Year 9 Ski Camp

This week I was fortunate to be able to join our Year 9 boys in their Ski Camp from Sunday to Wednesday. We were blessed with wonderful weather and plentiful snow this late in the season. I was pleased to witness first-hand how smoothly everything ran thanks to the wonderful organisation of Mr Johnson, ably assisted by Mr Bayliss, Mr Tamayo and Mr Dodd. Also the Year 9 students themselves whose behaviour was largely a credit to their families and their school. 

There was a particular moment I wanted to share with all of you: We were sitting around a campfire under a beautiful canopy of stars, praying the Rosary with a group of teenage boys who moments before were running around making a significant amount of noise. They were now quietly sitting, praying together for intentions they themselves nominated. Some were taking advantage of the opportunity to go to Confession with Fr Felix, who was sitting under a lamp post some distance away. I remember being struck by this thought: Where else but at Wollemi would something like this happen? It reinforced with me the importance of gratitude and cheerfulness despite the inevitable difficulties, being always very united in our common purpose, as Monsignor Fernando Ocariz suggested to us during his visit. 

Father’s Day

A big thank you to the Year 3B classparents Paula and Danny Morched, their amazing helpers and generous donor who stepped up to organise the Father’s Day Breakfast last Friday, volunteering their time and effort. It was a wonderful event, very well attended by dads, sons and daughters. Check out the report below, but also the new Wollemi Headmaster @ Instagram where I will be specifically addressing our community in a more timely fashion.

Later on Friday a different set of parents also volunteered to run the Father’s Day stall with all the gifts our families so generously donated. All proceeds will go towards finishing our wonderful Shrine. But most importantly, our boys were given ample opportunities to show their fathers how much they mean to them. 

Coming up

Our Year 12s are experiencing their last weeks at Wollemi. After a gruelling set of trials, they are now working together with their teachers on final preparations for their HSC exams. The last week of the Term will be Graduation Week, where we will all have a chance to celebrate the end of their journey at Wollemi. Let's continue to support them with our prayers as well.

Don’t forget Dad’s Night on Friday 15 September, RSVP here. The theme will be Texas-style Low & Slow smoked BBQ. We look forward to many dads joining us for the night. It will be followed by Mum’s Night on Saturday  16 September at our sister school, Montgrove College.

James Ramos, Headmaster

Today is the birthday of Our Lady! Let's pray for the intention of Pope Francis through her intercession:

With only 3 weeks remaining in the term, the excitement, learning, and sporting action at Wollemi Primary show no signs of slowing down! This week, we're thrilled to host William Clarke College for the inaugural Wollemi College v William Clarke (WCWC) Rugby 7s Cup. Our Junior and Senior Primary teams are gearing up for their first official rugby games on home turf, and the anticipation is palpable! Coach Uyeda and our boys are eager to showcase their newly acquired rugby skills in front of our enthusiastic students and supportive parents. The junior team will kick off at 1:00 pm, followed by the seniors at 1:40 pm. We wish our boys the best of luck!

Adding to our commitment to excellence, Mr Tu’pulotu has been hard at work preparing the U/10 Primary Futsal team for the upcoming Football NSW Futsal State Championships on Monday, 11 September. Our young athletes are ready to take on the best from regions across the state, including Orange, Bathurst, the South Coast, Wagga, the Central Coast, and other parts of Sydney. This event provides a fantastic opportunity for our boys to demonstrate their skills, determination, and sportsmanship. We're especially proud of one of our Year 6 students, Thomas Portelli, who has been dedicating his lunchtimes to assist Mr Tu’ipulotu in coaching the team. Tom's exceptional talent and guidance have been invaluable to our junior players, and we commend his dedication. The participating boys are: Elijah Leggatt (Year 2 - Shadow player), Kirbie Amituanai (Year 3), Christian Geagea (Year 3), Wojtek Biliniewicz (Year 4), Jayson de Villers (Year 4), Joel Leggatt (Year 4), Ethan Lemoncito (Year 4), Niko Lepan (Year 4), Dominic Noone (Year 4), Patrice Nuwamanya (Year 4), and Michael Tu'ipulotu (Year 4). Best of luck to our boys next week!

