The Way Weekly Recap I Monday 26 October 2020

I am pleased to share with you that later this term we are looking to trial having a College Companion Dog called Barbara.

It has been an important year to seek and explore creative opportunities to enhance student wellbeing. We anticipate that adding a Companion Dog to our community will bring joy, as well as assisting students in new ways to engage with learning.

Barbara is an experienced Companion Dog and her breed is a “Groodle” (Golden Retriever/Poodle). Their hair is non-allergenic and part wool, so they do not moult. The Groodle is a breed of choice for Companion and Guide Dogs, as their hair is suitable for people with allergies.

While at College, Barbara will serve as a Companion Dog and also be a non-judgmental presence to students with anxiety. Companion Dogs are found in schools around the world to assist children with social and emotional learning needs, which in turn can assist with literacy development, self-esteem and enhanced classroom interactions. Research into the effects of Companion Dogs in schools highlight a range of positive outcomes including an increase in school attendance, gains in self-confidence, reading ability and language skills.

Other schools in NSW with Companion Dogs have been consulted to ensure we have considered all possible factors if we go ahead. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with great benefits to students, but also unexpected benefits to staff as well.

Please follow the link if you would like to read about the benefits of having a School Companion Dog.

Education will take place in classrooms educating all students on the right way to interact with Barbara, including how to approach a Companion Dog and proper hygiene-practice after coming into contact with her.

The trial will commence on Monday 16 November, with Barbara attending College one day a week under the care of College staff.

Barbara is a well-behaved dog with a calming temperament. She loves children and is keen to meet everyone.

Please let Mr Sale know if you have any questions or concerns at [email protected].

In recent weeks, we have profiled the work done in Human Services, Nursing, by our VET students. 

This week we would like to mention the high quality and focused practical tasks completed by nine of our students doing Automotive Engineering at a nearby Training Centre.  Six Year 11 students and three Year 12 students are working well towards Certificate 2 qualification in the 240-hour Automotive Engineering course.

Our Director of Vocational Pathways, Mr Moynan, says that the course is characterised by diagnostic teaching of very practical mechanical functions to do with engine design and operation, as well as auto electronics. It requires significant dexterity in the use of hand tools, as well as accurate cognitive, problem-solving skills.  All these skills are readily transferable to a whole host of engineering applications such as in Aviation. 

Dejan, Tom and Marcus, our Year 12 students, have gained encouraging recognition for their aptitude in this area and are now well equipped for further studies and work in related fields.  

Matthew, one of our Year 11 students, says that he found the course very good as he has now learned how to maintain a car and will be able to save lots of money.  He said that he has confidence now, not only to do oil changes and basic maintenance, but also to assemble and disassemble an engine, check compression, thread and tap bolts and adjust valve timing. 

The students speak highly of their experienced and capable instructor, Robert Stogonski, who runs a busy but well-organised and tidy training facility.

Well done students and congratulations to the Year 12 graduates who have achieved their attainment towards Certificate 2 in Automotive Engineering.  We are most thankful that the course has been beneficial, and hope and pray that you find just the right pathways for the future.

Mr Jim Ward
Careers Advisor

Stocktake 2020
This year’s Library stocktake will be starting on Tuesday 10th November.  During this time the Library will be closed. The last day students can borrow will be Monday 2nd November. All students will need to have returned all of their Library loans no later than Friday 6th November. Any students who require a list of their loans need to speak to Mrs Comiskey or Mr Smith.

Returning of Media equipment
Students who still have Media equipment need to return them to the Library as soon as possible.

Year 12 Library Loans
Year 12 students will need to return all of their Library loans before they sign out of the College after the HSC exams. Students who have lost books will be invoiced for a replacement copy. Any students who require a list of their loans need to email Mrs Comiskey or Mr Smith at [email protected]

Awesome Aussie Author!
Fast Facts
Name: Lynette Noni
Born: 1985 in Outback Australia.
First novel: Arkane (Medoran Chronicles) 
Latest novel: Weapon
Next novel: The Prison Healer (March 2021)  
Random fact: Lynette’s inspiration to become a writer occurred while recovering for six months from an illness she caught while backpacking during her overseas gap year.

Mini Book Bites - see if a book is to your taste?
Akarnae (The Medoran Chronicles)
“Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her... but he's missing. While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora's boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can't ignore her fear that something unexpected... something sinister... is looming. An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex's shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race's survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home? Will Alex risk her entire world - and maybe even her life - to save Medora?”
‘Akarnae’ is the first novel in the ‘Medoran Chronicles’ series. Part Harry Potter, part ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ author Lynette Noni has created a wonderfully vibrant and unique fantasy world filled with memorable characters and fascinating creatures. Readers will love main protagonist Alex, and her two friends Bear and Jordan, their strong friendship and trust in one another through all dangers is a real highlight of the book.   

Whisper
“Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me. I believed them. That was my mistake. There isn’t anyone else in the world like me. I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster… For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word. As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.”
‘Whisper’ is an exciting, fast paced, action packed story that will appeal to many readers. Part psychological thriller, part science fiction adventure and set in a wonderfully futuristic Sydney setting, author Lynette Noni has written a fantastic novel that fans of books like ‘Divergent’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ will love. With detailed character and world development and a strong relatable protagonist Jane Doe, this is a novel that will soon become a firm favourite. ‘Whisper’ is better suited for students in Years 9 to 12 as it does contain more mature themes and ideas.

Mrs Annette Comiskey & Mr Michael Smith
Senior Library Team

We advise that there will be NO College banking for Term 4.