Enews - 16 September 2020

This award, named after the first Superior-General of the Marist Brothers, recognises a former student who continues to keep the faith through service to others and has lived out our core values of faith, love, compassion, justice and hospitality. Br Francois was known to be a joyful person who demonstrated his love and care for others, especially through his service to the Brothers and to those on the margins of society. 

Dr Steven Peterson’s seeds for service commenced at the College with his involvement in the St Vincent de Paul Society, with Scouts and in his parish at St Jude’s. As a medical student, he undertook volunteer work in Fiji, Mongolia and at the Marist Lavalla School for children with disabilities in Cambodia. Steven’s service continued as a General Practitioner supporting his community in all areas of medicine including mental health, alcohol and drug dependency. His work across Australia saw him engage closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve their health outcomes. Steven’s commitment as a Team Doctor for Indigenous Aussie Rules teams in the Northern Territory allowed him to give back to his community while combining his passion for AFL and medicine.

In March 2018, while riding his bike to work in Orange, Steven was tragically hit by a car. As a result of this accident, and following almost an entire year in hospital, he is now a quadriplegic. Despite extraordinary challenges, his Christian faith continues to guide his family life, work and his ongoing commitment to service. 

Amazingly, Steven continues to work in the medical profession. He is a strong advocate for spinal research and raises funds and awareness in this area. Steven remains a strong advocate for improving indigenous health, and continues to work in the political arena having recently been elected the Chair of the Orange branch of the National Party. 

Steven addressed a captivated school community and spoke with great honesty on the role his faith plays in service commitments and the comfort it brings in facing the challenges of daily life. Steven is a dedicated family man, whose commitment to his wife Debbie and his two young sons, Luke and Tim, is incredible. His hands of generosity and service are the fruits of his formation from his family and from his time here at the College. 

President Obama’s former Chief of Staff observed that, ‘You never want a good crisis to go to waste.’ While such comments are confronting in the face of the great tragedy, pain and loss associated with COVID-19, there has also been some important lessons to be learnt and perhaps opportunities to be seized particularly in the importance of mental health and wellbeing. The Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference recently released their annual Social Justice Statement and it was perhaps a timely message, with its focus on mental health. The statement referenced the words of Pope John Paul II who said: ‘Whoever suffers from mental illness always bears God’s image and likeness in themselves, as does every human being.’ This Statement, made 25 years ago, encourages communities like Marist College Canberra to be places of welcome and inclusion, overcoming the barriers and stigma often faced by people experiencing mental ill-health. 

Certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced our understanding that mental health is a delicate beast requiring constant attention and not to be taken for granted. I have admired the increasing number of celebrities and sportspeople who have publicly announced their battles with mental health. Fortunately, in recent years, much progress has been made to view mental issues as a medical condition, requiring a similar amount of understanding and support as any life-threatening illness. 

The research, however, also informs us of the unwillingness of some young men to seek assistance for mental health issues as perceptions of frailty prevail. Unfortunately, we still live in a world where, if you break your arm everybody wants to sign your casts, but if you tell people you are depressed, everybody wants to run away; this is the stigma Pope John Paul II warned us against! We are so accepting of any body part breaking down except our brains and this has created a world that still does not understand mental health. 

At Marist College Canberra, we recognise that our young men need strategies to help them deal successfully with modern living. We remain an advocate for school being more than just a place for achieving academic excellence. It is about preparing young people for adult life, in particular, how to deal with its inevitable challenges, setbacks and failures. Rather than waiting for depression to occur, and then treating the symptoms, our aim is to focus on cultivating positive emotions and character traits. Part of our student welfare program involves the explicit teaching of positive psychology programs to lead students to increased levels of resilience, improved critical thinking skills and the development of positive emotion through reflection, and identifying signature strengths.  

As a Junior School community we will be raising funds for children and their families who are fighting childhood cancer.

The boys are encouraged to dress as a pirate for the day or don an eye patch or pirate hat to enter into the spirit of the day.

The Year 6 captains will be collecting donations from the boys on Friday morning. Our Junior School families are also able to donate online through our Junior School team page if they would like a receipt. Donations over $3 are tax deductible if completed online.

Childhood Cancer Support is a charity that was formed in 1975. As childhood cancer and leukaemia are distinctly different from their adult forms, we need to ensure that families who are touched by childhood cancer are well supported. 

