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6 April Newsletter 2023 |
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Principal's Message
Holy Week “... This is the blood of the covenant, which was shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28). Easter gives an intimate meaning for us as followers of Christ. It is a reminder of Jesus' victory through His death that freed us from the grip of sin and the judgment of sin. The Holy Communion which was instituted by Jesus about 2000 years ago gives us a new meaning; the forgiveness of sins through Jesus’s shed blood for us. When we received Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we received God’s forgiveness! But how do we live according to God's love and this forgiveness towards us that gives us life? By obeying and living according to God’s commandment - to love God and to love others.  Besides the belief that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, the single most important truth professed by Christians is that the Son of God suffered torture and execution, died on a cross, and rose from the dead three days later. The claim is that Jesus did not return to his former earthly existence but was raised to a state of glorification. This glorified state was unveiled briefly on top of Mount Tabor when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.
 We wish all our staff, students and families a Blessed Easter. Truly, Christ is Risen!
Parent Teacher Interviews Thank you to all the parents who made time to meet with our teachers online for Parent Teacher Day. I hope that parents and students found the day helpful in understanding your child’s progress reports and what they can do to further progress. We did send a survey asking parents if they preferred online vs Face to face meetings. It was clear the majority of parents do prefer online. Here are some of the comments from a parent survey when asked how useful/important parent teacher interviews were to them:
Some areas for improvement:
We will use the feedback from parents to continue to improve future parent teacher interviews. - Ms Joanne Bacash Deputy Principal's Message - Cedar Campus What a great term it has been at Cedar. It promises to be another productive year. As you are aware the staff have been busy testing, assessing and getting to know your children this term. The ‘pre’ testing procedure helps us get a clear picture of our students and how to best suit their needs. If you would like to help with the literacy development in class please contact the office for more details. Ms Janine and Ms Hine will be offering some training early Term 2. Parent helpers are important to the success of the literacy program. If you are able to give some time on a weekly basis, it would be of benefit to all the students’ literacy development.
 Thank you to our amazing Parent and Friends Committee who continue to sacrifice time to support the school and see their kids flourish. The Easter Hampers looked amazing and they raised a fantastic amount of $1545! A big thank you to Rotana Travel for donating a bike for the First Prize.
- Mr Abraham Diab Mother's Day Dinner Tickets selling fast for the Annual Mother's Day Dinner!
 Faith DevelopmentYear 6 students walk the Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of Lebanon Church  On Friday 31st March, the Year 6 students along with Father Richard, walked the Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of Lebanon Church. It was beautiful to see the students come together in prayer, reading aloud the stories that happened at each station. For some of our students, this may have been the first time that they have walked the stations. It’s an important ritual in our Catholic faith that we acknowledge and commemorate the journey Jesus took from his condemnation to his death. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation and to be able to listen to the events that took place is a spiritual blessing. Click here to view on MACS website - Ms Tanya Khattar
 On Wednesday 29th of March, F-6 students at Cedar campus came together to acknowledge Harmony Day. Harmony Day is a day in Australia dedicated to promoting the stop to discrimination against each other no matter our social status, gender, religion or race. Australia is a multicultural country and we welcome people from all walks of life. Today, we were able to share some of the activities completed during Harmony Week including art works, poems and posters. During this assembly the Grade 4 students also led us in a beautiful prayer preparing us to enter Holy Week. Alongside the prayer, students from 3B sang a beautiful song dedicated to St Rafqa in honor of her Feast Day. - Ms Tanya Khattar
The Lord's Supper  On Wednesday April 5th, students from Years 4-6 attended mass, commemorating the the Lord's supper. It was a beautiful mass celebrated by Father Richard where we saw 12 students take on the role of Jesus' disciples to reenact the washing of the feet. Holy Thursday is a sacred day in the Catholic faith as it marks the last time Jesus sat with his disciples, broke bread and drank wine. - Ms Tanya Khattar Caritas Fundraiser  At Cedar Campus, during this Lenten season, we have been supporting Caritas Australia in its mission to help provide much-needed support to people who are less fortunate here and around the world. We had a 'Guess the Lolly Jar' contest, a casual clothes day and each classroom had their own Project Compassion box that they could donate any spare change to. The winner of the lolly contest and lucky new owner of the jar with a guess of 208 lollies was Robert Essey in 2B. Congratulations to Robert! In total from these fundraisers, Cedar Campus has raised a total of $1,193.25 which is an amazing effort! Thank you to everyone who donated, your generosity is much appreciated. We hope you all have a blessed Easter, and safe term break - Ms Tanya Khattar
Year 3B have been learning about St Rafqa and they honoured her by singing the following St Rafqa Hymn. - Mrs Miriam Ayoub Cedar Rosary Club  During Lent the Cedar Rosary Club has been meeting in the Chapel to pray the Rosary. This week during Holy Week the most sacred time of the Church’s year, the students reflected on Jesus’ great love for us as they prayed the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary – the Crucifixion and concluded with the following prayer: Prayer Dear Jesus, You showed great courage and love when you died on the cross. Thank you for giving your life for us. Thank you for loving us. Help us to bring love and peace into our world. Amen. - Mrs Christina Staunton-Burke Year 7 Retreat  The Year 7 Retreat was held on Monday 27th of March, which focused on the Year 7 theme of identity and its connection to our faith. The retreat consisted of activities, discussions, and opportunities for reflection. At the end of the day, students participated in a prayer service on the Stations of the Cross. Thank you to the Year 7 RE/PC teachers for facilitating the sessions and to all Year 7 students for getting involved in all activities.
