News Archive 2011

TERM 4 NEWS

2011 Higher School Certificate Results

The HSC class of 2011 has achieved outstanding results in the HSC and we are delighted to congratulate and celebrate their successes:

• St Ursula’s College had an impressive 94% of courses above the state examination mean this year. Particularly strong results were recorded in General Mathematics (14.59), English Standard (13.93), Textiles and Design (11.99), Studies of Religion II (11.51), Music I (9.64), Senior Science (9.46), Legal Studies (9.33) and Ancient History (9.31).
• Solid results were achieved across a range of subjects. Of all the two unit courses (including Studies of Religion I) studied at the College in 2011, 62% of all results were marks of 80 or above (Bands 5 or 6).
• In the demanding Extension courses, 100% of all results were in the top two bands (E3 or E4).
• A total of sixty-five girls from the College appeared one hundred and sixty-five times on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List of students who scored 90 or more marks in a course.
  

Four students were named on the Premier’s All Rounders Merit List for scoring 90% or above in 10 or more units. These students were: Nadim Azzam; Laura Bernhardt; Caitlin Brooks; and Julia Down

The College also had an unprecedented eleven students named in the Top Achiever’s List for attaining a State placing. These students included:

Congratulations to all the staff and students who have worked extremely hard to achieve these outstanding results. I look forward to acknowledging and celebrating these significant achievements with the College community in 2012 at the HSC High Achievers Assembly.

Fantastic results for 2011 School Certificate

Year 10 students at St Ursula’s College achieved great success in the 2011 School Certificate tests. The College average examination mark was well above the State average in all six tests. The percentage of our students in the top two bands – Bands 5 & 6 (80 – 100%) was also consistently and significantly above State figures. In the Computing Skills test, 78.8% of our students attained a Highly Competent (80% or above) level of achievement compared with 52.47% across the State.

Special congratulations to Rachel Green, Juliana Hasham and Angela O’Rourke who gained a Band 6 in the suite of Board of Studies School Certificate Tests.

The 2011 School Certificate results are outstanding and the girls are to be congratulated on their success. We can certainly expect great things from this cohort as they work towards their Higher School Certificate in 2012.

HSC selections for ArtExpress and nominations for Encore 2012

It is with much pride that the College announces that two students have had their Body of Work for Visual Arts selected for inclusion in ARTEXPRESS 2012 and one student has been nominated for Encore 2012.

ArtExpress is a State wide exhibition of the best Body of Work by Year 12 students from NSW, with the artworks going on display in major metropolitan and regional art galleries. Alisa Kwai and Anika Lukins have recently had their respective Bodies of Work, titled ‘Heritage’ and ‘No Sleep’, selected for display during January 2012 in the Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre. This year 9,775 students submitted Bodies of Works for the Visual Arts Examination and only 499 students were nominated for the ARTEXPRESS exhibition.

Two other Year 12 Visual Arts Students have also been chosen to exhibit from Dec 16 20011- Jan 16 2012 in the annual Artrules11 exhibition at the Hazelhurst Regional Art Gallery Gymea. This is also a wonderful achievement for the students as the works are selected by the curators of the Gallery from all St George and Sutherland Area schools. These students are Annie Huang ‘Destroy the old world, create the new world’ and Greta Balog ‘The Family Table’.

Greta Balog, has also been nominated to perform in the prestigious ENCORE concert. ENCORE is a program of outstanding performances and compositions by students from the Higher School Certificate Music examinations. It is held annually at the Sydney Opera House. The College community waits in anticipation of learning of Greta’s selection for this performance.

 eLEARNING

This year students at St Ursula’s have been involved in a number of significant projects in eLearning focussing on Cybersafety education. The most recent project has seen Year 9 students working on a collaborative project with Our Lady of Fatima Primary School Kingsgrove (OLF), to develop learning materials to inform and educate the students about keeping oneself safe online.

