Villa View: Issue 18/19

At this time of the term, students and staff have begun the assessment process for the conclusion of Semester 1. At the end of this term the College teaching staff will compile the End of Semester Report for families and students indicating the performance of the student in each subject.

The College has undertaken a review of the reporting format and as a result of the review, a number of changes to the reporting format have been implemented. One key aspect of the changes has been to improve the quality of the feedback received by the students following an assessment task. Following consultation, the College will adjust the reporting process in the following manner.

1. End of Semester 1 Reports will contain the academic grades, days absent, co-curricular involvement and application across a number of key indicators.
2. Comments from the teaching staff will not be provided at this time.

Assessment Tasks
Upon completion of assessment tasks, students and parents will be provided with detailed feedback showing the grade awarded for the work, feedback from the teacher indicating the strengths and areas the students did well, followed by detailed feedback on the areas for improvement.

For feedback to be effective in helping a student to learn it must be timely, specific and understood by the student. Within two weeks of the completion of an assessment task, students will be able to access feedback and grades. This will allow students to reflect upon their progress and to know what specific steps need to be taken to continue to improve.

RENEWAL LEAVE
At the end of Term 2 I will be taking Renewal Leave for the whole of Term 3. Renewal Leave is a component of my contract which provides an opportunity to take a break from the role of Principal and through study, recreation and personal development reflect on my leadership and role as Principal. Over the course of the term I will be spending time visiting schools across Australia as well as undertaking study in leadership. I am looking forward to the opportunity to reflect on my leadership over the past five years and to spend some time away from the busyness of school life.

During my leave Mr Steven Bremner will be Acting Principal for Term 3.

BUILDING WORKS
Work out at Villanova Park on the grandstand is progressing well with the roof being placed on the grandstand this week and internal works will commence. The grandstand is a relatively simple structure and the builder is hopeful of completing the project by the end of July weather permitting.

The College has undertaken the necessary work of installing a fire hydrant and water line into Villanova Park from across Manly Road. As you would expect this is an expensive exercise as the water line needs to come under Manly Road into the grounds of Villanova Park. However, in light of the fire some years ago it is prudent to ensure this work is carried out.

PRAYERS PLEASE
We keep in our prayers and thoughts Mr Graeme George and his family following the death of Graeme’s mother, Val George last week.

May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.

God Bless

Mr Mark Stower, Principal

EXAMINATIONS
As this newsletter goes to print, our Year 12 students have commenced their examinations for the end of Semester 1. We wish them all the best as they navigate this important time. Year 11 students are on ‘stand down’ from classes next week whilst they engage in end of unit examinations whilst Year 9 and 10 students have a number of cohort examinations in amongst finishing classes for the term. I again remind our students, as I do on a regular basis, that planned preparation for this time is important for individual success.

BOYS AND READING
I am currently reading the book, ‘Raising Readers – How to nurture a child’s love of books’ by Megan Daley. The strategies for a parent are quite straightforward and practical. Most are tips that I have seen or heard before. In amongst the suggestions, I have reflected on my reading journey from a young school child to now. I can certainly say that reading was not high on my list of important things to do as a high school student due to time spent in other pursuits (insert ‘sport’ here). I certainly did not struggle as a reader. I do, however, feel I missed out on reading being a more significant part of my life. This I have tried to rectify. As an adult, I have become more of an avid reader. Action thrillers and autobiographies are high on my holiday reading list.

With my educator’s hat on, I now appreciate more the benefits of reading in terms of improving literacy than I once did; the improvement of vocabulary, the ability to craft extended pieces of writing all benefit. I try to communicate this to the students whenever I can but find myself receiving blank looks (insert ‘thinking about sport’ here).

Students will learn in time that reading will benefit their levels of literacies. For now, though, it is important that we look to engage them using other approaches. From my experiences and from Megan Daley’s book:

• Students need to be encouraged to find books that interest them. The library staff at the College will do what they can to assist students to find books they enjoy.
• Parents should promote reading as a valuable opportunity to enjoy some downtime. My family have at times travelled to a park, each with a book, and spent some time reading.
• Never discourage the reading of materials such as comic books. Reading is reading.

Finally, it is certainly important to consider the age appropriateness of books. However, parents should never discount a book because they think the words will be too long or complex. I saw a poster not long ago that said, “Don’t be afraid to use big words with kids. If they can say Tyrannosaurus Rex, they can say anything.” The same applies to reading.

Please encourage your sons to visit the library over the next week to look for that book that ‘hooks them’ over the holidays.

STUDY HUB
Given that our Year 10, 11 and 12 students will be engaging in examinations next week, Study Hub will not be on next week (Week 9). It will recommence in Week 2 of Term 3.