- Emanuella Isaac, 7 Paterson Faith Club Discussion During Faith Club, students reflected on the topic “Do animals go to Heaven?”. This question was discussed amongst students of Faith Club and then it was answered though a video by Father Rob Galea, a Catholic Priest from Victoria. Through this video, Father Rob discussed his life and his dog as an animal that brings him happiness and provides him with the affection he requires. He concludes his video by stating that animals were created for earth and to show love to humans, rather than for heaven. After watching the video, we discussed how humans were created for something greater. They were created to love and to show God’s love, something which is greater than the world. - Amani Alkichani, 12B Year 8 and 9 Mass  Over the past few weeks, the Year 8 and Year 9 students have had the opportunity to participate in their respective year level liturgy, celebrated by our College Chaplain Monsignor Joe. It has been a great chance for our students to spend time in prayer, in the lead up to Easter.
- Paul Boulos, 8C Learning and WellbeingWe Are Becoming eSmart  Saint Joseph Campus is an accredited eSmart Campus and we are working towards gaining accreditation for Cedar so we can be an eSmart College. We already have a lot in place to support smart, safe and responsible use of digital technology and we have developed an eSmart committee at Cedar Campus to work towards gaining the accreditation. We will share information and resources that will help us all on our goal to safe online practices for our students. - Ms Ria Coffey
 On Thursday the 30th of March, while most students were enjoying a relaxing day at home, 25 Antonine High Achievers from Years 3-6 participated in a challenging online mathematics competition. The competition is called “Kangourou Sans Frontières,” and it is the largest mathematics competition in the world, with around 6 million participants every year! The competition’s funny name is in French, and means “Kangaroo Without Borders.” That is because it was started in France in 1991, inspired by the Australian Mathematics Competition, which is a multiple-choice mathematics competition that promotes the fun of mathematical problem-solving. Our Antonine College students competed in Middle Primary (Grades 3-4) and Upper Primary (Grades 5-6) divisions, solving 24 or 30 multiple-choice problems in 60 minutes using not only basic computational skills, but also inspiring ideas, perseverance, creativity and imagination, logical thinking, and other problem-solving strategies. We are very proud of these 25 students and look forward to receiving their results and certificates in the near future. - Ms Mori Milholland
This zine is facilitated and led by members of the student leadership team. This term we had 6 enthusiastic year 12 leaders volunteer to set aside some of their free time to organise and put together our first ever zine. The leaders were very proactive and collaborated to discuss and put together the layout and final design of the zine. I want to acknowledge the follow leaders who facilitated this term’s zine:
Any student wanting to be a part of the second edition term 2 zine or to find out more please speak with me early next term. Click here to read Antonine Zine 1st Edition - Miss Isabella Athaide Foundation - Year 6 First Aid Incursion
 All students at Cedar Campus attended the St John Ambulance First Aid incursion.