English Paper 1 is 36 days away. That means 36 more days of head-down study for the Year 12s. 36 days of studying being our number one priority. 36 days of our mental health needs to be at the highest level. But right now, that's a big ask, right? The mental health of HSC students is unnoticed by many fellow students, teachers and parents, but how can Year 12s, and those associated with an HSC student, improve their mental health?

Well, R U OK? day is coming up; a day dedicated to connecting and supporting others when they are struggling with life. A day when you ask your peers that exact question: R U OK? But this just doesn’t apply to classmates. Parents, if you have HSC children, ask them how they are, how they are coping and if they are worried about anything. This simple act of showing care and reassurance of support reduces the mental strain that is placed on us.

But sometimes, the best person to tackle OUR mental stress is OURSELVES. The reason for many people’s stress is because of the pressure they are under; whether it's internal or external. Most of the time, when it’s self-inflicted, it is down to us looking at everything as a whole. Yes, this is good sometimes, but as an HSC student, we MUST break everything down into manageable pieces. The best way to do this is to set goals. If you need to perform well in maths and must get a score of 80+ in the final exam, break it down. Break it down into doing papers every week. Maybe start with 2-3 each week, and then when the holidays hit, aim to do 3-4. The more you plan and break down your big goals into smaller, more achievable ones, the less likely you will feel overwhelmed with pressure.

PURPOSE/REASON. No, this isn’t the cliche of “what’s your purpose”, but rather, what is the reason you want to achieve a certain ATAR (or certain anything)? Is it to get into a specific course at uni? Is it to give you more pathways? Whatever it is, make sure you have a reason and understand it. Understanding your reason gives you direction and motivation. It gives you a purpose for continuing your HSC and motivation to continually push yourself each and every day. Find your reason, understand it and you’ll be able to slowly avoid any stress.

Steve Jerome, School Captain

On Saturday the 6th of September, Year 4 had their Father Son Camp at Camp Yarramundi. 

Upon arrival, the father and son duos dropped off their bags in their cabins, where they introduced themselves to one another. After that, it was activity time!

Soccer, basketball, crazy maze, alpine rescue and rock climbing were some of the many activities lined up for the day. There were some amazing Spider-Man feats on the rock climbing wall by fathers and sons alike, sons showing the dads who were boss when it came to soccer or basketball and resilience on display during the crazy maze.

After dinner, Mr. McFarlane gave an excellent Dad's talk on sincerity and being genuine, while the boys were occupied playing games in the sports hall with Mr. Spagna. 

Rosary by the campfire followed (which is always a highlight), followed by the bed for the boys (for some, anyway), whilst the dads caught up over a wonderful BBQ. Mr. Lepan, Mr. Leggatt and Mr. Badr did a great job cooking up a storm! There was a variety of foods from the many diverse cultures in this cohort, with pork neck and boerewors the latest delicacies many of us had yet to experience. 

An early morning rise for most of the boys who wanted to play was followed by a wonderful breakfast and Mass. After an early BBQ lunch, we headed our separate ways home, content with another fantastic father-son camp.

A huge thank you to Mr. Spagna and Mr. Johnson for ensuring a smooth running of events. A massive thanks to the ever-reliable Mrs Reid for organising everything! And to our Father and Son pairs, thank you for another incredible Father Son camp. See you again next year for the Year 5 Father-Son Camp!

Samuel Tu'ipulotu, Year 4 Dad

As we approach the end of our study into ecosystems, Year 7 studied and applied population sampling techniques such as the use of transects and quadrats. They used quadrats to estimate the number of weeds on the fields and apparently, there are quite a number! It probably didn't help that they were aiming for patches of weeds when they were tossing the quadrat though.

Father’s Day was fast approaching and in doing so, the Visual Arts year 7 class of Semester 2 has worked hard in perfecting their dry point etching of a picture of their own dads. This was all done in secret for most of the time. 

