Officer News – 17 May 2018

Hydration

Feeling thirsty? Water is the one of the most important substances to keep our body in tiptop shape. Recently, the SRC took a sample of McKenna’s hydration habits. Through our survey we found that only 56% of McKenna House students are well hydrated. Although a little bit over half are well hydrated, almost half do not drink enough water daily.

Our body is made up of more than 60% of water, which is why it is crucial that we stay hydrated. We need water for when we sweat, urinate, digest and to balance temperatures. This also includes lubrication of our eyes and mouths. Some other positive attributes that plain water has for your health is that it has no calories (unlike other soft drinks and fruit juices) and it increases a sense of fullness.

We eliminate water in our system when we sweat, breathe and digest food. An average female is recommended to drink at least 2.7 litres or 9 cups of water daily, and an average Male is recommended to drink at least 3.7 litres or 13 cups of water daily.

Our day-to-day hydration comes from two main sources: Food makes up 20%, and water from beverages makes up 80%. You may also include some high water content food such as oranges, berries, watermelon and tomatoes. It is best to drink water 30 minutes before a meal or one hour after a meal.

If you play a sport or attend practical lessons, it is best to use your breaks wisely by drinking water due to loss from sweating and breathing heavily. People who do sport often drink energy drinks for a source of energy and hydration, but sport drinks can dehydrate us due to the excess salts.

The consequences of being dehydrated include symptoms like dry lips, nausea, fatigue, lack of focus in class, and often light headaches. Our school canteen sells a lot of sugary drinks such as flavoured milk drinks and juices. These drinks contribute to hydration but not as much as plain water, as sugar dehydrates our bodies in a similar way that salt does. If you struggle to drink enough water because of the taste, try adding a squeeze of lemon for flavour!

The SRC hope we have highlighted the importance of hydration and what role it plays to maintain your body system and productivity in class, in sport and in life.

Santoro Kep and Officer SRC students

SIS Public Speaking Competition

On Tuesday 1 May, four students from Officer competed in the SIS Public Speaking Competition at John Paul College, Frankston. 

Chinmay Savanth, Ally Williams, Phillip Jaroslawski and Christine Jaroslawski were required to give a prepared speech an impromptu speech. They all spoke well, and the adjudicators were very impressed with the way they conducted themselves throughout the day. Special mention to Ally Williams who was awarded the highest score in the junior division for her impromptu speech. 

It was a fantastic day and they should be very proud of themselves. We also thank Ms Leesa Gordon for her support on the day.

Campus Fundraiser

In Year 8 Religious Education classes we have been learning about Catholic Social Teaching and Justice. As a class, we brainstormed ideas on how we could raise money for charity. This process included explaining our idea to the class, voting on the ideas, and sending a proposal for our top ideas to Mrs Cetrola.

We ended up deciding to hold a Casual4Charity day and a How Many Jellybeans competition in Week 2 of this Term. Everyone in our class contributed in some way, with students making posters, writing bulletin notices and visiting Care Groups. The day was a big success and we ultimately raised over $640 for Trinity Families. We would like to thank everyone who supported the day; it is great to see Catholic Social Teaching in action at SFX.

8 Rice

Benefit Mindset Workshop

On Wednesday 18 April, the Year 8 students participated in the Benefit Mindset Workshop, which consisted of activities designed for us to achieve what is known as a ‘benefit mindset’.

This workshop encouraged students to develop a new way of thinking, which improved the way students dealt with obstacles and choices in normal life. A benefit mindset involves seeking to do well and contributing to a brighter future for both yourself and for those around you.

The activities the Year 8 students participated in were based on learning about the ‘ripple effect’ of kindness, and how a simple act of kindness can inspire people to help others. This was shown to us through a video based on the concept of being selfless. The activities also showed us the ways we can positively affect one another, and to work as a team to achieve a goal.

We learnt that just through one act of kindness or empathy, you could brighten up someone else’s day and it could lead to them passing it on. Some of the activities included splitting in groups and brainstorming ways we could help those around us. Through activities like this, we were shown that even though an act of kindness is small, it can still make someone’s life easier, and that it mattered to be kind to ourselves just as much as it was to be kind to others.

Melanie Fonseka and Alexa Bellon

Police Presentation

Cardinia Police have been actively involved in supporting school programs focusing on engagement and educating students on the legal system. Some of our students were fortunate enough to be invited to attend a police engagement day where they got to interact with police members, understand the work of the police force, and build some positive connections with local members. 

Last week, Catherine Emmett (Cardinia Police Youth Resource Officer) presented to our Year 7 and 8 students. Her presentation invited our students to deepen their understanding of the legal system, and explore key areas for youths including cyberbullying, incitement, assaults, affray, and stalking. Our students were also invited to ask questions, to which they eagerly did.

Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviours

Late last year, we set up a collaborative project across all Campuses supported by CEO Sale framework to begin exploring Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour. Through the consistent promotion and support of desired behaviours by all stakeholders, the behavioural culture of our College will be positively impacted. This work recognises that all aspects of the school community can impact on student learning. Therefore, a positive behaviour approach supports learning and teaching environments so that the academic outcomes of all students are maximised. (CEO Sale) 

We surveyed staff and students at each Campus and were able to narrow down to explore key universal features specific for each Campus. At the Officer Campus, we have been exploring School-Wide Expectations and Routines. Our Campus Positive Behaviour Staff Team consisting of Ms Alex McDermott (Head of House), Mr Steven Medorini (Learning Culture Leader), Nicole O’Brien (Curriculum Leader), Jenna Dore (Teacher and Learning Support), and Rebecca Cetrola (Deputy Principal Head of Campus) have been working with staff and students to explore these universal features. The teams work has involved evaluating, exploring, investigating, developing and analysing data, policies and procedures, programs, and meeting with staff and students. During Term 1 this year, the team ran staff Professional Learning Teams to explore key questions relating to Officer Campus routines. They then have met with our Student Learning Culture Investigators to gather student insight into the routines and ideas of staff. This collaborative approach has revealed great insights and ideas, and we look forward to sharing more with our community as we continue our work over the year. 

da Vinci Decathlon

A group of year 7 students have been busily preparing for the da Vinci Decathlon competition which will take place this Friday 18^th May.

The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge students across 10 disciplines, including engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and general knowledge. The students have been meeting every Tuesday at lunch time to practice in these areas, and last week participated in a breakout. Students needed to work together to use hints and clues to solve problems and decipher codes to reveal the answer to the combination locks attached the box. The group did well under a shortened time frame of lunch time and were very close to breaking out. We wish them lots of luck for Friday and hope they enjoy the day.

Youth Ministry Confrence

On Thursday 26 April, our Justice and Liturgy teams from both Berwick and Officer participated in a youth ministry conference for the Sale diocese. Here, our leadership skills and confidence were tested as we had the responsibility to run workshops for year 10 and 11 students. It was an amazing experience to see the respect that the older students had for us and to learn to look at life in different perspectives. It was also great to be able to celebrate mass with Bishop Patrick and to learn about the various aspects of faith. While it was a long day full of fun, the highlight was the bond we shared with the Berwick students. With the two campus leadership teams being brought together several times already this year, the connection that we’ve made allowed us to work together efficiently and to enjoy the day we had as a whole team. Overall, the day was a success and gave us an opportunity to explore faith in everyday life.  

Alyanna Trajano

Illuminate Nextgen Challenge

During the week of 7 – 12 of May, 12 students from the Officer campus (Luke Dunn, Riley Gaunt, Dane Hawks, Holly Hilton, Christine Jaroslawski, Caleb Klimak, Kirsten McLelland, Gabrielle Olvina, Jordan Sanders, Chinmay Savanth, Alyanna Trajano, and Matthew West) took part in a week-long intensive program that allowed the students to experience first-hand what it takes to be an entrepreneur and small business champion.  This was facilitated by Adam Mostogl, the founder of Illuminate Education and the 2015 Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year and Australian Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30, 2017, in collaboration with Deakin University and support by the local business community and Casey Shire.

The students experienced what it takes to start a new business, the process of developing the idea, refining it, making sure it connects with customers and is viable – all the way up to pitching for investment to get the business off the ground! Not only did the students learn about essential entrepreneurial and business skills, but they also discovered more about useful life skills including: stress and team management, independent learning, budgeting, planning, creative thinking and public speaking. The students went beyond expectations in their presentations, business ideas and self-regulated their working and planning time. The week was not without its up and downs, as the teams had to learn to work alongside team members that had different ideas and worked to varying paces while facing the pressure of meeting stringent deadlines.

The Friday evening awards ceremony and trade fair was the highlight with Saint Francis Xavier College taking out six of the nine awards. The Officer campus took out four of the awards, Runner Up Best Business, Best Marketing Package, Best Trade Display and Best Pressure Cooker Submission. Congratulations to the students for their enthusiasm, hard work and for embracing a very different way of working with outstanding success.

Ms Mutsaers

I thought the illuminate Nextgen program was brilliant. The activities were real-world problems and challenges that we will have to face when we are older. They taught the right skills and gave us the opportunity to use them as needed. It was very much enquiry based and something our school should offer more often as it is more real world. I would definitely do this again if I had the opportunity. 