- Ms Janine Wanda  There was a lot of excitement in the air today. Foundation C were going on an Easter egg hunt! In the morning the children made their Easter baskets and decorated them. They were ready for the greatest Easter egg hunt of all time! Ready, set, go! Off they went, holding their baskets, looking for the brightly coloured eggs hidden in the grass. They found all the eggs and found little fluffy chicks! It was one EGGCELLENT Easter egg hunt and the children enjoyed it. The children were thrilled to tell Mr Diab all about it. Now Mr Diab is working hard making his Easter basket and he too is going on an Easter egg hunt. Don’t know what his chances are in finding any eggs though! - Ms Vicki Tsarouhas 2A You Can Do It  In Year 2 we have been working through the 5 Keys in the You Can Do It program to help us improve our Social Emotional Learning. One of the keys is Persistence. We have been discussing how important it is to keep on trying when we are learning new skills and not give up when something is too hard. To practise the key to Persistence we tried to build a House of Cards. Everyone had different ideas on how to build a house of cards. We practised lots of ways until we succeeded. Our House of Cards were amazing. We are all very proud of ourselves. - Mrs Anna Candido Year 4 Melbourne Museum Excursion  Our Year 4 students explored Aboriginal history and culture at the Melbourne Museum as part of their Inquiry unit on Monday 4th of April. Students were taught about Aboriginal culture through the voices of Victoria’s First Peoples utilising cutting-edge multimedia. Aboriginal languages were explored and artefacts as well as contemporary artworks featured as part of the exhibition. It was great to see our students take such a keen interest in exploring multiple areas of the museum including the Dinosaur Walk and Dynamic Earth exhibitions, Garden and Rainforest walks. Well done to all Year 4students for their enthusiasm and participation. - Ms Martina Gawro and Mr Corrado Blanco Year 6 SRC Leadership Day  This year, our Year 6 leaders ventured off to the Melbourne Convention Centre for their visit to the National Young Leaders Day. It is an annual event, which is organised by the Halogen Foundation to develop strong leadership values amongst young students all over Australia.
- Mr Hayden Wyllie F-6 Club  Cedar Campus had a terrific range of lunchtime clubs this term! Students participated in fun activities and learnt new skills in sewing, chess, Esports, gardening, art and dance clubs among others! Thanks to all of those teachers who spent their time running these fantastic clubs. Don’t forget to look out for next term’s sign up form so you can get in on the action next time. - Mr Hayden Wyllie ARABIC - Cedar Campus  Term Review Students settled in nicely and finished the term working on different topics and activities. These topics and activities were selected to challenge and motivate students to achieve better results.
- Mrs Rima Atme Year 7 Camp  Year 7 students attended camp at Candlebark Farm, Healesville. Students were divided into 6 groups, with the goal of making new friendships. They engaged in various activities which required teamwork, perseverance, and a positive mindset. The highlight for many was the super swooper zipline, canoeing and the bird show at Healesville Sanctuary.
- Ms Ayesha Guido Year 7 Aerodynamics Paper Plan Competition  Year 7 Students have been learning about Forces in Science over the past few weeks in which the different forces acting on objects in various scenarios were investigated. Today students designed and created paper airplanes to showcase their understanding of aerodynamics and how the shape of their planes implicate the forces acting on the object and therefore how far the plane will fly. - Ms Amber Hatsios Year 8 Practical - Muscles Get Tired  Students spent the lesson investigating how different arm positions can affect blood flow to certain muscle cells and in turn affect muscle fatigue. This practical directly relates to their practical investigation assessment that discusses the bodies cells and how energy is produced and used in the body. - Ms Amber Hatsios Year 9 Science  This term the Year 9 Science classes have been studying disease, a brief history of Medicine and plagues, ways to prevent disease and looked at Australian Nobel Prize winners for Medicine. As part of this students investigated what happens to milk after it is left in various condition and looked at the pH of the milk over time. - Mrs Stephanie Monds Year 9 Outdoor Education - Maribyrnong River  Year 9 Outdoor Education class, enjoying the last few days of summer by walking along the Maribyrnong River. Visiting local parks and bridges. - Mr Emile Fakhry
 On Friday 31 March some of the Year 9 and 10 Digital Technology students experienced the real-life applications of their Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) studies through the Formula 1® Grand Prix's Driving Learning program. They participated in activities including career presentations from technical areas of Formula One and the local motorsport industry, exhibitors showcasing local innovations and capabilities, student workshops providing hands-on experiences and more. The students were very thankful for this opportunity and they had a great learning experience. - Ms Polly Kaur Year 10 Robotics
