Volume 19 2024

And in all things …

There is, so the author of Ecclesiastes tells us, “a time for every occupation under heaven”. There is a time for beginning a work, and a time for ending it. I have a profound sense of completion as I write what is my last newsletter column as Dean of Ministry. There is a sense of sadness mixed with a deep joy. Sadness that the time has come to step down and allow a new Dean to take over and take the deanery into a new future building on what has been growing for longer than I have been at this desk. Joy at the wonder of God’s grace and faithfulness that has wrought wonderful things over these last thirteen years.

When I came to Rosebank in 2011, I thought I knew a few things about the Good Samaritan Sisters, about Benedict and the Rule and about what makes Rosebank an exceptional co-educational school. I thought I knew… it turns out I didn’t know very much at all. And so began an adventure that has been nothing short of life-changing.  

So, for what am I grateful?

First and foremost, I am grateful to God, who led me here and opened up a whole new way of living the Gospel in the way of St Benedict. Benedict’s way is one way of living out my baptism. The wisdom of the Rule, grounded in a profound and realistic understanding of human nature and the working of God’s grace through a structured and humane way of life have become my own. It was through this encounter with Christ in Benedict that led me to the Good Samaritan Benedictine Oblates.

Closely tied to Benedict was my coming to know the story of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict.  I am in awe of the founding sisters, especially those who lie buried in our cemetery - our saints. Their witness to Christ and their lives offer a model of Christian living and a way of being Catholic that still resonates in our world today.

I am in awe of Mother Scholastica Gibbons, a woman whose story is yet to be fully told. The more I learn about this great woman, the more I am grateful for her presence at Rosebank. Her strength was her humility and complete openness to the God she knew would always light the path before her. When I stand at her grave, I thank Mother Scholastica for all she did and ask her to watch over this community.

I am grateful for the Sisters introducing me to Archbishop John Bede Polding and opening up the vision that filled this saint’s whole life. Every time I see our statue of Polding and his horse, I hear story after story of “the saint in the saddle” going out to meet his neighbour with a listening heart and open arms.  Every time I stand at his tomb in the crypt of St Mary’s I thank John Bede for all he did and I hear him say: "Do we not feel a call to become the ministers of Chris’s mercy, the messengers of Christ’s compassion?”

And I hold with great respect and affection the Sisters I have come to know over the years in various ministries who have always been so generous with their time and talents and more than a few good, hearty laughs. 

When I hear people describe coming to work at Rosebank as “coming home”, I think I know exactly what they mean. Rosebank has been and is a place of life, of vitality, of energy and enthusiasm, of learning and exploration. It is a safe space for everyone in our beautifully diverse community of Catholics, Orthodox and other Christian sisters and brothers, of those from other religious families and those of none. It is a place where all are genuinely welcome and welcomed, valued and appreciated for the richness of gifts each brings to this community. That has been my experience over the years.

So, in giving thanks for the years, I wish to give public thanks to Mr Tom Galea who offered me this role and for the trust he placed in me to build Ministry at Rosebank on the foundations already in place.  I wish to thank our current principal, Ms Iris Nastasi for her trust in me to venture into new spaces, especially with the Reconciliation Action Plan.

I also wish to thank the Team I have been blessed to work with over the years:

Ms Clare Mullen; Ms Philomena MIddeldorp, Mr Colm McCaughan; Mr Chris Hansford and Ms Olga Azzi.   I sometimes wonder what people must think as they walk past the Ministry Office and hear the laughter and banter that goes on. It is the happiest working place I know of. And, of course, joy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

Finally, thank you to our students. The girls and young women, the boys and young men of Rosebank are the lifeblood of the College. They are the reason we are here. Their energy and enthusiasm, their questions and doubts, their searching and wondering, their faith and open-heartedness give me enormous hope for the future of the Church and the future of Australia. There are fewer things more precious in life than the openness of children and young people trusting me to listen and respond to their life journey and all the joys and hopes, sorrows and griefs that the journey brings. All is a gift.

As I step down as Dean of Ministry at the end of the year, I offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone. I ask your forgiveness for any hurt or offence I may have caused. Whatever good I have done, offer thanks to God.  

On behalf of the 2024 Ministry Team - Ms Azzi, Mr Hansford and me - may the days of Advent be rich with the expectation of the coming of Christ, and may the days celebrating his birth be rich with his greatest present to us - the fullness of life.

And in all things, may God be glorified.

As the school year draws to a close, it is time to turn our thoughts to 2025. Soon, students will be given the opportunity to choose their PACE activities for Term 1, 2025. There will be a number of EnrichED activities available to choose from for students of all year groups. 

When a student makes a choice, a notification will be sent to parents. To confirm your child’s place in an EnrichED activity, parents must acknowledge the notification in the Parent Lounge on TASS and scroll down to click on submit. These activities will also appear in the InspirED Booklet, which will be sent to all students identified with high potential and their parents early next year. Students who apply via the InspirED Booklet will be added to any PACE activities in the new year only if there is a place available. 

