Term 4 Week 8 College Newsletter
Acknowledgement of Country
From the Principal
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Last Friday we farewelled the Year 12 Class of 2024 with their final liturgy. The liturgy was a very special occasion within our College community to come together to give thanks to our God for the many blessings and opportunities the students have experienced during their time at the College. The liturgy was a wonderful testimony to our graduating class and the way they have authentically lived the Edmund Rice spirit over the past six years. We have been enriched by their presence and contribution to the life and community of the College, and for this we are grateful.
As our Year 12’s completed their schooling last week. This week we had some 190 new students attend our Year 6 Orientation Day. It was wonderful to see the excitement on their faces as this group commences their secondary schooling in 2024. They had an opportunity to get a feel of Iggy Park by participating in classroom activities, house activities, and co-curricular activities. Thank you to our Year 11 Peer Mentors who ensured that all of our new students felt welcome and comfortable at the College. It is hard to believe this group will be the graduating class of 2029!
Last week I was fortunate to attend the Cowboys House Awards Night. Ignatius Park College has currently seventeen students who reside at Cowboys House. I was proud to see many of our students receive awards from Cowboys House for their commitment to their studies, community and the boarding house. Over a third of the students who reside at Cowboys House (Boys) attend Iggy Park and through our educational support we provide the opportunity for these students from remote centres to be successful and develop clear vocational pathways.
Staff News
Unfortunately, a number of staff will be leaving us at the conclusion of this year and I would like to thank them for their dedication and commitment to Iggy Park. They include:
- Meagan Waldon who has gained a position as Acting Principal at Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mount Isa.
- Khouloude Rachidi who has been successful in gaining a teaching position at Canberra Grammar.
- Jude Head our Hospitality Program Leader and Mrs. Alix Harrington our Marketing and Communication Coordinator who are both commencing their own businesses;
- Hue Plumtree, Mrs Jo Penny and Mr. Braithen Knox will also be finishing at the end of this year.
Advent
Next Sunday, 3rd December is the commencement of Advent, one of the Holy Seasons of our Church. In our culture, the broader call of these weeks is to prepare for Christmas by spinning ourselves dizzy with cooking, baking, shopping, socialising and more. However, the undercurrent of Advent is to prepare for the birth of Christ by focusing on the silent, patient, hopeful waiting of this season.
Each year I try to practice a quieter Advent, as I like to think I always want to, but rarely achieve. This Advent will be busy as I pack to return to Adelaide to be with my family and to finish my time as Principal at Ignatius Park College, but I do plan to take some time to reflect upon Christmas and appreciate our greatest gift - which is to value the company of each other and reach out to others in need. Christmas must be a time for spiritual reflection on the important foundations of our Christian faith. For it is a time that allows us to celebrate God’s love for the world through the birth of the Christ child: Jesus.
As a college we need to continually challenge societal norms and values that are not Christ like and decisions that exclude those on the margins. As Christians we need to continually challenge ourselves and realise that our greatest joys in life are rarely found in the relentless pursuit of selfish ambition – that selfish desires always leave us lacking and searching for more. God calls us to live for something greater than ourselves. Our contribution to this world has to be measured by something more meaningful than the size of our house or the neighbourhood where it is located and how much we earn. Our life should be measured on how we can empower others and be service to others who don’t have a voice in our society. Our college motto “Seek Truth” challenges us to be truly Gospel people and live the vision of Blessed Edmund Rice, who, inspired by Christ’s story opened his heart to God and made a difference in his world by challenging the status quo of his time.
As we enter the Advent season and prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ may we give generously to those in need in our society? I wish all members of our College community a Holy and safe Christmas and thank you for the support of the college throughout my six years as Principal. Reminder school commences for Year 7 on Monday 22nd January 2024 and Year 8 – 12 on Tuesday 23rd January 2024.
Valete and Thank You from the Outgoing Principal
I am aware that this Newsletter is the last for the year and it is my last as Principal at Ignatius Park College. I am so thankful to so many of you for your kind words and gifts. It is very deeply humbling. I have loved my six years as Principal at Ignatius Park College. There have certainly been some challenging times that have tested me, but much more significantly, I have a deep sense of gratitude for so many treasured moments and experiences. It has been an honour to share with you the responsibility of caring for your sons and helping them reach their potential. Ignatius Park College has a proud history, I am proud of the small contribution I have made, but I believe that Iggy Park’s best years are ahead of us. I know you share my confidence in Mr. Luke Thomson as the Principal for 2024.
