Carols in the Church

Advent, Christmas and Gifts
During Advent, a time of preparation for Christmas and the birth of Jesus, we are drawn to think of gifts. Likewise, as we conclude the school year, my appreciation is extended to the students, staff and parents who are the precious gifts of our community. I trust, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus and the wonderful gift for our humanity, that we are also drawn to see the people in our lives as gifts who have assisted us in our individual and communal journey. I trust that we have also learned to look beyond the wrapping and external presentations of those gifts to see their intent, hopes and care they have for us.

My gratitude is also extended to the many people who have contributed their services to the school community in 2017. Thank you for stepping up to the potential of one! The quality of education at Tenison Woods College is due to the contribution of many people who support our committed staff, most particularly the members of the School Board, Parent Class Representatives, LAP volunteers, and all those who have volunteered their service in a variety of ways throughout the College community. Thank you for your contributions and I trust there is a sense of satisfaction, knowing that you have been a gift to them and played a part in the ultimate quality of your child’s learning, and that of many others. 

May the joy of Christmas embrace you and your families, and the opportunity for regeneration enliven you as you enjoy the Christmas Season and holiday period.

Giving Tree
Thank you to the families and classes who have contributed to the Giving Tree Appeal. The presentation was held on Wednesday 13 December with hundreds of gifts and hundreds of dollars presented to representatives from St Vincent DePaul and AC.Care. Both organisations spoke of the increasing hardship faced by many in our community, which is highlighted at Christmas and expressed their enormous gratitude for the contributions made by the families and staff of Tenison Woods College.

ACYF
Last week, a group of 18 young adults and staff from the College and local parish departed for Sydney to attend the bi-annual Australian Catholic Youth Festival. The group have now returned and to hear all about the trip, read the ACYF article in this weeks’ newsletter.

Christmas Eve Vigil
On Christmas Eve, a family mass will be celebrated at 6.00pm in St Paul’s Church, Penola Road Mount Gambier. Children who would like to dress up as a shepherd or an angel are encouraged to do so and take part in the Nativity play as the Gospel is read.

Children who would like a special role in the play are asked to contact Michelle Coote at Tenison Woods College or Cisca Teodoro at the Parish Office. There will be a practice at 10.00am on Friday 22 December for those with a main role.

Michelle Coote | APRIM - Assistant Principal Religious Identity & Mission

Last night, Tuesday 12 December, the Year 9 End of Year Celebration was held in the Pam Ronan Centre to celebrate the hard work and great efforts of the 2017 Year 9 students. They spent their night dancing and laughing with the help of DJ Lauchie Jackman-Tilley and the exhilarating energy of the friends surrounding them. The young men and women dressed semi-formal, with some even deciding to go along with the Old Hollywood theme of the night. Many people took advantage of the photo booth provided, to produce some hilarious snapshots that they will cherish forever and look back on to remember the fun night.

There was an array of food on offer, such as pizza, lollies, ice cream and popcorn, along with drinks which were so kindly served by teachers and staff-members of the College.

We would like to thank the Year 9 End of Year Celebration Committee for their efforts, the PR & Events Team for their help with organisation and amazing decorations and of course Mrs Sigley, the backbone of the entire event.

Matisse Schmidt | Year 9 Student

Please read more to view photos from the night.

School Holiday Opening Hours:

• Thursday 14 December 1:00pm - 5.00pm

Reopening:

• Tuesday 23 January 9:00am - 1:00pm & 1.30pm -4:00pm 
• Wednesday 24 January 9:00 - 1:00pm & 1.30pm-4:00pm
• Thursday 25 January 8:00am - 1:00pm & 2:00pm-4:00pm
• Saturday 27 January 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Monday 29 January  8:00am - 12:00pm

Normal hours resume from Tuesday 30 January

• Tuesday 8:00am - 12:00pm
• Thursday 1:00pm - 5:00pm

From 7-9 December, 18 young adults and staff from the College and local parish attended the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Sydney. The group travelled to Sydney on the Wednesday and enjoyed a jam packed five days filled with uplifting experiences of song, dance, music, prayer and the highlights of Sydney.