Through this charity, donations are distributed towards improving treatment facilities and equipment, providing emotional and financial support, and specialised accommodation for regional families of children undergoing cancer treatment.

We look forward to seeing all of the boys and staff dressed as pirates and enjoying our ‘Talk like a Pirate Day’, whilst raising funds for Australian families battling childhood cancer.

Science

Evan Conway 4O - High Distinction

Lachlan Carter 4W - High Distinction 

Xavier Hewton 5H - Distinction

Sam Rouwhorst 5B - Distinction

Cian George 6M - High Distinction

Jared Greagg 6W - Distinction

Kyle Quah 6J - Distinction

Aiden Rothenfluh 6J - Distinction

Ben Wedding 6D - Distinction 

English

Matthew Garrety - 4W Distinction

Hamish Foley 5T - Distinction

Xavier Hewton 5H - Distinction

Charlie Leverett 5B - Distinction

Namitha Rajapaske 5H - High Distinction

Sam Rouwhurst 5B - Distinction

Cian George 6M - Distinction

Aidan Harding 6P - Distinction

Angus McGregor 6K - Distinction

Hugh Pammenter 6W - Distinction

Viira Peiris 6P - Distinction 

As a teacher, it can be the most helpful and, as research might tell us, harmful actions that a teacher can make. You see - all feedback is not equal. As a College, we have been developing our principles of learning, called the Marist Learning Principles, over the past two years. We are focusing on exploring research around instructional strategies that have been proven to have a high impact on the learning of our students. This semester, we are looking at the concept of feedback.

One of the biggest challenges as teachers is the students’ reliance and dependence on marks or grades as part of the assessment cycle. The first question our students instinctively ask of the teacher is “What did I get?” Of course, grades and marks are important, but the feedback is far more important. In fact, research has shown that when students receive their assessment tasks back, if there is a score or grade attached along with a detailed comment, it has no improvement on the learning of the students. Our goal is to make our students think deeply about the feedback provided by the teacher first. Teachers will be using a variety of strategies aimed at facilitating this thought process and will be challenging students to use their feedback rather than focus on grades and scores.

In relation to this, our move in the Senior School is to provide all our assessment task feedback on Canvas. Each assessment from Year 7 through to Year 12, except for tests and exams, will provide feedback to students using the Assignment feature on Canvas. There are several benefits to this. Firstly, it allows students to have consistent access to the feedback that was provided to them. On many occasions, teachers report that the feedback sheets are not always diligently kept by students, often ending up in the bin outside the classroom! Secondly, it will allow parents to view feedback at the same time as their boys. 

We encourage parents and carers to sit with your son and read through the comments about their performance. As all of their feedback will be collated on Canvas, House Group Leaders will be able to provide more guidance academically about your son’s strengths and weaknesses as a learner. As the first assessment tasks are upon us, it may be time to ask your son to show you around Canvas so that you can familiarise yourself with the system.

Liam Stakelum
Assistant Head of School- Learning and Teaching

On Monday 7 September, Ms McNaught’s Year 10 Desert Storm class was extremely fortunate to welcome guest speaker, Anna Oldmeadow from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, into their classroom. Ms Oldmeadow served a three year posting as the former Deputy Ambassador to Tehran and returned home to Australia in January, shortly before the widespread outbreak of COVID-19. A former lawyer and Rhodes Scholar, with a PhD in Politics from Oxford, Ms Oldmeadow studied Farsi for a year in order to prepare for the role.

Ms Oldmeadow shared her extensive knowledge of Iranian history, culture and politics, greatly enhancing the students’ knowledge about Iran and its importance in the region. She described the way everyday life differs in Iran from Australia, its political influence in the Middle East and Australia’s diplomatic relationship with Iran. 

The boys kept Ms Oldmeadow on her toes, asking insightful questions about Iran and her work as an ambassador. For the eager students, the two periods flew by and it was not nearly enough time for everyone to get their curious questions answered.

All of the boys thoroughly enjoyed Ms Oldmeadow’s visit and her delightful, engaging charisma. The visit inspired the students to further pursue their studies of the Middle East and international diplomacy.  

It was a privilege to have Ms Oldmeadow visit Marist and we thank her for her generosity and time. 

Will Green (Year 10) and Armand Saad (Year 10)

At Marist College Canberra, we recognise that everyone has an executive function skillset and whether you have a diagnosed difficulty or not, everyone has strengths and areas to develop within this set. 