In closing, I want to express my deepest gratitude to every one of you for being part of this remarkable journey. The memories we have created together will always hold a special place in my heart. I leave with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that our shared efforts have made a positive impact on countless lives. I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours, and I hope our paths may meet again.
Finally, I would like to share this poem which I heard when I was in Ireland this year. It is from John O’Donohue, who died too young about fifteen years ago. His words live on and call us to the Advent path of hope and joy.
At the End of The Year
As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.
The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.
Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.
The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.
The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.
Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.
We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.
Live Jesus in our Hearts Forever
God Bless Ignatius Park College
Shaun Clarke | College Principal
Director of Curriculum
IMPORTANT CURRICULUM DATES FOR TERM 4
(dates are subject to change)
Week 4 – 7 | |
· Monday 23 October – Tuesday 14 November: | Year 12 QCAA External Assessment Phase |
Week 7 - 8 | |
· Thursday 16 – Friday 24 November: | Year 7 – 10 Exam Phase |
· Thursday 16 – Friday 24 November: | Year 11 Mid Unit 3 Exam Phase |
Week 9/10 | |
· Friday 1 December | Year 7 – 11 Reports issued |
· Friday 15 December | Year 12 Final Results released by QCAA |
END OF SEMESTER ASSESSMENT
Students and parents are reminded that our last day of teaching and learning in 2023 is Friday 24 November (Week 8). |
END OF SEMESTER REPORT CARDS
End of Semester report cards for all Year 7 to 10 students will be available for collection from the Edmund Rice Hall on Thursday 30 November between 11am and 12pm. Please ensure all college resources (i.e. textbooks, borrowed laptops etc) have been returned to the Learning Resource Centre prior to collecting your report. Any damaged or lost resources must also be paid for prior to collecting.
Year 11 students will not receive a report card until the end of Unit 3 in Term 1 of 2024.
YEAR 12 RESULTS
Year 12 results are due to be released on 15 December from 9:00am. Students will be able to access their final subject results and their Senior Education Profile (SEP) from their learning accounts on the myQCE website at: myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au.
Depending on your son's subject selection and results, his SEP will comprise one or more of the following documents:
- Senior Statement: list of all QCAA subjects and results
- Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE): if eligible
- Queensland Certificate of Individual Attainment (QCIA): if eligible.
Additionally, Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) has advertised that ATAR results will also be released on Friday December 15. Students who have not already done so, will need to set up an account with QTAC at: https://atar.qtac.edu.au/sessions/signin.
Students who have any questions about accessing their learning accounts on the myQCE website or their QTAC accounts should see myself or the College Careers Advisor, Ms. Fiona Williamson.
2024 SUBJECT CHOICES
Students who will be in Year 9 – 11 next year will soon be emailed with their subject choices for next year. If students wish to make any changes to their subjects for 2024, a subject change form will need to be completed. Subject change forms can be collected from the Edmund Rice Office or please email curriculum@ipc.qld.edu.au for assistance.
Shane Dove | Director of Curriculum
Identity and Mission
Dear Parents & Carers,
Last week we farewelled the Graduating Class of 2023 with a fantastic Liturgy in the Hall. It was a great occasion mixed with prayer, reflection, memories and anticipation for the future. Thanks to everyone involved; parents, students and staff who made this a day to remember for the group.
This Friday sees the last day for the rest of our amazing students. Year 10 students with their invited parents are involved in a Transition Liturgy from 11:15am in the Hall. An important rite of passage in teh schooling Journey moving from Junior to Senior schooling. The Year 11's at the same time are involved in a Mass with Fr Rod in the Chapel to commemorate their last day before officially taking on the "White Shirt" responsibility and living the "Seven Houses; One Home" theme they have developed. Please remind your son/s to wear academic uniform on Friday and that Year 10's and 11's will be dismissed from school at approximately 12:00pm at the conclusion of their respective rituals.
Year 7/8/9 cohorts are lucky enough to spend the full day at school, paricitpating in what is always a great Christmas Mass in the Hall from 2:00pm. They will have cleaned out their lockers and tidied their homerooms prior to this and will be dismissed from the Hall at the regular time of 3:00pm (2:50pm for early bus students).
