1466 Ignatian Newsletter - Friday 5 August 2022
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Subject Specific Conversations
Subject Specific Conversations took place on Tuesday 19 July. Attendance was down for this evening, with only 36% of parents attending. For the first time we ran a hybrid model where parents could meet with either the mentor or a subject teacher. Ms Pola is in the process of reviewing how the College conducts parent conversations with a view to improving our current approach.
Grandparents Liturgy and Morning Tea
On Tuesday 26 July, the College hosted the annual Grandparents Liturgy and Morning Tea. It was wonderful to see students with their grandparents, supporting them as they moved down the Via Maxima and serving them morning tea. The relationship with grandparents is an incredibly special one which should be nurtured. Grandparents provide acceptance, patience, love, stability, wisdom, fun and support to their grandchildren. This, in turn, has positive effects on a child's well-being.
St Ignatius Feast Day
For the first time in three years the College was able to host St Ignatius Day celebrations. St Ignatius looked after us once again by bringing out the sun and clear skies. It was uplifting to see the students so carefree and happy after the past two years of lockdown. I thank Mr Lynch and his team for preparing a beautiful liturgy, celebrated by Father Sacha Bermudez-Goldman SJ, supported by Father Anthony, Father Martin and Father Gerry. We are blessed by the generosity of the priests who so willingly give of their time in our community. Ms Taylor led the musicians and singers so beautifully in the liturgy. I also thank Mr O’Keeffe and Ms Del Re for their work in organising the walk-a-thon, the rides, the concert and the activities.
Annual Overnewton vs Loyola Night Football Match
The annual Overnewton/Loyola night football match took place at Binnak Park on Thursday 3 August. Both our senior girls and boys played exciting and fast paced matches. We are very proud of both teams who fought with true Loyola spirit to the final siren. The girls lost by two points and the boys won by 8 points. Thank you to Ms Wade for coordinating the matches. It was wonderful to see so many past and current students gather at Binnak Park to support the players.
COVID Positive Pathways Program
COVID Positive Pathways (CPP) provides care and support at home for Victorians diagnosed with COVID-19. The program is for people who are most likely to need care and support at home from their local health service while they have COVID-19.
Support may include:
- regular symptom monitoring
- telehealth assessments
- access to antiviral medications where indicated
- expedited access to escalated care as required.
All Victorians, including students, are eligible for supports through CPP, with allocation based on their healthcare needs.
Parents, staff or students who test positive on a rapid antigen or PCR test can apply for support via an online form or the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.
More information on the program is available at coronavirus.vic.gov.au.
Mrs Alison Leutchford
Acting Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
ENROLMENT CLOSING DATE
COLLEGE & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Legally Blonde
The absolute highlight of our year thus far at Loyola has been the creation of our musical production, Legally Blonde. The journey has been one that will be cherished for years to come, with many people coming together to create a piece of theatre of which we are extremely proud.
Our talented students auditioned in November of 2021 and dedicated many of their Friday nights and Sundays to the rehearsal process. Many years have been dedicated to the advancement of this program and the growth witnessed in the professionalism of both our cast and crew has been extraordinary.
A production like this one does not just magically happen! There are so may cogs in the machine, literally over 160 of them! A huge array of people to thank, our creative team, colleagues, FOPA, parents, cast and crew. We may have had a vision, but it was the contribution of every single participant that allowed our vision to become a reality.
Empowering our students with the kinetic understanding and knowledge that perseverance, commitment and hard work equates to accomplishment, and knowing that they have all cherished the experience, is a legacy that will remain with us always.
The feedback has been phenomenal. Thank you for reaching out to us, it has been incredibly humbling.
We are all so thrilled you enjoyed our production of Legally Blonde.
Ms Vanda Tolli & Mr Michael O’Keeffe (Directors) & the Creative Team
IGNATIAN MISSION & IDENTITY
What masks do you wear? - St Ignatius’ Feast Day Mass
Last Friday Fr Sacha Bermudez-Goldman SJ, the Jesuit Provincial’s Assistant for Young Adult Ministry in Australia, Fr Gerry Healy SJ, Fr Anthony Girolami, St Francis of Assisi Mill Park and Fr Martin Tanti, St Mary’s Greensborough concelebrated St Ignatius’ feast day mass. After three years it was wonderful to come together as a whole College for the mass.
In his homily Father Sacha’s spoke about this year’s College theme “Aspire not to have more, but to be more”. He raised the questions:
- What does it mean to ‘be more’?
- What is making you feel more alive today?
- What are your deep desires today?
Father Sacha asked the students to reflect on the idea of the ‘Masks we wear’ - Masks for different situations, for different people and whether they hinder or help us being more authentic, happier and at peace with whom we are. The full text of Father’s homily can be found below:
My thanks to Ms Jennifer Taylor, Mrs Gemma Hedger the music staff and the choir, Sr Nelia Llanto, the servers, the College Committee and the Christian Service Captains and Vice-captains, Mr John Tran, Mr Michael O’Keeffe, Mr Steven Melville and all those who assisted.