Mr John Christie, Dean of Teaching and Learning

EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS UPDATE

Tournament of Minds
Tournament of Minds is an exciting and challenging program which is open to all students from Years 5 to 10, regardless of academic results.  If your son is a creative thinker, is a great team player and is looking for some extracurricular activity, then this may be for him! Participation is not during school time.

This program will officially commence in Week 1 of Term 3.  Due to many highly committed students, the trial times have changed. Trials will take place next week in the upper level of the Tolle Lege Library at the following times:

• Monday 17 June: 3:00pm – 4:00pm
• Tuesday 18 June: 7:30am – 8:15am

Mrs Kath Underhill, Program Leader Exceptional Learners

WRITE THAT ESSAY COMPETITION
Congratulations to Xavier Wilke (Year 5), William Gallagher (Year 7) and Nicholas Fee (Year 10) who were our second round winners of Villanova’s Write that Essay competition. The boys explored the topic of community and their winning sentences, (based on the Red, White and Blue sentence style) were selected by Mr Stower. The competition has been running throughout Term 2 to celebrate Villanova’s talented writers. Congratulations also to Darcy Woodger (Year 6), Thomas Winn (Year 8), Jorge Makras (Year 9), Theodore Day (Year 11) and Connor Walker (Year 12) who were shortlisted for their work.

The winning entries were:

The community of proud Villanova men are passionate, supportive, and fearless warriors who let nothing stand in their way. Xavier Wilke (Year 5)

Community is created from the three basic building blocks; a strong sense of belonging, a passion for a common goal, and sincerity between one another. William Gallagher (Year 7)

Priding themselves on their strong community values, Villanova College upholds an undeniable sense of belonging, mateship and the ability for every student to contribute. Nicholas Fee (Year 10)

Shortlisted entries included:

The Villanova community has respectful young men, interactive teachers, and supportive parents. Darcy Woodger (Year 6)

The greatest attributes of the Villanova community are empathy, creativity and interiority. Thomas Winn (Year 8)

The astoundingly connected Villanovan Augustinian community is full of friendship, passion and brotherly love. Jorge Makras (Year 9)

Interiority, respect and righteousness are the values on which Villanova develops boys into fine young men. Theodore Day (Year 11)

Year 12: The strength of the Villanova community is contingent upon the ideals of friendship, participation and unity. Connor Walker (Year 12)

Assessment.  Love it or dread it, it is officially our formative assessment period of Semester 1.  We know that our calendars for our subjects in the Junior School have been available since early in Term 2, so why does this part of our school experience have the potential to become challenging?

“My son has been absent.”  It’s fair to say that sporting commitments, family holidays and illnesses can interrupt the flow of learning in the classroom.  How lucky our boys are to have OneNote that can practically provide the scope and sequence of what’s happening through any device at home or interstate.  Communication with your son’s teacher, and a commitment to working on content at home, will see your son achieve his potential for this point in time.  That’s important to remember, it may not always be possible to reach the highest grades when school time has been reduced.  It’s not the end of the world, the balance of family time, health and sporting success is allowed to be given priority.

“My son is anxious.” There are many kinds of anxiety – some are helpful, and some hinder our ability to function on a day-to-day basis.  It’s a good thing to have some butterflies in anticipation of doing well – especially if you have prepared yourself to the best of your ability.  Nerves can be thought of as ‘hope with wings’ and they help drive our competitiveness to succeed.  Some anxiety is due to lack of preparation – and this brings pressure on top of panic – not a great feeling at all.  A practical approach should be taken here – prioritise and chunk content to be revised.  Keep the wider picture in view – the world still spins in lieu of a test result that reaches standard expectations.  The key here is to learn from the experience – it is not desirable nor pleasant – so setting goals and asking for help next time is a must.  Anxiety that is debilitating – getting out of bed, walking into school and finding the self-confidence to believe achievements are within your reach can be managed with home and school working closely together.  There is nothing we can’t organise to ensure your son feels safe and happy.

“My son doesn’t understand the question/s.”  Our teaching staff collaborate carefully.  The planning of assessment and the delivery include forethought, strategic timing and fair assistance wherever possible.  The aim of assessment is for the boys to show us their very best understanding, and they can do this when given every chance to complete tasks in an equitable environment.  If your son misinterprets a question, he should have known then it’s likely to be a learning experience – listening more intently rather than racing ahead, pausing and using his thinking time more appropriately, and using key words in the question to focus his expression with clarity.  In the Junior School, you are very fortunate to receive the assessment tasks once they are marked.  This is a crucial time for feedback and discussion with the class teacher and at home.  Sometimes it’s acknowledging how to do better next time, and sometimes it’s a chance for using humour about the little traits we know we employ subconsciously.