Students who intend to apply for Rep Sports teams but wish to be involved in an EnrichED activity if they are unsuccessful should still apply via TASS now, as any students who are selected for a Rep team will automatically be moved into Rep Sport but those who miss selection may find there are no spaces left in the EnrichED activity of their choice.

Students have been contacted about the activities listed below and can contact Ms McArthur if they wish to clarify anything before applying.

• Chess Coaching
• Da Vinci Decathlon (DVD)
• Ethics Olympiad
• Future Problem Solving (FPS)
• Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA)
• Rosebank Writers

Certificates for Round 2 of the Bebras Challenge and the Middle Schools Ethics Olympiad arrived last week, unfortunately too late for the College Assembly. Students will receive these certificates during the House Assemblies on Friday, 29 November.

The results of the recent InnovatED Showcase, as provided by the Showcase Student Organising Committee, and some student reflections on recent InspirED events at the College will follow.

Write a Book in a Day News

On Tuesday, 26 November, Ms Tanya Whiticker and I had the pleasure of hosting a book signing soiree for friends and family of the students involved In the Write a Book in a Day initiative held earlier this year.

Entries for this competition closed on 30 September, and judging commenced after this date. Although the College was not a prize winner, the students’ creations have now been sent out to children’s wards and children’s hospitals around Australia. The soiree marked this occasion and also ensured that the books have been signed by all of the authors and illustrators and added to the SRSC’s collection of students’ work. Further copies were signed and given to friends and family members.

Bunch of Bananas Group: LtoR Keighley B, Imogen Y, Kiera Y, Seoa K & Ethan F (Absent: Faye L, Ivan T, Sophie W).

OG Ponies Group: LtoR Sophie O, Alison L, Oliver H & Gloria Z (Absent: Gemma R, Theo T & Maya V).

Middle School Ethics Olympiad

The Ethics Olympiad is a worldwide event hosted remotely by Zoom. The competition has Senior, Junior and Middle School levels and involves over 350 schools from the Asia-Pacific region alone. This year, schools from Australia, New Zealand, India and China were involved from our region. Ethics Olympiad is a competition about collaborating to make the most ethical decisions for a series of complex ethical dilemmas. It is judged by professional ethicists and philosophers from different universities around the world, including the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States of America as well as from the Asia-Pacific. Our Middle School team consisting of two Year 8 students and four Year 7 students competed in one of five heats for NSW schools. Our competitors came from all over Sydney. As close as Five Dock and as distant as the Central Coast.

There were eight cases to discuss, with two being discussed in each of the four rounds. Each team member specialised in two cases and led the discussion for our team when it was our turn to speak, whilst the adjudicator decided which team contributed more and presented the better ethical argument. We competed with one other team in each heat and collaboratively discussed the ethics behind each point; this competition is not a debate as you receive points for acknowledging and building on the points of the opposing team but also for drawing attention to the flaws in their arguments and providing your own opinion.

We were not allowed to take in any notes and had to rely on what we remembered and on responding carefully to what was discussed; working together as a team was critical. We used the breaks in between the heats to refine the information that we had gathered during our training in PACE time and focus on strengthening and stabilising our arguments for the remaining cases whilst coming up with new perspectives as we experienced the discussion of our thoughts with other teams.

One of these cases that we worked on was named AI in school. The case involved a school teacher who had a strong emotional bond with all his students. He is a good teacher but is also human. However, the school has decided that keeping the teacher is becoming too expensive, and the government has presented a new way to educate its students at a lower price. This opportunity comes in the form of AI, which never tires and is relentlessly consistent. It can do all that the previous teacher can do academically but not emotionally. The AI will never be able to form the same bonds with the students in the same way the human teacher can, resulting in the students not being able to enjoy themselves in class or have enough confidence to seek help from the AI teacher. The question was, should we keep the human teachers so the students are understood on a human level or replace them with AI ‘teachers’ to boost students’ knowledge and reduce costs? Our opinion on this case is that the human teacher should be kept. In the competition, we used multiple points and arguments to support our claim. Two of our points were that although at the start a human would cost more, teachers are paid every week while an AI would have to be charged and repaired, which in the long term could build up to costing more, and that human teachers are likely to be more aware of the emotional needs of students. 

It was an enlightening experience as you rarely get to discuss topics like the ones in the competition in a classroom. Other topics included the cultural responsibilities of cross-cultural adoption, the use of predictive algorithms in parole decisions, the ethics of fast fashion and the rights and responsibilities of reproductive autonomy for parents aged over 70.

Although we didn't place in the top three teams, we received an honourable mention in the competition. I would highly recommend this opportunity to any students who enjoy a serious discussion and are willing to try it out next year.

Kyle Wang (Year 8), Jack Fitzpatrick and Liam Richards (Year 7)

LtoR: Sophie O, Andrew T, Rebecca C, Jack F and Kyle W (Absent: Liam R).