The process took some time, using a burr tool they traced out the image of their dad on a piece of acrylic, which will then be painted on and pressed on damped paper, creating the transferred image. 

The boys used cross-hatching and textured lines to differentiate foreground, midground and background. 

The boys used cross-hatching and textured lines to differentiate foreground, midground and background. 

 The School community is invited to pray for our young men as they prepare for their trials in this week and HSC exams later this year. 

A CoA Community HSC Prayermmunity HSC Prayer

A School Community HSC Prayer

Heavenly Father, we bring before you our HSC students. Give them the gifts of wisdom, right judgement, knowledge and courage. 

Bless them with calm hearts and clarity of mind as they sit for their exams. May they be affirmed in their efforts and may they know that you are there with them. 

We pray that they will stay calm under pressure and work to the best of their ability. May they feel your loving presence in their lives, now and always, and may they be strengthened by the prayerful support of us, their school community.

 We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen

We express our sincere gratitude for the success and attendance at our Father's Day Breakfast. It was a delightful morning, made possible by the incredible efforts of mums, dads and staff members who helped set up, cook, serve, and pack up. 

We'd like to extend a special thank you to Mrs Morched for her exceptional coordination and donation and to Mr Chaghouri for generously donating the sausages bacon and egg. Your collective contributions created an atmosphere of warmth and togetherness.

Watching dads and sons enjoy breakfast side by side was heartwarming and exemplified the essence of our school community. Your dedication made this event truly special, and we're immensely thankful for your involvement.

The Father's Day breakfast raised $1611.80 which will go towards the completion of the Wollemi Shrine.

We extend our gratitude to Mrs. Zamora, and an army of wonderful mums; Mrs. Guy, Mrs. Geagea, Mrs. Lalic, Mrs. Prokhorov, Mrs. Dolleton, Mrs. Finianos and dad; Mr Coote who ran the Father's Day Stall with remarkable efficiency. Your organisational skills were instrumental in making it a seamless experience for all.

Your hard work ensured a successful event and your dedication to our school community is commendable. The cheerful atmosphere you created made this Father's Day special for all involved.

Thanks for your invaluable contributions. The Father's Day Stall raised $920 that will go towards the completion of the Wollemi Shrine.

Mental health and well-being is an increasingly concerning and prevalent issue affecting our society. Research has shown that 1 in 2 Australians have experienced a mental health condition in their lifetime. It has particularly become an issue facing our young men of today. Often young men do not open up or seek assistance. This is where R U OK? Day is so important. 

R U OK? Day aims to raise awareness of mental health and well-being by encouraging people to stay connected and to check in on one another by asking the simple question “R U OK?”. It also aims to educate and equip people with the resources and skills to begin the conversation with those who may be struggling with life's ups and downs; providing them with the tools to help.

Thursday 14 September (Week 9) Is R U OK? Day at Wollemi. On this day, our boys will participate in a range of R U OK? Day activities here at the College to help raise awareness and develop the relevant skills of our students to address this issue. The day will include:

1.      ‘Wear it Black and Yellow'' Mufti Day - Students are to come to school in wearing mufti with a touch of yellow and black to show their support of R U OK? Day. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation that will be collected by the SRC as they enter the gates, in the morning. All monies raised will go to LifeLine to assist them to continue their vital work.  The aim of the mufti day is to raise awareness of the issue within our school community and to show that together we can support each other.

2.    Range of year-appropriate talks and workshops throughout the day - These talks and workshops have been prepared with resources provided by R U OK? Day organisation and our Pared Counselling team. They have been developed to provide simple tips to help students. 

3.   Range of RUOK? fun activities – to help build collegiality and unity amongst students, a range of fun RUOK? activities have been developed including chalk murals in Primary, sweet treats to share with a friend at recess, lunchtime games and a gratitude wall in the COLA.Bailey, the therapy dog, will even make an appearance!

An invitation to Wollemi and Montgrove Dads.

Wollemi would like to extend an invitation to our Wollemi and Montgrove fathers to join us at a Dads’ Night on Friday 15 September at 6 pm here at Wollemi.