Year 9 Reflection Day – Monday 15 August
On Monday 15 August, Year 9 will participate in a compulsory reflection day seminar titled “Love and Life”. Students may wear their sports uniform and are asked to bring a $2 donation to support a College charity.
The main facilitators are from the Real Talk group, who present on the topics of sex, relationships and personal identity. Based on Christian values and using personal sharing from a team of dynamic presenters, Real Talk provides an up-to-date interactive presentation.
More information about Real Talk is available from their website www.realtalkaustralia.com
Year 10 Reflection Day – Thursday 11 August
Currently Year 10 students are studying the unit Moral Decision Making and In Right Relationships. On Thursday 11 August they will have a compulsory reflection day on the theme of Christian Relationships and Personal Identity. Students may wear their sports uniform and are asked to bring a $2 donation to support a College charity.
The main facilitators are from the Your Choicez group, who present on the topics of sex, relationships and personal identity. Based on Christian values and using personal sharing from a team of dynamic presenters, Your Choicez provides an up-to-date interactive presentation. It aims to help young people to know their true value, worth and dignity and to experience love in a way that is truly meaningful both in the short and long term – love that is not selfish but generous and outward looking – the love that is part of God’s plan for them.
More information about Your Choicez is available from their website www.yourchoicez.com.au
Parents can contact me at lynchc@loyola.vic.edu.au if they would like to discuss any aspect of the day.
Mr Chris Lynch
Deputy Principal,
Ignatian Mission & Identity
TEACHING & LEARNING
Transition Subject Handbooks
For students in Years 7 – 9 all subject handbooks have been made available online on the day of our transition assemblies.
Our Senior Programs Handbook have been given out at our assemblies. Digital versions have been made available on the College Website.
Subject Selection Conversations
Students must have already completed their subject selection online prior to the interviews. Subject Selection Conversations times have been planned for the following dates.
- Monday August 8 - Current Year 9 & 11
All current Year 10 students have had an individual careers planning conversation with Mr Ramsay prior to 2023 subject selection submission.
Immediate S for Units 1- 4 SACs
Students will receive an immediate S for a SAC when they have demonstrated the following:
- Produce work that demonstrates achievement of the outcomes
- Submit work that is clearly their own
- Observe the rules of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and the school. (School rules may include for example Attendance or Submission of Work policies)
If any or all of these are not satisfied at the time of the SAC/SAT a student can be awarded a ‘Provisional N’.
Students can always redeem an S for the SAC/SAT in various ways. To be awarded an S, students will need to consult with their Subject Teacher about the best way to proceed.
Celebrating Academic Success at Loyola College
At Loyola College we very much enjoy celebrating student academic success. Our Vision and Mission statement states that we ‘seek the education of the whole person and strive to ensure that each student achieves his or her unique potential’. Celebrating the academic success of our students is therefore one part of developing a culture where our students work towards achieving their best, whatever that may be.
There are a number of ways in which we formally celebrate academic success. The first way is through our Merit system of acknowledgement. Merit awards are given to Year 7 to 11 students who perform at a high level. Awards are based on the student’s overall result for each subject. A student will receive a Gold merit award if they have achieved an overall subject result of A or A+. A student will receive a Silver merit award if they have achieved an overall subject result of B or B+. Students who meet these criteria receive a Merit certificate listing the subjects and awards.
The second way in which we celebrate academic success is to acknowledge the Year 7 to 11 students who have achieved the highest number of Gold Merits in their year level in each semester. These students receive a Principal’s Certificate at a Full College Assembly.
The third way is at our annual Awards Evening at the end of the year where we present Academic Colours. Year 7 to 11 students who are in the top 5% of their year level based on the culmination of all Semester One and Two subjects are presented an academic plaque and Academic Colour.
Mrs Suzanne Pola
Deputy Principal,
Teaching & Learning
STUDENTS
WELLBEING
SPECIAL REPORT: Sextortion - What You Need to Know
You may not be familiar with the term, but ‘sextortion' is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share intimate images of you unless you give in to their demands. It has been an issue for more than a decade, with many adults falling victim to this type of online crime. More recently though, it has been reported that there has been a higher rate of adolescent males falling victim, but that is not to say that young females are not also targeted.
Across the globe, organised criminal gangs are using social media, chat apps, instant messaging platforms and online games to target and connect with their victims. Recently, there has been a 400% increase in this type of crime being reported to police in Australia alone with these figures being replicated in most western countries. Any child that uses an online account to connect on social media, chat apps, instant messaging platforms or online games needs to understand the dangers associated with engaging with random people that they don’t know personally. Therefore, it is vitally important for adult carers to be aware of this serious issue and to start having an age appropriate conversation with their young person as early as possible to help protect them from online offenders making demands.