In Enrichment and Learning Support, we support students in this development. 

If you would like more information on how we are supporting students with developing executive function skills, please contact us via email. 

Jen Croker
Head of Enrichment and Learning Support

The process of selecting students for the Medal involves nominations from both staff and students in Years 10 – 12. These nominations are then collated and the final decision is made by the Mission Team in partnership with the College Executive.

To receive the Medal, a student will demonstrate the Marist spirit by being a young man who is a person of faith and lives out the College core values of faith, love, compassion, justice and hospitality. 

This person will also express a sincere and open approach to religion and have contributed to the faith life of the College. This may be evidenced through participation in liturgies or prayers and in a willingness to live out the Gospel imperative to love one another.

Significantly, this year’s recipients are representative of many of our students. Young men who consistently strive to follow Jesus in the way of Mary.

On behalf of the College community, we commend the following boys who are the 2020 recipients of the Champagnat Medal.

Year 12: 
Dean Pham, Charles York, Robert Wearden, Kai Dixon, James Orr, Fearghus Moore

Year 11: 
George Joy, Ethan Ellis, Jackson Scott, Shaun Baiju

Year 10: 
Dale Lucas, Armand Saad

Year 9: 
Antonio Pezzella, Brandon Pucci

Year 6: 
Blake Augur, David Jovic

Year 5: 
Laine Jud-Brettingham, Agustino Larobina

Year 4: 
Jacob Garrety, Jacob Pratezina

Peter Hawes
Assistant Head of School - Mission and Identity

Each year, the College accepts the challenge of raising funds for one of our Marist communities in the Asia-Pacific region. This is organised through Australian Marist Solidarity.

In 2020, we have undertaken to raise $10,000 towards the annual costs of running the Chetana Boys’ Home in India. The student leaders have been very creative in identifying ways of achieving this.

Recently, the Australian Mint has rolled out a $1.00 donation coin encouraging people to donate it to a cause of their choice.

Students, staff and families are encouraged to look for these coins in their change and to consider donating them to Chetana Boys’ Home.

Containers will be placed at the Finance Office in the Senior School and at the Junior School Reception. Just drop your donation dollars in as you walk past.

Fr Brian is a priest of the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese who retired to Canberra and made himself known to the Marist community. For more than ten years he has been a wonderful pastor to the staff and students of the College.

Fr Brian celebrated our regular Friday Morning Mass, innumerable class masses, major College events such as Commencement Mass and Champagnat Day, and always made himself available to assist with senior retreats. In whatever capacity, he engaged with the boys and always made it known, both in word and action, that this is where he wanted to be – with the students, leading them in prayer and encouraging them.

He is a very humble and down-to-earth person who would share stories from his times as a priest in Western NSW. He had previously been Chaplain to another Marist school, Red Bend College, Forbes, while part of his own schooling was at St Joseph’s in Hunters Hill.

The College is very grateful for Fr Brian’s support and we take heart from the fact that he keeps all of us in his prayers and intentions when he offers daily Mass. His message was often simple: ‘God loves you. Do your best, that’s all he is asking of you’. We will keep Fr Brian in our prayers as he enters his second period of retirement!

Peter Hawes
Assistant Head of School - Mission and Identity

This year, Senior and Junior School students will be participating in Mission Month, a fun and educational program for our students to learn about key issues of mission and social justice, and make a difference for young people in need around the world. As part of this program, we will be engaging with the Socktober Challenge, a six-week learning program with activities and resources designed to be delivered in the classroom and also enjoyed at home. Students will interact with stories of mission from this year’s focus country, Cambodia, and shoot goals with handmade ‘sockballs’.

Please register your child at the Socktober website. Should you choose, please consider helping your son to set a target and fundraise for vulnerable children around the world to access food, education, healthcare, and pastoral support. Once registered, students can ask their friends and families to sponsor them as they complete the activities in the Socktober Challenge. 

Below are some examples of what sponsorship money can provide for children in Cambodia:

• $30 can help purchase food, school uniforms and books for kindergarten children in Cambodia
• $75 can help towards purchasing sports equipment for children with disabilities in Cambodia
• $393 can go towards the costs of medical support and physiotherapy for children with disabilities in Cambodia.

Socktober involves children completing activities in school and at home, like making their own sockball from recycled materials. To gain access to the Socktober activities that can be completed at school and home, it is essential that your son is registered. Click here to view the first challenge.