The Year 10 retreat was held at North Avoca Surf Club. This was a wonderful venue for such an important event. The first few days featured rain, rain and more rain. This did not stop our students from putting their best foot forward and enjoying the experience. Students were engaged in different discussion groups throughout the day which included topics such as self-awareness, values and what it means to be a good man. The day concluded with a short liturgy that included student involvement. All the teachers who attended were thoroughly impressed by the students' behaviour and attention. Congratulations to all who were involved in this wonderful spiritual day. Mr Beacroft Director of Mission   [foogallery id="31673"]

The tradition of sharing our Holy Week celebration with St Joseph’s to remember the significance of Easter continued this year. Once again the ERC was packed with students and staff from both Colleges. This was a solemn ceremony of prayer, song, and drama. The Passion of Christ is followed by witnessing the Stations of the Cross. Our Year 10 and 12 students were outstanding in presenting the final days of Jesus. The students from St Joseph’s performed a liturgical dance which was reverent and performed to the highest standard. The musicians on the day, under the guidance of the music staffs from both Colleges, produced brilliant performances and created a great atmosphere. Congratulations to all the students who prepared so thoroughly for this wonderful community event. A final thank you to all who contributed to the most important liturgical event on the Christian calendar. Mr Beacroft Director of Mission and Identity   [foogallery id="31818"]   A recording of the Liturgy can be viewed on the St Joseph's College Facebook Page:  Click Here

Anzac Day is commemorated on 25 April and this year at St Edward's, we are asking you to help share the story of all who served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Week 2 of Term 2, the Academic Portfolio will be holding various activities in honour of Anzac Day and as part of this, we are wanting to honour members of the St Edward's Community who served or do serve. If you have family who were or are servicemen or women, we would like to collect any of the following: Photos of those who served or serve Full names Where they served Dates Battalion or Regiment If you or your family have any of these details, whether it is just the name or a photo, we would like to collect these important parts of history in commemoration of Anzac Day. Please send any of the above details through by the end of Week 1 to: Kaitlyn Abbott-Atchison kabbott@stedwards.nsw.edu.au or Alex Rozario arozario@stedwards.nsw.edu.au One of the activities being held in commemoration will be Year 12 Food Technology cooking Anzac biscuits using bush foods, please see recipes below. Anzac Biscuits and Macadamia/Wattleseed Anzac Biscuits  

We had our first Earn and Return container collection for 2021 which saw 986 containers being diverted from landfill. A massive thank you to our groundsman Mr Archer for his efforts in getting students to recycle their drink containers into the Return and Earn cage and the yellow recycle bins around the College. Our Trash Free Tuesday student numbers have been consistent for Term 1.  Over 350 students each week are making a conscious effort to make a trash free lunch, we hope that this is a permanent habit that they will continue to do and take into the future. We recently received news that we have been successful in gaining a second Chilled Filtered Water Station from Central Coast Health Promotion Thirsty Choose Water.  This will enable students more opportunities to choose water as their first drink of choice and at the same time reduce the impact on the environment by using reusable drink bottles.  Currently we have diverted over 54,400 bottles from landfill with the current water refill station. We also were successful in being given a place to attend the annual Youth Summit for Take 3 for the Sea.  This summit brings students from all schools around the state together at Taronga Zoo, to encourage youth leadership and stewardship of the environment.  Last year four Year 11 students applied to attend this event, however, due to COVID-19 it was cancelled.  It is great to see the same boys now in Year 12 being able to attend this event. We have had a lot more Year 7 to 10 students attending portfolio meetings and it is great to see younger students becoming involved in leadership within the College.  Four of these students from Years 7 to 10 will be involved in six, one hour online webinars aimed at developing youth leadership and creating action plans focussing on the environment. It is great to be involved in such an energetic portfolio where we get to listen to authentic student voice everyday!