Matt West

I really enjoyed being part of the Illuminate challenge over the course of the week. It gave me the opportunity to explore key concepts and ideas around starting my own business to solve current problems within my community. Working as part of a team, my group and I we were able to develop our ideas, using contemporary business planning tools, while presenting business plans, financial forecasts, pitch decks and marketing packages, to prove the viability of the business. My group and I learnt just how hard it is to create our own business, but through critical thinking, creativity and planning as a team, we were able to showcase our ideas. We were not only taught about the financial side of a business, but also key elements such as public speaking and time restraints. Overall, this was a stressful but exciting and enjoyable experience, and I have taken away many strategies that I am able to use in the future. 

Kirsten McLelland

The Illuminate Challenge incorporated various aspects in the educational field. Subjects included Math, English and a particular topic this year, Technology. My team – Jordan, Caleb, Matt, Gabie, Chinmay and I, were provided with an opportunity to produce a product or service which would engender the use of technology. After a few hours, we had planned ideas for a new product to implement; a Smart Bin. A receptacle programmed to reward people for recycling materials. This idea led us to produce financial work, reports, sketches and plans throughout a five day period on strict deadlines. Although the workload was tedious, we all enjoyed the differentiated schooling environment and tasks. On the last day, participating teams across various schools had to showcase our creativity and final work. Trade displays were set up to exceptional standards. Overall, my team and I managed to receive 2 awards and a third placing.

Christine Jaroslawski

When we started, we knew nothing of what was expected and thought that the week was going to be a drag, but we were wrong, very wrong. The whole week was structured in such a way that there was not a minute that went by where we had nothing to do. The whole point of the Next-Gen Challenge is to inspire young minds to become future entrepreneurs and businessmen by giving them a real-life issue which needs to be solved by creating a business.

It wasn’t as simple as slapping on a name and idea and calling it a day; there was much more that went on behind the scene that not everyone would think of. On the first day alone we had to submit two pieces of work, the scavenger hunt and the entrepreneurship canvas. We all learnt so much more about business, marketing and financials; some of the many things that will help us in our future. A lot of hard work and determination went into our project, but overall everybody enjoyed the unique once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. One of the most important things that I learnt from this whole thing is that there is much more thought and effort that goes into making a company than meets the eye.

Chinmay Savanth

This challenge gave me an opportunity to experience what kind of hardships that people have to go through to create their own successful business. This challenge was able to help me understand when to get deadlines in on time and to work with other people that I wouldn’t normally work with. Throughout the week I learnt how to deal with the stress that was put onto me because of the deadlines, but somehow, I got through the challenges and the team and I were left with something that we would never forget. This was an amazing experience, and I would recommend this kind of challenge to people who want to challenge their creative and technical skills. If I was chosen to do this again, I’d definitely say yes.

Gabrielle Olvina

The Illuminate Challenge, which we had participated in and completed in a single week, proved to be challenging, frustrating, exciting and fun, all at the same time. The challenge itself had many obstacles to overcome, successfully collaborating and working as a group, submitting at specific times to adhere to strict deadlines and completing forms and activities that were completely brand new to us. While some aspects of the challenge were difficult, the will to complete the task and to achieve success allowed us to gain some resilience and to continue to persevere until the end, even when things weren’t going to plan. From making the concept of a product to creating marketing strategies to sell it or even pitching it to the potential investors, the whole task of developing business was certainly not an easy job. However, it gave us an opportunity to experience what is ahead of us and to appreciate the jobs that the people around us are capable of doing in their everyday lives. The commendations at the conclusion of the challenge, for both our individual business group and the whole St Francis Xavier team, had us filled with pride as we represented our school at such high standards. The sense of achievement at the end, gave us the satisfaction that the week we had spent away from school, our friends and classes, was worth it and that it was one whole learning experience for all of us.

Alyanna Trajano

Illuminate Nextgen Challenge was one of the best experiences I have had in my time at school, if not the best. They teach everything you need to know about starting your own business. 

Kaleb Klimak

Complaints and Grievances Management Policy – Update

The Catholic Education Office in Sale has revised the Complaints and Grievances Management Policy. This policy provides information as to how parents / guardians can make a complaint to the College if they have concerns about the education of their child. The Catholic Education Office of Sale encourages parents / guardians who have a complaint, in the first instance should make the complaint to the school that their child attends, except when the complaint is about the principal of the school. Complaints about school principals should be referred to the Executive Manager Industrial Relations/Human Resources at the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Sale (CEOSale) who will assist in finding an appropriate solution.

For further information, please see our website under https://www.sfx.vic.edu.au/our-school/policies/