Friday 14 October, saw the culmination of the project, with Year 9 spending the day with Year 5 and 6 students at OLF. The day commenced with eight presentations on different areas of cybersafety: ‘Social Media – Is it safe?’; ‘Friending – Is a friend really a friend?’; ‘Think b4 you Post!’ and ‘Cyberlaws – what are the ages for social media use?’

Each presentation was followed by interactive activities designed by Year 9, designed to help the primary students reflect on their own use of technology as well as the strategies they need to adopt as common practise in order to stay safe online.

Cybersafety is a priority; we need to always ensure that our students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe. This project has enabled effective learning opportunities to be shared amongst the two schools.

TERM 3 NEWS

Congratulations Year 12!

On Monday September 19, parents, students and staff gathered for the Year 12 Awards Assembly and on Tuesday we celebrated a final Eucharist with Year 12 at the Graduation Mass presided over by Bishop Terry Brady, followed by the Graduation Dinner. We were very privileged to have Sr Ruth Durick, Acting Provincial of the Ursuline Sisters; Mrs Elizabeth O’Carrigan, Director, Catholic Education Office, Eastern Region; and Mr Tom Ryan, Treasurer of the Parents & Friends Association, as special guests to present our most significant awards. These events were a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of our Year 12 students and celebrate and give thanks for their time at St Ursula’s. A full list of the Year 12 Academic Awards is attached to the newsletter which can be accessed elsewhere on the College website; however it is with much pride that we list the recipients of the College Awards:

NAPLAN 2011

At St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove we firmly believe that solid literacy and numeracy skills form the basis of a sound education. Each year in May, our Year 7 and 9 students complete the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests. 

The 2011 NAPLAN results have just been released and once again the College has performed very strongly in all aspects of literacy and numeracy.  We are very proud of this achievement and it is a tribute to the skills of our students and the dedication of our teaching staff. These results continue the strong academic tradition at St Ursula’s College and acknowledge the outstanding curriculum leadership at the College.

The following table shows a comparison of our school’s results compared with the State in the top and bottom two bands.

St Ursula’s team places “8th in the State” at the National Titration Competition

Congratulations to Racheal Thompson, Annie Huang and Silka Chan who competed in the NSW Division of the National Schools Titration Competition. The competition involves completing a three hour Chemistry Experiment with the aim being to determine as accurately as possible, to the nearest 0.0001 of a gram, the mass of acid in an unknown sample. The experiment takes great care, precision and patience.
As a result of their fantastic efforts the team finished a very impressive 8th in the State and both Rachael and Annie received a rare gold medal indicating that their individual results were within 1% of correct result. They were less than 0.001g off!! Congratulations to all the girls.

Silka Chan, Annie Huang, Racheal Thompson

Catholic Education Office – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Year 12 Award Ceremony

Congratulations to Rachael Thompson who was presented with a Graduation Certificate at the Catholic Education Office Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Year 12 Award Ceremony by Dr Dan White, the Executive Director of Catholic Schools, and Mrs Cassandra Gibbs, Northern Territory Department of Education and Training Indigenous Ambassadors’ Program.

Student Leadership Team 2011/12

On Thursday 1 September, the new Student Leadership Team was presented to the whole College at a formal Assembly as their parents proudly looked on as special guests.

The outgoing Leadership Team was thanked and the moment when they unpinned their badges from their lapels and attached them onto the lapels of the new Leaders was a poignant moment for all.

However, nothing could overshadow the obvious pride as the new leaders promised to fulfill their duties as leaders through their prayer of commitment, after which the assembly affirmed their new positions of responsibility through congratulatory applause. A celebratory morning tea was served to the Leaders and their parents at the conclusion of the Assembly. For a full listing of the 2011/ 12 Leadership Team, please see the latest Serviam newsletter elsewhere on this website.