This night will be an opportunity for dads to come together and enjoy a meal, beer and one another's company.  

What: Spring Celebration!  

Where: Montgrove College Hall

When: Saturday 16th September 2023

Time: 8:00-10:00 pm

Come dressed in your favourite spring outfit and come for a night of good food and good fun with great company! Karaoke, games and lucky door prizes to be won!

Please RSVP by Saturday 9th September via this form. 

Congratulations on the birth of Geraldine and Leon Ortega on the birth of Rosalie, sister to Benjamin 2B and Gabriel in 2G.

Please pray for our sick Wollemi family and friends:

Alex Borg, grandfather to Nicholas Cassar (6B).  Joanne Pang, mother to Ian Chia in 4G; Margaret Miles, grandmother to Marissa and Vince Zinghini, great-grandmother to Anthony in 5B; Maria Mendoza, mother to  Noah in 7B; Joseph Valladores, father to Jose in 7B; Fr Andrew Fornal, Parish Priest of St Joseph's Kingswood; Benjie Santiago, father to Aryel (Class of 2020); Emmanuel Hanna, brother to George (6B) Victor Sciberras, father to Marianne and Carmel Spiteri, grandfather to Justin in Year 7B; Louise Varas, mother to Sebastian in 3B;  Mariano Valladores, father to Ela and Will O'Neill,  grandfather to Michael in 9B and John-Paul in 4B;  Amelia Acasio,  grandmother to Peyton (7B) and Angelo (5G);

Please pray for the soul of the recently deceased and the family left behind:

Jun Ravalo; father to Mildred and Anton Yap; grandfather to Andrei in 10 B and Josef in 7G; Alexander Federigan; uncle to Ian Ison (Secondary teacher), great uncle to Lucas Ison 10G; Fr Carl Ashton PP, parish priest of Sacred Heart Mount Druitt, friend and supporter of Wollemi College; Wilson Filamor, father to Joel and Charisse Filamor, grandfather to  Lorenzo 11B; Michel Chaghouri, father to Joseph and Cristina, grandfather to Elias in 5B; Phillip Yassa, uncle to Shukr and Sara, great uncle to Luke in 9G; Antoine  Nohra, father to Alain and  Lisa Nohra, grandfather to Giovany in Year 12 and Mathew in 10G; Josip Blazevic, father to John and Julie Blazevic, (John Paul 2011, Daniel 2017) Viktor and Alison Blazevic (Josip 2013, Raphael 2015, Dominic, 2017 and Gabriel 2020) and Paulina and Renzo Trivarelli (Adrian 2013, Alex 2015, Luke 2017, Marcus 2020 and Michael Leaver 2021); Adele Doko, mother to Herg Christine Lay, grandmother to Jonathan in 4B and Joseph in 2B;  John Russell, grandfather to Emily and Anthony Di Natale, great grandfather to Joseph in 3G; Benilda Castro, grandmother to Jose and Christine Besa, great grandmother to Lucas in 4G; Chun Seng Chia, father to Chin and Jo, grandfather to Ian in 4G.

_{If you would like to add any intentions to the Prayer Board, please send them to newsletter@wollemi.nsw.edu.au.  Kindly notify newsletter@wollemi.nsw.edu.au when your intentions can be removed.} 

The school gates will be opened at 8:15 am and students are not allowed onto the school premises before this time unless there are co-curricular commitments. If you are dropping your child/ren off before 8.15 am, please remind them that they are to stay outside the gates until it is opened. 

A reminder that when collecting your child/ren parents can either:

• Park their car in the outside car park and walk into the school/pedestrian gate to pick up their child
• Use the car line process where your child will come to the car. 

To help with the flow of the carline and traffic in the area we kindly ask that: 

• If you are using the car line, we ask parents to not exit the car.
• Please collect your child/children from 3.25 pm and 3.45 pm when Teacher supervision ends.
•  Reminder parents NOT to park along Gipps Rd in the afternoon as it causes congestion and risks the safety of our students.