“My son is an A student.”  I know for a fact that school today is very different to my era.  Our curriculum involves so much more content, within a variety of mediums, utilising 21^st Century skills that I never would have been able to show much above expected outcomes at ten years of age.  I marvel at students who do achieve well above their year level with grades.  As parents, we must remember that a C grade is what the boys are expected to achieve – if they attend class regularly, complete homework satisfactorily and study appropriately.  It takes work to reach the outcomes set by the government.  Of course, we all tend to aim for something higher – the B or the A range – and with subjects we love, whether it’s natural ability or interest, then that’s likely to happen.  Subjects that are new or less familiar, require even more work to meet expectations.  We must work harder with less confidence – but remember we have the highest support available.  Stepping outside comfort zones takes bravery and time.  Challenge accepted?

God, please keep all teachers, students and parents in our prayers this week.  Give us patience, remind us to show kindness and bless us with the generosity of the Holy Spirit so we remember that we are not alone.  We are a Villanovan Community that is working together, in the only direction that matters – for the development of our sons.  Their future is brighter than any piece of assessment.  Their world will involve more than we can imagine – they graduate in 2025 and 2026 – and we need to keep their hearts, minds and souls in high spirits for that future that awaits.

Mr Stephen Rouhliadeff, Head of Junior School

Forbes Magazine recently published an article that caught my attention. It was titled, “8 Things Every School Must Do To Prepare For The 4th Industrial Revolution”.

The work landscape of the future will undoubtedly look different than that of today, just as ours looks different from that of the past. Some of this will be the result of ever expanding digital technologies, some of it due to the life/work balance that has led many to question a life that is time poor/asset rich vs a world that is time rich, but asset reduced. Whilst it was pleasing to see an ongoing promotion of STEM-like subjects on the list, it was equally comforting to see the words ‘develop human potential’.

Author Bernard Marr writes, “Even though machines are mastering many tasks typically performed by humans, people are still more adept at creative endeavours, imagination, critical thinking, social interaction, and physical dexterity. The educational system of the future needs to develop these inherent abilities in humans, so they are equipped to partner with machines in the future rather than compete with them.”

So how do we in schools develop these inherent skills in our young men and women? In the first instance, we need to recognise it as an issue, own its importance and develop ways of integrating them in to an already crowed curriculum. We need to explicitly nominate competencies such as relationship skills, creativity, critical thinking and self-awareness and we need to say and believe in their importance.

Whilst is was once simply assumed that these skills would naturally develop with maturity, current research would seem to indicate that these “soft skills” can be and should be explicitly taught.

Over the past few weeks our Year 7s have been exploring the art of decision making in their PD (Personal Development) lessons. As a human being, we are called upon to make decisions and to solve problems [some minor, some major] regularly throughout the day. Most of this we do subconsciously or without significant thought or analysis.

A few situations we simulated with the Year 7s included:

• Deciding what to have for breakfast
• Deciding who to play with at recess
• How to solve a minor conflict with a classmate
• What to do when you hear that someone accidentally damaged your laptop but didn’t own up

With a clear framework for decision making/problem solving in our personal toolkit, we can ensure that we’re making life’s everyday decisions not only more effectively but with better overall outcomes.

The simple 6-step framework we introduced to the Year 7s is as follows:

1. Identify the problem/decision
2. Know why it’s a problem
3. Brainstorm solutions
4. Analyse pros and cons of solutions
5. Implement best solution
6. Evaluate outcome

As with all learning, re-enforcement is the key. Mr Hellwig tells me that parents are often ringing him seeking help in solving issues with their sons, and that this framework is just as applicable to parents as to students. He also says that he has seen cases where, when both parties use the same framework, minor miracles happen!

The PD program in Middle School remains committed to developing these Social Emotional competencies in our boys. And our dedicated Middle School teachers remain committed to creating learning environments where attributes like creativity, self-awareness, social awareness and responsible decision making can begin to flourish.

Whist ‘partnering with machines’ may sound like it’s taken straight from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator series, the reality of surviving and thriving as an adult in a digital age is rapidly approaching our young men, and the ‘soft skills’ we help develop now will undoubtedly pay dividends.

Mr Greg O’Neill, Head of Middle School

PODCAST OF THE WEEK
Recently, I re-engaged with the Universal Man podcast series, which is centred around the three pillars of Know Thyself (self-awareness), Grow Thyself (self-improvement) and Brotherhood (a sense of community). The episode was on volunteering. Included in the synopsis was the following:

Volunteering is built on a belief, that the world is not the way it should actually be. Our world’s not meant to have huge gaps between rich and poor. It’s not meant to have one tribal group or ethnic group or whatever killing another tribal group or ethnic group. All the pain that we see within our world, that’s not the way it’s meant to be. There’s something in every human being which we believe says, “How can I make a difference? How can I leave the world a better place for all?”