At the commencement of Term 2, all students will be provided with an opportunity to complete a Learning Reflection in each of their courses. This reflection will provide the basis for the discussion at the Online Learning Conferences which will be held on Wednesday April 28 (Term 2 Week 2) and Thursday May 13 (Term 2 Week 4). The purpose of these conferences is to allow the boys to articulate how they believe they are progressing in each course and where they may need some further assistance to bring about improvement. This approach is designed to encourage boys to take greater responsibility for their learning and to establish goals for ongoing improvement. It will also be a good opportunity to discuss the Mid-Course assessments for Year 12 and the interim reports for Years 7-11. It is the expectation that all students participate in this online meeting with their parents and that bookings are made at times when students and parents can both attend. Parents will be able to book appointments for either of the evenings that suit.  Please note that conferences will be available for bookings between the hours of 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm and all conferences will be of seven (7) minutes duration. To ensure that students can get home on time, timetabled classes will end at the completion of Period 4 (1:20 pm) and students will be permitted to leave the College early under the following guidelines: Only students who have prior online permission from their parents/carers will be permitted to leave the College early. Students are not permitted to catch public buses prior to 3:15 pm. Students must be either picked up by their parents/carer or walk home. Seniors who have the normal appropriate permissions in place can drive home. If you wish to give permission for your son to leave early, complete the brief online permission form below for each of your sons at St Edward’s. Parents are asked to complete the online permission form by 9:00 am Monday 26 April. Please note: Handwritten notes, emails or permission over the telephone will not be accepted. Permission to leave application form. The Learning Conference bookings will be managed through an internet-based booking system called Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO). It will save time for parents, staff, and students.  Using this system, you will be able to book the conference times that suit you best. The teachers will then contact students at the scheduled time via a Microsoft Teams meeting. This will mean that parents and students will need to be available at booked times with Microsoft Teams open on a device. This process will be explained to students and the process for student reflection will be further explained to students in their classes. Access to the system will be available from Wednesday 21 April at 7.00 pm and will be closed off for bookings the day before interviews. Please see below for the Parent Teacher On-Line link and further instructions If you encounter any problems using PTO, please contact the school office on 4321 6400. Please follow these steps to access the system: Click here to go to the PTO website Click on 'Obtain PIN/Password' (you will need to supply your email address) Enter your email address and click on "Send Email" Check your email in-box for your login details or click on the link in the email Go back to the PTO website, login with the details supplied via email Follow the online instructions to complete the bookings. Please note that in Step 1 of the booking process you will need to select the start date and time by scrolling through the drop-down menu until you reach your desired start time. For additional information please click on the link below Additional Information | pdf  

Maths Week was held at St Edward's College throughout Week 8, aligning with International Pi day on 14 March. Throughout the Week, the boys were provided with opportunities to immerse themselves in the wide world of mathematics. Assembly and Pi Recital The celebration of Maths Week begun on 12 Friday March, with the College assembly taking on a maths theme. During the assembly, Maths Week was promoted and the boys were treated to the annual “Pi Recital” in which students from various years battled to recall Pi to the most number of decimal places possible. This year was another exciting battle with Kai Maitland (Year 9) edging out Maxi Corrigan (Year 8) to take home first prize and bragging rights. Tristan Pearce-Maitland and Beau Seale also earned the right to stand on stage and participate in the competition, doing themselves proud in the process. Well done to everyone involved! Lunchtime Activities During Week 8, the boys were offered activities to participate in at lunch time each day, including Rubicks Cube solving, Chess, Card Games, Bingo and Kahoot, with prizes being awarded for those who excelled each day. There was also a daily trivia that boys were invited to participate in. Many boys turned up each day and participated in the activities having fun and earning some tasty treats along the way. Thank you to the Academia Portfolio, Mrs Abbot-Atchison, Mr Rozario and the Mathematics Faculty for their work in planning and running these activities throughout the week Inquisitive Minds On Thursday of Week 8, the College invited Inquisitive Minds to come in and run sessions with all of Year 8. Inquisitive Minds is a hands-on, engaging workshop, where the boys are able to compete in problem solving challenges in groups, while learning important skills that can benefit them in the classroom along the way. It was great to see so many boys completely immersed and engaged in the activities throughout the day! The workshops were assisted throughout the day by Year 9 and 10 leaders, who did a fantastic job in ensuring everything ran smoothly. A special thank you to Mr Marks, who coordinated the running of the day – it was very well organised, resulting in its success! Art Competition During Maths Week, Year 7 Art classes joined in the Maths Week fun, creating cityscape artworks based on the digits of Pi. Over the week some great artworks were produced and three of the best were chosen to receive prizes – congratulations to Jaxson Burgess, Tobias McEvoy and Xander Byrne.  A big thank you to the Art staff for running the Pi Cityscapes Art competition and joining in on the Maths Week fun! Pi Pie Once again, this year, In celebration of International Pi Day, Mrs McDonald (Food Technology) made a Pi Pie for the Mathematics Staff to share! Thank you Mrs McDonald, it was delicious! Thank you to all the staff and students who were involved in Maths Week 2021, in particular Mrs Abbot-Atchison and the Academia Portfolio for all of their efforts in the design and implementation of the activities throughout the week. See you again in 2022! Lachlan Butt Leader of Learning – Mathematics   [foogallery id="31526"]