Even though your young person’s online account may be set to private, random people can still message your child. Managing devices can be difficult especially with older teens, but it is important to weigh up the risks and dangers. Sadly, even good kids who never make a poor decision elsewhere in their life, can and do make poor choices online.
This Special Report explains how your young person can fall victim to such a crime and what action to take to support them. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.
Mr Sal Valentino
Wellbeing & Personal Development Coordinator
MATHS
Maths Week 2022
From Monday July 18 to Friday July 22 the College celebrated Maths Week with a number of activities on offer for students to participate in.
Daily Quiz
Each day a quiz was sent out to all students with a range of mathematical puzzles to solve where students were encouraged to answer the questions as quickly and accurately as possible.
This year’s Maths Week Puzzle Master was awarded to Joshua Rotin in a countback over Daniel Stanton. Both students answered the most questions correctly, however Joshua had a faster elapsed time.
Loyol-Opoly
A Loyola edition of Monopoly was created that students could come and play at our Mathematical Magis sessions. Within the game students could purchase different features of the school and the Community Chest and Chance cards were unique to the College. For example: “Grading error in your favour, collect $20”
Fastest Rubik Cube
Students were invited to solve a Rubik Cube and post the fastest solve time. There were a number of students who posted amazing times of under a minute with Nathan Fares recording the fastest time of 13.3 seconds to solve the Rubik Cube.
Musical Maths
The music that is usually played over the speakers to encourage students to move to classes after breaks was replaced with songs that had a link to number. Students were able to enjoy songs such as 99 Luftballoons, Mambo No. 5 or I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Thank you to all the students who participated in activities and the staff who facilitated them to make it a memorable Maths Week.
Mr Anthony Lynch
Head of Maths
PUBLIC SPEAKING & DEBATING
Semester 1 saw some excellent achievements within Public Speaking and Debating. Our DAV Debaters celebrated many impressive victories, with one of our D-grade (Years 8 and 9) teams going undefeated!
House Public speaking was a highlight of Term 2. Chisholm House ultimately took down the Shield with a resounding victory over the competition. Well done Chisholm!
House Debating has kicked off successfully in Term 3, please see the PS&D LMS page for more information!
Mr Jeremy Martino
Head of Public Speaking and Debating
OUTDOOR EDUCATION
National Tree Planting
On July 28 the Year 11 Outdoor Education students, alongside our beloved Gardner, David Kelly, planted twenty three Australian native plants near the soccer field.
‘We discovered a new passion for gardening’ Sienna Morris
‘We created a strong bond with nature and David’ Zenna Long
‘It was a beautiful experience’ Harry Guard
Many thanks to David for his leadership for a wonderful nature experience.
Hopefully the students will see the trees mature and grow to be big and proud. They will provide oxygen, homes to animals and bees.
Mr Mike Gowan
Outdoor & Environmental Studies Teacher
ICT
Cybersafety Part 8: Cybersecurity – “Who Goes There, Friend or Fiend?”
Is Social Media a tool for evil or for good? Both, actually. It is a great way to keep in touch with friends and families, particularly those overseas. But unfortunately, it is also a medium through which scammers hope by ply their nefarious trade!
What should parents/guardians be teaching their children to help keep them safe as they navigate their online world?
- Keep their contact information and location private or protected by privacy controls;
- Never send pictures to strangers;
- Passwords are private (except to parents);
- Don’t trust anyone in cyberspace unless you know them personally;
- Don’t post or email any picture that they would not want the world to see;
- Don’t post or email any material containing hate speech, alcohol or drug references. This may be detrimental to their future job prospects;
- Agree on downloads. What apps are okay? Which video sites? What games?
- Encourage critical thinking. They should ask "who posted this and why?" This will help them find trustworthy information, and it will also help avoid online scams that deliver spyware and viruses directly to your home;
- Don’t respond to unpleasant or suspicious communications. If it is of a criminal nature, save it and report it to the police; otherwise, trash it.
- Remember that parents/guardians are role models and as such they need to be mindful of their own online habits;
- Keep channels of communication open. Prevention is better than cure.
How Do You Protect Yourself From Online Scammers?
When you engage in online social networking, you may post pictures of yourself, make catch-up plans with friends, and generally chat about what you have been up to and where you have been.
But, sadly, it also offers a plethora of unscrupulous individuals and organised cyber crime syndicates an irresistible opportunity to gain access to people (e.g. via Facebook, Twitter, online gaming or via email) in an attempt to exploit and defraud them of their money, or influence them in some way for some political gain.