One of the major takeaways from listening to Br Damien Price is that the heart-set and the mindset of volunteering is what is key. In volunteering, you must come as a guest. You come to the other, and it is a relationship. It is an equal, reciprocal, relationship. If the guest comes to the relationship gently, slowly, and in a really respectful way, magic can really, really happen.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://www.universalman.org/30-volunteering/

Last week, we farewelled our Augustinian exchange students from St Rita of Cascia (Chicago) and St Augustine’s Preparatory School (New Jersey). In speaking with the staff from these Colleges, they emphasised how important service to the community was in underpinning their Augustinian places of learning. In particular, the Caritas Project that is undertaken by Junior (Year 11) students at St Augustine’s Prep requires the completion of 100 hours of community service and a presentation to their peers and teachers regarding how enrichening the experience was. In dialoguing with our American brothers, it made me reflect on how we can further engage our students in service learning beyond our current Year 10 task in Religion. In conversations with Dean of Identity and Mission, Mr Holroyd, I will be looking at how we as a College can ensure that our students have the opportunity to see the face of Christ in those less fortunate then themselves and have an encounter in their senior years at the College.

EXAMS
Best wishes to all Senior School students for the commencement of end of semester examinations. Year 12 students started their block on Wednesday and are well aware of the clear expectations. Year 11 students and parents have been informed of next week’s schedule of examinations and formalised study and tutorials on campus. The following advice pertains to successful examination preparation and performance – I hope that all Senior School students achieve results commensurate with their level of application and engagement towards their studies over the semester.

1. Plan a study timetable;
2. Prepare your study area;
3. Keep healthy – eat, sleep, exercise;
4. Minimise distractions and overcome procrastination;
5. Take study breaks for your wellbeing.

AIC ROUND 7 v. ST LAURENCE’S COLLEGE
This Friday afternoon and Saturday marks the traditional rivalry round versus St Laurence’s College and as such there will be a significant level of anticipation and excitement for all chess, football and rugby games. I remind all students that the focus of our attention needs to be directed towards our own performance and support of our players. Furthermore, the Senior Chess, First XI Football and First XV Rugby teams would appreciate a healthy crowd as they look to claim famous away victories at Runcorn.

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” – David Bly

Mr Matt Levander, Head of Senior School

RECYCLING AND COMMUNITY BUILDING
The more I dip into Pope Francis’s letter Laudato Si (to all the people of good will in the world), the more I think he is onto something. The argument in a nutshell is that if you make people into passive consumers then the world becomes a lolly shop and a trash can. I think every parent can relate to this. If all our children do is look at screens, then they lose their capacity to create, play, dream, and take action to make things a bit better, whether that be tidying the house, or building a better Villanova, or seeing that the whole point of a Christian education – one that the Pope or Mary MacKillop would actually approve – is to take our gifts and good fortune out into the world and leave it better for our having been here!

Just when exams and assignments are hitting, we received two glorious bursts of energy last week:

1. The Krispy Kreme drive organised by Ms Maria Mascadri and Ms Kath Underhill was a wonderful success. These were more than consumer donuts for three reasons: a) the team stayed up until 10.00pm the night before putting gold coins into the middle of the donuts, each with a special blue or maroon sticker, cut to shape individually by Ms Helen Palmer; b) the boys love getting around a good donut store and helping, c) the considerable proceeds (over $700) went to Orange Sky Laundry and AFAS.
2. Sam Keene (Year 5) arrived at a high-level Ministry meeting and helped to transform a slightly stodgy plan to give information at assembly into a fun quiz. In the form of a Who wants to save the planet?” quiz, students were reminded vividly that we have made progress (0 – 21% recycling efficiency in 18 months), but there is still a way to go to reach sustainability. One key question of the quiz was for the teams to name our Cleaning Co-ordinator. Erika Brown is wonderfully passionate about making a difference. We are lucky to have her. The teams then had to undertake two live challenges, sorting a clump of rubbish into the correct bins, and guessing the staff member’s bin (Mr Rouhliadeff’s bin was full of cans which should have been recycled.) Good learning came out of these challenges, for example that we need a compostable bin next, and that you need to check if take-away cups go into general rubbish, recycling (cardboard) or compostable (Merlo). Sam then presented the winning team with two healthy apples as their prize (and maybe also a bar of chocolate).

The next plan: cake and slice for the final round at Villanova Park, June 15.
Sam has also suggested that we do one final AFAS collection by selling green and gold themed biscuits, slices, muffins etc at Villanova Park for the final round against St Laurence’s. YAYM will assist the Junior School, and we hope that this initiative will create some community spirit for the last round.

WINTER APPEAL
Looking a little further down the track, the senior students in the various ministries, led by SVP, are planning the annual sleep-out. This highly anticipated event provides a very practical way of learning what it feels like to spend a night on cardboard open to the sky. As usual we will take the occasion of the sleep-out to donate much-needed items to partner organisations, Rosies and Blind Eye Ministries. The great thing about these two outreach organisations is that they offer dignity to people who are homeless and at risk. With no questions asked, any person can approach the Rosies van or the Blind Eye drop-in centre (Merivale Street), for a chat, a hot drink, and access to practical help.