La semaine de la Francophonie Week 8 was a week of celebration at St Edward’s College. Not only was it Maths Week, but it was also Francophonie Week. As International Francophonie Day is celebrated internationally on Saturday 20 March, it is common for international celebration to take place throughout the week leading up to this important celebration of diversity, and cultural appreciation. The French team were blown away by the enthusiasm and support of our French students and the wider school community in celebrating the diversity of the 28 countries whose official language is French. La semaine de la Francophonie was kicked off with a guitar rendition of La Marseillaise, the French National Anthem, played by Dean Umpad, Year 12, over the loudspeakers during homeroom. We are grateful to Harry Ellwood and Dean Umpad, Year 12, who organised this. Thanks to three students of French, Harry Ellwood (Year 12), Michael Holmes (Year 11) and Max Corrigan (Year 8), the wonderful activities of Francophonie Week were advertised during SECTV. The boys spoke and presented in French, demonstrating their high levels of language proficiency in their respective year levels. The school community enthusiastically supported the numerous activities planned at lunch during Week 8, from pop up French photo booths to Francophonie Trivia. The Canteen at St Edward’s also showed their support by serving French inspired foods such as des croissants et des croques monsieur, which the students loved! Thank you to everyone who participated and supported La semaine de la Francophonie, making it such a success! Vive le Français !   [embed]https://youtu.be/PhTBBmLRsXQ[/embed]   [foogallery id="31639"]  

Please click the link below for the latest edition of SECTV, hosted by Kai Wheelock and Samuel Beatson.   [embed]https://youtu.be/1G8zSnE_ReE[/embed]

Homework Help With the new academic year well underway, parents and students are reminded that Homework Help and task support continue in the morning in the library from 8:00 am till 8:45am, from Monday-Thursday. Students can particularly access additional maths support. Students should visit the Innovate Room located alongside the quiet reading area.   Disability Provisions for HSC 2021 The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) has developed the Disability Provisions program to assist students completing the HSC examinations, who have a special examination need. Click Here for More Information Regarding NESA HSC DISABILITY PROVISIONS 2021   National Consistent Collection of Data for Students with a Disability 2021 The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on School Students with Disability (the national data collection) is an annual collection that counts the number of school students receiving an adjustment due to disability and the level of reasonable adjustment they are receiving. Click Here for More Information Regarding NCCD 2021  

