Wednesday, 3 September 2014, Term 3 Week 8
PRAYER
Dear Parents, Staff and Students
Marist Spirituality being apostolic,
What Is Bullying?
is lived out in mission. The
mission of Marist apostles is born
of the experience of being loved
by God and our desire to actively
participate in the mission of
Jesus.
Much is written and said about this topic on a regular basis. It seems that every time there is
a dispute between students an accusation is made that they have been bullied. This is clearly
not the case on all occasions so it is worth considering some of the facts. Bullying is consistent
verbal, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and where there is an imbalance of
power. Bullying behaviour would generally involve such things as persistent name calling,
teasing, insults or threats. Psychological bullying tends to be more subversive and
underhanded, such as spreading rumours, malicious emails or inappropriate use of cameras.
With almost every student owning a mobile phone these days this is an area of growing
concern. More obvious forms of bullying would include hitting or kicking. At MCK we have
very clearly stated and imposed sanctions for these behaviours that are well known to both
students and parents.
God is passionate about the world
and its people, and Jesus
expresses his love by
a ministry of teaching and
healing.
‘I came to give life so
others may have it
to the full.’
(Jn 10:10)
The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me.
Mary, Help of Christians,
pray for us.
Mary, Our Good Mother,
pray for us.
St Marcellin Champagnat, pray for
us.
And let us remember,
to pray for one another.
Amen.
On the other hand, bullying behaviour is not situations where students do not get along.
Some students find it difficult to comprehend and deal with the fact that not everyone likes
them or is going to be their friend. As adults all know, this is one of the important life lessons
learnt at school. Similarly, in all school situations there will be occasions when there will be
random acts of nastiness or aggression. Again, these sporadic behaviours, although not
acceptable, do not constitute bullying. The problem with bullying when it does occur is that
these weak individuals who engage in such behaviour usually do so out of the sight of adults.
Also, the victim or observers are often reluctant to report it to teachers or their parents. I am
sure I speak on behalf of parents as well as staff when I say that if we do not know, we cannot
do anything to help. I would like to discuss this further in the next newsletter.
R U OK? Day
Closely related to the above is R U OK? Day which is a designated day that raises awareness
about young people and mental health issues. This day is now a permanent fixture on the
College calendar where we raise money to support the Kids Helpline, as well as undertake a
pastoral care period exploring this topic in some detail. Thank you to Miss Rebecca Lloyd
(Year 7 Co-ordinator) for her leadership of this significant pastoral event. Students are to
wear mufti clothes on Tuesday, 9 September and bring a $2 coin donation which will be
forwarded on to the Helpline to assist them in this most important work. Thank you to parents and students for your ongoing support of these fundraising events.
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Thank you to all those who participated in Mrs Cathy Roebuck’s contract renewal process. As
expected, this was a very affirming experience for Mrs Roebuck who received overwhelming
support from students, parents, pastors and her colleagues. A new three year contract will be
forthcoming in the near future.
Upcoming Events
Thursday,
Friday,
Sunday,
4 September
5 September
7 September
Year 11 assessment period continues
Archbishop’s Award for Student Excellence
Fathers’ Day
Monday,
Tuesday,
Friday,
Friday,
8 September
9 September
12 September
19 September
Testing for Year 7, 2015 (3:30 pm)
R U OK? Day
U Turn the Wheel (Year 11)
Staff Development Day
Mr John Riordan
Principal
Tournament of Minds
On Saturday, 23 August, a team of three Year 7 and four Year 8 students visited the Milperra campus of the University of
Western Sydney and participated in the Tournament of the Minds team - TOM for short.
I am Diarmuid Dwyer and I was one of the Year 8 participants on the team. I found the competition very insightful, giving me an
amazing opportunity to work as a team on both a spontaneous and long term challenge. The long term challenge was issued
six weeks before the performance day, and in that time my team members and I had to write a script for the performance,
make a wearable device that achieved a massive goal and make an infomercial that explained the features and benefits of the
product. We named the product the e-Memory, and made a great script and infomercial that won us the tournament! TOM
was an amazing opportunity for our whole team, and it brought together people who did know each other, and made them
friends through hard work and laughs. This is an experience we will all cherish in our life.