ABSENCES

If your child is absent from school an Engage absence form must be completed first thing in the morning. It is a legal requirement to provide an absence note no more than 7 days after the last day of the absence.  Absences will remain as unexplained absences if a note is not received or is received more than 7 days after the last day of the absence.

Instructions on how to complete an absence form can be found below. 

How to Complete an Absence Form on Engage

Please find below some simple instructions on how to complete an absence form. 

• Select the heading Daybook and select "Pupil Daybook"
• Click on "add new entry"
• If your child is COVID positive or a close contact select: "01b Covid POSITIVE or ISOLATION Status" from the drop-down menu
• If your child is absent for any other reason, arriving late or leaving early please select: "01 Absent, Late or Early Departure Note" from the drop-down menu 
• Then click on the "add new entry" button to the right. It will bring up the form for you to complete
• Select which of your children is away in the left column and press the -> arrow button in the middle, so that the selected name goes from the left column to the right. If you select the double arrow it will move all your children's names to the right column if you need to do an absence form for all of them for the same reason. 
• Once you have completed the form make sure that you click "save and close" at the bottom of the page when completed (not "save") 
• You also have the ability to upload a doctor's certificate, if applicable.

Click on the links below to complete the relevant forms in Engage.  You will find these links under Announcements on the top right-hand side of this newsletter. 

● To update your contact details

● Submit an Absentee Form

● Submit an Extended Leave Form(for holidays, weddings, etc.)

● Submit an Exemption From School Form (for external activities, medical appointments, funerals etc.)

For more information on using the Engage Parent Portal please go to our Parent Portal Resource Site

At our whole school assembly, we announced our Age Champions and House Champions for our Athletics Carnival in Term 2. 

Congratulations to our House Champions, Mundoora and all of our Age Champions who displayed fantastic athleticism on the day.

House Champions

Mundoora - 1,085 points

Wyuna - 805 points

Echuca - 780 points

Araluen - 625 points

Age Champions

8 years – Jorge Frech

9 years – Kirbie Amituanai

10 years – Dominic Noone

11 years – Nevin Aji

12 years (Primary) – Niko Bastac

12 Years (Secondary) – Klim Drozd

13 Years – Aadi Jain

14 Years – Kamso Igbojiaku

15 years – John McLoughlin

16 years – John McDonald

17 years – Gabriel Gil

18 years – Mihael Vulcik

On Tuesday (Primary) and Thursday (Secondary) of Week 7, Wollemi attended the Hills Zone Athletics Carnivals. 

There were some fantastic results across both carnivals. The highlight of the Primary Carnival was Jorge Frech of Year 2B coming 3rd in the 8 Years 100m, qualifying for CIS in Week 10. Congratulations Jorge!

Our Secondary Wollemi Athletics team produced some exceptional results across the day, finishing 3rd as Overall Best Performed School! A fantastic achievement by everyone involved and a credit to the hard work that they all put in on the day and leading up. 

There were many impressive feats on the day. 

Logan Stead - 2nd in 18s Discus

Jakub Grus - 3rd in 16s 200m

Michael Muema - 3rd in 15s High Jump

Royal Rinto - 2nd in 13s 200m, 2nd in 13s 400m

John McLoughlin - 3rd in 15s 200m

Ethan Tolentino - 3rd in 18s Long Jump

Klim Drozd - 2nd in 12s 800m

Gabriel Vulcik - 3rd in 16s 800m

Noel Reji - 2nd in 17s Discus

John McDonald - 1st in 16s 200m (NEW HILLS ZONE RECORD!), 1st in 16s 100m

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the day was the Opens 4x100m relay event. Runners Jakub Grus, John McLoughlin, Ethan Tolentino, and John McDonald were successful in winning the event! An unbelievable, come-from-behind victory saw us go from 5th to 1st in the last 100m. This was something you had to see to believe. The video of this run is on our Wollemi College Instagram page if you would like to check it out!

Wollemi College had 7 secondary students represent Hills Zone at the AICES Athletics Carnival in Week 8. 