In Week 8, Daniel Herd of Year 10 and Lachlan Herd of Year 8 represented St Edward’s College in the Rostrum Voice of Youth public speaking competition. This is a national competition that sees speakers from schools around Australia present their ideas on a topic of their choosing. As a senior representative, Daniel delivered an eight-minute speech (no easy feat) and was in a pool with Year 11 and 12 students. Congratulations to Daniel for presenting a considered response to the treatment of women with which he won his round! “…sexual violence should make you uncomfortable! And it should be difficult to find the right words because gender inequality has been passed on through the generations – this makes it difficult. But criticising, shaming, and victim-blaming, only reflects the ignorance and cowardice of the critics. Be uncomfortable but also be outraged. Acknowledge that it’s difficult, but search for those right words anyway, tackle the problem, ask the questions.” – Daniel Herd Lachlan also presented an outstanding speech on success despite adversity, and while he did not place in his round, he received high praise from the adjudicators. Congratulations to both of these young men for their hard work and commitment, their intelligence and insight is inspiring. Good luck, Daniel for the regional finals to be held in Term 2.

On 17 March, the Under 13's Touch Football Team travelled to Sydney to compete in the Broken Bay Gala Day. The day started off well with a 10-0 win over St Brigid’s Catholic College, where the boys were in great attacking form. The second game was tipped to be a tough one, coming up against what we knew would be a strong MacKillop Catholic College side. The game went back and forth, with both teams having many opportunities to score, but each defence was scrambling too well. A late game try meant that we would win the game 1-0. Heading into the third game of the pool stage, against St Peter’s Catholic College, we were full of confidence. After a shaky start, with some missed opportunities, we composed ourselves and came away winners 7-0. The quarter final saw us face off with St Leo’s Catholic College, we were on top for majority of the game and came away winners 7-1, the first game in which we had conceded a try. The semi-final would prove to be a challenging game against a well drilled Mater Maria Catholic College side. They came out of the gates firing with two quick tries and we knew we would have our work cut out for us. Every time we would score, Mater Maria hit back with a try of their own, not allowing us to get into reach. Unfortunately, we lost the hard-fought game 5-3. All players thoroughly enjoyed the day, and there were many amazing individual and team performances. With exceptional leadership and outstanding touch footy ability shown, the player of the day award goes to Lachlan Park.      

Please see below for upcoming information sessions for Defence jobs. 25 Mar 21, 6:00 pm – Engineering information session - held at Newcastle DFRC 31 Mar 21, 6:00 pm - Defence Careers information session – held at Port Macquarie Army Reserve depot 6 April 21, 6:30 pm – Army Reserve information session – held at Adamstown Barracks 6 April 21, 7:30 pm - Army Reserve information session – held at Erina Depot 6 April 21, 6:30pm – Virtual Musician Careers in the ADF information session – held at Virtual via Google meets 8 April 21, 6:00 pm – Navy Careers information session – held at Newcastle DFRC 14 April 21, 6:00 pm – Musician Careers information session – held at Newcastle DFRC 17 April 21, 10:00 am – Defence Careers information session – held at Newcastle DFRC 3 May 21, 5:00 pm – Women in Defence information session – held at Newcastle DFRC 4 May 21, 6:30 pm – Army Reserve information session – held at Adamstown Barracks 4 May 21, 7:30 pm - Army Reserve information session – held at Erina Depot 6 May 21, 6:00 pm – Army Careers information session – Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford   Anyone wishing to attend will need to register through defencejob.gov.au/events

Launched in Sydney in 2007, SkillsOne works with Industry, Educators, Government and TAFE to engage and promote the extensive career opportunities and pathways in traditional trades and emerging skills areas ranging from automotive, construction & mining; through to hairdressing, healthcare and horticulture. SkillsOne is dedicated to embracing and reflecting the diversity, quality and opportunities within the skills community. It is reputable, contemporary and proven as a respected resource for career advisors, parents and students. The primary aim has been to create a skills community. Inherently, online content includes the key elements of lifestyle, career opportunities, positive attitudes and job satisfaction reflected through individuals sharing their experiences, skills, stories and wisdom. SkillsOne provides a rich tapestry of information about trades and skills 24/7. The site features all stories appearing on SkillsOne TV and is continually updated with new video stories and industry snapshots. 40 – 50,000 videos are viewed on the SkillsOne site monthly, increasing significantly during October and November when students are seeking ideas and guidance on career paths within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. In addition to the website, SkillsOne TV is broadcast daily (Mon-Fri) nationally on Foxtel (Aurora 183) and Free to Air (TV4ME 74). Our experience in media has been central to the thrust of generating positive messages about the VET sector and communicating those messages in innovative ways – television, talkback radio, print media, industry & trade press. We have a vast array of media contacts and promote the excellence of TAFE, its teachers, Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) members and the VET sector generally. We speak at industry conferences and use our good relationships to assist others in general promotion on skills and trades.