Even more, each organisation over the past five years has been very generous to our students, affording them opportunities to volunteer and serve, from which our young men learn a great deal – not least to be grateful, and to shrink problems to their true size.

This term, by a conservative estimate, the community has raised about $38,000 for various charities and appeals, the main beneficiaries being AFAS (over $15,000) and Shave for a Cure (Leukaemia). This is a great effort. But it isn’t the fund-raising which creates the most important outcomes. What really matters is when students see a need, take the initiative, respond, and bring in people who may seem excluded, thus creating a better community. On top of this, the best Ministry events are when students are able to encounter those whom they humbly seek to serve. This is where transformation occurs.

Mr John Holroyd, Dean of Mission and Identity

This weekend marks the final round of AIC chess, rugby and football. For many of our Year 12 students this will be their last opportunity for them to play schoolboy footy. Many of these boys have enjoyed representing Villanova since their days back in Year 5 or Year 7. On behalf of the College, I thank all the Year 12 students for their efforts over the years and I wish them the very best in their last game for the mighty ‘Green and Gold’.

It was pleasing to see our boys performed well against St Patrick’s over the weekend. We must acknowledge our chess players for a sensational season to date. At present our boys are closely trailing in the aggregate. If we have a solid round tomorrow evening, our team has an excellent chance to regain the AIC aggregate again in 2019. We wish all chess players the very best and hope they can perform at their best this week to finish off the season well.

At this stage we are looking to finalise all arrangements for trials for the next trimester of sport. All details regarding the trial schedule for the AIC Basketball, AIC Rugby League and AIC Tennis season is posted on the College’s website. The trials begin next week. Information regarding the AIC Track and Field season will be posted on the web early next term. Track and Field training will not commence until after the Ekka holiday week.

This weekend Villa is up against St Laurence’s. It will be a big day. I ask all students from Years 5 – 12 to make the extra effort this weekend to stay around and support their fellow schoolmates in the other matches, particularly the 1st rugby and football games. I wish everybody all the very best for the final round of rugby, football and chess. Enjoy!

AIC Rugby, Football & Chess Fixtures, Friday 14 & Saturday 15 June – Times & Venues
All times and venues for this weekend’s fixtures v St Laurence’s College is available on the College’s website.

ST AUGUSTINE’S TOUR
The tour will take place between Wednesday 26 – Friday 28 June. A full itinerary and a list of billets and their details has been sent to all host families.

Furthermore, we are asking host families if they can assist with preparing, cooking and serving a BBQ lunch to all students from both Colleges on Wednesday 26 June. If parents are able to assist, please make contact with Mr Craig Stariha through the Sports Office as per details on the information note. Many thanks to those who have opened their homes to billet our brothers, it is certainly much appreciated.

Tour Schedule – Final

VILLANOVA PARK CANTEEN
All parents are asked to assist in the canteen during the time your son/s have their warm ups. We desperately need help first thing in the morning preparing the food and cooking the BBQ.

AIC FOOTBALL
Mr Anthony Kemp, AIC Football Co-ordinator

The round against St Patrick’s College showed that the strength of football at Villa continues to improve with a dominant set of results. Overall, we managed 14 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses. Well done to all sides for these great results, in particular, the Open teams and Year 9 teams who were able to take a clean sweep in their respective age groups.

The First XI continued their strong charge towards the end of the season with another excellent victory. After going down 1-0 early to St Pat’s through messy defensive play in our box, the Villa boys turned up the heat and fought hard to even the score. It only took a matter of a minute after conceding that we were able to find the back of the net ourselves through the great touch of Peter Klaassen who steered the ball around the keeper with class. Villa then continued to push hard, and this time created a chance for the Captain, Anthony Karamihas to score, much to the delight of the crowd. Unfortunately, towards the end of the half St Pat’s were able to level things up once again making it 2-2 going into the break. The halftime break proved to be exactly what our boys needed as they came out in an attacking mindset desperate to take the lead and control the game. Having an absolute cracker of a game, Anthony Karamihas headed his second for the game, taking the lead back once again. From this point on Villa really found their groove, extending the lead with another two goals scored by Terry Solomon and Will Kubler. Well done to all boys who took to the field in this terrific display of football. A great 5-2 win! They will certainly be looking to repeat this effort this weekend in their last match of the season against rivals, St Laurence’s.

I take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to all the seniors taking to the field this weekend in their last match of football for Villanova. Cherish the moment as it is something that you will no doubt look back on with fond memories.

Enjoy the last weekend of football for 2019 against St Laurence’s and good luck to all the teams.