Diarmid Dwyer Year 8
‘ Tournament of the minds was a very promising experience which I will never forget. I highly recommend it to anyone keen
in giving it a go. Hopefully you will be lucky like me to progress into the State final in the years to come.’
Liam Morgan Year 7
Year 8 Reflection Day
On Friday, 22 August Year 8 participated in a reflection day. Many thanks to Chris Hopkins of Hopkins Ministries who provided
a meaningful and enjoyable experience for the boys. The day concluded with a celebration of the Eucharist. Many thanks to
Fr Dominic Nguyen who spent the day with us. A great day was had by all.
Mrs Cathy Roebuck
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Year 9 and 10 go to Court
On 15 August, Years 9 and 10 Commerce 100 students were involved in an excursion which examined the legal
system, comprising of the District Courts at the Downing Centre. The day began with both classes accompanied by Mr O’Neill,
Ms Forgione and Mr Proctor, catching a train to Town Hall. From here we walked to the Downing Centre Courts where the
students were split into groups of 5 and 6 and we exercised our right to listen to public court proceedings by sitting in on a
variety of cases. This was an eye opening experience and allowed us to listen to many different court cases. This excursion will
become a valuable resource to refer to in upcoming exams and was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Luke Josifov and Brian Massone, Year 10
Year 10
Father’s Day Breakfast
Friday, 5 September 2014
7.30 am in the mcdermott room
STARS CHALLENGE 2014
Once again the College had the
privilege to host the brightest
minds from the CEO Sydney
Eastern Region Schools. Over the
course of the term eight students
from both Years 9 and 10 have
been participating in the STARS
(Science
Thinking
and
Research Skills) Challenge 2014.
This program includes all the
Catholic Colleges in the Eastern
region and has been designed to
foster students with a genuine
interest in Science to develop
their problem solving skills.
The focus this year has been on
Australia, an ancient continent
and has run as a problem solving
challenge. During this challenge
the students have been exploring
theories related to the origin of
the universe and the formation of
planet earth; engaging in
philosophical debate as to whether modern physics can provide evidence for the existence of God; exploring
ethical issues associated with the mining of uranium, coal seam gas and coal; investigating the evolution of Australian flora
and fauna; exploring the implications of the discovery of Mungo man and Mungo lady, as well as and learning about Aboriginal
spirituality of the Yuin nation and their connection with the land.
The following students participated in the STARS Challenge 2014 and have impressed all judges with their enthusiasm and
creativity. Year 9 — Kshaunish Chaplot, Lucas Fagundes-Lydon, George Han, Richard Long; Year 10 — George Alam,
Adam Bova, Jacob Ferguson and Fergus Tang.
Mr Vasant Cheriachan
STARS Co-ordinator
Solomon Islands
We are seeking donations for the Immersion to the Solomon
Islands program which will be undertaken in December this
year. Last year we were lucky to receive so many generous
donations from staff and their families. I would like to invite
you once again to bring in any items from your homes that
aren't of use anymore.
Items could include anything from clothing (childrens and
adults), shoes, toiletries, medical supplies (wheelchair,
crutches, bandages), crockery, sporting equipment, old
working mobile phones, childrens gifts (ages 0 - 18), cars,
dolls, soft toys, colouring books, crayons, pencils, writing
pads, costume jewellery etc.
As we have a group of 10 travelling we are able to spread
the weight over our whole group.
Last year gifts were wrapped and given to the Children of
Vanga at the Christmas Mass. This was a very special
moment where Santa Claus (aka Mr Adrian McKevett)
was able to give the gifts to every child. The people of Vanga
Point thoroughly enjoyed this; for some, it was maybe the
first time they had ever received a Christmas present. It became one of the most powerful experiences of the trip for
our students.
We thank you in advance for your generosity.
