Term 3 Welcome
The term has begun, and I hope that the holiday period was relaxing and that you were able to spend some quality time together as a family. In particular, I would like to welcome a number of new students and their families: Ramone C Year 7, Kaiden K Year 7, Lily M Year 8, Ruby P Year 8 and Luka Y ear 10. We hope that your time with us is both productive and rewarding.

Senior Program Information Evening on Tuesday 26 July 2022
On Tuesday 26 July, we are having our Senior Information Evening, which involves important information sessions taking place to inform students and parents on subject choices for Years 10, 11 and 12.

As you may have seen in the media, Victoria’s senior secondary education is changing. From 2023 the VCE will include the Vocational Major, a 2-year program that sits within the VCE. The new VCE Vocational Major will replace the Intermediate and Senior VCAL. This means the VCE will recognise different students equally. Parents and students of Year 10 are required to attend, as we will be sharing important information regarding subject selection and the new senior certificate.

As well as stalls from every College subject area and the opportunity to chat to the specialist teachers from each of these areas there will also be guests present from Universities and TAFE providers so that students have the chance to explore several options for their educational pathway.

The Years 10, 11 and 12 students and families are invited to attend the Careers Expo that is open from 3:30pm until 8:00pm in the ASH to look at the stalls and speak with the careers team. Please be sure to also attend the information session, focused on senior programs, from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in the Mary MacKillop Auditorium which will outline changes to the VCE and is designed predominantly for Year 10 students and their parents, but all are welcome to attend

Congratulations
Congratulations to Mrs. Samantha and Alex Veneziano on the birth of their son, Daniel Joseph Veneziano, born on the last Thursday of term 2 -Thursday, 23 June. Both Daniel and Sam are doing well, and he is another addition to the Penola family.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Mrs. Samantha and Alex Veneziano on the birth of their son, Daniel Joseph Veneziano, born on the last Thursday of term 2 -Thursday, 23 June. Both Daniel and Sam are doing well, and he is another addition to the Penola family.

Staffing Changes

Masks
There has been a lot of commentary this week about the fact that the Victorian Government have decided not to mandate masks again in Schools despite the Victorian Chief Health Officer recommending this. I believe that we should be strongly encouraging all staff and students to wear masks whilst indoors as this is clearly the medical advice and the number of COVID cases is increasing. The Chief Executive Officer of Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools, Mr Jim Miles has written a letter stating that all students over the age of 8 should wear masks indoors at schools.

RAT Tests
We will provide these RATs to parents/carers, staff or students on request, from each of the respective Campus Offices. The previous settings that required weekly testing of students and staff have ceased. A reminder if you have COVID symptoms you must complete a RAT test or if you have been identified as a household contact you must wear a mask and complete a RAT test every day prior to coming to school.

Reduction of testing and isolation exemption period
The period of time when someone is considered a recently confirmed case and therefore exempt from testing and isolation requirements has been reduced from the previous 12 weeks to four weeks.

This means that staff and students who are household contacts of people with COVID-19 are not exempt from the testing and isolation requirements after four weeks of completing isolation with COVID-19. Previously, this period was 12 weeks.

This means that a student or staff member who is a household contact and wishes to attend school must take five RATs over seven days and receive negative test results and wear a face mask (if over eight years old) in indoor spaces. This applies from four weeks after the end of an isolation period when they were a case.

Families and staff will also have to report being a household contact to their school after this four-week period.

The term ahead
As ever we have our ongoing teaching and learning- our core business. Term 3 means planning for 2022: subject selection, information evenings, Year 8-10 subject selection interviews, determining staff intentions for 2023 and staff reviews. I thank you in anticipation for your support of these ventures so that once again, we may be off to a smooth start for 2023.

Term Three within secondary schools is an essential time of preparation. For Year 12 students, it is their last full school term in their lives - which can sometimes be a scary thought! It is undoubtedly a time for Year 12 students to consolidate their knowledge, continue to revise and prepare for the end of year exams. For all other students the focus of Term Three is upon subject selections for 2023 and, with this, a focus upon future career choices.