AIC RUGBY
Mr Blake McLauchlan, AIC Rugby Co-ordinator

Villanova had another successful round taking on St Patrick’s College to record 13 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws. Many teams played with hunger, grit and determination and are looking for a strong finish this weekend against St Laurence’s College.

Our Year 5 boys continue their outstanding season. This week our 5A team will be playing their match at 2.15pm as a curtain raiser for the 1^st XV match v SLC at Runcorn. Both Villanova and SLC are undefeated in the 5A competition, so the match is sure to generate plenty of atmosphere this weekend.

The Year 5s were lucky enough to train alongside Wallaby great Steve Kefu last Thursday. Steve played for the Queensland Reds in 1999 and played six tests for the Wallabies. The boys certainly appreciated his insight into the game and we thank our 5A coach Paul Keene for introducing him to the boys.

The First XV boys came away with another victory on Saturday, sealing the match at 34 – 18. Cracks appeared in in the first half as the boys went into the break with a narrow two-point lead. Our boys composed themselves and hit back in the second half to gain some much-needed momentum. It has been a pleasure to watch the effort that the First XV boys put into their matches each week and the way they put their body on the line for the ‘Green and Gold’ of Villa is admirable. They will certainly be in for another physical match this weekend as they take on SLC at Runcorn in the last game of the season.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the seniors taking to the field this weekend in their last match of Rugby for Villa, all the best and urge them to enjoy the moment.

Finally, I would just like to remind all players, coaches and spectators that we are taking part in a sport that we are passionate about and we all want to chase that win. However, this game wouldn’t be able to take place without the help of our referees, who are just as passionate about the game of rugby. Please ensure that all referees, officials and volunteers are shown the respect they deserve because without them games simply would not happen!

Enjoy the last weekend of rugby for 2019 against the ‘black and gold.’

Best of luck to all teams!

AIC Rugby Results v St Patrick’s College

Photos – 5Gold, 5C and 8B Rugby
This weekend the 5Gold, 5C and 8B rugby teams will have their team photos taken at the St Laurence’s playing fields before their game. Please ensure that your son is present in the full playing uniform.

AIC CHESS
Mrs Mylan Warren, AIC Chess Co-ordinator

Finally, the last round of the competition, which is a vital one for all. Individual premierships and the aggregate are all on the line. Good luck to all teams and congratulations for being so competitive throughout the season. It is a wonderful backup from last year’s success. This week we are away against St. Laurence’s College and it is a must win situation.  It will be nail biting for all concerned. All students including C team members are welcome to attend this week.

Parents are reminder to pick their sons up from St. Laurence’s College between 5.00pm and 5.30pm.

Last Friday night we had wins for our Opens and Senior B teams. Unfortunately, our remaining teams recorded losses. Both Intermediate A and B were close matches.

As our seniors are already in Exam Block, we will hold off on our break-up gathering until early Term 3. More information will be provided in Term 3.

Coaching will cease this Friday, but chess can be continued to be played at morning tea or lunch in the library until the end of the term to allow the boys some lunch time activity. Wishing the boys a final good luck for Friday night!

 AIC Chess Results v St Patrick’s College

AIC TENNIS, AIC RUGBY LEAGUE AND AIC BASKETBALL
Trials commence next week!

All information regarding the up-coming AIC Tennis, AIC Rugby League and AIC Basketball season is found within the season schedule posted on the website. Trials commence next week.

AIC Tennis, Rugby League & Basketball Trials
Boys from Years 5-12 wishing to trial out for the above-mentioned AIC teams must complete a ‘Trimester 3 Sign-On Form’. These forms have been distributed to all students in Years 5-12 in their pastoral lessons. Any student who was absent on the day of distribution is asked to collect a form from the Sports Office or download one from the website. We encourage as many students as possible to get involved. All sign-on forms are now two weeks overdue.

AIC Tennis Trials
Any student who is wishing to play tennis for Villanova must complete a ‘Trimester 3 Sign-On Form’. All trials will be held at Morningside Tennis Centre on the following dates and times.

There will only be one week of tennis trials. Week one trials will commence on the week beginning Monday 17 June (last week of term).

All players are then required to attend the tennis clinics held on Saturday 22 June. After the trials held during the week and the clinic held on the weekend, coaches and managers will then finalise all selections.

All interested students are to attend ALL trial sessions in order to be selected to represent Villanova. The managers and coaches of each age group will conduct these trials and will choose four players in each team plus two reserves for the age group. All teams are then to follow the training schedule as outlined on the ‘2019 Tennis Season Schedule’ posted on the web commencing day 1 of Term 3, that is, Tuesday 16 July.

Please note that some managers may require more time to select teams, therefore, some players may be asked to attend one or two of the regular training sessions held in Term 3 before teams are finalised, however, we will aim to select all teams after the clinics.