Christmas Reflections
We know for sure that Santa Claus is coming to town; and so is Snoopy, Peanuts, Frosty, the Grinch, Rudolph, and more seasonal visitors than we may care to name. We also know that Jesus is coming, but he doesn’t advertise his arrival as relentlessly as these others so we aren’t sure quiet when. Will he arrive in time for the holidays? Too late to stop the next war? Too soon for me to acquire all the things I’d like to have in this world?
This is the Advent from which the season takes its name. Jesus is coming, and his advent is the one all these modern myths seek to recreate. Will Charlie Brown find the real meaning of Christmas? Only with a Scripture-quoting friend like Linus. With the Grinch get a life? Only if he opens his eyes to the world he’s always had. Jesus is coming all the time, but we won’t know it if we refuse to change. That is the purpose of Advent, to give us fair notice that it’s time to take time seriously.
For whom or what are you waiting?
Be a friend like Linus to someone who has not heard the message of the story of Bethlehem. Share your faith with someone who is still waiting for love to come.
The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing.
Thank you for your support over the course of the year in all our major events – liturgies, retreats, fundraising, volunteering, your additional push from home is always welcome to entice the boys to give of themselves to something bigger in life.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and may the season of the Birth of Christ be a safe one for you and your families.
Mark Holmes
Director – Identity & Mission
Pathways Hub
School-based Apprenticeship
We are happy to announce a school-based Apprenticeship. The successful student is Bryce Parry (11 Rice) who has been signed up as a school-based apprentice Fitter and Turner with Woodfield Engineering. We would like to wish him all the best on securing this opportunity to gain skills and a qualification whilst still at school.
Diploma of Business
The Diploma of Business has now concluded. We would like to congratulate all the students who were able to complete their Diploma. Some boys were missing from the picture.
We have 7 students doing work experience during these holidays. It is now closed to register. Please also start thinking about registering for Easter Holidays. Work experience is a great opportunity for students to gain an insight into possible career matches and determine potential future pathways post school. If you would like more information about how to organise work experience, please contact Mr Kyle or Mrs Vignale in the Pathway Hub.
Industry Placement Uniforms
To avoid any delays in receiving your embroidered Ignatius Park College Industry Placement Shirt and Pants for 2024. Please go into School Locker before December 17th, 2023, to purchase your uniform to be embroidered.
THE SHIRT AND PANTS ARE EMBROIDERED WITH YOUR NAME
TRADE SHIRT WITH EMBROIDERY $60 TRADE PANT WITH EMBROIDERY $45
Industry Placement Packs from year 10s
Following their SET plan interviews in Term 3, the subjects your son has chosen will mean he will be part of the Industry Placement in 2023. For this to occur, the paperwork your son was given following his SET plan needs to be completed and returned by Friday, the 24th of November. If he did not receive any paperwork at the end of the SET plan interview, please let me know. I can follow up with your son and provide him with a pack to complete.
Zeb Kyle
Program Leader of Skills and Training
Peer Mentors
On the 7th and 8th of November 2023, the selected Peer Mentors came together on camp to develop their skills and gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a Peer Mentor. Using the skills learnt on camp, the Peer Mentors did a fantastic job welcoming the Year 6’s to Ignatius Park on Orientation Day on Monday 20th November 2023.
While we are excited to welcome the new Peer Mentors, we say goodbye to the 2023 Peer Mentors. The facilitators of the program would like to take this opportunity to thank this year’s Peer Mentors for doing an amazing job throughout the year, especially during Child Protection Week, and wish them all the very best going into their final year at IPC.
We are looking forward to next year and welcoming the Year 7’s in January.
Have a safe holiday and Happy New Year from the Peer Mentors and Facilitators.
Year 11 Engineering Excursion
In Week 7, the Year 11 Engineering students had their annual excursion to James Cook University. They teamed up with the Cathedral School to perform experiments such as truss and beam analysis, compression and tensile tests and airplane wing design in the wind tunnel.
As has been promised for a few years, in 2024 we will definitely be in the brand new Engineering facilities that open in January – facilities that will rival the best Engineering Faculties in the country. Thanks to JCU for once again hosting us, we are sure the tradition will continue of Iggy boys moving onto tertiary Engineering studies at JCU.
Year 11 Film, Television & New Media Excursion
Recently the year 11 Film, Television and New Media students participated in an excursion to Reading Cinemas. The students have studied Multiplatform media this term and celebrated their hard work by watching the latest installment to The Hunger Games series, The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes. Next year the students will design and produce their own Multiplatform concept and create a short film as part of their project.