Congratulations to Sarah Lansdown; the 2011 St Ursula’s College recipient of the Archbishop of Sydney Award for Student Excellence

On Tuesday September 6 Sarah Lansdowne received an Archbishop’s Award for Student Excellence at St Mary’s Cathedral. This prestigious award is an annual recognition, by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, of the outstanding young women and men in our Catholic schools. It is an important way of highlighting the very positive contribution that young people make to their school and local communities. It is also an affirmation of the support that families offer their children, and public acclaim for the commitment and dedication of their teachers.

We congratulations Sarah for her commitment and enthusiasm and the way she embodies our College motto “Serviam”. The citation that was read at the ceremony follows:

Sarah Lansdown is a living witness to our College motto “Serviam”. She is a young woman of deep faith who lives her faith in every aspect of her life. As the College Environment Captain she has motivated and inspired others to take an active part in local initiatives such as the St Ursula’s Clean Up Australia Campaign and Environment Week and she has worked to raise an awareness of global justice issues. She is a conscientious student who is well respected and is generous in her support of others.

Mind on Maths Challenge (Stage 4)

On Wednesday 31 August, the College hosted the Regional Mind on Mathematics Challenge. The Challenge involves teams of six students from Stage 4 from every participating school in the CEO Eastern Region. These teams initially compete in a regional round involving problem solving and activities which require working mathematically. The winners from this round then progress to the Archdiocesan Grand Final Round. St Ursula’s had two teams qualify for this second round. A Year 7 team comprising of Isabella Peceski; Madeleine Nurdi and Christine El-Daghl and a Year 8 team with Emily Wickham; Catherine Alvarez; Nicole Michael as members.

The competition was opened by Ms Anne Anderson and then the students had to work as a team to solve mathematical problems as well as pass obstacle courses to get to the finish line.

Congratulations to our students who were the top girls’ team on the day but congratulations must go to the overall winners Marist College Penshurst.

The challenge has now been set for a girls’ team – preferably from St Ursula’s - to reach the finals next year …

St Ursula’s Family Prayer Scheme

On 11 August, Principal of the College, Ms Anne Anderson, invited all families and friends of St Ursula’s to join the Family Prayer Scheme to support  the Year 12 students sitting for the HSC in October. “This is a powerful and practical way to support our students and to let them know how all members of the St Ursula’s community are willing to help them in this major challenge in their education” she said. Those members of the community who would like to be involved are asked to contact the College by email to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with their contact details and they will be contacted by the end of term with the name of a student for whom they can pray in the time leading up to 12 October and during the following four weeks until the completion of the HSC.

St Ursula’s College Pilgrims are on their way!

Our pilgrims left for World Youth Day on 8 August. This week the College has been following their time in Rome with daily updates about their tour program as well as supporting them through prayer. You can follow their experiences through their blog on http://www.stursulakingsgrove.org/index.php/wyd-blog

Wells for Sudan Update

In one short week, St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove has raised enough money to guarantee that a well will be built in Sudan to provide local people with safe drinking water that is easy to access. As part of the College’s Ursuline tradition, our staff and students were encouraged to live practical Christian service to others through the school motto of ‘Serviam’. We polished shoes, carried buckets of water in relay races and raffled off Picnic in the Park. Congratulations to Mrs Melas and Ms Francis who encouraged their homeroom to give generously and as a result won the raffle with an outstanding bid of $335 – a fantastic effort from Year 9G! Our total in one short week was $4,244. As a result of the partnership with the Ursuline Sisters and the donor, our $4244 becomes in fact $16,976 - a remarkable contribution!  This amount will pay for the construction of one well which will change the lives of over 10,000 people in the local area.

 National Youth Science Forum

Congratulations to Amelia Mifsud (Year 11) for her selection to attend the National Youth Science forum (NYSF) in January 2012. Amelia will be travelling to Perth with other talented science students from across the country to participate in a science program which will include lab workshops, presentations from some of Australia’s leading scientists and visits to research centres at the cutting edge of science. Past participants have even had access to military labs and have seen top secret research that they are not allowed to talk about!! Applications for the program were very competitive with over 2000 students applying for around 400 places.