College Winter Uniform The College winter uniform must be worn during Terms 2 and 3.  The winter uniform is available for purchase from the College uniform suppliers, Cowan and Lewis at their West Gosford warehouse, Hours of operation are Monday – Friday 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. The warehouse will be open throughout the school holidays and will only be closed for Good Friday and Easter Monday. Appointments are no longer required. [embed]https://www.stedwards.nsw.edu.au/parent-community/parent-college-uniform/[/embed]    

“Something is happening, and I don’t know what it is, Mr. Jones.” It’s nearly sixty years since Bob Dylan sang those words as a demand for action to a generation of youth itching for change. Dylan could well sing those words today as there’s change in the air once more. Women of all ages are spotlighting the massive problem we have with inappropriate sexual behaviour and abuse from males. Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins’ disclosure of alleged rape by a work colleague in a minister’s office in Parliament House has been the catalyst for others to speak up about similar incidents. While initially the focus was on Federal Parliament and men of a certain age, the petition (www.teachusconsent.com) by Australian student Chanel Contos moved the spotlight to young people. The petition calling for consent education in Australian schools was signed by 300,000 young women, with many recording harrowing accounts of sexual assault they’ve experienced. The publication of the superb speech by the head prefect of Sydney’s Cranbrook School urging boys to change the way they viewed women from sexual objects to “people just like you” was ground-breaking. It was a brave speech that led the way for many men as well as the students he addressed. While schools are being urged to tackle the problems outlined, families are the most appropriate starting points for meaningful change. Current events and the ensuing media storm provide wonderful conversation starters about these issues. Young people need to have their voices heard but they also need to hear the voices of parents and other adults, who are generally interested in their future wellbeing. Conversations can be wide and varied but should at least include the following areas. Porn Popular author and Parenting Ideas contributor Maggie Dent believes that boys’ attitudes have become worse since the advent of the digital world. She says, “Porn is freely available and sadly, many children stumble upon it accidentally.” Dent writes that “this problem of male entitlement where boys demand that girls meet their sexual needs, or where boys think there is no problem with raping a sleeping or unconscious girl, has to come from somewhere.” Porn is so prolific and accessible that anyone with a mobile phone in their hand can access. Consent Respect is at the heart of consent.  Boys need to respect the wishes, the dignity and humanity of a girl when she refuses to engage in sexualised behaviour of any sort. It is important to teach and reinforce to boys that no means no, not maybe. To help girls feel more confident about saying no, they can practise withdrawing consent (non-sexual, of course) in a number of ways with the males closest to her at home. “No bro, you can’t come into my room now.” “No Dad, I don’t want to talk right now. I can talk later though.” Consent education should be common fare in every family. Character Porn, Tinder, Sexting and other digital behaviours may normalise highly sexualised behaviours, but no one makes a young person continually harass a girl for sex or send out a nude image without consent. Character and values play their part. Young people may make poor choices, but parents need to hold them accountable, model values of respect and fairness and be bold and upfront with their views. In Closing Dylan also sang that ‘the times they are changing.’ Attitudes to women, particularly in relation to sexual assault need to change. As beneficiaries of this change young people need to be involved and parents can help get the ball rolling by talking about these issues in meaningful ways with their young people.