The group attended plenaries, guest speakers, concerts and exhibitions at Olympic Park Village, as well as participating in a Pilgrimage beginning at the shrine of St Mary MacKillop, continuing with a walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and through the streets of Sydney to The Domain where an enormous open air mass was held. The mass ended with a spectacular fireworks show and the announcement of the Opening of the Year of Youth which will continue through until December 2018.

It is difficult to find words to communicate the entire experience or the value of the Festival to each individual, however everyone who was part of the South East group is excited to attend ACYF in Perth in December 2019 to re-live the event. We look forward to hearing more from this group throughout 2018 in response to the Bishops’ strong message throughout the Festival that “The Church wants to hear from you, the young people of Australia”

Michelle Coote | APRIM

End of Year Reports are now available via PAM for parents. Students are able to access their End of Year Reports via SIMON. Reports can be downloaded as a .PDF file and viewed on a device or a computer and printed, if a hardcopy is preferred.

If you have misplaced your PAM Login, please email pam@tenison.catholic.edu.au

Dedicated support will be available on Thursday 14 December between 9.00am and 3.00pm and on Monday 18 December between 10.00am and 12.00pm in the Front Office gallery area.

On Thursday 14 December at 12.00 midday family, friends and former work colleagues, will gather with Fr Michael for the dedication of a memorial and prayers in memory of former student, Steven Whitehead, who passed to eternal life Saturday morning 19 November, 2016.

The red wood timber seat memorial, masterfully crafted by the artisan, Douglas Childs, is situated in front of the Moorak Homestead, and facing the Sugarloaf Mountain, acknowledges the life of Steven, taken tragically with three other young men and employees of Tabeel Trading, as the result of an accident in the early hours of the morning near Penola while they were travelling to work.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of Steven Whitehead, at this time. He is remembered fondly as a gentle, sincere and self-effacing person, and who thrived in the practical dimensions of life. We trust that this memorial assists the family in their healing journey of loss, offers opportunities for us share fond memories of his presence with us on this earthly life, and confidence that Steven has passed to eternal life, the corner stone of our faith commitment.    

Students, staff and parents of our community are welcome to join the family, friends and former colleagues for the dedication, and to share a light meal and chat after the ceremony at the Sugarloaf Café.

David Mezinec | Principal

In December Jack Opperman, Amy and Tess Wight recently competed in the recent National Junior Track Cycling Series (held in Brisbane, QLD.)

Jack Opperman jumped 8 points clear of the next SA rider to claim 8th spot and Best SA Rider. Sitting on 86 points, he won the Derby sprint and his Kierin heat.

Amy Wight is sitting in 27th position on 5 points, riding well in all events, especially the points race.

Tess Wight is sitting in 7th spot (best SA rider) on 34 points and came 2nd in her mystery lapper final.

Congratulations to these students for their efforts. 
 

Kate Exelby | Athlete Welfare Manager
High Performance Sports Program

Check out the parish Facebook page, ‘like’ and ‘follow’ it here.

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Thursday 14 December

• Professional Development Day for Staff
• OSHC Open

Friday 15 December

• Professional Development Day for Staff
• Front Office closed
• Staff conclude year
• OSHC Open

Tuesday 19 December

• ELCC Christmas Celebration

Friday 22 December

• Office closes
• ELCC closes
• OSHC closes

Tuesday 23 January 2018

•  All Teaching Staff commence

Thursday 25 January 2018 

• Book collection day

Friday 26 January 2018 

• Australia Day Public Holiday

Monday 29 January 2018 

• Reception, Years 6, 8, 10,11, 12 commence term 

Tuesday 30 January 2018 

• All other students commence term 1.