World Youth Day Pilgrims Commissioned

The students and teachers attending World Youth Day in Madrid this year were commissioned by the College during the College Assembly on July 22 before being formally commissioned by Bishop Julian Porteous at a special Mass on July 19.

Each pilgrim was presented with a ‘Serviam’ bear, a little bear wearing the ‘Serviam’ badge, for their journey. The bear represents the Ursa Minor constellation, sometimes known as the ‘little bear’, displayed in the College crest. This constellation allowed pilgrims in earlier times to find their way. This image of journey is very much a part of the Ursuline tradition as both Angela and Ursula went on journeys in their lives. It is hoped that the girls will take the ‘Serviam’ bear with them as a reminder that their community here is with them on their journey.

Japanese exchange students visit St Ursula’s

During a special assembly on July 28, students and staff from Ustunomiya Kaisei Girls High School - our Japanese sister school - were welcomed to the College. The students are being hosted by St Ursula families during their time in Australia and will take part in classes as well as visiting the sights of Sydney. Thank you to the host families, to Mr Steve Baker and his family who will host the Japanese teacher and to Ms Yasuko Onodera who has organised the visit and activities for the students.

 Year 9 students involved in Cathedral initiative

During term 2 students from all over Sydney participated in a project to create a nativity mural for St Mary’s Cathedral. Nine girls from the year 9 Art class were involved initially under the guidance of art teachers as well as other artists. From this group three students – Samantha Roberts, Ivana Martinovic and… were privileged to be included in the team which put the finishing touches to the mural. All those who participated were thrilled to be part of such a creative project. The mural will be on display at St Mary’s Cathedral from the first Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany.

Debating Finalists

On 22 July, the College’s two final teams in in the CDSA Competition, 9B and 12A, were unfortunately knocked out of the Semi Finals at Cerdon College Merrylands against OLMC Parramatta. Congratulations to both these teams on their success this year in Debating.

Vampire Shield awarded during College Assembly

For the 5th consecutive year, St Ursula’s College has won the Vampire Shield. This is a competition run by the Red Cross for high school students to encourage them to donate blood on a regular basis. At our College Assembly on Friday 22 July, the Marketing Manager of the Sydney Red Cross, Elissa King, presented the College with a shield and a certificate before inviting the girls who had donated blood during the past year to morning tea. In her presentation, Ms King informed the Assembly that the College had made an astounding one hundred and seventy-five donations in the past financial year, and as each donation has the capacity to save three lives the girls combined effort had effectively saved 525 lives. The College came fourteenth in the State overall and she finished her presentation by encouraging the students to keep up their fine efforts and to aim for 10th place in 2012.

TERM 2 NEWS

Theatresports 

Congratulations to the Junior Theatresports team who came third in the recent semi-finals.

Titration Competition

Congratulations to the Year 12 Titration Team comprising of Racheal Thompson, Silka Chan and Annie Huang, that won the Regional competition at the end of June. In addition to this victory, the team also won two of the three best individual scores on the day with Racheal winning first place and Silka placing equal second. The team is now preparing for the National Competition to be held in August, where the top twenty teams from each state compete for the National Title.

Bandfest

Congratulations to the String Orchestra and the Concert Band who both received Gold at Bandfest on Thursday, 23 June 2011.

Mind on Maths Challenge

Congratulations to the students who were involved in the Mind on Maths Challenge. The team came fourth in the Eastern Region and fourteenth in the Archdiocese.

Year 11 student wins 2nd prize in Catholic Education Office Cybersafety Competition

Caitlin Pearse and Davina Adisusila (Year 11 students) were recently short-listed in the Catholic Education Office Cybersafety Competion 'Get the Message'. The competition involved developing a cybersafety advertisement to inform and educate young people about the challenges of being safe in the online world. Congratulations to Davina on winning second prize. You can view both girls' entries at the St Ursula Vimeo Channel at http:vimeo.com/user4650786/channels.

