.

https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g_XgH6KIRAuFx36k3pJnHw#/registration

Sydney Law School Alumni Career Panel: A Day in the Life of a Lawyer

31 May

Join to meet and hear from a panel of  Sydney Law School alumni who will be sharing their experiences working within the industry and how studying at the University of Sydney has helped them achieve their professional goals. Find out what the study options are available to you and how you can pursue a career in law.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/sydney-law-school-alumni-career-panel-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-lawyer-tickets-616200210417?aff=

University of Sydney Conservatorium Creative Arts Special Admission Scheme

Did you know you can apply to get an early offer from the Con before you get your ATAR?

The Creative Arts Special Admissions Scheme offers talented Year 12 students a chance to receive an early offer to study music based on their audition and academic performance in year 11 and 12 so far, prior to getting an ATAR.

You must be a domestic student, currently undertaking a recognised Year 12 qualification to apply.

https://www.sydney.edu.au/music/study-music/undergraduate-courses-and-admission/creative-arts-special-admission-scheme-casas.html

University of Sydney College of the Arts Creative Arts Special Admission Scheme

The Creative Arts Special Admission Scheme offers talented Year 12 students a chance to receive an early offer to study visual arts based on their portfolio and academic performance in year 11 and 12 so far, prior to getting an ATAR.

You must be a domestic student, currently undertaking a recognised Year 12 qualification to apply.

https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/schools/sydney-college-of-the-arts/creative-arts-special-admission-scheme-casas.html

UTS Women in engineering IT and construction

Female’s and have applied for selected engineering, information technology or construction project management courses, you’re eligible to receive 10 adjustment points through both UAC and the Early Entry Program.

These adjustment points are automatically applied (no additional application required) and contribute to your selection rank.

Degrees range from Computing degrees, Games Development, IT, Engineering and Construction

https://www.uts.edu.au/study/undergraduate/admission-requirements/admissions-schemes/specific-study-area-schemes/women-engineering-it-and-construction

ACU New Diploma of Criminology

Students who undertake this diploma will be able to gain credit for up to the first year of study and articulate into the second year of the Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at ACU.

https://www.acu.edu.au/study-at-acu/find-a-course/new-courses/diploma-in-criminology

UTS - Introduction to Flexible Engineering

24 May

The Flexible major gives you the option to design your own fully accredited interdisciplinary engineering degree with an academic advisor.

Want to create your own combination of subjects or sub-major in an emerging area? Or not sure which engineering major to choose? The Flexible Engineering course is just that - flexible! Once you've completed core engineering subjects, choose a major or choose your own blend of compatible subjects.

In this webinar, you will hear from key academics and current students about what it's like to study engineering at UTS and how best to prepare. There will also be Q&A sessions where you can have your questions answered live.

https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_unwpB5MqSEOVqCuUa-8HOA#/registration

UTS - Introduction to Bachelor of Cybersecurity and Industry Degree Academy (IDeA)

25 May

There is strong industry demand for cybersecurity professionals with sound technical capabilities, awareness of the broader context surrounding cybersecurity, and who can respond to emerging risks and opportunities in this expanding field.

The Bachelor of Cybersecurity will educate and prepare graduates with specialist knowledge and skills in cybersecurity and its digital, physical and social impact. Students in the course engage in practical, hands-on learning using technologies to create and manage secure networks, systems and devices.

The Industry Degree Academy (IDeA) cadetship is a new program designed to develop the next generation of tech professionals with the right mix of technical skills and industry experience. Utilising a cadetship model of study, the degree builds professional aptitude and workplace experience while studying. It is aimed at students with a passion for computer science, IT and related fields who are looking toward technically oriented industry positions.

https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uEZET55JRR-zfy7wOtLHRQ#/registration

The Law Admission Test (LAT) Now Open

Registration now open. Closes 11 August, with late registrations until 6 September

The Law Admission Test (LAT) is a professionally designed and scored selection test developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to assess the types of aptitudes and skills that are critical to success in tertiary Law programs. These aptitudes and skills include the ability to think critically, to analyse information, and to organise and express ideas in a clear and fluent way.

The LAT is a computer-based test developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in conjunction with UNSW Law & Justice and is currently used for selection into undergraduate level programs in Law at UNSW Sydney.

https://lat.acer.edu.au/register

ACU New Diploma of Criminology

Students who undertake this diploma will be able to gain credit for up to the first year of study and articulate into the second year of the Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at ACU.

https://www.acu.edu.au/study-at-acu/find-a-course/new-courses/diploma-in-criminology

Stephen Donlan

Careers Advisor