Term 3 is traditionally a very busy time of year for students, staff and parents as planning for the next year begins in earnest. As a school we are attempting to provide as much information as we can to ensure that all of our students are making informed choices with regards to their subject selections. I understand the anxieties experienced by both parents and students in trying to determine which subjects to do in the subsequent years. At 14, 15 or 16 years of age it is difficult to determine a future career path or even direction. Many students are in exactly the same position of not knowing what it is that they may do in the future.

There are some broad principles in terms of subject selections that apply to all students:

Choose subjects that you enjoy.
This makes sense to me, as students will put more effort into subjects that they enjoy and where there is an increased chance of receiving good grades.

Choose subjects that are required for your future career path

Provided you know your future career path, you should choose any prerequisite subjects that may be required. Generally, this means choosing the highest level of mathematics that you are capable of, continuing with a language if possible or investigating/researching the subjects that are required for tertiary study. Where a future career path is unknown, it is best to keep your options open by choosing a broad course or researching the consequences of not choosing a subject.

Choose subjects that you are good at.
Students may not necessarily like a particular subject, but they are very talented in the area, or have always found the subject easier than most.

I ask all families to allocate time to discuss subject selections over the next few weeks. Take advantage of the information sessions available here at the school, organise interviews with relevant staff members and complete your own research regarding what is best for your child. As long as the decisions that are made are informed decisions, then we are all doing the best that we possibly can! The College will also lead students in Years 8, 9 & 10 through the process of subject selection and important information will be distributed to students and parents over the next 4 weeks. Later in the term we will go through the process of electing student leaders for the 2023 school year, another important aspect of third term.

College Production
The upcoming production of ‘High School Musical” will hopefully provide a wonderful example of what can be achieved when many people, in this case students, staff members and parents, work together in a common endeavor. There have been months of hard work resulted in the lead up to our performances which are scheduled for Wednesday 20 July, Thursday 21 July, Friday July 22 and Saturday 23 July. We are indebted especially to our director, Ms Jane Dalli and the other staff including Ramona Arney, Simon Greatwood, Catherine Hosking, Sandra Warren, Dianne Lee and Tania Hatherell and Bethaney Warren. I will attend the Opening night session on Thursday 21 July. I thank the student body involved with High School Musical including the cast members, band, backstage and costumes. I am mindful of the time commitment that this has meant both for our students, staff but also parents as they have had to ferry around their sons or daughters to rehearsals and the like. I hope that the performances are an accurate reflection of the effort, commitment, and talents of all those involved.

NAIDOC AFL Game against Gubutt Magpies
As part of the celebrations of NAIDOC week in the past week, Penola Catholic College hosted an AFL game against the Garbutt Magpies from Townsville. The game was held on Tuesday, 5 July at the Hangar, Essendon Football Club, 275 Melrose Drive, Tullamarine. From all reports the game was a huge success

A huge thanks to Mr Arnel Davis for all of his organisation of this opportunity for our students as well as the Townsville students as well.

Parent Teacher Student Partnership Meetings
Our Parent Teacher Student interviews will take place on Thursday 11 August at both campuses. These interviews will take place via Microsoft TEAMS. Education is a three-way partnership between the school, the students and families.

Year 7 Enrolments 2024
A reminder to all of our existing families that Year 7 enrolments for 2024 close on Friday, 19 August. A number of families applied after the close of enrolment last year and it makes it very difficult to accurately plan for the following year, so I ask that you submit your enrolment as soon as possible. Often families assume that we know that there is a younger sibling, but I would be very disappointed if one of our existing families missed out on an enrolment due to not submitting their enrolment in a timely manner.

Reminder: No Year 12 VCE classes on Friday, 22 July
Friday 22 July will be student free for all Year 12 VCE students as the vast majority complete their Year 12 English orals on this day. This will allow our English staff time to complete a fair and just assessment of each and every year 12 English student. Year 12 VCAL students will have normal classes on this day.

Condolences
Condolences to the Hoctor family (Amy Year 10, Claire Year 7) on the passing of their mother Alison during the holiday period after a long battle will cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hoctor family throughout this most difficult time.

Condolences to the Tie family (Sahrvio Year 9) on the passing of his father during the recent holiday period. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Tie family throughout this most difficult time.