Tennis Trial Schedule (two sessions per age group plus clinic)

 AIC Tennis Clinics
All boys who are trialling for teams must attend the AIC Tennis Clinics. The clinic will form part of the trial process as the teams will be selected after the clinics. These clinics are held on Saturday 22^nd June at the Morningside Tennis Centre. The times for each of these clinics are found below.

• 7.00-8.30am: Years 5 & 6 (4 courts, 4 coaches)
• 8.45-10.15am: Years 7 & 8 (4 courts, 4 coaches)
• 10.30-12.00pm:  Years 9 & 10 (4 courts, 4 coaches)
• 12.15-1.45pm: Years 11 & Opens (4 courts, 4 coaches)

AIC Basketball Trials
Any boy wishing to make an AIC Basketball team must complete the ‘Trimester 3 Sign-on Form’ to register their interest. These forms have been distributed to all students during their pastoral class. These forms are available from the Sports Office and are posted on the web and are now overdue.

Year 5 & 6 Trials – will be conducted within school time.

Year 7 – Open Trials – There will be one week of trials. All trials will be conducted in Goold Hall or at Clem Jones for all age groups. Boys trialling at Clem Jones must find their own way to the venue. The College will then organise bus transportation back to the College afterwards. Trial week will commence on the week beginning Monday 17 June. Within this trial week, all age groups will have two trial sessions and the weekend clinic. All interested students are to attend ALL trial sessions in order to gain selection to represent Villanova. After these trials, the coaches will then select all teams within that age group. Once selected, all teams will then follow the training schedule as outlined in the ‘AIC Basketball Season Schedule 2019’ document posted in the AIC basketball section on the web.

Note – coaches may choose to make a first cut of players after the first trial session.

Basketball Trial Schedule (two sessions per age group plus clinic)

Week 1 Trial Schedule – Goold Hall

 CLEM JONES – CARINA

AIC Basketball Clinics
Only those boys who have gained selection in a team or have made it through after the first week of trials must attend the AIC Basketball Clinic held on Saturday 22 June in Goold Hall. Final teams will be announced after the clinics.

7.00am – 8.30am: Year 7
8.45am – 10.15am: Year 8
10.30am – 12.00 Midday: Year 9
12.15pm – 1.45pm: Year 10

AIC Rugby League Trials
Any boy wishing to make an AIC Rugby League team must have played AIC Rugby Union or Football in Term 2 and must complete the ‘Trimester 3 Sign-on Form’ to register their interest. These forms have been distributed to all students during their pastoral class. These forms are available from the Sports Office and are posted on the web.

Year 5 to Open Trials – All trials will be conducted at Little Langlands for Years 5 to 9.  Year 10 and Open trials will be conducted out at Villanova Park after school. These boys will be bused out to Villanova Park and parents will be required to collect their son after the trials. Within this trial week, all age groups will have two trial sessions. All interested students are to attend ALL trial sessions in order to gain selection to represent Villanova. After these trials, the coaches will then select one team only within that age group.

• Year 5 team – 18 boys will be selected
• Year 6 to Year 10 team – 20 boys will be selected
• 1st XIII team – 22 boys will be selected

Once selected, all teams will then follow the training schedule as outlined on the season schedule document posted in the AIC Rugby League section on the website.

Rugby League Trial Schedule – Little Langlands / Villanova Park

REPRESENTATIVE SPORT
Well done to Jack Horan who recently received a call up from the Queensland Schoolboys Rugby Manager advising him that he has now been included in the Queensland 2 Rugby Schoolboys Team heading to Sydney for the National Schoolboy Rugby Championships held during the upcoming school holidays.

Villanova now have James Livingstone playing in the Queensland 1 side and Jack Horan, George Stokes, Lucas Boylan and Hamish Muir all making the Queensland 2 side. This is a great achievement and a great boost for Villanova’s rugby program.

Mr Craig Stariha, Director of Sport

STRINGS CONCERT WITH PROFESSOR VOGEL
On the evening of Friday 7 June, students from the Villanova Sinfonia and Consort String Orchestras, and members of the St Laurence’s College String Orchestra 1 participated in a combined concert in Hanrahan Theatre.  The students shared the music they had been rehearsing with Prof. Annette-Barbara Vogel, Head of Strings from Western University, Ontario.  The concert also featured chamber music provided by Prof. Vogel, Hikari Nakamura (Piano), Trish O’Brien (Cello), and Raquel Bastos (Viola).

Feedback from the concert was positive and I would like to thank those who came along to support the students and this event.  I would like to take the time to thank our Music Support Group and Admin staff who did a wonderful job organising the front of house and refreshments.  I would also like to thank our Head of Strings, Raquel Bastos, for being the driving force behind the organisation of Prof. Vogel’s visit and the logistics during her visit.