Special mention to Noel Reji (2nd in 17s Discus) and John McDonald (1st in 16s 100m) who have qualified for the CIS Championships in Week 10 of this term.

Congratulations gentlemen!

Wollemi Basketball Club Expression of Interest (Summer 2023 - 2024)

Expression of interest for those who wish to join a basketball team. This is only for new players and returning players (who skipped the Winter Season). Existing or current players don't need to register, just let your team manager know that your son will be playing again this coming Summer Season.

Congratulations to our Champion U14 team for a very convincing come-from-behind win against Springwood (2-1) to win the championship. 

A very relaxing and entertaining night for Year 8 parents organised by our Classparents Bibiana and Noby Joseph and Lovine and Columban Devine. Thanks to those who were able to come.

To the Wollemi College Community,

As a result of a recent review, some minor adjustments are required to the retail prices of the Wollemi College uniforms and accessories range. This is the first review of retail price that Midford has made in the last 2 years.

Over the last 2 years, Midford has mostly sheltered our retail partners and customers from price increases by absorbing fluctuating exchange rate costs.

Unfortunately, over the past year, our supply chain has been affected dramatically by COVID and currency fluctuations. The costs have increased so sharply now that we are forced to raise our prices, the whole supply chain is affected by the cost of materials, manufacturing, labour as well as transportation. Therefore, we are left with no option but to pass on some of the increases to our partners and customers. This is a decision that was not made lightly and is necessary for Midford to remain competitive and at the forefront of school wear innovation and supply.

A total of 16 items require a price increase, based on the manufacturing costs. On many items, there is no change in price. These price increases will take effect from the 1st of September 2023.

It is Midford’s commitment to continue to plan our business in a way that provides high-quality clothing at a price that offers great value for money to our customers. We will continually monitor our supply chain for future benefits in terms of cost to our customers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Wollemi College for your continued support of Midford and we look forward to providing quality schoolwear and service to the school community in the future.

Olivia Bloxham, Retail Operations Manager

Wollemi College Fitting Range will open in September for Appointments Only.

Please Note: This is for Fittings & Try On Service Only. No sales or orders will be placed onsite - all orders will be placed online only.

All families are able to make their own uniform fitting appointments through our online appointment system by using the below link.

https://midford.as.me/WollemiCollege

Opening Hours by Appointment Only:

Tuesday 26th September 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Email: wollemi@midford.com.au Website: https://www.midford.com.au/school-shops-online     school passphrase: Wollemi1999

P: 02 8857 4959   E: wollemi@midford.com.au

Ordering online couldn’t be simpler.

1. Go to https://www.midford.com.au/school-shops-online  

2. Select Wollemi College from the online School Shops tab.

3. New users to click the ‘Register New Account’ button.

4. Start the registration process by selecting Wollemi College from the drop-down menu and add the

unique school pass phrase - Wollemi unique passphrase: Wollemi1999

5. Add your personal information, and create a username and password.

6. Order the items you need, select pick up from the school, or option of home delivery.

We are seeking an experienced Enrollment Administrator to commence in a full-time permanent role, primarily based at our head office in Dural. This role is full-time (calendar year) and will be focused on enrolments for Redfield and Tangara.

If you are interested or know anyone suitable for this role, please ask them to apply via SEEK using this link - Enrolments Administrator 

Click on the image below to view details about the Holy Land Pilgrimage in May, 2024.

As we near the end of term 3, Mr. Berryman and I (Mr. Uyeda) are excited to announce our term 3 Wollemi Primary Sports Camp.  

When: Monday 25th - Wednesday, 27th September

Start Time: 9:00 am

Pickup Time: 3:00 pm

Cost: $100 for all 3 days or $40 per day

If you or anybody you know are interested in signing up, please click the link below:

Sign Up Here

We are still in the process of finalizing the schedule, and it will be very soon. If you have any questions regarding the sports camp, please feel free to contact Mr. Uyeda or Mr. Berryman @ dustin.uyeda@wollemi.nsw.edu.au   or jacob.berryman@wollemi.nsw.edu.au

RSVP to: parentformationteam@montgrove.nsw.edu.au