InnovatED Showcase

As you may know, on Monday, 18 November, the InnovatED Showcase was held, and it was amazing! Over 40 students presented their engaging projects. We had a great turn out, with around 800 students, 60 visitors and four guest judges attending. The judges said they were very impressed with the complexity of the projects, the students’ understanding of their topics as well as the standard of the presentation.

All of the projects produced were outstanding displays of the tireless effort and dedication of the students. Winners were allocated in the following categories: The Overall Winner, People's Choice Award, Best Display, Best Integration of Theme, Psychology, Future Proofing, Society & Culture, and History.

The overall winnrs from Psychology were Rebecca Cawrse, Georgiana Thoma and Jasmine Taylor for ‘Are You Really Paying Attention?’. The award for Future Proofing was received by ‘The Future of Food’, created by Henry Baker, Jack Fitzpatrick, Michael O’Connell and Andrew Taw. The winners from Society & Culture were Isobel Hand, Sophie O’Driscoll and Sophie Wan with their project, ‘Ethics & Philosophy: How It Changed The World’. The winners from History were Richard Isola and Peter Smith for ‘The Ingenious Maps of Harry Beck’.

The People's Choice Award recipient was Abigail Neylan for ‘How to be Successful’. The Best Display was awarded to Annika Meidling for ‘Water is Changing Colour’, and Cormac Prendergast received the Best Integration of Theme with his project on ‘The Threat to Humanity of AI Image Generation’. Finally, the InnovatED 2024 Overall Winners were… Charlie Musumeci and Liam Restifa for ‘To the stars or not?’ Congratulations to all of our winners!

As the Organising Committee, we had the opportunity to decide the theme for InnovatED 2025. The theme is an inspirational quote from Paulo Coehlo, ‘The world is changed by your example, not your opinion.’ If you are interested in participating in InnovatED from Term 2 next year, please see Ms McA in the Diverse Learning Office. We hope to see you there!

Year 10 InnovatED Showcase Organising Committee: Eliana Da Silva, Melina Scarcella and Sofia Russo

Rosebank Students Shine at Special Wests Tigers Event

Year 7 students from McLaughlin House and Hayes House were thrilled to attend a special event at Concord Oval last week. The event featured a major announcement from the Wests Tigers: the launch of their highly anticipated 2025 jersey.

The students had a fantastic opportunity to witness the excitement of the reveal and be part of a memorable moment for the club and its fans. Rosebank College extends a heartfelt thank you to the Wests Tigers for inviting our students to this incredible event and for inspiring the next generation of sports enthusiasts.
 

McLaughlin House Fundraiser

On Social Justice Day, the McLaughlin Leadership Team, along with a number of dedicated McLaughlin volunteers, successfully raised over $1,000 for our House charity: the Good Samaritan Kindergarten in the Philippines.

These funds came via our "BBQ & Beats" sausage sizzle sale which was a huge success. Over 350 sausage sizzles and 300 drinks were sold and all of the profits will go to help the disadvantaged children of Bacolod.

Rosebank’s Culture and Identity Leaders organised some fun activities in the last couple of weeks to create Christmas spirit around the College. 

• Spot the Elf! - Students were on the hunt to find the Christmas Elf and bring it to the General Office to receive a prize!
  
   
   
• Candy canes and Christmas cards - the Culture & Identity leaders organised a stall in Week 7, encouraging students to come and buy candy canes and cards for their friends, which were delivered to their Homeroom in the last week of term. All proceeds contributed to the Vinnie’s Christmas appeal.
   
• Christmas trivia, puzzles and Christmas music for bells all added to the excitement of the Christmas Countdown!

Thank you for the feedback we have received about the new sports uniform to be phased in over the next two years. Having taken delivery of the new uniform, we are able to confirm that the navy blue components are quite similar to the existing uniforms, and as such, the school is now prepared to support families who would like to 'mix and match' both uniforms during the transition period.

School Travel Passes

Applications are now open for 2025 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel.

Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card (including a Term Bus Pass) for the first time will receive their School Opal card at their nominated postal address from mid-January 2025.

Students who require a School Opal card or travel pass but have not yet applied need to apply or update their details as soon as possible.

In the Opal network, students should travel with a Child/Youth Opal card until they receive their valid School Opal card. If outside Greater Sydney, parents should contact their local bus operator to discuss their travel needs.

Students living in rural and regional areas will receive their travel pass from their nominated transport operator. It may be issued via their school or be sent directly to them at home. Note: some rural and regional operators do not issue travel passes. Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

Terms of Use

Students using School Opal cards must tap on and tap off in line with the Opal terms of use.

This includes travel within the approved times between 6:30am and 7:00pm from Monday to Friday on school days only. Students must use their Child/Youth Opal card for any travel outside these times.

All students are required to comply with the Student code of conduct. The code of conduct aims to ensure the safety and well-being of school children and other passengers. It is important that parents ensure their child is aware of this, as failure to comply with the code of conduct can result in a suspension from travel.