REHEARSALS CONTINUE THROUGH BLOCK EXAMS
Whilst we acknowledge this is a busy period academically, we ask that momentum in terms of attendance is maintained through to the end of Week 9.  Including time in this term, most of our ensembles have four rehearsals before we reach our QCMF extravaganza.  Every rehearsal is vital – we need all players on deck from now until our mid-August concert.

SYDNEY TOUR 2019
A reminder that we are rehearsing this Sunday morning from 8.00am – 10.00am in Hanrahan Theatre.  Please make sure you have had your photo taken and you have returned your information page for the tour booklet.

MUSICAL 2020
The combined Loreto and Villanova College Musical has been unveiled this week.  The 2020 musical will be Mary Poppins.  I would like to thank the large number of students who came and expressed interest – it was great to see.  Information booklets are available from Ms Freney if you are still interested.

We ask that all students looking to participate in the chorus or audition for lead parts are also members of the College choir.  This will require an investment of 60 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon and a little work during the week.  These sessions leading up to auditions in Term 4 will allow you to develop your voice, and will also create good vocal health to ensure you survive the gruelling 6-week period of the show.

Should you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me through the Music Office.

Entertainment Books 2019
If you have purchased books through the drive, please collect your books from the Music Office.  If you require clarification around collection of your Entertainment Books, please contact Mrs Schrauf in the Music Office on 3394 5691.

Entertainment Books can still be purchased through our Villanova Music Support Group portal (link below) or through the Music Office.

Thank you all very much for your continued support of this initiative.  We look forward to being one of Entertainment’s biggest contributors again!

DATE CLAIMERS
As is tradition, we look forward to the fantastic events we have planned in the near future:

Thank you all for your continued support of Villanova Music.

Mr Michael Jones, Director of Music

YEAR 5, 2021 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
Applications are now open for Year 5, 2021. All parents with sons currently in Year 3 who have registered their interest will have received an email from our Enrolments Office yesterday outlining the process, including the link to the Application Form. For further details, please visit our website.

GRANTS OFFICER – P&F ASSOCIATION
The Villanova College P&F Association would love to hear from parents who have experience in writing grant applications and are willing to contribute their time and expertise as a means of attracting additional funding for the College. If interested, please email Vass Cayas, President of the P&F.

SPORTS CLUB MEGA RAFFLE
Thank you to everyone who supported the Villa Sports Club Mega Raffle. The lucky winner of $10,000 (ticket number 152) was Craig Burnheim, a Year 5 parent. With all tickets sold, the Sports Club made $10,000 which will fund sporting programs and facilities at the College.

TUCKSHOP
To view our current tuckshop menu: Tuckshop Menu Price List – 2019

Roster

Monday 17 June
Narelle Rieck
Julie Stokes
Maria Woodger
Sylvia Wright
Mary Brady
Stephanie Sullivan
Susanne Smyth
Katrina Hermiston

Tuesday 18 June
Donna Perkins
Melissa Davidson
Lisa Forsyth
Nicole Webb
Leanne McMahon
Sonia Ballen
Susan White
Tricia Allen

Wednesday 19 June
Tina McCaul
Peta Gomersall
Kathy McCaul
Maria Corones
Lena Bazzo
Lisa Gorry
Denise Smith
Fiona Jenkins

Thursday 20 June
Maria McGarry
Zsuzsa Henderson
Kath Eberhardt
Pauline White
Bernadette Papagiannis
Kelly Stassi
Jane Lawson
Chrissy Bonfiglio

Friday 21 June
Caroline Agnew
Louise Pertnikovs
Jacki Wilson
Pauline Vasta
Adriana Sofios
Gerry Ternel
Maria Nicolaou
Kim Creevey
Naomi Jansen
Jelena Duskovic
Rita D’Amore
Kathy Lerato

LIBRARY ROSTER

Monday 17 June
Lusia Snell
Jaclyn O’Shea

Tuesday 18 June
Susanna Greaves
Melanie Pickering
Cristina Palacios

Wednesday 19 June
Madhu Kalaimannan
Donna Leahy

Thursday 20 June
Kelli Stassi

ST JAMES PARISH SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM – DATE CLAIMER
Children who are 8 years old and in Year 3 or older (and who have been baptised), are invited to prepare to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. Contact our Parish Office to register your interest and come along to the information session being held on Monday 29 July (6.00pm in St James Church). Phone 3397 1671  or email osastjames@bne.catholic.net.au to register your interest. All relevant information will be provided at this session, including family session dates and practice date. The Confirmation Ceremony will be held on Thursday 19 September 19 from 6.00pm to 7.00pm at St James Church.

WRITERS’ CAMP
Registrations for the 42nd ALEA Meanjin Writers’ Camp on Thursday 4 July at Griffith University are now open. This camp is suitable for students in Years 5 – 10. Further information can be found on this flyer. Click here to register.