The Year 10 Robotics students worked hard this term to complete their first project in Robotics. They used Lego Mindstorms to build their robots and then they used EV3 software to program and control their robots. Some of the projects completed are shown in the photos and videos. Dany Jawhar built a driving base and programmed it to complete a driving challenge around a track. Isabella Al-Bazi and Ibrahim Moussa built a puppy and programmed it to do different tasks. Philip Fattoul and Antonio Hamwi built a crane and programmed it to lift, carry and move objects. - Ms Roudaina Tabet Year 10 Outdoor Education - Royal Botanic Gardens  The Year 10 Outdoor Education class adventured out to the Royal Botanic Gardens, which featured multiple visit’s such as the shrine of remembrance, Ferny Gully rainforest, Tropical glasshouse and Ornamental Lake. - Mr Emile Fakhry Year 11 Psychology  Year 11 Psychology students applied their understanding of the brain by dissecting a lamb’s brain. They were able to identify the different structures of the brain, describing their functions as each was located. - Ms Ayesha Guido Year 12 Student Leader Conference  On Wednesday 29th March four Year 12 student leaders; Amani Alkichani, Andre Fatoul, Eva Harika and Rand Farrough were lucky enough to be a part of the GRIP student leader annual conference held at Melbourne Convention Centre. The GRIP leadership assists enthusiastic student leaders to train and develop them within the education sector. The students who attended came away with new skills, new perspectives and new ideas for making a positive contribution as a leader. On the day we were able to choose elective worships to tailor their experience to our own school community and as a group we chose to focus on ‘How to get everybody participating in big events’ and ‘How to get everybody on board with a new idea’. In addition to this we were able to network with hundreds of other student leaders from schools all around Victoria to share ideas, become inspired and implement new ideas at our own school. - Miss Isabella Athaide Student Reflection: “Four of the VCE leaders, Andre, Eva, Rand and myself, went on an excursion to the ‘Grip Leadership’ conference, where they had to attend several sessions in order to gain more knowledge about their role as Leaders. This conference discussed ways to enhance their work performance as school leaders by engaging more school community members in school activities. Some of the main points mentioned includes making people feel belonged to a community/ group within the school, seeking out those who are left out and encouraging them, assisting those who look up for the leader's help and many more. This gave the leaders with Miss Athaide better ideas for enhancing the school's engagement in various activities and the Leadership skills needed required. As leaders, we were able to gain a lot of knowledge on what we can do for our school specifically, as to which aiming to make our community a better place for everyone. “ - Amani Alkichani (College Co-Captain) Earth Warriors Clean Up Australia Week  On clean up Australia week, a group of people, including myself, went for a walk outside the school, as we previously planned, to pick up rubbish. On our walk, we found many pieces of hard rubbish and other items such as alcohol bottles, a lot of McDonalds cups, cigarette butts, lighters, cardboard, cans, plastic bottles and a large amount of plastic. Not only was the walk exciting, | also think the long walk gave us all a bit of exercise. The point of Clean up Australia week is to encourage Australians to clean up our land in order to protect our environment. This event links to Laudato si’ which is a letter written by Pope Francis that tells us all to care for our common home. | believe that we should always avoid littering and pick up any rubbish we see and put it in the bin where it belongs, this way we can all help protect our environment. - Tatiana El Nachar The Easter Celebration’s Day  St Joseph Campus celebrated the Easter Day on the 31st of March. It was organised by the Community of Practice (Culture and Communities group): Arabic Cultural Activities/Intercultural Activities.
Congratulations to everyone for the success of this Day, and thanks to all those who helped and participated, including students, teachers, administrators, leaders, and Sister Rita El-Azzi, as well as to the school principal, Mrs. Joanne Bacash, for her continuous support for all school activities.
- Mrs Layla Issa
Year 10 Premier League Girls Soccer  I am extremely delighted to announce another successful season for the year 10 girls’ soccer competition. After an undefeated 22’ season and reining champs’ of 2022 students were excited to get back out on the field to represent Antonine College. On Monday 3rd of April girls from year 9 and 10 competed against close contenders Salesian College. From the first whistle Antonine went out strong, showing our class and great formation. We cannot forget to mention 3 outstanding goals from Neveen, Lida and Angela and the exceptional defence of our goalkeeper Isabella Albazi to seal a 3-0 victory over our oppositions and crowning us 2023 Year 10 Girls Soccer champions, going back-to-back premiers. From a coaching perspective it gives me great pride to be able to mentor this group of talented students. I have seen them develop since I began at the college, and there is no other team more deserving of a win than our girls. I thank particularly Lida, Angela and Alena for their consistent guidance of their peers through position coaching. I look forward to seeing the girls get back out on the pitch in 2024! GO ANTONINE. Soccer is a team sport and requires all 11 field players as well as all substitutes for the successful movement of the game. Please join me on congratulating the following team members of the 2023 girls’ soccer team:
- Miss Isabella Athaide Upcoming Dates:
3-5 April: Year 7 Camp 6 April: St Joseph Campus House Athletics Carnival 6 April: Last Day of Term One 7 April: Good Friday 25 April: ANZAC Day Public Holiday 26 April: Term 2 Commences 5 May: Cedar Campus Athletics Carnival 10 May: Mother's Day Morning Tea and Assembly (Cedar Campus) 12 May: Mother's Day Dinner Dance The upcoming Maronite Teen Flames eventArchery, will be held on Saturday 15th of April between 2.30-5.30pm. Address: Archery Attack, 118-120 Henty St, Reservoir Cost $35 (includes food) Dress code: Please come dressed in athletic clothing. Please RSVP by no later than Thursday 13th of April via the following link: https://forms.gle/ScNDDFJZdaVKr6oU6  Bunnings Warehouse Event We are called to care for CREATION - 2023 College Theme |
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