Once again we had a full house for the Poplars Concert which didn’t disappoint, with singing, dancing and a video photo gallery of all the Poplars happenings across the year. We were warmly welcomed by the three Year 12 boys Blake, Peter and Brendon who also did the prayer to start things off. Miss Harridine’s class acted out the Christmas Story to the song ‘Oh What a Beautiful Night’. Mrs. Davis’ class did a presentation telling us about all the wonderful things they have enjoyed across the year. The last class presentation was from Mrs Jones’ class, where the students acted out ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ which had everyone in fits of laughter and they were very ably accompanied by Jordy Jones singing and playing the guitar. Following the three classes we were entertained and many staff shed some tears watching the video of the year. The entertainment continued with the Middle and Senior class when they performed a Hip Hop dance they had been taught by Kim Cella. The event ended with farewells to six of our students and two staff members.

Gill Clayfield | Poplars Manager

The annual Tenison’s Got Talent extravaganza was held in the Barrie Holmes Stadium on Monday afternoon, 11 December, with junior school talent on show for all to see. This year’s show was the largest in the event’s six-year history and included dancing, singing, instrumental acts and for the first time, a video montage. The process of identifying the talent commenced in early November with over 200 students auditioning for the annual event and culminated with 20 acts making the final cut.

This year’s event included the Year 7 Concert Band under the guidance of Ms Tameka Nube who started the show with a bang. The show concluded with a stirring rendition of 'Better Place' by Rachel Platten, sung by all Year 3 and 4 students. The song was dedicated to Sharn de Nys, who attended on the day. Students had been learning the piece in their music lessons with Mrs Bec Hudson. The song became known to the students as Sharn’s Song.

Thank you to the staff that once again supported this wonderful intuitive to enable students in the junior school to let their light shine.

Scott Dickson | Director Of Learning

Please read more for a gallery of photos from the event.

Book Collection for Reception – Year 7 Students
2018 Reception – Year 7 book packs will be available for collection from your child’s new classroom on Thursday 25 January between 8.30am -10.00am and 12.00pm -1.00pm.

Book Collection for Year 8-12 Students
2018 Year 8 -12 students can collect their book packs from Foster’s Newsagency at the following dates:

• Year 8: from 4 December
• Year 9: from 6 December
• Year 10-12: from 22 January

The Front Office will be closed on Friday 15 December for our Whole Staff Development Day. It will re-open from Monday 18 – Thursday 21 December. After the Christmas break, the office will reopen in 2018 on Monday 15 January.

Congratulations to the following students who represented the College at the Pacific School Games this year. 

Rori Perryman - Basketball
Alyssa Duncan - Netball
Joel Bryant - Golf
Amryn Bosko - Netball
Sophie Varcoe - Netball

The 2018 Tenison Woods College School Calendar will be available on the Tenison Woods College Website as of tomorrow (14 December). It can also be accessed through PAM and will be emailed to families within the next week.

Please click here to see the mass timetable for the Christmas and New Year period.

The Chinese Star Writing Competition was recently held, organised by Confucius Institutes, a non-profit institution. The competition has been conducted under the guidance and support from the Education Office of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Canberra, the Confucius Institute, and University of Adelaide. Students in Years 1 to 12 from ACT, NT, SA and WA were eligible to participate.

This year, four Year 9 students from our school entered the competition and, due to their effort, they successfully gained an excellent academic achievement:

Adam Black                           
Second Prize ($20 Dymocks Gift Voucher)

Samantha Braithwaite          
Second Prize ($20 Dymocks Gift Voucher)

Rosie van Eyk                       
Third Prize ($10 Dymocks Gift Voucher)

Darcy Lillecrapp                   
Certificate of Participation

Congratulations to these students for their excellent efforts in this competition.  

Bo Wei Xu |  Chinese Language Teacher

Timetables will be available for students to view through their Simon Portal page from Wednesday 20 December 2017. New Year 8 to 12 students will have a copy of their timetable mailed to them.

Nominations are open for 2018 Shining Lights!

Criteria and nomination forms are available on our website here.

Tenison Woods College
Shepherdson Road (PO Box 965)
Mount Gambier South Australia 5290

t: (08) 8725 5455 (Main Office)
f: (08) 8724 9303
t: (08) 8724 4650 (Senior School)
Absentee Line: (08) 8724 4659
OSHC Line: (08) 8724 4633

e: news@tenison.catholic.edu.au
w: www.tenison.catholic.edu.au

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