Miss Shelley Foster
Solomon Islands Co-ordinator
Sports Awards 2014
On Friday, 29 August we held our annual Sports Awards Assembly in the Marist Centre. Congratulations to all students who
represented the College in MCC sports over the past 12 months. A total of 355 students represented the College in thirteen
sports. Year 7 – 11 representatives will receive their certificates of participation in the coming weeks during their respective
Year assemblies. Many thanks to the following staff who helped in allowing the assembly to run smoothly and successfully –
Sr Catherine, Mrs Nelson, Mr Smith, Mrs Morris, Mrs Buljan and Mr Ridolfo.
Major Award Winners 2014
Touch Footballer of the Year:
Basketball Player of the Year:
Soccer Player of the Year:
Kerry O’Keefe Cricketer of the Year:
Robert Stone Rugby League Player of the Year:
Ben Cassell
Brandon Bates
Reno Zenari
Luke Bartier
Topiese Taufa
Mr Angelo Scali
Sports Co-ordinator
Year 7 Sportsman of the Year—Patrick Hanna
Year 8 Sportsman of the Year—Connor Flanagan
Patrick participated in the Swim
Squad, Athletics Squad, Cross
Country and Rugby League.
Connor participated in Rugby
League, Touch Football, Swim
Squad, Athletics Squad, Cross
Country, MCC Cross Country
and MCC Swimming.
Year 9 Sportsman of the Year—Dario Perrino
Year 10 Sportsman of the Year—Ashley Flanagan
Dario participated in Rugby
League, Touch Football, Athletics
Squad, Cross Country and
MCC Cross Country.
Ashley participated in Rugby
League, Touch Football, Athletics
Squad, Cross Country, Swimming,
MCC Swimming and
CCC Swimming.
Year 11 Sportsman of the Year—Robert Allan
Year 12 Sportsman of the Year—Topiese Taufa
Robert participated in Rugby
League, Touch Football, Athletics
Squad, Cross Country and Golf.
Topiese participated in Rugby
League, MCC Rugby League,
Basketball, Athletics Squad and
Volleyball.
Marist Medal Winners (Years 7 – 11) (Best player in each team)
SPORT
Rugby League
Rugby League
Soccer
Swimming
Soccer
Basketball
Touch Football
Touch Football
Cricket
Cricket
Cross Country
Rugby League
Soccer
Golf
Basketball
Basketball
Swimming
Rugby League
Soccer
Tennis
Touch Football
Rugby League
Cross Country
Robert Windle
Squash
Soccer
TEAM
U/13A
U/13B
U/13A
U/13B
U/14
U/14
U/15
U/14
U/16
U/14
U/14
Opens
U/15
B-GRADE
U/15
U/15
B-GRADE
B-GRADE
Best Senior
B-GRADE
AWARD
Best Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Juvenile Trophy
Best Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Junior Trophy
Best Player
Best Player
Best Golf Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Junior Trophy
Best Player
Best Player
Best Tennis Player
Best Player
Best Player
Best Senior Trophy
Swimming
Best Player
Best Player
STUDENT
James Dyet
Maxwell Hunter
Jordan Andreev
Patrick Fedoson
Angelo Mirceski
Sione Taufa
Kore-Lee Perenara
Matthew Watson
Lewis O'Riordan
Caleb Bartier
Dario Perrino
Joseph Nocita
Paolo Mitry
Jesse Silva Agostinho
Aaron Waban
Alfonso Jose
Ashley Flanagan
Pita Toamotu
Alex Malfara
Jacob Rios
Taki Markakis
Taki Markakis
Rami Alassmi
Christopher McAdam
Aaron Midon
Stephen Athanaseris
YEAR
7
7
7
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
Year 7 History Incursion
On August 29, Year 7 attended an incursion in the O’Driscoll Centre about Medieval History and how different it was to how
we live now. The presenter, Mr James Adams, brought in some medieval replicas of items used throughout both the Middle
Ages and the Dark Ages and told us how and when they were used. He told us about the weapons of medieval times, who
used them and why. He spoke about the swords, axes and siege machinery used and even demonstrated some of them. He
brought in a dummy wearing a full set of iron plate armour like the knights wore and demonstrated how resistant it was by
hitting it with his weapons. Another thing he told us about was the pillory or stock which was a very
common punishment that involved you getting locked in a standing position where people could throw things and hurt you.