Cross Country runner clears the field

Taylor Stark, who recently competed with fourteen other girls from the College in the CGSSSA Cross Country competition, came first in the field for the 16 years division. She now progresses into the NSWCCC Championships.

Sisters win duet competition

Sisters Stephanie and Kaitlyn Mifsud, recently competed in the 50th Anniversary Annual Solo and Ensemble Group Competition representing the River Concert Band, winning the under 15 duet event. Well done girls!

College Master Plan Update

Our College Master Plan for building is now complete and it was shared with staff and students at the beginning of this term. It is with much excitement and enthusiasm that we look forward to upgrading our facilities. The first stage of the plan consists of a new Library Resource Centre, Science labs and general purpose classrooms. These plans will be presented to parents at our P&F meeting on Monday evening, 16 May.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment of the literacy- and numeracy-based abilities of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students. It has been a yearly event for schools, across Australia, since 2008. On Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 May, the College’s Years 7 and 9 students will undertake the 2011 NAPLAN tests. NAPLAN comprises tests in the four domains of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. NAPLAN is NOT a pass- or a fail-type test. Rather, it provides an indication of the extent to which individual students are progressing, in numeracy and literacy skills, against national standards for all Australian children. An individual student NAPLAN report will be issued by the College later this year. Parents can use this information to monitor how well their daughter is progressing, and to identify any areas of concern. More information is available at www.naplan.edu.au.

Year 10 News

Congratulations to Davina Adisusila for being acknowledged at the Year 10 Academic Excellence Awards ceremony at the University of Sydney last week. Davina was formally presented with her award at a College assembly last year. Last week’s ceremony acknowleged and celebrated the Year 10 students who excelled in all School Certificate courses in 2010. Davina was one of a select few to have achieved such a distinction.

TERM 1 NEWS

Sr Pat Kennedy - Pioneers of Education Award

Congratulations to Sr Pat Kennedy who received an award for International Woman’s Day at the Catholic Education Awards Ceremony on Monday 7 March recognising great women in education. Sr Pat received her award in the category of ‘Pioneers in Education’ recognising her service to Catholic education for over 60 years.

A successful Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all students who took part in our 2011 Swimming Carnival! The atmosphere was electric with the 2011 Carnival proving to be one of the most highly competitive carnivals in recent years!

The House competition kicked off twenty-four hours earlier with Dulkara winning the 2011 Swimming Carnival “Cheer Off”. Both teachers and students were heavily involved in the organisation and performance of their house’s cheer.

The successful house on the day was Mirrabooka which won the Carnival due to their high level of participation. Special mention should be made of the Mirrabooka House Captain Sarah Watson and House Patron Mr Andrew Dumas, who motivated their team to succeed.

Year 12 2010 HSC News

Congratulations to Rebecca Chahoud who has had her HSC Musicology project included in the Encore honours list for Music 1. Encore is a showcase of the very best Year 12 Music performances, compositions and musicology projects from the 2010 HSC cohort. Rebecca presented a perceptive viva voce discussion comparing Beethoven’s early and late piano sonatas, demonstrating an extensive knowledge of her chosen musical genre and the concepts of music.

HSC Results 2010

Congratulations to the HSC students of 2010 on their outstanding HSC results.

Our highlights:

• Top performing Catholic systemic school in the Sydney Archdiocese.
• Placed 73 on the list of 100 Leading Schools in the State, as published by The Daily Telegraph.
• Top ATAR - 99.6.
• Four students were placed on the All Round Achievers List gaining 90 marks or above in 10 or more units.
• Thirty-five students with ATAR's above 90.
• Significant student achievements: 5th in the State in Studies of Religion II and 9th in the State in Design and Technology.
• 88% of our courses were above State average.
• St Ursula's students appeared one hundred and forty-eight times on the Board of Studies Distinguished Achievers List.
• One hundred and twenty-one students offered University placements out of one hundred and thirty five students.
  

News Archive 2010

News Archive 2009