Scamming is where one person, a cyber thief, pretends to have a legitimate financial need and exploits the generosity and naivety of another in order to obtain that person’s bank account or credit card details, with the ultimate aim of ripping money off that person.
How effective is a home antivirus at stopping electronic scum and villainy such as viruses, worms and trojans from infecting and spying on the home computer and passing personal information back to cyber criminals? The truth is that there is no antivirus software or firewall in the world that is capable of securing confidential data on a computer if these details are unknowingly and freely offered to scammers! How? Read on…
Ever gone fishing? You cast out a line and wait for a bite. Hopefully, the hook does its job and, hey presto, you have a catch! On the Internet this is called ‘phishing, smishing or vishing’ – same sound, different spelling; one is legal and the others are not, at least in most developed nations. It is what cyber criminals do – they try to trick children (and adults) into freely handing over their parent’s or their own credit card details. A firewall is useless in this situation.
What’s interesting about one type of scam is that it is not asking for money; actually, it is asking to put money into your bank account, and promises to then withdraw it at a later date but leave some money in there as a ‘thank you’ for being so accommodating. But do not be fooled! If the person is a stranger, then the person is most likely not a ‘friend’, but a ‘fiend’, intent on convincing you to allow them to basically give their money away to you for nothing, when in reality what they intend to do is steal money out of your bank account. These scams usually originate from organised crime syndicates operating in countries such as Nigeria and Russia, where there are no laws forbidding such practices, meaning there is no way you are going to be able to get your money back!
What Should You Do? Add The Sender To The Email or Phone ‘Blocked List’
There is no substitute for parental involvement in a child’s online activities. Parents/guardians should establish an ongoing conversation with each of their children about his/her various experiences, providing guidance whenever necessary. Importantly, parents/guardians should go online themselves and join a social networking site or get involved with friends in a chat room. Parents/guardians should be familiar with the space their children are playing in.
To learn more about banking scams, go to Online scams and identity theft | eSafety Commissioner
Complaints about general content on the Internet can be made to the How to report abuse or content to eSafety | eSafety Commissioner
Mr Victor Dalla-Vecchia
ICT Manager
COMMUNITY
Morning Tours – 2022
Morning Tours for Semester 2 will be take place on the following date from 9.00am – 11.00am:
- 15th August
- 12th September
- 10th October
- 7th November
Working Bee – Saturday 23 July
Despite the drizzly rain it was so nice to see over 20 people venture out in the cold to complete the preparation and planting of so many plants. There was beautiful conversation amongst the parents and there were definitely some very dirty, hard-working parents and students who then enjoyed an early lunch. Thank you to David Kelly, John O’Connell and Brendon Carroll who led the team.
Grandparent Morning – Tuesday 26 July
It may have been three years in waiting, finally we were able to have our beautiful Grandparent Morning. Slowly the Chapel filled up with excited parents and then came along the grandchildren. I cherished the granddaughter and grandmother who hands were interlocked for the duration of the Mass. It was also a touching moment when the grandchildren turned to their grandparents and expressed their gratitude for having been blessed with grandparents and then seeing the grandparents express their joy of having such beautiful grandchildren. The morning ended beautifully with lots of amazing food prepared by our hard working Canteen staff, led by Joanne Pritchard. Thank you to Fr Gerry, Chris Lynch and the Maintenance Team who assisted in this very meaningful event.
St Ignatius Day – LPFA Donut Stall
The LPFA are considered to be professional hot donut makers, so come St Ignatius Day all went smooth sailing as 600 donuts were sold with all funds raised going to the various House Charities.
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to distribute food and a big thank you to the John O’Connell, Mina Paterra, Danielle Scarmozino, Vicky Sartor, Bryan Kearney, Reena Thomas, Pinella Lo Presti who kept the ball rolling with the continuous flow of hot donuts.
2022 Entertainment Books
The LPFA are very happy to continue the promotion of the 2022 Entertainment Book. If you are interested in purchasing a digital copy (no hard copies) of the Entertainment book, please visit the link below:
Homestays Needed
There are 15 students from Maffioli, Italy coming to Loyola. We are in need of families to volunteer to homestay accommodation for a boy or girl from Monday 29th August to Sunday 11th September.
There are 8 boys and 7 girls aged 16 – 17 years old.
The students will follow a program whilst at Loyola and as their homestay buddy you will be able to accompany the students on selected outings.
A special Welcome/Thank you dinner is provided for all homestay families at Iggy’s on Thursday 1st September.
For further information contact the Community Liaison Officer: Mrs Dianna Alonso on 9433 0228 or email: alonsod@loyola.vic.edu.au
2022 PWP Meeting
Monday 10 October 2022 at 7.30pm
2022 LPFA Meeting
Wednesday 17 August 2022 at 7.30pm
Next Working Bee
Saturday 27 August from 9am – 12noon
Mrs Dianna Alonso
Community Liaison Officer