This punishment could range from an hour long to a whole 3 days long. Some lucky volunteers even got to try it out. He
invited us up for many demonstrations and really gave everyone a go. It was a very fun experience and definitely better than
classes. I would like the thank Mr Farrell and the other history teachers for their organisation of this incursion.
Noah Vass
Year 7
Grieve your own way …
Despite older adults having more experience with grief, the classic grief study that has
determined grief counselling was originally developed for children. Many of us know of the
Swiss physician, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and her model of the five stages of grief. Based on
earlier work by the psychologists Bowlby and Parkes, Kubler-Ross crystalized the stages in
her 1969 book On Death and Dying.
More than four decades on, what is perhaps most unique about Kubler-Ross’ book is not that she developed a framework for
grieving, but rather that she made it okay to talk about loss and grief and the painful toll it can so often exact. It was
normalised and humanised. Prior to then, the medical fraternity and, the world in general, took a staunchly Victorian
approach to death and dying where grief was swept under the carpet.
The Kubler-Ross theory states that we go through a series of stages before we come to a point of acceptance of the loss. The
five stages start with an initial short period of Denial (D) that it could not be happening, moving into Anger (A) when the loss is
taken personally, followed by a series of Bargaining (B) strategies to try and reverse the outcome, and then once the
realisation of the loss is seen as permanent, Depression (D) and eventually, at the end of the grief there is Acceptance (A) that
we cannot change these events.
The DABDA model of the stages of grieving is the only grief theory discussed in psychology training and has been accepted
widely across the globe. It is the script provided to grieving relatives and has even entered into product market research to
understand the reaction to the “death” of iPhone 4 in favour of iPhone 5. It is a pervasive theory.
Despite its popularity, we need to ask ourselves, is the DABDA model the best way for us to conceptualise and therefore
handle grief? George Bonanno of Columbia University, New York, has been a central figure in challenging the theory that grief
progresses in these stages. Bonanno argues that there are no stages and that, in fact, having no stages is healthy. In his 2002
study of elderly bereaving spouses, Bonanno showed that nearly half showed no signs of shock, despair, anxiety or intrusive
thoughts six months after their loss. Rather than labelling these participants as having an ‘abnormal grief reaction’, Bonanno
suggested that these were simply ‘resilient’ people who were determined to live out the remainder of their lives as fully as
they could despite their significant loss. This is not to say that they were not honouring the memory of their spouse by moving
on with their lives only six months after their loss but that it is okay for people to grieve in a way that suits and is helpful to
them.
This idea of expressing grief in order to cope was also dispelled by the Dutch husband-and-wife research team, Wolfgang and
Margaret Stroebe, of Utrecht University. They found that widows who avoided confronting their loss were not any more
depressed than widows who "worked through" their grief—talking or writing about the experience.
In 2008, Mark Seery and his colleagues from State University of New York, in their study of the grief reactions to the terrorist
attacks of 11 September 2001, reported similar findings to the earlier research. There are no stages and that “working
through” perceived stages of grieving is not prescriptive to healthy coping.
Perhaps the reason the Kubler-Ross model was current for such a long period of time before being challenged was because
people felt more comfortable allowing others to express their grief, thinking that, “This is only a stage and it will pass. They
will move through it soon.” While there are many valid criticisms of the stage model of grieving, one of its undeniable
therapeutic values is that we are now discussing grief. And that is healthy, because grief is real and frequently painful.
Mr Nick Ludgate
College Counsellor
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MARIST COLLEGE KOGARAH
52 WOLSELEY STREET BEXLEY, NSW 2207  TELEPHONE 9587 3211  FACSIMILE 9556 1790